Frosty morn

 This was the view down our street yesterday morning . . .

The sun was shining brightly after quite a foggy start to the day. The trees were covered with frost, and sparkled in the sunlight.  The piles of snow are high, but our city has done a pretty good job of removing snow on major streets.  

RSC23 - week #1 of blue

Isn't it fun to start a new color at the beginning of a month?  Thank you to Angela for hosting the Rainbow Scrap Challenge each year!  The main blue project I worked on this week was finishing the Snowflake pillow that I posted about yesterday.  

I did play with other blue projects this week too.  There are several on-going block sets happening around here that will eventually become quilts.  And I've "fluffed up" the blue scraps so the bin looks more full than it did before.  

A few of these 4.5" blocks have been added to the box for the Small Hearts quilt.  When there is a good assortment of colors again, then I'll get the next couple of vertical rows sewn.  

I had mostly depleted the heart blocks I made in 2022 in the first 4 rows.  But there is no rush with finishing this quilt, so the heart collection will keep accumulating each month.

A few pyramid blocks were made too.  These have scrappy backgrounds - some white, some beige/tan/cream, some neutral prints.  I didn't count, but I think there are about 30 of these blocks hanging in the closet. They are 12" tall, but I want to make a big quilt with them, so will need more.

A couple of the scrappy Irish Chain blocks were added.  I have 2 rows of these blocks sewn together already and have enough blocks for 2 more rows.  The blocks finish at 8".

And 1 new Stashbuster block (from Border Creek Stations) joined the first 2 test blocks I made last fall.  This was their 2022 stashbuster challenge block, and finishes at 10".  There is a new block for their 2023 challenge, and patterns from previous years' challenges.  The patterns are free, and the new block for 2023 has instructions for 3 different sizes.  
https://www.bordercreekstation.com/the-stash-buster-challenge.htm

What are you playing with in 2023 for RSC?
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Snowflakes, frogs, and puzzles

 The first flimsy of 2023 has been sewn, and is ready to quilt.  It still needed a good final pressing when I took this photo.  But it's a bright happy quilt.

The Quick Strippee is a free pattern from Mary Quilts, and I've made several of these over the years.  It's done with 1 yard each of 3 fabrics,  plus binding.  The wider strip is a terrific way to showcase a fun novelty print or special print of any theme.  The cute frog print and the wavy matching print were purchased in Nebraska last fall while traveling to a family reunion in Kansas.  The orange solid was a local purchase, and I have binding strips cut from it too.

Another small finish happened while being snowed in this week - this seasonal Snowflake pillow.  Navy blue solid is paired with a white dotted Swiss white-on-white print. This was a kit purchased last year as part of a Pillow of the Month program.  It's 20" square, and has a simple envelope back.  The edges are done with binding. I kept the quilting simple, but did it myself.

Besides sewing and shoveling snow, what else is there to do?  Well, I started a puzzle and this one is going to be tricky.  It's a Christmas gift from this year.  This is called an "escape puzzle", and evidently there is a mystery to solve AFTER you get the puzzle put together by following clues on the pieces. The other tricky thing - the picture on the box isn't EXACTLY what the finished puzzle will look like.  This puzzle may be on my coffee table for a long time if I'm not smart enough.  

Sew Together bag #18

The first complete finish of 2023 is a Sew Together bag and it's #18.  I had to go back to my blog and to my spreadsheet for finishes to figure out how many of these I've made.  

The cocktail themed fabric was actually a border print that I used several years ago in a table runner.  It was also used before in a Sew Together bag that was gifted to a friend a few years ago.  I had just enough left for this bag.

Because it was a border print, it was directional.  So to keep from having upside down cocktail glasses on one side, I just cut it and pieced it back together so everything was right side up on both sides.

A bright yellow dot was used for all of the lining sections, and the inside of each pocket was cut from scraps of white or cream fabrics.

The end sections are a lime green, and the bindings are all bright blue.  

Every thing about this bag was taken directly from the stash, with nothing new purchased except for the interfacing used inside the linings and end sections.  Two more bags are cut out, and have the fusible interfacing ironed on to the parts needing it.  The outside parts of all 3 were cut and prepped back in 2022, and I'm determined to finish them soon.

By the way - this is what the deck looked like on Wednesday morning.  The "official" report was 23" of snow, and then it drifted around with wind all Tuesday night.  A bit more fell on Wednesday morning.  We've been in a drought for the past year, so I'm not going to complain too much about getting moisture - even in the white form.  I've been shoveling our huge deck (pictured) in small increments, spending about 15-20 minutes at a time.  Dave used the snowblower to clean out the driveway in front.

Snow days are sew days

 Well . . . we've had a LOT of snow the past couple of days, and it added up quickly.

My husband scatters bird seed on the ground for the flock of wild turkeys that visit a couple of times a day.  But on Monday we found a couple of them had discovered the seed dropped ON the deck (by birds and squirrels) under the bird feeders and had flown up onto the railing, and then sat directly on the deck floor to eat. By nightfall on Monday we had about 5" of new snow.  Dave went out with the snowblower after supper and cleared the driveway.

By Tuesday morning - early - we had at least another 8-10" that came down overnight.  The piles on the deck railing were perfectly formed when I first got up, but by daylight the birds had begun to show up and were disturbing those perfect piles.  There was a beautiful male cardinal on the feeder just outside my office window for a long time.  But unfortunately I didn't get a picture of him. 

Our deck is well protected from wind as our house wraps around it on 3 sides.  I went out about 11 am Tuesday to shovel a path to the bird feeders.  My yardstick showed we'd had about 20 inches.  By 1 pm that path was mostly filled in as the wind had increased and the snow was still falling.  Dave went out about 10:30 Tuesday morning with the snowblower and cleared the driveway once more. 

Needless to say, I spent most of the day on Tuesday in my sewing room.  The snowflake pillow just needs some finishing handwork.  Block #9 for Sewcialites from last week is done in all 4 colorways and sizes.  The block is New Plus Old, by Brigitte Heitland.  I've sewn about half of the strips together for the Quick Strippee quilt.  And I made 4 small blue heart blocks along with a couple of blue pyramid blocks.  A very productive day!

And I'm guessing my husband is going to wait until about noon to use the snowblower to clear the driveway one more time.  The city plows probably won't be by until afternoon anyway.  

January goals

A new year, a new month, and a new week . . . and winter weather to keep me home.  It was a good way to help me kick off a new set of goals.  I do like to begin a new year with a new project, because it feels like a clean start.  

The number 3 was drawn for the APQ UFO Challenge, and that gave me some fairly easy projects to start - selected from my LONG list.  The Frog quilt pieces were cut back in October, so I will be able to start sewing on it right away.  The bag was actually started on Sunday after the kids all headed home, and just needs the handwork finished on the handles.  That will most likely be the first complete finish of 2023.  And I added one new project on my list, because I had a request for a blue runner.  That will only need about 4 blocks plus borders, so a fairly quick project.

Bright and dark blues were the color of the month for Rainbow Scrap Challenge, so I know there will be some fun block sewing in blue during the month.  And those house and tree appliques for Humble Homes are waiting patiently for some attention too.  Three of the 5 rows are done. Can I manage one more row in January?  Maybe both?  We'll see how that goes.

I plan to find a backing for this blue and white quilt top made last year, and get that one in the "quilting queue" as well.  This one was the Riley Blake BOM from 2022. There is a new Riley Blake challenge starting soon too. I'm not planning to do it, but I'm weak when it comes to resisting a BOM.

This kit for a pillow cover was actually #4 on my PIG list, but because it's wintery and it's blue, I'm going to add this to my goals for January.  The whole thing is only 20" square.  It should be a quick finish and can go right onto my sofa for January. There is a similar kit for a Valentine pillow, and also for a St Patrick's Day one, so I have plenty of small projects just waiting in the wings.   

There are 2 quilts in the hands of a quilter, so there will be binding to do by the end of the month most likely.  And the new Saturday Sampler will begin this month. Ironically I had selected a blue and yellow batik fat quarter bundle to work from, so it fits right in with the RSC blue.  

I'm already participating in a couple of weekly sew-alongs too, and there are always Quilt of Valor blocks to work on.  My goal list is so full of fun things to keep me busy, and then some.  Let it snow!!  Forward progress is the plan, and enjoying the process is the main goal. 

• Frog Quick Strippee child size quilt (get to flimsy stage)
• Michelle's blue runner - ** PRIORITY
• Blue/white snowflake pillow
• Saturday Sampler - Month #1 
• Scrappiness Is Happiness sew-along (blocks)
• Sewcialites sew-along (blocks)
• Humble Homes - finish at least ONE row (big UFO project)
• find backing for blue/white Riley Blake quilt
• Quilt of Valor blocks and/or tops
• Bag progress
• finish Cocktails bag
• forward progress on Cats bag
• RSC blocks (bright and dark blue)
• Pyramid blocks
• Framed Friendship blocks
• Rainbow Connection (string) blocks
• Plaid blocks
• Irish Chain blocks
• small heart blocks
• and MORE !!!

I'm linking up with To Do Tuesday . . .
https://quiltschmilt.ca/2023/01/02/to-do-tuesday-linky-party-1/

Design Wall Monday - a clean slate for 2023

 A new year holds such promise.  I am hoping that 2023 is awesome - at least after we get through this next winter storm.    

See that "peachy" circle with the 24.5" written on it?  That was the snowfall estimate late last night for our immediate area.  We'll see what actually accumulates.  But either way I'll be safe at home, and probably sewing.  

The first finish of 2023 will hopefully be this bag.  The hard part is done and the handwork remains. A couple more bags are cut out and ready to sew.  

Once the handwork on the bag is done I plan to work on a project that has been cut out for awhile, but no sewing has been done on it yet.  This is a Quick Strippee child size quilt.  The color for January for RSC is bright blue and there is quite a bit of bright blue in this one.  Plus it's on my UFO list for 2023, and was ONE of the projects on the #3 spot on my multiple page list, which was the number drawn for the APQ UFO Challenge for January.  

Our family Christmas finally happened over New Years.  The grandkids and grand dogs were fun to have around for 3 days.  It's awfully quiet around here suddenly.  Olivia, Sophia (in her cute short haircut), Jack, Mason (oldest & about to be taller than me), and Jonah.  Olivia is holding Ginger and Samson wasn't sure he wanted to be in the picture. 

Our family tradition for Christmas is a seafood feast - here in landlocked beef country.  I didn't get a photo of the seared scallops cooked by one son-in-law - but they were fabulous.  The other son-in-law steamed 9 pounds of crab.  I made salad and some snack type things.  Daughter #1 brought dessert - apple pie.  It was all absolutely delicious!  Most of the kids had breaded shrimp, but a couple of them ate quite a bit of crab too.  We had a yummy mix of steamed Dungeness crab, snow crab, and some king crab.  Yum, yum, yum!

Happy New Year!!

I'm linking up with Design Wall Monday this morning . . .
https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/