Blockheads and Leaders/Enders

The Blockheads 6 program is chugging right along.  This was week #6 already, and so far I've kept up with the weekly blocks. 

Last week's Blockheads blocks were Dew Drops by Chelsi Stratton. 

This week's block is Moonbeam by Robin Pickens.  It's 18" finished, so twice as large as the previous 5 weeks' blocks.  

So far, we've made 2 blocks each previous week, except for one.  And now we've added one big block to the mix.   Because I'm doing scrappy red/white/blue these blocks are all destined to end up in a Quilt of Valor.  

Ironically about the same time yesterday morning that Moda posted the newest Blockheads block, Bonnie Hunter posted her new Leader/Ender Challenge block.  She's calling this 4-Patch Fun, and it's very similar to the Bento Box block our QOV group has used in the past.  So my brain immediately went to red/white/blue.  While I was cutting the parts for the Moonbeam block I also cut some pieces for some of these.  And I also used some other patriotic fabric scraps.  They did make perfect Leader/Ender pieces while working on the Blockheads block.  These will be very fun to make. 

July 1st finishes

 Yesterday was July 1st - and I have my first finish of the month all checked off.  I really hadn't planned to have a finish already, but it worked out quite nicely.  And I love how this looks sitting on the fireplace hearth in the family room.  

This is the mini quilt made from a Shabby Fabrics kit.  They did this series of minis in 2023 with spools.  I recently bought the July kit from the series, and OMG - it went together so easy.

It only took about a half hour to cut all the pieces, and I laid those pieces out on a design board with the plan to work on this later this week.  But . . . then I thought I would just sew those popsicle sections together.  And you know what happened next!!  Yes I just kept sewing.  This was a 2 hour project including the simple quilting I did, not counting the hour it took to hand stitch that binding down.  

There is a 2nd July finish already too, but this one really didn't have much left to do.  The Sweet Potato puffy bag!  All I had left to do was to top stitch around the top to anchor the lining and handles nicely.  It's pretty cute, and would make a fun gift for a little girl.  This is a free pattern that can be downloaded.

Goals, goals, goals

The goal list for July looks really long, but it's actually pretty reasonable.  A lot of binding is listed to help me remember what projects are already in the quilting phase, and MIGHT be ready to bind.  And some projects are actually pretty small, like working on the RSC blocks in the new color.  I've chosen a couple of new PIG projects that will be rewards for finishing something else.  

• Saturday Sampler - row 6 for July
• Blockheads blocks each week
• Binding projects IF READY
• Pyramid quilt
• Mickey Mouse Quick Strippie
• Pumpkin door hanger
• Valentine door hanger
• Quilt the Sunflower wall hanging myself
• Finish Sweet Potato Puff bag
• Rainbow Scrap Challenge - PURPLE is July color
• Buckeye Beauty blocks
• Brighten blocks
• Triple Triangle (string) blocks
• Hollow 9 blocks
• Give It a Whirl blocks
• Gameboard blocks
• Quilt of Valor blocks 
• Indigo Way
• Spools
• Misc other QOV block sets
• PIG projects for this month
• RWB mini quilt - popsicles
• Beach Bums wall hanging

Meeting my goals from June was mostly a success.  The best finish for June, besides that genealogy project, was getting that enormous Saturday Sampler quilt bound.  It's 98" square!! Most of the items on my June goal list are either finished, or saw some progress.  That makes for success in my mind. 

Design Wall Monday

Hmmm - a new week beginning, but the ending of a month, brings all kinds of contemplation and reflection on projects for me.  Looking forward to a new month and a new week makes me want to start some new projects.  

This little kit is for a mini quilt - 13" square approximately.  I have 2 of the metal hangers and it's fun to switch them out for seasons and holidays.  I think this will be a quick one to make.  

Finishing the other 4 blocks for this month's Saturday Sampler needs to be a priority for this week.  I don't want to fall behind.  This first one went together better than I expected.  Those narrow strips separating the quarters can be tricky to line up.

The puffy bag is close to being done.  Both of the outside sections are done, the handles and lining are cut.  This shouldn't take too long to finish.

There is another baby quilt to bind this week too.  No chance of getting bored around here because I always have a bunch of projects in the works.

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog  

RSC25 - Week #25

Some weeks are productive in the sewing room, and some weeks are not.  This has mostly been a non-productive week.  Between grandsons being here and more genealogy research, I just didn't spend much time sewing.  And that is perfectly OK.

I did get another doll quilt made this week.  It has orange in it.  The layout idea was stolen from Kat at Scrapbox Quilts blog.  Mine used up a stack of 3.5" squares that had been cut from leftover backing, mixed with squares of solids, also left over from previous projects.  

This week might not have been very productive, but the month of June definitely has been quite productive.  Lots of orange blocks happened.  I'm ready for a new color, but must say that orange is very energizing.  Some of these block sets are nearing that stage of "enough" for a quilt top.

The Buckeye Beauty blocks are getting very close to enough for a fairly large quilt.  We'll see how many there are after this month, and maybe this one will become a flimsy by the end of the summer.  

Another quilt top has been born however - using the 9.5" string blocks that were made for RSC over the past year and a half.  These are pieced on a muslin foundation.  I had sewn them into rows and then hung up those rows in the closet.  Why didn't I finish it then?  I have no clue, but it's all assembled finally.

And the Triple Triangle string blocks have gotten more attention too.  I'll need more blocks to continue this layout, so we'll see what colors the next couple of months will bring.  

The BIG finish this week was binding a 98" square quilt.  This was the 2024 Saturday Sampler BOM project from the local quilt shop.  My 6' husband couldn't hold it up any higher, and the grass was wet so there isn't a good photo.  And he was holding it upside down.  LOL  This wasn't an RSC project - but it does have a whole rainbow of colors in it.  This is destined to  become a wedding gift.  

Go check out more fun RSC projects, because there is a LOT of inspiration out there in the RSC blog posts.

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Blockheads, golf camp and swim meets

Thursday morning I cut the parts for this week's Blockheads blocks.  There are 2 versions suggested again this week. 

There are a LOT of pieces in this week's block pattern but the result is worth that extra effort.  It's called Dew Drops by Chelsi Stratton.  Only 1 of the 2 blocks has been sewn so far, but maybe I'll get started on the second one this morning while I have an hour or so. 

The only real difference in my 2 versions will be different red/white/blue scraps that I'm using.  There have been some very interesting variations posted in the Facebook group with unique color placement that changes the whole look of the block.  I'm sticking with the original layout.

Grandpa's golf camp continues.  The boys are 14 and 12, and started golf when they were in First Tee programs at about 6.  It's something they do sometimes as a family.  I think grandpa is enjoying this even more than the boys, but it is really nice just having them hanging out for a few days.  So far I'm just the cook and clean-up staff.  LOL  I am headed to watch their sister swim at a meet this afternoon.  

Many of the blogs I follow have been showing their beautiful gardens.  Since I don't garden anymore - other than a couple of flower pots - I thought I'd share my front porch flowers.  These are silk and have solar lights hiding in among them.  Since it's always in the shade, the silk versions don't get wet or have sun shining directly on them.  I can enjoy the colors when I'm sitting out there reading, without any extra work.  

A few blocks for Quilt of Valor

With only an hour to sew yesterday morning, I pulled out some strip sets that were already sewn together for QOV blocks.

There are 24 of these now, including these 7 made yesterday.

Once a month, on the last Wednesday, a group of retired staff (from the school district I taught) gathers for coffee and lunch.  The group includes teachers, librarians, and office staff.  I look forward to that lunch group every month!!

Following lunch yesterday I went grocery shopping to stock up as we have 2 grandsons staying for a few days of "golf camp" with grandpa.  I even baked a pumpkin pie from scratch, using an old (WW2 era) recipe I found in a book.  Because sugar was rationed during WW2, this recipe used honey instead of sugar.  Not bad!! You can taste the honey.