RSC25 - Week #49

Do you panic this time of year?  I don't even have a ton of holiday events to attend, but I'm feeling a little panicky about how close we are to the end of the year.  Maybe I was feeling extra "behind" since I was sick a couple of days this week and felt like I had gotten nothing accomplished at all. Friday was finally a good day for sewing with few interruptions. 

The only RSC sewing that happened this week was putting 8 of the 4-Patch Fun blocks together into a zig zag layout.  I started thinking that the zig zag would show up better if I put a neutral strip between each vertical row.  That required digging into the neutral strings bin. 

So I partially opened some seams yesterday and inserted a 1.5" x 6.5" strip next to each block.  Another row of blocks on the left was added too.  Now I'm seeing the zig zag emerging.  I don't have enough blocks yet for a whole quilt, so these will continue well into 2026 for RSC.  I'm happy to have a plan now.

The scrap bin with all of the odds and ends from Quilts of Valor was overflowing, and I worked hard last month to use up enough of those scraps to at least fit into the bin.  Yesterday I dug back into it for this block.  It's called God's  Eye and was a free download from www.patchworksquare.com that I used in a recently finished project.  Now I remember why I thought it was a pain in the butt to make.  The instructions were fine, but putting it together and getting it to lay flat was a bit frustrating.  If I ever make this again I think I would press all of the seams open to reduce that bulk more.  It's now in the QOV "sampler" stack of blocks so it will get used in a quilt eventually.  But it will NOT have any twin siblings any time soon. 

The neutral, pink, purple, and blue scrap bins are stirred up now too.  That is because I'm playing along with the current Bonnie Hunter mystery.  I don't plan to make mine full sized, but it's always fun to play along and see how it goes.  Clue #3 dropped yesterday morning, and it really only took me about half an hour to make 1 set of each size HST in the clue.  I'll do more over the weekend most likely.  I'm aiming for roughly half the quantity of each clue. 

Let's go see what else is happening with scraps this week . . .

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/ 

Catching up

Wow - I just lost a whole day and a half.  Tuesday morning I did some laundry and baked gingersnap cookies in the morning.  By noon I felt so tired and sat down in the recliner for awhile before going downstairs to sew.  I ended up sleeping off and on most of the afternoon and evening.  Wednesday was mostly lost as well. The only reason I had a blog post on Wednesday was because I wrote it while baking cookies Tuesday morning.  I had a fever, couldn't get warm and ached all over.  Thursday I woke up feeling mostly normal again, although still very low energy.  I'm still catching up.  

My new Ford Escape was ready to pick up Wednesday afternoon, and my husband was a good sport and went to get it.  Yesterday morning I was thinking that I kind of hate to take it anywhere right now because I don't want it to get dirty. Since the snow our streets are a mess.  And then - my husband took it and went to the gym yesterday, and to run errands.  We also took it to Sioux Falls last night to go to granddaughter Olivia's orchestra concert.  So much for keeping it clean.  LOL

A quick update on Wednesday's post . . .  The correct name for that center block is "God's Eye", and I downloaded it from www.patchworksquare.com .  The pattern has instructions for 3 block sizes - 16", 12" and 8".  Now I really really want to make that center block again - but in red, white and blue in the 12" size.  

The last time I was in my sewing room was Monday.  Hopefully today I'll finally get back down there to sew.  I'm feeling the withdrawal.  

A small finish for the week

The binding is finished on Eye of God - which is lap quilt or wall hanging size.  Maybe even a good size for a baby quilt.  It's about 40" square.  

That center star block was called Eye of God, and was a free block that I downloaded from somewhere online.  It was actually quite tricky to put together without losing the points.  The polka dots around it are bowtie blocks.  And that lime green does NOT glow in the dark, although in this lighting it sure looks like it would.  

As I finished up the binding for this one, I got to thinking that maybe I should make more lap quilts and donate them to nursing homes here.  Hmmm . . .

Today is supposed to be the day I can finally pick up my new car.  We'll see if that actually happens today.  I'm getting very impatient with the wait.  

Tuesday - this and that

My morning routine is just that - a routine. I tend to be up earlier than my husband and I take my first cup of coffee to my home office.  I can sit quietly at my desk, enjoy my coffee, read some blogs, and watch the activity at the bird feeder.  The landscape is white and clean looking after the snow we got this weekend.  

The birds are usually pretty active in the mornings around that feeder outside my window.  The past week or so we've had blue jays, juncos, chickadees, woodpeckers, and some tiny birds that I don't know the name of.  Wish I could get a good photo, but they are awfully fast to fly off.  And since those blue jays showed up we haven't been seeing any cardinals.  CORRECTION: one male cardinal showed up this morning. 

So, since it was December 1 there was the first package to open from the Missouri Star Countdown to Christmas box.  Gift #1 was a very cute panel and a pattern to use with the panel.  The pattern has either a wall hanging or a table runner option with snow globes.  So cute!!  I'm thinking table runners will be my choice.  

A little more than half of the blocks needed for the snowman quilt (Splendor) are sewn, but still need to be pressed and trimmed to size.  I've been using the pieces cut for the Bonnie Hunter mystery as my Leaders/Enders while working on the snowmen. 

I was all excited about picking up my new car yesterday.  But now they are saying it won't be ready until Wednesday.  And since my old vehicle now belongs to the dealership, I feel a bit at odds without a car to drive for a whole week.  

Design Wall Monday - December 1

Another new month already!  And I didn't come close to checking off my goals from the last one yet.  But that doesn't really bother me because the important things WERE checked off - like my son-in-law's Lone Star wall hanging. 

My December goals are a bit more deadline oriented, but the list is pretty short.  

• Finish the Christmas gifts I've begun
• 2 table runners
• pillowcases for grandkids
• secret gifts
• Finish flimsy for snowman 3-yard quilt (Splendor pattern)
• bind Eye of God lap quilt  (only 1 side remaining)
• bind the 2025 Saturday Sampler
• bind Orange blossom wall hanging
• a few RSC or QOV blocks as Leaders/Enders
• Make my 2026 UFO and PHD lists 

The project box for the Dresden Fans quilt was emptied now that it's a flimsy hanging in the closet, making way for something new.  So what new project is in the box?

I've been on the fence about sewing along with Bonnie Hunter's current mystery quilt, Lupines and Laughter.  Every year I download the mystery clues, whether I play along or not.  I really like the colors this year, so I'll do it but on a smaller scale.  Last week I made 3 sets of the clue #1 blocks.  And I've cut out parts from scraps for a few of the clue #2 blocks.  Right now I'm thinking I'll do half of the units she calls for, and then after the reveal I can decide if I want more or not.

BTW - I managed to hold off on opening anything in the box (Jenny's Countdown to Christmas 2025).  I did remove it from the shipping box yesterday afternoon.  

 Lots of anticipation for opening the first item this morning while enjoying my first cup of coffee, and reading my favorite blogs.  I'll try to remember to share some of the box contents each week on here.  Item #1 is in that red envelope on the right.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog

RSC25 - Week #48

The Quarter Dresden project is now a flimsy.  It isn't huge - just 50 x 60.  But I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  It's pressed and hanging in the closet, along with the leftover grey background - just in case.  The project box has been emptied and will have a new project take up residence in the box soon.  

It's time to take stock of what RSC block sets are remaining in the closet, so plans can be made for how to proceed with each set.  These are not all of the partial sets from this year and even from past years, but it gives me an idea of what is there.  Continuing block sets into the next year never bothers me. 

Some of my day yesterday was spent taking down some fall decor and putting up Christmas.  My cardinal tree stays up all year in the dining room as I just enjoy the cardinals that remind me of all the friends and family no longer with us.  I changed out the quilt, and hung the cardinal quilt for the Christmas season.  And one of the new table runners is on the table.  The big Christmas tree in the living room is partially decorated. 
 

But the stockings are all hung.  That new stocking I made for myself is likely to stimulate a bit of teasing from my girls.  It's twice as big as everyone else's and the toe is pointing the opposite direction.  Oops!!  LOL

Let's go see what else is happening with scraps . . .
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/ 

It's Friday

Because we were home by ourselves, and I wasn't cooking a big meal - yesterday felt like Friday all day to me instead of Thanksgiving Day.  We had a really good early holiday with our kids and grandkids on Wednesday.  Yesterday we enjoyed the leftovers sent home with us. And now it really IS Friday.

No Black Friday shopping is on my radar for today.  I plan to decorate the Christmas tree now that it's up in the living room.  I finished the December spools mini quilt yesterday, so it is on the family room hearth.  The one with 4 little trees will go on the living room hearth.  I really do enjoy these little 12-14" mini quilts.

I have a start on the 3-yard quilt called Splendor.  One complete row is done, and half of the next row is done.  Lots more to go but there is no deadline for this one.  

We're expecting winter weather to move in sometime in the afternoon.  What a shame that I might have to stay home the next couple days and sew.  And possibly bake the cookies I'll need to take to our DAR meeting next week. 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Because we had our family Thanksgiving yesterday, my plans for today involve sleeping in, sewing and getting out the Christmas decorations. 

Just a little progress

 

It's not finished, but I can see the finish line from here.  This is the December mini quilt with the spool design.  The main part is now in 4 rows, so once I get a chance to sew those together and then add the narrow borders it will all go quickly. 
 

I really thought I might get it finished on Tuesday, but it just didn't happen.  After my haircut and manicure appointment, I planned to just go get groceries and come home and sew, and make the deviled eggs for Thanksgiving.  Plus we were on the edge of crazy winter weather with 50+ mph wind gusts, a little snow and sleet.  It would have been a good day to just stay home and sew, right?

So instead of going right to the grocery store or doing any sewing at all - I went and test drove a new vehicle.  Isn't that what normal people do in bad weather?  When they have lots of other things to get done at home?  My 9 year old Ford Edge has been having electrical issues for months, in particular with the key fobs.  I guess yesterday was just the day I decided I was tired of fighting with it.  My new RED Ford Escape should be ready to pick up on Monday!!  I'm very excited.  And the sewing will still be here waiting.    

Tuesday To Do list

Today will be pretty busy, with not much time left over for sewing, but maybe I'll get an hour or so late this afternoon.

This morning I'm headed to get a haircut and manicure.  I have a bunch of paperwork to catch up on at my desk when I get back.  And I have deviled eggs to make for our family Thanksgiving, which is tomorrow. Lots and lots of deviled eggs!  Because apparently I didn't make enough last year.  LOL

Yesterday I was up early, and got quite a lot done before noon - in my PJs, which is not normal for me.  The Dresden project is now a flimsy, but I won't be sharing that until the Saturday post of Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  It's now pressed and hanging in the closet, waiting for its turn to be quilted.  It's not a huge quilt - only about 50 x 60.

All the parts and pieces are cut and labeled for the December spools mini quilt.  It's so handy to use my little alphabet clips and my small design board to keep everything organized.  I even got the row with the bow sewn.  This should be a quick one to finish. 

Another task I wanted to get done yesterday was to cut the pieces for the Splendor 3-yard quilt, and get one block sewn as a test.  The pieces for the half rectangles are cut from fabrics 1 and 2, but not the pieces for the sashing from the 3rd fabric.  

Only one set of rectangles is actually sewn, not a whole block quite yet.  Twelve of the rectangle sets will be sewn like this, cut on the line and pressed to the dark.  The other 12 sets will have the light fabric tilted the other direction.  These will be blocks A and B, with C and D coming from the opposite sets.  

And of course - I wrote my To Do list on Sunday evening, posted it early Monday - and then promptly deviated from that list on Monday.  I hadn't decided whether or not to do the new Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt this year.  I always save her clues, and sometimes sew along, and sometimes don't.  But I really liked the colors she chose for Lupines and Laughter.  She posted a week early due to her travel schedule, and after seeing this first clue I couldn't resist diving in.  It was a shallow dive with only 3 sets of this first clue.  But I did pull out a few more pinks, blues, and neutrals I can use for a few more.   

Design Wall Monday - Nov 24 - Switching seasons

I've been sewing a LOT of red, white and blue lately and I love those colors.  But it's time to change seasons, and that means red, white, and green.  Time for me to begin some Christmas sewing!  There will still be some other WIPS getting attention this week too, but Christmas will be front and center. 

Using a 3-yard bundle of Christmas fabrics purchased at our quilt show in October made fabric choices easy for this 3-yard quilt.  Choosing a pattern is much more complicated, because I have several of the Fabric Cafe books.  But I've settled on Splendor.  Let the cutting begin!!

The kit for the December spools mini quilt arrived Friday afternoon in the mail.  Because there aren't too many itty bitty pieces, this one should go together quickly.  These all finish about 13" square, and I want it ready to use by December 1. 

There are a couple of Christmas gifts that I want to make, and one of them involves pulling out this Lori Holt book again. 

Another Christmas gift involves this adorable cat fabric. 

Other WIPs for this week? 
** Hemming a pair of jeans for daughter #2. 
** The Dresden project needs the final couple of diagonal rows attached.

** There are still lots of parts for QOV blocks on the design boards that will be perfect for Leaders and Enders.  

** There is plenty of binding waiting as well. 

We're doing our family Thanksgiving on Wednesday evening so our girls' families can celebrate with the other side of their family on Thursday.  We're pretty flexible so I'm OK with any day and time as long as we get a chance to get together.  It was firmly suggested that I make MORE deviled eggs this year than I did last year.  

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog        

RSC25 - Week #47

It's that time of year when we like to focus on finishes.

Another RSC project is showing progress - the Quarter Dresden project.  Four rows are now assembled, with row 5 sewn but not attached yet.  That leaves 3 to go.  Maybe by next Saturday this one will be a flimsy.  

There is the old joke about "how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!"  One elephant in my sewing room is scraps.  Lots and lots and lots of scraps, no matter how fast I sew.  They multiply at night in the dark don't they?  The main focus this week was a completely scrappy project - organizing, cutting and using lots of scraps from just ONE bin.  Not a rainbow bin of scraps, but red, white, and blue scraps. 

All week I worked on reducing the scraps in the Quilt of Valor scrap bin.  Because I've been very lazy again the past month or so, the canvas cube with scraps from QOV was overflowing and I just kept piling more stuff on top of it anyway.  The yardage in the bin next to it was even a mess.  Time to clean up this whole area so I can actually reach that dresser drawer behind it all.  Sorting and cutting parts for QOV blocks - lots of them - was a daily project the past couple of days. A little at a time, and I'm seeing progress finally.

These are parts for more 4-Patch Fun (Bonnie Hunter) blocks on the small design board.  Because I'm cutting 2" strips for these, the smaller scraps work great.  

Once the 6" units are made, I've been putting 2 red and 2 blue together into 4-sies.  There are 13 of the 4-sie blocks made so far, with the goal being 30.  

Gleam (Cluck Cluck Sew) is a new-to-me QOV pattern this week, and it's a great scrap buster.  I've sewn 7 Gleam blocks (12" finished) from the parts I cut, with many more to go.   So far all have come from that scrap cube.  That QOV scrap cube has been reduced to a manageable level.  It isn't empty, but it's manageable.  

I think my focus next week will be changing over to - Christmas sewing.  

Let's go see what else is happening with scraps . . .
https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/ 

Finished (or Not) Friday

I did finish some binding last weekend.  One side was done in the car on the way to a swim meet Saturday morning - after daylight arrived.  One side was done while sitting in a lawn chair in a noisy gymnasium at the swim meet, in between events and sessions.  And I finished the last little bit on Sunday morning at home.

This is one of the Churn Dash tops that I've made the past couple of years.  It's 48 x 60, so a nice size for kids.  The blocks are 12" finished, and use a novelty print paired with a solid.  Our guild did several baby quilts with this idea, and I just kept making blocks afterward.  There is one block near the center with 6" versions of the bigger blocks.  This is a pattern I'll do over and over again, and the quilts are great for donation.  When shop hopping, I tend to collect cute fat quarters of novelty prints to use in donation quilts for kids.  

The back on this one is fun, and uses up more leftover backing from a previous project. So bright and cheerful.  And the purple binding was cut from more leftover backing. 

When I finish something, it's nice to reward myself with a new START.  I rewarded myself with testing out just ONE new block pattern that our QOV group might use for a block drive in 2026.  This is a free block from http://www.patchworksquare.com called Star On Star.  This site has a whole section with just star blocks, and all of them have 3 finished sizes - 12", 9" and 6".  I've had the QOV scrap bin front and center this week, so it was a quick detour.

Check out more finishes at
https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

Temptation

Do you recognize this box?  It's a quilter's version of an Advent calendar. 

It's this year's Missouri Star Christmas box and I'm having a hard time NOT opening it up.  I'm so very tempted, but have promised myself to wait until Dec. 1 this year.  I've ordered these curated boxes the previous 2 years and it's so fun to have a little something to open each day until Christmas.  Notions, patterns, fabric - lots of fun stuff.  

If I leave the actual packing box unopened, then I have a better chance of not digging into it early.  Both of the previous years I've cheated and opened some things before December.  Will I hold off for 11 more days?

Mid-week stuff

There has been progress with the Dresden project.

The first 3 rows are sewn together.  Because they are on point, the rows are actually done in the diagonal.  The other 5 rows are pinned into the stack and labeled.  Rows 4 and 5 are the longest ones, and once those are done they won't fit on the rug in my sewing room.  The plan is to add a row or 2 each day before working on anything else. 

It seemed like a good day yesterday to do a little more red, white, and blue sewing, and some organizing and cutting too.  And cleaning!!  Underneath the pile on the right is actually a large bin to hold the Quilt of Valor yardage.  Under the pile on the left is a canvas cube holding QOV scraps.  And it's very obvious that the whole mess is out of control - again.  I even discovered some patterns and some random blocks all mixed in with fabric.  It needs some serious attention before it will fit back into the containers. 

I don't have the mess ALL organized and cleaned up, but I did get a fairly good start. The priority for now is to clear out a lot of those scraps by cutting them for more QOV blocks.  Some parts have been cut for more Gleam blocks, and for more 4-Patch Fun blocks.  For Gleam - if I had only 3.5" strips then I cut triangles for the HST units.  If I had 4" I could cut squares to make 2 half square triangles.  The 4-Patch Fun blocks are made from 2" strips - so the smaller scraps get used for them.
  

The Gleam pattern has 4 units that look like quartered stars. Two have light backgrounds, and 2 are reversed.  Each block has just 1 red unit and 3 blue units.  So far I have 4 of these blocks made.  There are enough units made for a couple more blocks.  But the scraps are plentiful so hopefully I'll get enough for a whole quilt just from the scrap bin.  And then maybe the scrap cube will be partially empty, or at least not overflowing.  

While getting some of the mess organized, I was able to kit up the parts for another Quilt of Valor top.  I want to get 3 or more kits put together for our members to work on, possibly at a group sew day. There was a big stack of random 12" blocks, so I sorted out a dozen to make a sampler quilt.  Sashing and cornerstones are cut.  The border on the right side is a Navy themed print donated to us, so this quilt will go to a Navy veteran when it's done.

What else has been going on lately?  We spent Saturday at a swim meet.  Both granddaughters are on the Sioux Falls swim team, and this past weekend both swam at a meet in Yankton SD.

Sophia is 13, and also a wrestler on her school team.  Olivia is 12, and also plays viola in her school orchestra.  The girls had a good swim meet with times improved in nearly every event both days.  We only went on Saturday. 

Tuesday we had rain - and thunder and lightning - a good share of the afternoon.  Our street has a storm drain on each side but both must have been clogged with leaves because this was what it looked like as we left for Brookings about 4:30.  My neighbor said it took the city quite a while to get the drains working again.  Notice how green the lawns are yet.  After that snow we had about a week ago, the grass has turned bright green again.  Crazy weather for November in eastern South Dakota.

A red, white, and blue day

 Monday morning my focus mostly stayed on red, white, and blue.  One project is now a flimsy, and a couple of others are seeing definite progress.

Ribbon is a Quilt of Valor pattern designed by Alycia.  She did this pattern as a mystery sew-along.  It's such a striking design.  My version is what I would call "controlled scrappy".  The checkerboard blocks all used blue-on-blue prints with scrappy white backgrounds.  The red hourglass blocks used red-on-red prints with scrappy white backgrounds.  This flimsy is ready to pair up with some backing and go to be quilted.
https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

Moda Blockheads 6 just ended, and I chose to sew along this year using red, white, and blue so I would end up with another QOV top.  With this layout I had 6 blocks left over, because we made 2 of some.  But if I made one more block, then I could use them ALL by adding another row right under the center medallion.  

So, that is what I did - this is a second version of one block.  Now I have the perfect number of blocks needed to assemble this quilt top without leaving any orphans.  Now that the blocks are done I will assemble the top later in the month.  First I'll need to make space on my "design floor", which is currently holding a non-QOV project.  

The next priority QOV project on my list is Shadow Star.  This one has all the parts for the stars cut, but only 3 blocks have been made.  I need 9 blocks for the layout I've chosen.  It was a 2024 project that was abandoned for no good reason.  Time to get this one closer to the flimsy stage too. 

Because I work on so many QOV projects, my red and blue scraps are totally out of control again.  And the stack of RWB test blocks and orphan blocks also gets deep pretty quickly.  If I'm testing out a block pattern I want to try, I often use RWB scraps, so the block could be used for QOV at some point.  After the holidays, our little QOV group will be ready to do another block drive, and hopefully have a sew day again.  The stack of orphan blocks and test blocks should produce a couple of quilts I can "kit up" for a sew day. Plus there are some panels gifted to our group that I plan to kit up for a sew day.  I actually enjoy cutting and kitting up projects almost as much as sewing them.  

I've also been researching ideas for new blocks for QOV, and one of them that caught my eye was the Gleam pattern.  Gleam is by Cluck Cluck Sew, and can be purchased on Fat Quarter Shop as a download.  I really like this pattern. 

So of course I've been playing with scraps with Gleam in mind.  These made good Leader/Enders during some other projects lately.  I've sewn together some "quarter star" units for Gleam blocks using scraps from previous Quilts of Valor.  I need to reverse the placement of the squares and HSTs for the next ones I make so that the color becomes the background and the neutral is the star.  

These could be a good scrap buster for both QOV . . . and for next year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge in a whole rainbow of colors.  

There are lots of non-patriotic projects that will take priority for awhile, but it's nice to have some of these things organized and on the To Do list.