It must be home.....

I've hung the first quilt!! I pinned this little personal challenge quilt above my sewing machine, It's an odd little thing, but I like it, and it's hand quilted, something I'm not doing much of anymore My hands have grown quite stiff over the past few years.
Ebby says it's home, she has found a pile of quilts I'm sorting.
This week I'm working on finishing up this Scot's Plaid from the Rainbow Scraps Challenge of 2011.

And last, but not least, another snow picture for those of you who don't have snow of your own...enjoy!

Muddling through the days...

and if I may say so, I'd rather be MOVED than waiting. But it's not up to me, and so I wait. I'm doing the Rainbow Scraps Challenge this year, and in addition to working with one color a month, I'm making an additional block for a dontation quilt. I chose the Shoo fly as it's quick, easy and works well with scraps. One block for each month won't do it, however, and I'm adding a 2nd and maybe 3rd as time goes by.
 I'm also playing along with Julie K's plaid quilt-a-long. Didn't realize I'm quite short of plaids! I love hers and to me it reads as warmer "fruity" kinds of colors. I'm lacking in those! But I'll muddle along and see what I can find.
 I couldn't resist jumping in when Amanda Jean, of crazy mom quilts, announced a 36 patch quilt-a-long. I had a jelly roll that I was itching to get used, not realizing you can't get the required number of 2.5" squares from one set of strips. Sooooo? What to do?, I scratched my noggin and opted for a 16 patch instead! I can make 2 of the 16 patches from one set of strips, and that will work just fine with the jelly roll. The one I'm using is Sandy Gervis's Merry and Bright, from a couple of Christmases ago. I won it in a giveaway.
 
And last of all, I want to thank you for all the lovely good wishes and happy thoughts you gave me when "the babies" arrived. Sadly, they returned to their former home and Mama cat late the next day. I knew it would be a rocky "go" with Ebby as she's so very damaged in the trust and comfidence department. I hoped she's come around to them gradually and even if she only tolerated them, it could work. Her reaction to "seeing" them in her house was quite spectacular, to say the least! I've never hear that many non-stop hisses come from one cat. She did a quantum dive under the bed, and 37 hours later she was still there. She ventured out a couple of times but the instant she saw them, it happened all over again. I tried to talk to her and reassure her, but all she could do was crouch and hiss at me. I felt certain she'd come out for water, litter box and food during the night(kittens slept in the carrier, locked in) but she didn't.
By early afternoon the next day, I knew she'd be in trouble if she didn't drink or relieve herself soon, and made the decision to return the kittens. Luckily I could do that. They were gone and things cleaned up by 4 0'clock, but it was nearly 8 that night before I looked down and saw her sitting by my chair. She was very skiddish the next 12 hours or so, and spent alot of time smelling every where they had been. By the next day, the 30th, she was gradually relaxing back into her old self. Jean and other friends who encouraged me to "give it a try" felt terrible, but I don't. I realize now that she's a unique case, and while I may not "like" what she's been stuck with, we are a couple of old ladies just "chillin'" together. If anything, she's calmer than before, and a bit more affectionate. Strangely enough, she seems to trust me more...go figure!

Cold, rainy Wednesday...

in The Valley, definitely a "make your own sunshine" kind of day. Here's a little sunbeam from my house to yours *VBS* My youngest grandson AJ, who turned one in May. This is last summers picture and the only all YELLOW quilt I've ever made. Didn't know it would turn out to be "his" quilt when I made it, but the fit is perfect. He's got a million dollar smile and is a happy sunny baby.
 I've mentioned before, once a month at least, that I'm taking part in a Rainbow Scraps Challenge this year. The color for June is yellow. And I have lots and lots of yellow scraps. I use yellows, golds and cheddars frequently in my scrap quilts. I love the sparkle they provide. But I was hard pressed to choose a block to showcase 'yellows'. I thought I would do the "Spools" block. I like it and it's fairly direct, whether planned or scrappy. I found, however, I'm not crazy about the sew and flip aspect, and the idea of making a whole quilt with the 4 s-&-f corners didn't enthuse me. I had scraps left from the Sunnyside Up quilt, and decided to meet my obligation by re-purposing them into 5" 9 patches. An entire quilt of them is NOT the plan. They will become part of something else, eventually. I'm an OLD dog, but I can learn a new trick, LOL.
 Although some of you think all I do is play games on FaceBook, I really DO sew quite a bit. I pulled some scrappy parts from a bin and made up this little table topper for July. Quick, easy and happy. It's about 20" square.
 
The Rubbermaid I'm working on emptying is the one with the 2008 Orange Crush Mystery from QuiltVille. I stopped several blocks and the half row, short of getting it finished...no surprise there. I've cut the parts I need and am sewing on those right now. No promise that I will do the pieced border! I hope you have sunshine in your corner of the world today, as for WI, we need the rain.

Moving right along...

on my self-appointed journey, I'm making progress in the "finish it up" department. Mostly I'm guilty of having too many of those "bright idea" flashes in regard to starting quilt tops. This is one of those.
 Found this really cute "picture" fabric at Mill Ends awhile back and although it was printed with a lovely light blue in between the pictures, I had a bright idea! Cut all the pictures OUT and add strips...would be far more interesting, and use up some stash. Am I often guilty of re-inventing the wheel? Oh ya, big time! But it does make a cuter quilt top...*VBS*
 This is the finish of my April Rainbow Scraps Challenge. I added April's color to an already begun project, and now it's a 45" X 63" top, ready for donation.
 
Another older "begun" that I had hoped to finish for Christmas 2010. Didn't happen then, but it's a top(48" X 60")now. I will add 6" borders to this one, and finish it up for a family member, by tying it with a puffy batt.
I thought I had taken a picture of the second Friendship star top that was made from the leftovers of the red star one, but it's not in the camera..uppps, senior moment. Guess I'll save it for tomorrow. My empty container total for last week is 3, hurray for me!!! And they are already filled with new WIP quilt tops, ones that will take awhile to have enough pieces.
Apparently I will never run out of pieces from my scrapbag, LOL.

In the PINK....

 which is perfect for my plump friend here *VBS*
 Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat???? Ms. Ebby says "who's plump?" Definitely you DON'T mean me, right??? It's May, and the Rainbow Challenge color this month is "pink". As a teenager of the "50's", I know all about PINK. Like "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White", or "A White Sports Coat and a Pink Carnation", I could go on and on, but it's better if I don't.
 I didn't have any UFO's started in pink...that in itself is amazing! So, I got to pick a block I've seen floating around and wanted to try....Scot's Plaid. I have admired one of Brenda's, at Scraps And Strings. Her's was totally scrappy, but it works in pinks!It's a simple block that lends itself well to whatever size square you want to work with. Choose a size for your biggest square(mine are 4.5") and cut the rectanges accordingly. You need 1-4.5", 2-2.5", 2- 2.5 X 4.5", and 2- 2.5 X 6.5". It works up really fast once your pieces are cut.
 
I began cutting scraps on Monday, and as of this morning, I have 30+ finished blocks. I'm heading for 48. That should give me a quilt top that is 48" X 64". And it's one of those blocks that you can lay out in different way. This pic shows a staight side to side set without flipping anything around. The really good news is that since I'm making so much progress early this month, maybe I can finish up one of the ones I started in Jan, Feb and March, LOL.

Clean Up is harder.....

than preparation, I'm learning this week. At my age, with nearly 30 years of quilts behind me, you'd think I'd know it all...or nearly, right? Well, that's definitely NOT the case. That statement has little or nothing to do with these Rainbow Challenge "almost" finishes for April. I chose to spend my time and effort on things already begun, instead of starting anything new with purple scraps. That worked out fine. This one will need borders, since its only 36 X 48. I wish I had enough to make it one row wider, but I don't. So borders will have to do.
  In early April I had about 8 or 9 blocks made for an all purple scrap Yellow Brick Road pattern. I've brought the count up to 30, which gives me a 45 X 54 top, not sure if I will add borders to it or not. The blocks are ready to be joined up, but haven't laid them out as yet. My back has been acting up more than usual, so bending over blocks on the floor just won't do.
 I did get the machine quilting finished on this one in April, but of course, now I've mislaid the binding strips!! Hope to find them soon and get them sewn on. This one can be a donation quilt if we find a place that needs it.
 
Most of April's quilt related work has taken place at the dining room table, good light there, iron all ready on my right hand, DVD in the machine giving me some company as I work, and lots that needs doing. I did finish making the needed blocks for this Bricks and Stepping Stone(ala Bonnie of Quiltville) top. I don't love it, but then I pretty much never did.Let's call that Lesson#1, it's hard to finish up those you HATE! And Lesson #2 these past weeks is a repeating lesson, soooo many of my blocks come out smaller than they should. I have the "extra expense" 1/4th inch foot for my older Pfaff. It just doesn't do the trick...or does it? What I also learned, or maybe just realized, but lets call it Lesson #3 is that I AM NOT an accurate cutter. For most of my years, cutting has been done standing up at a table or counter. Seldom did I have good light on what I am doing. Often I was cutting late at night, etc, etc, etc. Sound familiar??? Over time the lines on the rulers wear away from the oil in our fingers and they get hard to see. Then lets toss in the ongoing damage to my eyes from a series of eye disorders. That began in 1988, or at least that's when I really began to notice. Hmmmm? I began to wonder and when I pulled out older projects, especially my "bits and parts" I discovered that most of my 4.5" 4 patches were actually 4.25" 4 patches. No wonder my blocks and rows come out the wrong size. I do see an improvement in things I have cut while sitting at the table with good light...another lesson learned! But I have some agony ahead as I finish up the older projects. And I am going to finish them! I have managed to empty 4 rubbermaids over the past week and a half. Besides what I am showing today, I have another set of blocks nearly all joined together. And a finished up set of blocks that need lattice. I've picked my project for the Rainbow Challenge with it springy PINK/ROSE color and have been cutting for that. Onward!

On a Monday in the Valley....

I'm trying to get myself back into the swing of daily life. My daily life that is. Even from the distance of only being a family friend and quiltmaker, I'm in a place where everything hurts. Keeping life close to home seems the best right now. I have gotten some Quilts for Japan together. These two are going.
 And also these two. Betsy has 3 ready to go, and will take care of getting both hers and mine to where they need to be. Today I begin to focus on the Rainbow Scraps Challenge projects. Each month a color is selected, and if you are participating, you work with scraps of that color. April's color is purple, and I have lots and lots of purple scraps. But I'm shifting gears slightly this month. W I've come to realize this challenge has produced a new quilt for each of the past 3 months. Two started in January's blue scraps, and another in February's red scraps. March's green scraps added one more. Of those 4 "started" NONE are finished or even close. That does NOT bode well for someone who is overly prone to UFO-itis!! Sooooooo...
 When In April purple scraps, I've decided to work with purple scraps to finish up two UFO's. This one is "purple" enough to qualify in my opinion. The other is an ancient Yellow Brick Road, at least one decade old! I made 9 blocks and promply bagged it. I like the idea of that Yellow Brick Road pattern, but the 9" blocks always seem clumsy to me.
 
But I will use my purple scraps(hoping at least SOME of the original purples are in the scrapbag or stash, and finish it up!! Same for the one in the 3rd picture, set with those 5" puple polka dots! Onward!

Sewing....

and some progress to report. It's a sunny Monday in the Valley and warmer temps are promised all week. Rain in the forecast off and on, but that will take down our snow pack. This quilt was made for a Wrapped In Hope child in MI. The Wrapped In Hope project is part of Margaret's Hope Chest. I've signed up for two birthday's this year.
 A close up of the block I learned from Scrappy Quilter. Other than the background(green in this case) it doesn't use much fabric at all. My birthday girl was S, with a birthday in mid February. You can learn more about birthday gifting a child at Margaret's Hope Chest.
 I've been working on the March Rainbow Challenge, green. I had lots of green scraps, and quite a few were larger, so I decided to do the Hourglass block (5"as shown here). I cut my scrap to 6" squares, size to 5", and that gives me a 4.5" block finished. I need quite a few. I've gotten 70 done so far.
 
And since the Rainbow Challenge began, I've also been sewing my MAM(mile-a-minute-tutorial on sidebar)blocks. I like to work with the smaller scraps but it does take longer to get to 6.5". Eventually you need strips that are longer for the outside, or you can piece just that many more small ones together and use those as a "strip". I like the combo of small scraps,odd triangles and slightly longer strings or strips. Making them by any method you choose works just fine. I'm up to 172 in this pan. I stack them in sets of 10(easy to count and to remember), and then stick a slip of scrap paper(that's the white you see at the edge of the block)in between stacks rather than pin them together. When I do put them together, I'll pull from one pile and then a different one. While adding strips,at the outer edges, it might be the WOF. And that gives you the same fabric on several blocks. That's too much same-ness when joining up, so I randomize my "grab and sew" process. MAM quilts are also a great place to stick any wonky stars, house, etc and even an odd letter or to!! OK Finn, back to work!

Into the rabbit hole...

tumbling, end over end, head first into an upside down world.Memory serves as no guide here. Actions are by instinct or impulse, you choose. The grinning cat blinks and disappears, the friendly rabbit has no time for such as me. Blackout? White-out? Rabbit hole? It all looks the same. Take refuge amid the scraps, hunker down and wait. Welcome to my world *VBS* I'm here, playing hopscotch or leap frog, or duck, duck, goose amid the blues. I came late to the rainbow party and there isn't much chance I'll finish before the next month's color is announced.But I'm having a ton of fun, and in January, in WI, that seems like a wonderful idea!
  I've been turning my scraps into strips, and strips into 9 patches that look like this. I've only "sort of" made a dent in my pan of blue scraps, and what I'm finding is that I'm dreadfully short of light blues. Apparently I like intense color...who could have guessed that? Me? Not a pastel person. I have a plan for these 9 patches rather than my usual haphazard way of just "making it and figuring it out later". My only question is "how many" do I need? Time for some math, I guess.
 This is where I am headed with the blues. I think it's going to work fine, and for now, I'm planning a BIGGER,rather than smaller, quilt. One block, finished to the light strip that seperates them is 14.5". Knowing that I can do the math for whatever size I want. The question I have for you is this...does the amount of light overpower the 9 patches too much? I've stewed about that all the while I was putting my idea together. There is very little white in the 9 patches. I tried to keep the 'lights' to light blue, or a blue print with some white(and a few other colors). It definitely won't have a heavy look about it. I can see it doing nicely as a summer quilt. What do you think????
 
And since my blue scraps are fairly ample(like that fat rabbit) I'm sewing some 2.5" strips into another "strippy" top. I'm heading for 54" X 72" with this one. I folded it in half for the picture. I've kind of steered clear of the aqua tones, tossing them into a seperate pile. The piece is 11 strips wide right now, headed for 27...or less if I run out of blue or get tired of it.

Color me blue....

Many of you will remember this quilt. Made years ago from a 9 patch project at a quilting retreat. I used my 9 patches(plus Betsy donated hers to me)and my tub of black scraps, to make the quilt. I liked it, and I utility quilted it. A couple of years ago, GS Nathaniel adopted it for his own. He's not hard on quilts like some boys are. It came home with me the day after New Years to be washed.
 And this is what washing revealed and what makes me blue on this January Monday. Actually, it would make me blue ANY day. Scrappy blacks and not knowing what could happen. This is what ALL the poly or poly blends are doing...shredding, or fracturing, if you prefer. In a few places they are gone completely except for the 1/4" seam and the row of stitching. On close inspection, the bad strips are outnumbered by the good cotton ones, so mending is my answer. I feel the quilt has many good years left, if I deal with the fractured ones.
 This is how I am doing that. Look close and note the PRINT pieces where lattice used to be. I don't see well enough to cover the bad ones in plain black. So I'm using print strips. I lay them over the rotted area, and sew down that first 1/4" by hand. Then I finger crease the other 3 sides and flip the patch into place and pin it. Using the same stitch as binding, I sew those 3 sides down by hand. So far I've patched roughly 12-15 spots..and have a few more to go. I'm happy that the cotton outnumbered the poly in those black scraps. It's slow work, but I've been doing it in the evenings as I watch TV.
 
On a happier note, I've joined the 2011 Rainbow Scraps Challenge at Super Scrappy. A color is assigned for each of the 12 months of this year, and you make whatever you want from scraps of that color. January is blue, and I'm using some of my blue scraps to make "you guessed it" 9 patches. I've gotten a late start since I just joined yesterday, but I'm ok with that. It is the result of a blog hopping trip last evening....love what turns up when you blog hop!!!