Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Dark Chocolates

This week went fast, there was a lot going on.  Tuesday night was the end of the year volleyball banquet.  Thursday night was last minute shopping for Drama Teen's entry into the Trunk or Treat competition at her old school. The school has a Fun Night, basically a school wide Halloween party, every year as a fundraiser.  DT wanted to be a witch, but after we raided closets that became a gypsy witch because we couldn't come up with a black dress.  The black cloak she's wearing is from one of my Halloween costumes when I was in high school.  I guess that makes it "vintage" clothing? 

Last night was spent getting DT ready for the Trunk or Treat, which after all the effort spent on decorating the car, got moved inside because of the rain.  After  DT sped off to Fun Night, I spent the rest of the evening finishing up a report for work.  Now it's on my boss's electronic desk top and I'm done with the heavy lifting part of the project.  I promised myself a couple of days off work once I finished up that project.  The plan at the moment is to take a long weekend next week as I now have a new project that kicks off the beginning of next week.  

Add in the one evening spent recovering from a blinding headache, and I didn't get much stitching done this week.  So all I have to show for this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge post is the completion of only one more Twinkle Star.  

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

I always thought brown was a dreary color, but these deep browns come off as rich rather than drab.  I really like these two Twinkle Stars.  The remaining 4 brown blocks are cut out and are sitting at the sewing machine in various stages of assembly.  It will be next week before the all make it to the design wall.  

All the green scraps went into the Twinkle Stars back in May.  Any lime green got used then.  So I'm going to take a departure from Angela's color plan and spend November with my red violet scraps.  Those will definitely make some bright blocks!  

For more rainbow scrappy goodness, check out Soscrappy.  

Weekend Stitching - Lots of Progress, But It Doesn't Show

It was actually a pretty productive weekend in the sewing room.  But it's the kind of productively that doesn't show up on the design wall.  Back to Square One and it's back are all prepped, pressed, packaged and read to mail to Trudy for quilting.  That doesn't make for a very exciting picture though.  Once that was done, I squared up the Layer Cake Quilt Along quilt and made the label for it.  Next step is to make the binding for it.  Hopefully it will be finished by next weekend.  

There was a one change on the design wall this weekend.  

Wonky Star Block:  QOV Block Drive sponsored by Alycia Quilts (tutorial is here) 

Another two Wonky Stars for Alycia's QOV block drive have joined the constellation that's up on the design wall.  I'm hoping to make another 4 blocks by the end of the week for a total of 10.   

You can see more project progress over at:

Design Board Monday
Main Crush Monday
Monday Design Wall
Monday Making

Stash Report - Week 43 of 2015

There was a package waiting for me when we got home from work last Friday.  My Guy asked me which quilt had I ordered more fabric for.  But as I told him, all the fabric I'd ordered had arrived.  Turns out it was from my sister, who dearly loves the Halloween season.  

My Guy said that I must be the good sister (Is there any wonder why I married the man?).  Alas, there were a number of times growing up where I was the evil sister.  Mom's favorite story dates from my 5th year when I cut off what little hair my sister had.  What can I say, I had a thing for scissors even at that young age.  But there were a few times during our teenage years where it seemed my usually dear sister was channeling Linda Blair from the Exorcist.  Thankfully, she grew out of that stage.  We don't get together often these days, but we have a good time when we do. 

There was a reason why My Guy thought the package was fabric. There have been a few packages showing up the last couple of weeks.  The last which arrived on Monday contained one yard cuts for the Zombies in Paris quilt. 

I wasn't sure the one Paris fabric we'd picked was going to work with the zombie fabric.  I'm not sure these two are going to work either, though after discussing it with DT, the map of Paris is likely to end up on the back.  The other two fabrics I ordered are more likely to end up in the final quilt. 

I need to scan the fabrics and then load them into EQ so I can play with layouts and such. If I use the two black background prints, I'm thinking the colors will be black, grey, pink and white.  That is if we end up sticking with the pattern we've already selected.  

So how did the stash fare after the most recent additions?  Here's the damage:

Used last week:  0.53 yards
Used in October:  8.70 yards
Used year to date:  38.68 yards
Purchased year to date:  24.25 yards
Net used for 2015:  14.43 yards

I'm still in the black, which was my goal for this year.  I've bought less than 25 yards of fabric, which is by far the least I've added to the stash the 5 years I've been keeping records.  So it's still a good year on the stash management front.  Maybe I haven't used a whole lot, but I've not added a bunch either.  

That's it for my stash report.  You can see others over at Patchwork Times.  

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Finally A Brown Block

It was a rough week and I'm so glad the weekend is finally here.  It's a bit dreary and cool here, perfect sleeping in weather, so I did.  There's nothing pressing this weekend, so I'm considering just taking a day to stitch for a change, rather than be the responsible working mom that cleans the bathrooms on the weekend.  I've not had a sewing day in what feels like forever.  

The new evening routine is starting to pay off and there's been good progress in the sewing room.  The September Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks are finally finished and there's actually a brown one up on the design wall.  

 Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

These dark chocolate browns are so rich.  I used to think that brown was a dull color and didn't have a place in a rainbow quilt. Now I know better.  

Here's the all of September's blocks.  

My two favorites are the blocks with the teal and the black star points.  There's a project up on the design wall at the moment or I'd have the whole set of blocks up there.  I'm looking forward to seeing this one come together.  

Just one more week in November.  Hopefully all the brown blocks will get done this week so I can move on to November's color next Sunday.  Linking up with Soscrappy.  Tak a few minutes to check out all the fun going on over there.   

Bloggers Quilt Festival Fall 2015 - An RSC Quilt for the ROYGBIV Category

The temps have cooled down and Quilt Market is coming up so it's time again for the autumn Bloggers Quilt Festival hosted by Amy of Amy's Creative Side.  

My entry for the ROYGBIV category this time around is the quilt that's featured in the header.  It's my first finish from playing along with Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Last year she decided to offer a scrappy sampler project as part of the challenge.  The sampler blocks used up lots of scraps so it wasn't hard to justify starting another project.  

The blocks were constructed using Angela's tutorials, but the final setting was up to me.  The black sashing really made the color in the blocks pop,  but a solid black border seemed a bit bland.  After a bit of searching for some inspiration, the idea to add the chevron blocks to the corners was found in Sunny Steinkuhler's book on "Blocks, Borders, Quilts!"  

The color progression in the chevrons is the same as the color progression across the quilt.  The 4 strips added enough color to perk up those bland borders.  

Trudy Lindemann did a wonderful job with the quilting.  She matched the thread color to the block colors and used black in the borders.

Drama Teen wanted something swirly for the quilting and Trudy nailed it.  

Deciding on a color for the binding wasn't going real well. It was hard to pick just one color.  Then I found some yardage left over from backing Drama Teen's first rainbow quilt.  

The rainbow stripe really framed the black while echoing the colors in the blocks.  

Before I could finish adding the binding, the quilt needed a name. Naming quilts is always hard for me and this quilt was no exception.  Drama Teen came to the rescue, she'd just finished a lab in chemistry where they used a flame to identify substances by their color.  You can get just about every color in the rainbow from burning the various elements in the periodic table.  So the name Flame Test seemed appropriate.  I had a lot of fun with the label.  

When I finished photographing the quilt, Drama Teen immediately whisked it away to be her couch quilt.  As you can see in the header picture, Flame Test is already in use and well loved. I've already been informed that it's going to college with her.  

I'm looking forward to checking out all of this year's entries. The rainbow quilts can be found here, while the main festival post is here.   There really is something for everyone.  Thanks for checking out my entry.  

WIPs - Schedules Make a Difference

It's been two weeks since my last works in progress post.  That surprised me till I realized that October hasn't been a great month for spending time in the sewing room.  Typically the concentrated sewing time happens on the weekends, but due to numerous factors, the weekends haven't been very productive.  Plus as darkness is descending earlier this time of year, it's been harder to keep the energy level up later in the evening and I end up going to sleep in the recliner rather than making it up the stairs at the end of the evening.  So I conducted an experiment starting on Monday.  Rather than spending the early evening reading blogs and responding to emails, I've been heading up the stairs after dinner and my evening chores are done.  That's definitely made a difference the last two nights and there's been more progress in the sewing room.  We'll see if I can keep that up once time change is here.  Then it will be dark when I leave work.  I'm definitely not looking forward to that.  

There has been progress.  Only one block needs to be finished to be caught up with the Midnight Mystery quilt. 

Midnight Mystery Quilt From Meadow Mist Designs

The last block is at the sewing machine with just one more black strip to sew down.  

Another Wonky Star for the QOV block drive at Alycia Quilts is up on the design wall.  

Wonky Star Block:  QOV Block Drive sponsored by Alycia Quilts (tutorial is here) 

There are two more at the sewing machine in various stages of assembly.  I'm not sure how many of these I'll make.  The goal is to make as many as possible by October 31st.  These are due to Alycia by November 11th.  

Lastly, I'm almost caught up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks for September.  

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

The last orange block is almost assembled and two of the brown blocks for October are in progress.  Hopefully I'll be caught up on these by the end of the month, so I can get started on November's color at the start of the month.  

The change in my evening schedule seems to have made a difference.  I made some other changes in my work flow in the sewing room and those are helping too.  Now if I can just figure out how to not nod off when reading blogs and answering emails after my sewing time, I'll be in good shape.  

Linking up with WIP Wednesday, WIPS on Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.  

Wordless Wednesday - Autumn Afternoon Walk

Weekend Stitching - Progress on Multiple Fronts

It's hard to go back to work after four days off.  Other than the headache on Friday, it was a nice weekend off.  Drama Teen and I had a great time shopping and meeting friends for lunch on Thursday.  The rest of the weekend was spent on household chores and a lot of time in the sewing room.  

So what's up on the design wall?  A couple of Wonky Stars for the QOV block drive going on over at Alycia Quilts.  

Wonky Star Block:  QOV Block Drive sponsored by Alycia Quilts (tutorial is here) 

  
I've got some blue stars cut out but not yet assembled.  I'm hoping to get at least five or six stars out of this set of left over fat quarters.

The big design wall has the progress made on the Midnight Mystery Quilt. 

Midnight Mystery Quilt From Meadow Mist Designs

Since this photo was taken, the blocks have been taken off the wall and the I've starting adding the black framing pieces.  October's clue should be finished up by next weekend.  

You can check out more going sewing room happenings over at Design Board Monday, Main Crush Monday, and Monday Making.

Stash Report - Week 42 of 2015

The temperature dropped by more than 10 degrees between Friday and Saturday, that seemed to do a lot to drop the pollen counts.  My sinus headache retreated to just a twinge here and there by Saturday morning.  Thankfully that meant I got in some decent stitching time on Saturday.  Drama Teen was off at creative writing workshop on Saturday and My Guy had a boys night out last evening.  I think that was a first for him.  But it meant that DT and I could pretty much do what we wanted for the evening.

There was a bit more fabric added this week.  I'm making 4 graduation quilts due by May of 2017 (Yes that number is one more than I said last week.  DT added one for a favorite teacher).  Since it takes me so long to finish anything, I'm getting a jump on the designs and fabric selection.  Three of the four projects I've worked out themes, but DT has one friend we were both stumped on what to make.  Then I came across this fabric over at Nancy Notions:

This friend is really good at math and is planning on becoming a math teacher.  So this just seemed to be the perfect theme for her.  Now I just need to figure out a pattern to use.  There are lots of fun primary colors mixed in with the black, so there are lots of options to incorporate other colors.  

There were a couple of other novelty prints I just had to order.

Chemistry is spoken in this house, so I just couldn't pass these two up.  I only ordered a yard of each, but My Guy needs a new e-reader cover, so one may get used for that.  Or these is always the possibility of a hand bag.  I could really use a new one.  

So what's the damage? 

Used last week:  7.08 yards
Used in October: 8.17 yards
Used year to date: 38.15 yards
Purchased year to date:  20.25 yards
Net used for 2015:  17.90 yards

Thankfully I had seven yards going out this week.  That was the backing for Back to Square One.  My goal this year is to use more than I buy, so I'm still on track.  I know I need to buy background fabric for one quilt and may need to for another.  So at least 5 more yards are coming in.  But I've yet to count the fabric as out for the Midnight Mystery or Poinsettias quilts.  Both of which I'm pretty sure I'll get to count as outgoing before the end of the year. So I should be able to end the year in the black.  

There are more stash reports over at Patchwork Times.  

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - No Browns, But There is a Plan

It's overcast and cool this morning.  I'm hoping that will lower the pollen count somewhat.  It's been a bad week for sinus headaches, so there's not been much stitching going on.  I'll be really glad when we get our first freeze, that will help immensely.  

I've not felt much like stitching, but there is only so much sleeping one can do even when you don't feel well. Playing on the computer is one way to forget the throbbing in my brain, face, teeth.  We are on the downhill slide to the end of October (really?).  So I've been contemplating what can realistically get done this year and what is the plan for next year. Another Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt is definitely in the plans for next year.   My quilt pattern file is pretty full, so I have lots of inspiration to pull from.  There's the School House blocks, paper pieced Row Houses, and Geese Migration that are already on the possible list.   Here's the latest possibility.

Crazee Patch Heart, block pattern by Marcia Wachuta, available here.  

These paper pieced blocks are 7 X 7, so I'd definitely make more than 12, but that was enough to mock up how they might work out.  I'm not at all sure about the red borders and sashing, but I do like the hearts.  

The plan is to do some stitching this afternoon, after a few of the household chores are all done.  The goal is to get at least one brown Twinkle Star block made before the end of the month.  Now it's time for a second cup of coffee and a peak at what's posted over at Soscrappy.  

Wordless Wednesday - Last of the Roses

Weekend Stitching - A Finished Flimsy

It was a laid back weekend, even though my mornings were spent writing reports for work.  I'm almost done with the first and hope to finish the second by Wednesday.  This week is fall break and all three of us will have some time off.  DT and I have a shopping day planned.  We'll probably spend the other day off doing something as a family.  What I'm not sure, it will depend a lot on the weather.  

It was a productive weekend in the sewing room.  Back to Square One is a finished flimsy.  

Back to Square One by Judy Laquidara (pattern available here)

I'm really happy with how this one worked out.  It's a big quilt, 92.5" x 92.5".  This one was started in 2013, so it's one of the newer UFOs on my list.  The back is made, which took 7 yards out of the stash.  Now all that is left is to clean up the back of the flimsy, press both the top and back so they can go to Trudy for quilting.  I need to get going on that as this quilt is intended to be a Christmas gift, so it needs to get out the door soon.  

That's it for me this week.  You can see more weekend progress over at Design Wall Monday, Monday Making, Main Crush Monday, and Design Board Monday.   

Stash Report - Week 41 of 2015

It looks to be a blustery day, the wind is making the fall rose blooms bob about.  We've had a low key weekend.  I've made progress on my work project and hope to finish it off this morning, along with getting at least caught up on laundry.  The plan is to get in some stitching this afternoon.  

I did get in some stitching late this week.  The last border was stitched to Back to Square One, so it's a finished flimsy.  Look for photos on tomorrow's post.  It's too big for the design wall and it was way to dark downstairs to take pictures last night.  

There was some incoming fabric this week.  My 2015 quilt plan has 3 graduation quilts on it.  Drama Teen has 3 best buddies that she's asked that I make quilts for.  Smart girl, she knows to ask really early as Mom is not a speed demon when it comes to finishing quilts.  Since I need so much lead time, it was time to get serious about deciding on patterns and fabrics.  I'm trying to use as much stash as possible for these quilts, but some of the themes DT picked need me to add a few select pieces here and there.  The first of those are for the Zombies in Paris quilt.   

Zombie Love by Riley Blake Designs

And more for Zombies in Paris:

Spring in Paris by Studio Voltaire

Yes, this looks like a very weird combination.  There is one other "Paris" fabric that might work better, but I'm going to mock up the pattern and see if I can make these three prints work.  This quilt has a lot of background and not much of each focus fabric.  So this may work.  I'll be doing some playing in EQ for sure on this one.  

So what's the damage? 

Used last week:  1.09 yards
Used in October:  1.09 yards
Used year to date:  31.07 yards
Purchased year to date:  13.25 yards
Net used for 2015:  17.82 yards

I'm still in the black and plan to stay that way.  I have one more fabric order that should come in this week. But I also need to make the backing for Back to Square One, that should more than make up for what's coming in this week. 

That's it for me this week.  You can find more stash reports over at Judy's Patchwork Times.  

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Browsing Browns

A weekend with no place we have to go.  Alas that is overruled by the work assignment that needs attention this weekend.  The only good thing is if the assignment gets done, then I can take a couple of days off and just play in the sewing room.  So that is a really good reason to finish the assignment, plus I'm to the point it just needs to be done and off my to do list.  

There was some stitching this week, not a lot but some.  It seems I've been about a month behind all year with the Twinkle Star blocks.  The third orange TS was finished one night this week.

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

The orange and black star is still my favorite so far.  Block 4 is almost done.  Slow progress, but it's still progress. The brown scraps were exhumed from their storage drawer last night to pull the fabrics for this month's blocks.  Here's what made the cut:

Hopefully I'll get started on these before the end of the month. For now I'm linking up with Soscrappy for rainbow challenge Saturday.  

Wordless Wednesday - Soft Focus Autumn

Weekend Stitching - Not Hitting On All Cylinders

It wasn't a horrible weekend, unless you were Drama Teen.  It became apparent Saturday afternoon that the poor girl has a cold.  Miserable is an understatement, she looked really pitiful on Sunday. She's not making it to school today. 

Thankfully, I've missed out on the cold (fingers crossed), but I'm feeling the effects of the fall pollen.  There was no stitching on Saturday, but I did manage some time in the sewing room Sunday afternoon.  Three sides of Back to Square One have the last border attached. 

Back to Square One by Judy Laquidara (pattern available here)

The quilt is too big to show on the design wall.  Here's one of the completed corners.  Just one more border strip and this project will be a finished flimsy.  

I finished the first Wonky Star for Alycia Quilts block drive for Quilts of Valor.  

Wonky Star Block:  QOV Block Drive sponsored by Alycia Quilts (tutorial is here) 

I have a bunch of 3.5" squares left over from a previous project. This is the perfect way to get them into blocks and out of the stash without creating another UFO. Not sure how many blocks will get  made, whatever I can get done by the end of October.  

Hopefully I'll get in more stitching time this week.  It would feel really good to get one more UFO to the finished flimsy stage.  

Linking up with Design Wall Monday, Design Board Monday, and Making Monday.

Stash Report - Week 40 of 2015

It's been a long week without a lot time for stitching.  We went to Tulsa yesterday to celebrate My Guy's birthday.  By the time we got home both Drama Teen and I weren't feeling well.  I'm pretty sure it's sinuses for both of us, but she's in a lot worse shape than I am.  I spent the evening asleep in the recliner, DT was pretty much passed out on the couch.  My Guy was keeping his distance from both of us.  I'm feeling better this morning, DT doesn't sound like she's any better. I do like fall, but the first two weeks of October are usually pretty miserable, there's something blooming that just closes up my sinuses.  

Thankfully there was some stitching early in the week. That's all I have to report as outgoing today.  

Used last week: 0.52 yards
Used in September:  1.71 yards
Used in October:  0 yards
Used year to date:  29.98 yards
Purchased year to date:  10.25 yards
Net used for 2015:  19.73 yards

Not a bad week.  It's actually been a better year than last year, which is good because last year was my worst year ever for fabric usage.  Just 4 more yards out and I'll exceed what I used last year.  So far I've been holding steady on not adding to the stash.  I'm committed to ending the year in the black.  

Though the change in seasons is playing havoc with my sinuses, the cooler temps have brought back the clouds which always go missing over the hot summer.  They make for some very dramatic sunrises and sunsets.  

  
I'm linking up with Patchwork Times' weekly stash report. Check out how everyone else is doing with their stash management.  

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Just a Little More Orange

How did it get to be October already?  Despite the grand plans of last weekend, this week turned out to be a real bust in the sewing department.  Drama Teen needed lots of help with Chemistry homework this week and had requested a girls night out last night.  One night was My Guy's birthday celebration, which was a lot of fun.  So with all the extra activity going on the week got away from me with very little stitching getting done.  

The only sewing related goal where there was any progress was coming up with design concept for the quilt for Drama Teen's journalism teacher.  DT was assistant editor of the Mid-High School's newspaper last year and is the editor for the creative arts magazine for the high school this year.  This quilt is one of four she's asked me to complete before graduation next year.  The three others are for her best buds.  We've got the pattern picked out for first and the concept, Zombies In Paris, (don't ask) picked out for the second. We've hit a wall on any ideas for the third friend,

The only Rainbow Scrap Challenge progress was to finish a second orange Twinkle Star block. 

Twinkle Stars, Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

That black and orange block is perfect for Halloween.  I'm almost done with orange block number three.  Then there are three more left to cut and stitch.  I did start thinking about this month's brown blocks.  I found set of brown squares that were part of a layer cake that I bought last year.  Those fabrics will greatly extend my range of brown fabrics to use in this year's blocks.  I just don't have much brown in the stash.  

That's all from me this week.  There are more rainbow brights posted over at Soscrappy.