Scrappy Stuff: Rainbow Scrap Challenge Projects

I'm really late posting today.   I've added in a Saturday morning workout at the gym to my schedule.  I overslept this morning and couldn't get a post finished before we walked out the door.  Once we got home, things just kept coming up so I'm just now sitting down to write this week's post about all the scrappy stuff in the sewing room.  

There's not much to show on this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge fan blocks, so no pictures. There has been a bit of progress on the sawtooth star blocks under construction for the border of a previous RSC project. 

The dark colored blocks are deep magenta not black.  There are several more stars under construction over at the sewing machine. So progress is slow but steady.  

I've been playing along with Patchwork Times' UFO-2017.  Judy said the project number for December was 6, but we did 6 in October.  I think she meant project number 10, which is my 2015 RSC project, Twinkle Stars (10 is the only number she hasn't used previously this year).  I pulled all the blocks out today to see where I was. 

Twinkle Stars

Tutorial by Andrea Feldbush of Soscrappy

My plan for these was a 8 x 9 layout with one inch sashing.  I'm 4 blocks short.  I'm going to tackle those as leaders and enders once I finish adding the coping strips to the Vintage Dress blocks.  I'm almost finished with those.  

So I doubt any of my remaining RSC projects make it to the finished flimsy stage this month, but there's been good progress this year on moving some of the older ones along.

Linking up with Soscrappy for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and on Sunday with Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap. 

November One Monthly Goal Progress

The last day of November is just about over.  It's been a busy week, both at work and at home.  I've only got 9 days of work left for the year, but that means there is a lot of end of year stuff to finish up if I don't want to fire up the laptop while I'm off.  Work deadlines have meant more computer time in the evenings rather than sewing time.  That really played into how this month's One Monthly Goal worked out. 

The plan was to get all the borders added to En Provence and get the backing made.  Well, the pieced borders have all been added, plus one of the dark blue strips that make up the final border.

 En Provence, A Bonnie Hunter Mystery (2016)

I had hoped to get in some stitching time this evening to get at least one other border strip added, but alas a change in a project requirement at work required me to spend this evening on the computer so the update is ready for approval tomorrow.  The two pieced 4-patch borders seemed never-ending.  So in spite of not getting to the finished flimsy stage, I'm very happy with the progress on this project this month.  

This is only the second time in two years that I've not met my one monthly goal.  I just bit off more than my schedule could accommodate last month.  So what's the plan for December?  I'm not sure yet, I'll have to contemplate on that for a day or two.  

Linking up with the November One Monthly Goal month end.  

Mysterious Stitching

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday out of town, so I didn't get to start on clue number one for the new Bonnie Hunter Mystery till yesterday.  My plan is to only make my version 3/4 of the size Bonnie has planned. 

On Ringo Lake, 2017 Bonnie Hunter Mystery

Here's the first six.  I didn't realize that the red print was directional until these 9-patches were finished.  I've decided not to worry about it.  The print is pretty small, so it won't be noticeable unless you look really closely. I may be sorry that my "brown" (gray) isn't lighter, but it works OK here.  

The only other noticeable progress in the sewing room was on the current leaders and enders project, Vintage Dresses.

 Vintage Dresses by Charise Randell

Three more blocks are now framed and cut to size.  That leaves seven blocks at the sewing machine in various stages of completion.  I'm hoping to get this quilt to the finished flimsy stage by the end of the year. 

I'm looking forward to seeing all the different fabric palettes for On Ringo Lake over at Bonnie Hunter's On Ringo Lake linky party today.  I'm also linking up with the regular weekly parties.  

Monday Making
Main Crush Monday
Monday Design Wall 

Stash Stuff: Week 47

It's been a nice week of stitching, visiting and eating lots of good food.  The Scientist in Training has been home for the long weekend and we've had a lot of fun hanging out together.  She heads back to school after lunch, so I'll head to the sewing room then.  I've not had a chance to get started on Bonnie Hunter's mystery, so that will be the first order of business today.  

There was some stitching going on every day this week.  Though I reverted to hand stitching over the holiday weekend as that's both portable and more socially acceptable.  So far for 2017, I've found at least 15 minutes of stitching time 91.2% of the year.  Hopefully I can maintain that as we head into the busy holiday season.  

Fabric usage was up this week.  Those never ending 4-patch borders for En Provence probably had something to do with it.  

Used last week:  1.19 yards
Used year to date:  54.26 yards

I'm still way off my goal of using 70 yards for the year.  At this point I'm just hoping to break 60 yards out for the year.  

I've written before about my geeky spreadsheet of quilting metrics.  One of my working theories has always been the more time I spend in the sewing room, the more fabric I would use.  Here's how that looks for my sewing time versus fabric out over the years.  

There does seem to be a trend for 2014, 2015, and 2016, but the theory that more fabric is used with more time in the sewing room doesn't seem to hold for this year. And that's with 7 finishes this year versus just 4 last year.  Hmmm, obviously it's not a simple correlation. 

Linking up with Quiltpaintcreate for the weekly stash report.  

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - What Color is Magenta?

Hope everyone in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.  Ours was fun, though the house we rented this year was a lot smaller than the one we rented last year.  Cooking was a challenge, but that's part of the fun.  How My Guy's mother got dinner on the table for 30 plus people out of her little kitchen is pretty amazing now that we've had a go at it.  

I got in a lot of machine time early in the week, but the later part of the week was reserved for Thanksgiving prep and family time.  Even so, I got a decent start on the last of the fan blocks. 

Some of the lighter fabrics tended towards pink.  I wasn't sure of the one of the far right, is that magenta or pink.  Maybe it doesn't matter as long as I didn't use pink anywhere else?  We'll see how they look when I get all 16 of them done.  There's another 3 fan blocks in various stages of construction over at the sewing machine. 

I've also made some progress on the sawtooth stars that will be used in the border for the Inverted Star Blocks.  

I didn't realize how limited the tonal range was for the orange fabrics that made it into these blocks. They won't be right next to each other, but spread across the borders, so maybe it won't be so noticeable then.  One more orange block is in the works and several of the magenta are also in various stages of assembly.  The plan is to make 5 of each color initially, then figure out which colors will have a 6th block.   I really like the offset from block to block, its going to be a fun border.  (I say that now, pieced borders have never been a strength, hopefully these will go together well). 

Linking up with Soscrappy for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and on Sunday with Oh Scrap.