RSC 16 week 32

CHANGING OF THE COLORS

I feel good about getting goals done In July. Namely, I achieved my goal of finishing a pair of Pinwheel Row quilts for One Monthly Goal at Red Letter Quilts for July.  They went from flimsies to finished entirely.  One was done with giveaway HSTs I used to make large pinwheels.  I had enough for a second row quilt as well.  All the other rows came from my stash, both backs as well..

Here is the finished pair:

It's such a good feeling to have those done.  Now I can take on another WIP or two.

I also finished up all my RSC16  blocks for watermelon month, appropriately named for all the heat everyone is suffering through.  My improv block was the final one, a little more on the structured side, inspired by some fascinating crazy stripes.

Sometimes you just have to use certain fabrics which don't let you ignore them, namely the black and rose charms. A little lime and some crazy brown ones thrown in made it quite easy to finish, no agonizing this time.  So I ended up rewarding myself with lots of emoticons this month, which are less fattening than chocolate (which would melt in my hands in the heat anyway).   

For the new purple for August I'm showing you an original table topper from around 1900 done in silks with embroidered outlines.  I have had it for years as part of my small and doll quilt collection.   The silks have shredded over the last 100 plus years, but it is has a great faded beauty.  It is about 14 inches square, has no batting and the back is a faded floral.  It is one of my treasures.

I'm going to continue showing pieces from my antique quilt collection whenever I can get good photos.  It's so nice to see how the quilting traditions have been passed on through the generations.

 

Now that August is here and I'm still spending time indoors with the a/c, I've pulled out all my purple stash again, a lot of it in batiks.  I'm also designing a girl quilt with fabrics I've had set aside for too long.   I hope you all have a good month ahead, keeping cool and quilting.

I'm linking up this week with

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at

soscrappy 

Modern HST Sampler at

Blossom Heart Quilts

RSC16 week 30

SUMMER DOLDRUMS

Because it has been too hot to do anything outside this week  I have had plenty of time for sewing. Then why haven't I got very much done?  I think the heat has been making me sleepy and I'm taking naps all the time.  That and the usual life stuff getting in the way.

I am happy to report both Modern HST Sampler finishes for July, done in happy watermelon colors. Last week I asked for your  advice on background colors, either black or light pink floral to relieve too much white in the Turnstile block.  Most of you preferred the black as being more modern, but it wasn't quite right.  A couple of you suggested purple (why not? ).  Good advice and this is the result.

Thanks to all of you who helped me to decide.

During the week there were too many online sales and I gave in to some, blame it on the heat again.  

My stock of solids and batiks has now nicely filled out and my charge card balance as well.  If a quilter has to have fabric  there is NOTHING that can stop us, right?

Today I'm proud to say that I finished the Introspection block after only three major rippings.  I even took my photos before I realized some of the HSTs were going the wrong way.  I fixed that, took more photos and twice found some of the chevrons aimed wrong.  Alter much grinding of teeth and backbreaking labor, here is the final product.

Another gorgeous William Morris Jewels was so perfect for the rosy print HSTs that I also added it to the center square.  Thanks, Barbara Brackman, for your talented repro designs.

This long final week of July will give me time to do an improv block and bind the two Pinwheel quilts.  I hope you all find time for doing quilting and having fun.

I'm linking up this week with

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at

soscrappy

Modern HST Sampler at

Blossom Heart Quilts

Sew Cute Tuesday, July 19

TURNSTILE FINALLY DONE

In my previous post at RSC16 I showed two mockup versions of Turnstile to ask for opinions whether to go for a black dotted background or light pink with flowers.  Most people liked the more modern black look, but it seemed too harsh for my taste.  My final choice, suggested by some folks, was purple, which I am happy with.

Thanks for all the input, dear friends.  And thanks to Alyce and her Modern HST Sampler for giving me this fine practice in HST designs.  

MY FAVORITE SCRAP PROJECT AND WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

First of all I have to admit that I do not have pounds and acres of scraps as some of you long time scrap collectors do.  I have lots of yardage, fat quarters and other pre-cuts  especially jelly roll strips and charms. My actual crumb collection is what you see here. It doesn't even fill a quart-size bag.

I do have larger sizes organized and ready to use or cut down, but they are not truly scraps.

One of my monthly goals this year is to make an 8.5-inch slab block using the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colors of the month.  For some reason I always do my other blocks first, like the Twinkler and the sailboat, but I keep putting this one off.  Maybe my excuse is to use the other pieces first and use the leftovers for this block.

However, an interesting thing has been happening since I learned about slab blocks from Joy at The Joyful Quilter.  They seem to fit my more architectural leaning than real scrap quilts as of old.  I love the riot of colors, but I prefer structure rather than randomness.  This has all gelled in my mind in the last few months.

These are my first four slab blocks for the year.

Obviously they are mostly rectangular and becoming more focused on a theme or fussy cut block like the flowers.

Each month I have put more time into thinking about them and not doing anything randomly.  I realize now that they have become improv blocks, if there is an actual definition of one.  To me it  does not involve a pattern, but grows organically as I play and make choices.  Playing is sometimes hard work.

Here is the improv block for May, using green, but brighter greens and bits of other colors.  I call it A Gathering Of Doves.

My June improv block started with a flower iwith hints of aqua, the main color.  It evolved by balancing that orange with a pink little building, adding floral fabrics and even a piece of Ruby chard stems as tree branches.  It became The Neighborhood Flower Shop.

Does any of this make sense to you?  I felt a need to post these thoughts and photos to illustrate the process of improv, at least in my thinking.  And it definitely does us my scraps and crumbs.  Now I need to get busy on the next Modern HST Sampler and my July improv block.

JOIN IN THE FUN AT

Oh Scrap at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at soscrappy

Modern HST Sampler at  Blossom Heart Quilts

Oh Scrap, July 17

MY FAVORITE SCRAP PROJECT

First of all I have to admit that I do not have pounds and acres of scraps as some of you long time scrap collectors do.  I have lots of yardage, fat quarters and other pre-cuts  especially jelly roll strips and charms. My actual crumb collection is what you see here. It doesn't even fill a quart-size bag.

I do have larger sizes organized and ready to use or cut down, but they are not truly scraps.

One of my monthly goals this year is to make an 8.5-inch slab block using the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colors of the month.  For some reason I always do my other blocks first, like the Twinkler and the sailboat, but I keep putting this one off.  Maybe my excuse is to use the other pieces first and use the leftovers for this block.

However, an interesting thing has been happening since I learned about slab blocks from Joy at The Joyful Quilter.  They seem to fit my more architectural leaning than real scrap quilts as of old.  I love the riot of colors, but I prefer structure rather than randomness.  This has all gelled in my mind in the last few months.

These are my first four slab blocks for the year.

Obviously they are mostly rectangular and becoming more focused on a theme or fussy cut block like the flowers.

Each month I have put more time into thinking about them and not doing anything randomly.  I realize now that they have become improv blocks, if there is an actual definition of one.  To me it  does not involve a pattern, but grows organically as I play and make choices.  Playing is sometimes hard work.

Here is the improv block for May, using green, but brighter greens and bits of other colors.  I call it A Gathering Of Doves.

My June improv block started with a flower iwith hints of aqua, the main color.  It evolved by balancing that orange with a pink little building, adding floral fabrics and even a piece of Ruby chard stems as tree branches.  It became The Neighborhood Flower Shop.

Does any of this make sense to you?  I felt a need to post these thoughts and photos to illustrate the process of improv, at least in my thinking.  And it definitely does us my scraps and crumbs.

JOIN IN THE FUN AT

Oh Scrap at  quiltingisbetterthanhousework.blogspot.com

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at soscrappy 

Modern HST Sampler at Blossom Heart Quilts

RSC16 week 29

EVERTHING'S COMING UP ROSY

This was a productive week for me, trying to get my commitments done.  My OMG goal for July is to finish my pair of Pinwheel Quilts, which were just flimsies about 42 inches square.  As of today I can report I have finished the quilting and have only the dreaded binding left.  My arms got a workout doing those twisting rows and straight ones were easier.  

Here is my progress on the Modern HST Sampler called Turnstile.  It consists of many smaller HSTs and lots of white, too much for my liking.  I'm torn between two different background colors and could use your input.  It is a modern series, but lately I've been using more foliage for the greens.

 Number One is modern:

I know the black is a strong contrast, but it makes a statement ( what it says is whatever you think, like Wake Up!, or just Yuck, I hate it! )  

Number Two is definitely traditional:

The light is not great  but it is a pink floral on white.  It's stretching my limit of what is modern, but it would blend better with other blocks.

My ROSY Twinkler is one I'm very happy with summer at its best.  I just love it.

I'm joining another project, Melody Larson's Focus on Fusing, which is just starting and I'm waiting for a fabric order to arrive so I can get going on learning her methods.

Do check out what others are doing.  I link up with RSC16 at  

soscrappy and Sew Cute Tuesday at