RSC16 week 33

GETTING THINGS DONE

In the hot weather it's slower going for me.  I'd much rather take a nap.  But I did get several things done for August already.

My first RSC16 block is my sailboat, actually a sloop like one my uncle owned until he upgraded to a schooner.  The sloops have only a single mast, but often fly the mainsail and a jib.  In my purple stash I found a very rich regal purple.  It had to have equally regal golden sails for its important owner.

My 16-patch block resulted in a good range of dark to light purples.  The exact definition of purple eludes me, so I include some red violet hues as well for variety.

My Twinkler star block just called out for the lovely floral at its center, even though I had to cut the fabric in half just to get the best piece.  

Oh well, now I have more scraps and a bit less yardage.  I always like to fussy cut as close to the edge of a stash piece as possible.  This one, however, was worth the sacrifice.

For my improv block I'm trying out black, gray and whites this month.  I've never worked with this combination so it's going to be interesting.  I've seen some excellent examples of b/w used by some terrific quilters, so I might as well stick my toe in the water.

This past Monday I went to my quilt group to show my finished pair of  Pinwheel Row quilts.  Both will probably end up as Project Linus quilts, but maybe I'll hang one on my bedroom wall to enjoy for a while.

I hope all of you are doing okay in this hot weather.  Keep cool by quilting!

I'm linking up this week with

Rainbow Scrap Challenge at

soscrappy 

Modern HST Sampler at

Blossom Heart Quilts

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

OMG for July

This is a pair of Pinwheel Row quilts which have been WIPs for a long time.  I made some progress on getting backings made and getting them pinned ready for quilting. 

My OMG goal is to have them both machine quilted and bound by the end of July, so I don't quit so close to the finish.  They are about 45 inches square and started with a giveaway of 92 HSTs left over from a project by Summer at Easy Quilter.  I turned them into six inch pinwheels and had enough to make two quilts.  The rest of the rows were just added as I had the fabric and thought up some uses, with lots of pinwheels jelly roll strips from stash.

Quilt number One:

 

Quilt number Two:

I'm making this goal for myself and for Project Linus which will be the recipient of these kids quilts.

RSC16 week 26

HALF WAY AND A BLAST FROM THE PAST

It's summer already and half way through the year for many quilt projects, but for Rainbow Scrap Challenge it's less than that for block making.  Some of you friends have amazed me with the amount of work you've accomplished.  I'm not in that category, but it's not a race, is it?  

My latest block for the Modern HST Sampler at Blossom Heart Quilts is done in the teals and lime.  In fact, the block's title is Rock Pools, so I reversed the suggested color scheme and made all the light backgrounds dark and the small dark highlights became light and bright in my watery version.  To me it speaks of cool water in a shady creek with the bubbling sound of the ripples over the rocks.  What better place to spend a hot summer day!

I've also made significant progress on my pair of Pinwheel Row quilts.  I finished the back of this one using strips and remainders from the front fabrics.  Here they are folded in half lengthwise.

The second one will be ready to show next week and I also have the batting purchased, after a fun visit to Hobby Lobby.  

While sorting through some very old quilt projects I was surprised to find four blocks done with curved piecing.  I recognize my fabrics from 20 years ago, but I have no memory of making these blocks.  I had no idea I had even attempted curves.  Guess I was fearless way back when.

I arranged these pieces until I decided this was the best format.  I'm calling it Spinning Curves and will have to let it percolate in my brain awhile to see what comes next.

I'm looking forward to July, but not for the heat.  I have a week to go to work on my Brave Quilter challenge for June, run by Pink Doxies, and finish my slab block.  By the way, did you notice that all my photos this week include teal and lime?    

Have a fun week and check out Rainbow Scrap Challenge at soscrappy    and Sew Cute Tuesday at  Blossom Heart Quilts 

RSC16 week 23

JUNE IS BUSTIN' OUT ALL OVER

On Wednesday. June 1, the first peonies, luscious pink, bloomed.  The first day lilies also opened.  Our garden is also filled with white daisies everywhere.  A beautiful start for my Wisconsin June.

I'm really excited about the color scheme of turquoise with lime green accents.  So my first block for the month is sailing along on a sweet breeze.

However, two of my major WIPs have now become flimsies except for white borders.  These are my Pinwheel Row quilts 1 and 2.  The first one was pretty much done a while back, using HSTs from a giveaway to make the larger pinwheel blocks.  I used two rows of them and added other rows and strips of little pinwheels.

I boxed up all the leftovers and forgot about them until last week.  Ahah!  Maybe I could add a good bit more to make a second one of the same size, about 42 x 42 inches.  When I unpacked the box I was really surprised to find two more complete pinwheel rows plus two extra blocks and other strip groups already done.  There were also plenty more of the small pinwheel strips.  In less than an hour I had the second top completely laid out.  Another half hour and it was all pieced, using every pinwheel block and strip.

 

Now I don't know which one I prefer, maybe the second.  Both of them just happened as I went along and the pieces fell into place.   I'm planning to make more row quilts from now on. 

I hope to see what fun things all of you are doing this month. Join me for Rainbow Scrap Challenge at

soscrappy and Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts