Scrappy Rainbow Wrap-Up for 2023

The last Saturday of 2023 means that it is time to look back at my different projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This was my 11th year of participating in the RSC, and I am so grateful for the encouragement and inspiration every week from the other quilters. Thanks so much to Angela at soscrappy for continuing to host our link-ups. 

My RSC projects for 2023 were a mix of new projects plus a few that carried over from previous years. That combination of new and old will also continue into 2024. For this wrap-up post, I'm going to start with the projects that were new this year, then work back through the older ones.

16-Patch Stars was the first project to be shared in 2023. I made two blocks each month, then in October all twenty blocks were joined together into this bright and cheery quilt top.

16-Patch Stars, 48.5" x 60.5"

Jabberwocky was another of my new RSC projects for 2023. It is a Judy Martin pattern from The Block Book. I believe the book is out of print, but available at a variety of on-line sources. I made three blocks each month, ending up with a total of 28 (I must have made one extra at some point.) Here are some of the blocks as I was auditioning sashing/border fabrics. I hope to get them assembled into a quilt top in January.

Jabberwocky blocks

Another new project for 2023 was the 2023 Table Scraps Challenge at The Joyful Quilter. Each month we used the RSC color of the month along with assigned letters for inspiration to make something from our scraps. I focused on making placemats, most of them from strips and strings, but some from orphan blocks and leftover pieced units. the placemats are being donated to Meals on Wheels through our quilt guild.

Table Scraps Challenge placemats

My last new RSC project for the year started in a class I took in June, A Maze Zing with Candace Hassan. The original pattern produced blocks that finish at 16" x 24", but I scaled mine down a bit to 13.5" x 19.5". I'm planning to turn these into placemats eventually, plus I will continue making more of them in other RSC colors throughout 2024.

A Maze Zing blocks

I have one finished quilt from 2023 that was inspired by our color of the month in April, which was purple. I had been making little 3" 9-patches from purple squares sent to me in 2017 by Jennifer who blogs at Life"s Little Adventures. I combined the 9P blocks with half-square triangles for a small quilt top. That went together with an earlier purple quilt top of 4-patch blocks to make a reversible quilt I named Pretty in Purple.

Pretty in Purple (front) 36" x 48"

Pretty in Purple (back)

My last RSC project for 2023 is one that was started in 2022, the Rail Fence blocks. Each month I made 30-40 blocks in the color of the month. I ended up with over 300 blocks total and used most of them to make two small quilt tops.

Rail Fence Rainbows, 39" x 48"

Rail Fence Zigzag, 39" x 41.25"

It's not my largest output for a year of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but I'm happy with what got done. I'm hoping to finish more rainbow quilts next year. It's time for me to figure out my new piecing projects for the year ahead.

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday, and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Hands 2 Help 2023

This is the final week for the 2023 Hands 2 Help Challenge, which means it is time for everyone to share photos of their finished quilts!

Hands 2 Help is a comfort quilt challenge that was started by Sarah, who blogs at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Quilters from all over the U.S. and other countries make and donate comfort quilts, either to the organizations chosen for the challenge or they can donate locally. 2023 was the thirteenth year of the Hands 2 Help Challenge, and several thousand quilts have been donated through the years. My first year to join the challenge was 2013, although I haven't participated every year.

My H2H quilt for this year is one that I call "Pretty in Purple." It is my first-ever reversible quilt, with a nine-patch and half-square triangle design on one side. The other side features purple four-patches.

The finished size of this quilt was 36" x 48" before washing. The quilt has been donated to the local Department of Family and Children Services through our quilt guild. I am certain there will be a child who is crazy about purple and will love this quilt.

Linking up with:

Hands 2 Help Challenge at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

To-Do Tuesday 5/9/2023

My last Tuesday to-do list was posted three weeks ago, although I would have guessed that it was only two. Time flies! We have been traveling, including going to the big quilt show in Paducah, which is always a treat. Now I just need to get back into the routine here at home. Here are the results from my last to-do list, plus a new list for the week ahead. The To-Do Tuesday link-up is hosted by Carol at Quilt Schmilt: For the Love of Fabric.

I finished three of the items on my last list, plus made progress on the fourth. I've also worked on some other projects during the extra weeks.

To-Do List for 4/18 - 4/24/2023

1. Flannel baby quilt--quilt and finish   ✔done

I finished this baby quilt, but forgot to get a photo before turning it in at our guild meeting.

2. Pretty in Purple--add larger borders to 4-patch side, prep for quilting  ✔done

This quilt is completely finished, and you can read about it and see more photos HERE.

Pretty in Purple, 35" x 47"

3. Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make a set of purple blocks  ✔done

I finished two sets of blocks for the RSC--Rail Fence and Jabberwocky.

Purple Jabberwocky blocks, pattern in "The Block Book" by Judy Martin

4. Continue working on clearing off cutting table  progress

The cutting table was looking better before our trip, but is back to being a disaster area since.

I've been jotting down possibilities for my next to-do list, but ended up with way too many things to finish in a week. Here is the shorter version.

To-Do List for 5/9 - 5/15/23

1. Ring Around the Stars--add hanging sleeve and label for exhibit

2. Purple placemats--quilt/finish

3. National Quilt Museum BOM--make 1st block

4. Prep for wallet class at quilt guild

5. Rainbow Scrap Challenge--start 1st set of orange blocks

That's will be more than enough to keep me busy for the week ahead. I'll report on my progress next Tuesday, and post a new set of goals too. I'm linking up with other To-Do Tuesday lists at Quilt Schmilt.

 

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA 

Purple Coming and Going

I've got plenty of purple projects to share for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but posting will be more difficult than usual because I'm working with my phone instead of my laptop. Formatting may be tricky today. Wish me luck!

My main purple project for the week was finishing a small reversible quilt that I have named "Pretty in Purple." It has 9-patch and HST blocks on one side, with 4-patch blocks on the other side. The finished size before washing is 36" x 48". This quilt will be one of my contributions to the Hands 2 Help Challenge at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

For the quilting, I stitched diagonal lines following the seams on the HSTs plus through the 9P blocks.

The other purple project was a set of 40 Rail Fence blocks. Each block will finish at 3".

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday, and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 4/17/2023

Yesterday was one of those days that it seemed like the quilting stars were in alignment for me. It's not that I got a lot of quilting done yesterday, but I did make one surprising discovery.

It started with me wondering whether to add a border to my recently completed Pretty in Purple 9-Patch quilt. I've been hoping to finish it off right away and donate it as part of the Hands 2 Help Challenge at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Then I remembered another small purple quilt, this one made from 4-patch blocks in 2020.

My happy discovery was finding out that the two quilts measure the same size across. The 4P quilt was about 2" shorter than the other quilt. Maybe I could make it a little longer and use the two together to make a reversible purple quilt.

This photo shows the two quilt tops next to each other. The top and bottom borders have been removed from the 4P quilt, and new, wider borders have been cut from the same fabric. I'm planning to get those stitched on today.

Check out what other quilters are working on this week at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and at Monday Musings at Songbird Designs. I'm also sharing my progress with the Hands 2 Help Challenge at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 4/16/2023

It has been a busy week around here, but a productive one in the sewing room. I was able to finish two quilt tops last week. The first was the Star Cluster quilt that was being made as part of a quilt-along with our guild (although I may end up adding more borders to enlarge it.) The second was the Pretty in Purple quilt, all scrappy 9-patches and half-square triangles. I'm going to repeat the photos of them from my earlier blog posts in case anyone missed them. Altogether, 4 yards of fabric used and no new fabric added.

Star Cluster quilt top, 45" square

Pretty in Purple, 36.5" x 48.5"

2023 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                    4.0 yards

Used year to date:             33.25 yards

Added last week:                   0.0 yards

Added year to date:             14.5 yards

Net used in 2023           18.75 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. My quilting time over the past week was mostly filled with making little 9P blocks for the Pretty in Purple quilt, plus the HSTs to go with them, then joining everything together, and finally cleaning up afterwards.

15 Minute Challenge for 2023: 

4/9 - 4/15             7 of 7 days

2023 Total      102 of 105 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Playing with Little Purple Scraps

The past week was one of those times that an unplanned quilt project (squirrel!) snuck into the sewing room and wouldn't let go until it was done with me, or rather, I was done with it. This is my Pretty in Purple quilt top.

Pretty in Purple, 36.5" x 48.5"

It all started with a collection of 1.5" purple squares sent to me in 2017 by Jennifer who blogs at Life's Little Adventures. Here's what she sent me way back then.

I sorted all the little squares into matching stacks, then started making 9-Patch blocks with no plan for how I would use them. Every once in a while, I would run across the box with all the pieces and make a few more blocks, but there were still lots of squares to use.

One day last weekend I was having a hard time deciding what to work on after finishing the top of another quilt (see that one HERE), and ran across the box of purple squares while doing a little cleaning up in the sewing room. It was the perfect mindless project--no cutting to do, no planning needed, just sit down and sew 9-patches.

After a couple days of making blocks, I had used up most of the pile of purple squares and had made about 100 blocks. The photo above shows the squares that were left over at the end. The blocks measure only 3.5" unfinished, so I worked up a design adding HSTs to make a bigger quilt.

This photo gives a closer view of some of the fabrics. It's so hard to get a good photo of these purples! I did discover in the process of making this quilt that most of the squares I was sent were purples that lean more towards blue, and the purples in my stash tend to be more on the reddish side. However, I think they all worked together just fine, and it sure feels good to have emptied out that box of little purple squares! 

Be sure to check out all of the wonderful scrappy projects at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge every Saturday, and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

To-Do Tuesday 4/11/2023

 It's time once again to share how I did on last Tuesday's to-do list, then figure out what I'd like to get done in the week ahead. The To-Do Tuesday link-up is hosted by Carol at Quilt Schmilt: For the Love of Fabric.

I worked on some of the quilts from last week's list, plus threw in a couple of unplanned projects. I've even been doing a little bit of cleaning up of my cutting table (badly needed!)

To-Do List for 4/4 - 4/10/2023 

1. Quilt guild BOM--add border #6   ✔done

I completed this border and am thinking about making an even bigger quilt. You can see some progress in yesterday's post, and I will share more photos later in the week.

2. Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make 1 set of purple blocks   ✔done

I made two purple 16-Patch Star blocks, shared in Saturday's post.

3. Pickle Dish--cutting, maybe some piecing   nothing done

Besides the projects on my list, I was also able to take part in a guild sewing day last week. We worked on simple baby quilts from pre-cut kits, and I managed to get this top put together. The fabrics are all flannels.

Another project that I pulled out last week was these purple 9-patch blocks. I had been sent a pile of 1.5" squares of light and purple fabrics several years ago, and occasionally I would make more 9-patches from them. I'm getting close to using up all the squares and decided it was time to figure out a plan for them. This is the start of a setting idea.

To-Do List for 4/11 - 4/17/2023

1. Flannel baby quilt--quilt and finish

2. Purple 9-Patches--finish making blocks, decide on setting plan

3. Rainbow Scrap Challenge--make another set of purple blocks

4. Continue working on clearing off cutting table 

That's the plan for the week ahead. I'll report on my progress next Tuesday, and post a new set of goals too. I'm linking up with other To-Do Tuesday lists at Quilt Schmilt.

 

Happy quilting!

Julie in GA