Looking Back at the Rainbows

It's time to get started on another year of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, one of my favorite quilt-sharing groups. Angela is our hostess, and every month she lets us know our assigned color. Everyone works in that color from their own scraps, making whatever projects they choose. Each Saturday we show our progress and share lots of friendly comments.

I have been participating in the RSC since 2013. I enjoy digging through my scraps every month, looking for the colors I need. As I look back at my past projects, it seems that my biggest problem is finishing them. I have only one finished quilt and several unquilted tops. Here are my RSC quilts from past years. The caption under each photo will take you to a blog post with more info about that quilt.

2013 project--Dancing Stars. My first ever RSC project is also my only completely finished RSC quilt. The 6" blocks were foundation pieced. This quilt was finished in May 2015

Dancing Stars 60" x 77"

pattern by Amy Ellis

Scrap Hexies--started August 2013, still in process of joining parts together.

Scrap Hexies

2014 project--LeMoyne Stars. I made LeMoyne Stars in two sizes, 6" blocks and 12" blocks, alternating light and dark backgrounds. I ended up with a baby quilt and two throw quilts, but none of the tops have been quilted yet.

Rainbow LeMoyne, 6" blocks
40" x 48" baby quilt

Rainbow LeMoyne 6" blocks
45" x 60" throw quilt

Rainbow LeMoyne 12" blocks
53.5" x 68" throw

Bowties 2015--Over 500 bowtie blocks were made. About half went into this top, and the rest of the blocks are still waiting 

Rainbow Bowties 56.5" x 72.5"

Circling the Rainbow 2015--All year I appliqued circles to black and white background squares. This top is at the quilter, and I hope to get it back to be finished before long. This may be my favorite rainbow project yet!

Circling the Rainbow  51" x 62"
based on the pattern "True Colors" by Nancy Mahoney
from her book Simple Circles and Quick Curves

2016--RSC Sampler. This was my first time joining in on Angela's yearly sampler quilt. I changed a couple of things around on mine, but it is mostly Angela's design, and I love it!

2016 RSC Sampler
64.5" x 76.5"

My other RSC project for 2016 was the 3D Folded Box blocks that I have been showing every week for the past month (at least, that's how it feels to me!) I am soooo close to having the quilt top finished! I'm going to wait until it's complete before I post another photo of that.

Thanks so much to Angela for keeping this wonderful quilt-along going. I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with writing my blog posts, and I know she must put in lots more time. It has been so much fun seeing all the amazing quilts that people are making, and I greatly appreciate the encouragement that everyone shares each week. 

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. On Tuesday I will also link up with Scraptastic Tuesday at Mrs. Sew & Sow.

Julie in GA

2016 Rainbow Scrap Sampler

There hasn't been much time for quilting recently, mostly due to the Thanksgiving holiday and family visiting from out of town. I wouldn't give up any of the time we've been able to spend together, and the quilting will happen soon enough.

I did find a little time over the past couple weeks to finish assembling my 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sampler quilt top. All year Angela has chosen our monthly color and shared a block pattern. We made 10 sets of blocks, but I have included only 9 of them in my quilt. The last set may make it into the back.

2016 RSC Sampler
64.5" x 76.5"

Our block sizes varied from 3" to 9" finished sizes. I joined my columns of blocks with 3/4" wide strips of background to separate them. The outer border is more of the same background fabric, and the quilt will get finished with a scrappy binding. That's my sister Joan and her husband David in the shadows holding up the quilt for photos.

It's exciting to have the top completed for the RSC project, especially with more than a month left in the year! Up next is assembling my 3D Folded Box blocks into one or more tops.

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. 

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 10/31/16

Happy Halloween to all. Have fun handing out candy to all the little ghosts and princesses. Our neighborhood gets so crazy with trick-or-treaters that we tend to turn off the outdoor lights and hide in the back of the house.

Over the weekend I finished making my last set of blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler Quilt. I switched up the color for one column, and the red Ohio Stars were my choice of pattern rather than the assigned blocks for the quilt-along. I have been moving columns around on my design wall to decide which look best next to each other, and I think this is the final choice. I'm planning to insert 1/2" - 3/4" finished strips of the background fabric between the columns to make joining them easier (no seams to match!)

I am linking up to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, and Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag. Check out all of them for tons of amazing quilting inspiration!

Julie in GA

Rainbow Scrap Sampler Columns

All year long I have been following along with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler. Each month we have made a set of blocks in that month's chosen color, and the blocks get joined together into columns to make the quilt.

I have most of my groups of blocks stitched together into columns. I switched the September blocks to yellows instead of reds, and I am using my red scraps to make a different set of blocks than Angela chose. I still need to make four more of the red Ohio Star blocks.

The only blocks that I'm not sure I will include in the quilt are the grey blocks on the left side--they don't include any background fabric, and they seem too solid and square to me. It's possible I will remake them into another design, or I might just leave them out completely. I am also considering adding narrow background strips between the columns in order to make joining them together easier (less bulk and no seam matching!)

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. 

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday

It's later than usual for my regular design wall post, but that is mostly because there was nothing to show on the design wall this morning. That all changed after I got home from work.  

The blocks across the top are Whacky Pinwheels for the 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge sampler quilt. They were made back in April, but I am getting ready to join them together into a column.

The other blocks are for my most recent new project, the Meadow Mystery Quilt. This is a monthly mystery, hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs. These blocks were the assigned clue for September, and I decided to join in on the mystery on September 30th (nothing like waiting until the last minute!) I also made a stack of HSTs with the same royal blue print and a lighter background. Our next clue comes out this Thursday, so I am very pleased to have these done before then.

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, and Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag. Check them all out to see lots of wonderful creations!

Julie in GA

Scrappy Columns of Blocks

For some reason, my chosen quilting project for the weekend ended up being the 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge sampler quilt. Each month we make a set of blocks in the assigned color, with the plan of joining them into columns at the end of the year.

Our color plan for August was "the hazy purple of a dawn sky with hints of evergreens." I made a set of blocks in purple and green prints, but when I got them up on the wall with the rest of my blocks (including a set in purple from March), there was just too much purple. Fortunately, the August block was a very easy pattern, so I made a new set in shades of grey, our alternate color choice. You can see my two sets of August blocks in yesterday's post.

I briefly considered joining my blocks together in some way other than the planned columns, but the possibilities that I looked at just looked like a jumbled mess. Rather than adding the grey blocks to the box with all the blocks from previous months, it seemed like a good time to begin joining them together. That was so satisfying that I had to keep going. I now have four sets of blocks stitched into columns, but the columns are not sewn to one another yet. I'm waiting until all the different colors are done before I decide on the placement of the colors. There are still two more sets of blocks to make, red for September and October's color, which I am guessing will be some version of yellow.

I am sharing with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework today. On Monday I will link up with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, and Moving It Forward at Em's Scrapbag.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 9/18/16

There was a little more quilting time last week than there has been in previous weeks. I made a tiny bit of progress on getting my stash-busting numbers back to even. Most of the 3/4 yard used was for remaking my August blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge sampler quilt after deciding there was too much purple in that quilt and deciding to go with the alternate color of grey. The group on the top were the earlier blocks, and the blocks below are the new ones. Now I have to figure out what to do with those purple and green blocks!

STASH TOTALS: 

     Used last week:                   .75 yards     
Used year to date:            63.75 yards

Stashed last week:               0.0 yards

 Stashed year to date:         66.0 yards 

 Net year to date:   2.25 yards stashed

I am joining Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking the number of days each week that I spend at least 15 minutes quilting. I am trying hard to get back to my pattern of quilting every day, even if it's only for a short time.

15 Minute Challenge:  
Sept. 11 - 17                 6 of 7 days

Year to date            233 of 261 days

350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

Blocks made Sept. 11 - 17:   16

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  

Julie in GA

Progress in Purples

For the first time in a month, I have both days off this weekend! It feels so luxurious to be off for two days in a row. I hope to get plenty of time for quilting.

Last week I had pulled out my purple scraps, looking for hazy purples with green accents to use for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler blocks. I found several good prints, some of them very old, that combine purple and green, and today I managed to finish stitching up my bullseye blocks. I am especially fond of the paisley in the top right block, and also the mostly green spotty print at the center of the middle row.

As usual, I ended up with an extra block (but that's better than being short by one!) I hope to find enough time between today and tomorrow to cut pieces for my other RSC project, the 3-D blocks. I also need to cut some more parts for my hand-stitched hexagon blocks.

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.

Julie in GA

Playing Catch-Up

It is hard to believe that it is almost 3 weeks since my last blog post, mostly due to an insanely busy schedule at work. I've been grabbing a few minutes here and there for quilting, but haven't accomplished much, and I find it easier to stitch than to write coherent sentences in a blog post.

I did get a day off in the middle of the week, and that was my first chance to pull out some fabric options for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge sampler blocks. Our color assignment this month is "the hazy purple of a dawn sky with hints of evergreens." The alternate color choice is to work with greys. I actually have a decent collection of prints that combine purple and green, so I pulled out strips of all those fabrics, plus some other purples, trying to stay away from the pinky purples.

Then I rearranged all my strips, matching them up in pairs as they will be used in the bullseye blocks for the sampler. I'm planning to use the fabrics that run across the top of this photo as the center squares, and the lower strips to surround them.

Here is Angela's sample of the bullseye block that we will be making. Fortunately, it is a very easy block. I hope to have some time over the next week to start cutting for my sampler blocks, and maybe I can even get a few stitched together!

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.

Julie in GA

Playing in the Pink Scraps

One of my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this year has been the 2016 RSC Sampler. I have been following along each month, making the blocks Angela has chosen in the assigned colors. It's fun to stitch along with everyone else, but not have to decide what blocks to make or what colors to use. Even though we are all making the same blocks, the results can turn out so differently.

This month our block was the easiest one yet, the Indian Hatchet block. I have also seen this pattern called Half Snowballs or Kansas Dugout.

I enjoyed digging through my pink scraps for a variety of watermelon colored fabrics. These blocks were the perfect leader and ender project to have sitting next to my machine while I worked through other quilt projects. The blocks will finish at 3". As usual, I made a few extra blocks so I can choose my favorites.

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.

Julie in GA

Pulling Out the Pinks

Our new color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for July is hot pink, almost to red, with accents of bright green. Angela's inspiration is watermelon, one of my favorite summertime treats.

I haven't gotten any cutting or stitching done with my pink fabrics yet, but I have been making quite the mess by pulling out scraps to choose fabrics for my Folded Box blocks. It's a challenge finding the right combination of light, medium and dark for every block. The squares across the top are for the RSC sampler blocks.

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.

Julie in GA

A Scrappy Happy Week of Teal

There were teal scraps all over the place in my sewing room this week, all being used for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects. I made all of my Split Pinwheel blocks for the RSC 2016 Sampler, including one rebel block that wanted to spin in the opposite direction of all the others.

Split Pinwheels for the RSC 2016 Sampler

There are four more Folded Box blocks added to the two from last week. This has been a great learning experience in choosing fabrics that work together to produce the 3-D effect in these blocks. 

Folded Box blocks, pattern by Donna Lynn Thomas

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.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 5/16/16

My design wall is full of green blocks, all made as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Our color for May is green, and I have been having a great time playing with my green scraps. The two rows at the bottom are my newest Rainbow Scrap Challenge project, the Folded Box blocks (see Donna Lynn Thomas' tutorial for this block HERE.) This is a great pattern for playing with value (light/medium/dark) in each block. Some are definitely more successful than others. I love the 3-D effect in these blocks.

At the top of the photo are 24 Flying Geese for the RSC 2016 Sampler. laid out in the Dutchman's Puzzle pattern. Maybe a future RSC project?

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, and  Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Julie in GA

Gallery of Green

It has been so much fun playing with my green scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month. I have finally settled on my monthly project for the RSC, the 3D Folded Box blocks that run across the bottom of the photo. Above them are my 24 Flying Geese for the RSC 2016 Sampler. I love this layout for the geese blocks; I believe it is called Dutchman's Puzzle. The large geese are not joined together, just laid out on the design wall. The small Dutchman's Puzzle block at the top is stitched together though--that block finishes at only 6". The large geese finish at 3" x 6". And just because I finished it yesterday and it is mostly green, there's one little Glorious Hexagon block.

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. I'm also sharing my scrappy efforts with Scraptastic Tuesday (a few days late!) at Mrs. Sew and Sow.

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 5/9/16

I have been making blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge over the weekend. I am using my green scraps, our color for May, and it seems like all I do is make flying geese units. 

On the left are two 3D Folded Box blocks, and on the right are 8 large flying geese for the RSC 2016 Sampler, plus one small Dutchman's Puzzle block. The larger flying geese units finish at 3" x 6", and the smaller geese in the block are 1.5" x 3".

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, and  Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Julie in GA

Finally Finding the Orange Scraps

It's a good thing that April has five Saturdays this year, because I have fallen terribly far behind on my posts for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Our color for the month of April is orange, and it wasn't until last weekend that I had a chance to dig out my orange scraps. I've been making up for lost time this week--check out my design wall now! Plenty of orange, plus a little brown.

In the middle are my Whacky Pinwheel blocks for the RSC 2016 Sampler. To the left are three orange and one brown Scrappy Trips blocks from my drawer of 3" strips (adapted from Bonnie Hunter's instructions,) and at the top are four orange Folded Box blocks.

I am especially excited about the Folded Box blocks. I have seen this pattern in different places over the past few years, and was always intrigued by the 3-D look you can achieve with the right color placement. The first time I really noticed this block was on the Martingale website in this photo from the book 
Patchwork Palette - No-Fail Color Plans for Captivating Quilts by Donna Lynn Thomas. 

Just last week I ran across it again, this time in a blog post for the Vintage Shirting and Dress Fabric blog hop. This version was also made by Donna Lynn Thomas, and her blog post includes instructions for making a  12" block. I'm not sure if there is another name for this block, so I will go with the one Donna uses. 

My Folded Box blocks will finish at 9" instead of 12". After finishing the orange blocks, I pulled out my drawers of blue strips and cut pieces to make five more of these blocks in blue. I am hoping to make four or five blocks each month, including catching up on the other RSC colors from earlier this year (brown and purple.) 

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. 

Julie in GA

Design Wall Monday 4/25/16

Despite having plenty of stitching time over the weekend, I don't have a whole lot to show on my design wall today. I did finish putting together the pinwheels baby quilt using the second layout that I showed in last week's post (thanks to all for the feedback!) Here is the back that I pieced together for that quilt. The fabrics are all flannels, and that animal print is just adorable!

I finished making the rest of my orange whacky pinwheel blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler. These blocks were easy to make, and I really like the way they look together. I can imagine making a whole quilt with this block pattern (maybe the next baby quilt?) The blocks finish at 6".

I am sharing with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, and  Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Julie in GA

Stash Report Sunday 4/24/16

The pinwheel blocks that I have been making from my collection of 30's fabrics turned into the top for a baby quilt yesterday, and not a moment too soon. My great niece Clara was born Saturday afternoon. I also pieced a back for her quilt, so I will try to get it quilted up quickly. I will probably wait until after I have it finished and delivered before I share the quilt here.

Later in the day I started piecing the orange whacky pinwheel or whirligig blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler. This was my first chance all month to spend any time on RSC projects. I hope to finish the rest of these blocks up today.

STASH TOTALS: 
Used this week:              2.75 yards     

Used year to date:        25.75 yards

Stashed this week:           0.0 yards

Stashed year to date:    19.25 yards 

 Net year to date:   6.5 yards used

I am joining Kate at Life in Pieces in tracking the number of days each week that I spend at least 15 minutes quilting. The more days  I quilt, the more quilts I can get done and the more fabric used. 

15 Minute Challenge:  

April 17-23                7 of 7 days

April total               21 of 23 days

Year to date        108 of 114 days


350 Block Challenge at Prairie Moon Quilts: 

Blocks made this week:  32
Block total for April:      117 

Check out more stash reports at Patchwork Times.  I am also linking up with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework, and belatedly with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Julie in GA

The Purple Production Line

Happy National Quilting Day! I hope all you quilters out there find plenty of time to spend stitching away on a project today. As my Music Man left for a rehearsal this morning, he ordered me to get my butt into the sewing room and make some quilt blocks! Who am I to argue with him about that?

My blogging has fallen behind by a week, but it was for a good reason. We spent several days last week in Wisconsin and had a wonderful, relaxing time there. It was good to get away and enjoy time with family, and now we are working on getting back to normal here at home.

I found some time since we returned to make my March blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge sampler quilt. Our color for the month is purple, and this month's block is the butterfly. I got a little carried away and made a few more blocks than needed, but they can end up on the back of the quilt. I had a great time making the little pinwheel blocks from the leftover HSTs. The butterfly blocks finish at 6" and the pinwheels at 3".

RSC 2016 Sampler

My other purple production has been more nine-patch blocks for my Ring Cycles quilt. I'm trying to decide how big I want to make this quilt, which then determines how many 9P blocks to make. I cut out a stack of the background hexagons and triangles to look at on my design wall, and I hope to get some of them joined together today so I can figure out the finished size. I'm loving the way this is looking, but joining the parts together is going to be a challenge with those odd angles.

Ring Cycles, pattern by Lessa Siegele

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. 

Julie in GA

Brown and Pink Blocks

There hasn't been much going on in my sewing room this week, but I did manage to finish my set of brown and pink "Patience Corners" blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 Sampler. The blocks measure 6" finished size.

I desperately need to spend some time cleaning up in the sewing room before I attempt to work on any other quilt projects. The cutting table has reached critical mass, and it is impossible to do any cutting without moving other fabrics/pieces out of the way. 

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. 

Julie in GA