Scrappy Rainbow Wrap-Up for 2022

2022 was my 10th year of participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, hosted by Angela at soscrappy. I love the combination of the limitations imposed by monthly color assignments along with the total freedom to make whatever we choose. Then there's also the fact that the RSC participants are some of the friendliest and most inspiring quilters you will ever find! Thanks so much to Angela for keeping us all motivated every week/month, and to everyone else for the feedback and encouragement.

It felt like my RSC projects were somewhat neglected this year, but as I started looking back at photos and blog posts, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I got done. I started the year with three new RSC projects, plus a few others that carried over from last year.

1. Charm Baskets was my favorite new RSC project for 2022. I made over 200 basket blocks, 4" finished size, for this quilt top.

Charm Baskets, 52.75" x 69"

2. The other new RSC project that made it to the finished quilt top stage was Scrappy Hearts.

Scrappy Hearts, 45" x 52.5"

3. The third new RSC project for 2022 was the Scrappy Rail Fence blocks. My original plan was to make these blocks as leaders and enders, averaging one little 3" block every day using that month's color. I got through four months before losing interest, but I might try again next year because I love the way they look together.

Scrappy Rail Fence blocks 

4. There were three projects that carried over from last year. The first was the Bowties 365 blocks, which were my daily block project for 2021. I joined the blocks into four sections, intending to quilt each section separately, then join them. However, now that I have a bigger machine for quilting, I should be able to put these all together before quilting.

Bowties 365, 44" x 58" (after sections get joined together)

5. Another ongoing project was the Applique Hearts. I always like to have a hand stitching project in the works, and these heart blocks were started in July of 2021. I have around 70 hearts blocks made and need to figure out how I am going to put them together, possible framing them with more scraps like the two red and one green block in the photo.

6. Glorified 9-Patch was a carry-over project that actually became a quilt top. I made the last sets of blocks in October, then joined them all together and added a border.

Glorified 9-Patch, 48" x 48"

One of my RSC goals for 2022 was to pull out a UFO/WIP each month, using the color of the month for my selection. This didn't happen every month, but I did make progress on several old projects.

7. My Storm at Sea Heart got the borders added during the red month, January, bringing it up to 30.5" x 27.5". I'm hoping to get this quilted up soon and put it up for Valentine's day.

8. In April, I combined some leftover pink fabrics from a 2014 baby quilt with pink solids to make an Uneven 9-Patch quilt, 42" x 49". 

9. In August I made a small quilt top from an old block and a collection of orange HSTs. This Orange Medallion quilt top measures 41.25" x 54.25".

10. I also pulled out a very old Snail's Trail UFO (from 2001) that had plenty of orange in it. I finished making the blocks, then got them joined together into this little quilt top (31" square.)

11. In September, I finished assembling the Spinning Boxes quilt top (53" x 69") that had been started as an RSC project in 2018. 

12. After buying a new Juki machine to use primarily for free-motion quilting, I went on a quilting binge in August and September, finishing off a few former RSC quilts. The first was made from Rainbow LeMoyne Star blocks that had been made in 2014. The quilt finished at 32.5" x 42.75".

13. The next finished RSC quilt was Crossroads in Green. This quilt's top was also made in 2014, and I got it layered and partially quilted that year, but then was stuck on how to finish the quilting. The new machine made life much easier, and I was happy to finish this quilt (44" x 56") and gift it to a friend.

14. I'm always happy to have a reason to make another baby quilt, and fortunately, our nieces keep on having babies! The latest was born in October, and I finished off one of the Scrap Dance quilt tops that I had made as part of the RSC in 2020 for her. This quilt finished at 39" x 46".

I think that's the end of the list of RSC projects from 2022, and I'm amazed at the final number of quilts and projects. By my count, I ended up with 4 finished quilts, 7 quilt tops plus 1 nearly done top, and 2 projects needing blocks made or joined together. 

Now it's time to finalize my plans for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in 2023. Join me in checking out all the other wrap-up posts from the rest of the RSC quilters. I'm linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge on Saturday and at Oh Scrap! over at Quilting is more fun than Housework on Sunday.

Happy new year and happy quilting!

Julie in GA

Best of 2022--End of Year Review

The end of another year is upon us, making this the perfect time for Cheryl's Best of 2022 Linky Party at Meadow Mist Designs, a chance to link up our top blog posts from the past year. Cheryl suggested some ways to choose our best posts such as most views, most comments, best tutorials, and favorite finishes. I'm going to include several of those suggestions. Each listing has a link back to my original blog post.

1. Most views: Rainbow LeMoyne Row Quilt. 

The blocks for this quilt were left over from a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project in 2014. I joined them into a quilt top last December, started quilting in January, 2022, and finished the quilt in early August.

Rainbow LeMoyne Row Quilt

37.5" x 42.75"

2a. Most comments (tie): Charm Baskets

Charm Baskets was one of my 2022 projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, based on the pattern by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts. The finished size of each block is 4", and I made 15 - 25 blocks each month in the assigned RSC color, ending up with over 200 blocks total. 215 of those blocks were arranged in a wash of color, then joined together into this delightful quilt top.

Charm Baskets quilt top

52.75" x 69"

2b. Most comments (tie): Rainbow Accordion

The Rainbow Accordion quilt was my first entry in the Project Quilting Challenge, Season 13, hosted by Kim Lapacek at Persimon Dreams. The challenge involves making a project in a week to fit the assigned theme. The theme for this quilt was "All the Colors." I love the 3-D look of it.

Rainbow Accordion

21" x 29"

3. Oldest UFO: Snail's Trail

This project dates back to 2001, and it feels so good to finally have this little quilt top together. The blocks are tiny (3.5" finished size) and were foundation pieced.

Snail's Trail quilt top

31" square

4. Learning something new: Artful Improv

I joined two quilt guilds this year, and have been fortunate to take multiple quilt workshops through them. One of the most interesting (and most challenging) was the Artful Improv class with Cindy Grisdela in October. This project was way outside my comfort zone, but I was happy with the result and look forward to more improv play.

Artful Improv

26" x 31" 

5. Favorite finish: Boston Fiesta

This was another old UFO, started in 2005. The piecing was completed in 2015, but it was another few years before it got quilted. Then it hung around waiting for a binding, which finally happened this spring in order to enter it into a quilt show.

Boston Fiesta

60" x 74"

6. A new goal: more FMQ on Juki

I've been wanting to get serious about finishing more quilts myself, and this summer I took the first step by purchasing a new machine. I bought a Juki J-150QVP, a straight-stitch industrial machine that can also switch over to free-motion quilting. It has a very large throat space between the needle and the machine, plus there is an extension table behind the machine which is wonderful for supporting a quilt during FMQ. I'm still getting used to the machine, and even needed to have one problem fixed recently, but I'm so happy to have upgraded my machine for FMQ.

Juki J-150QVP

Those are some of my quilting highlights from the past year. I'm still thinking about plans and goals for 2023, and I look forward to sharing many projects in the coming year. 

Linking up with:

Best of 2022 Linky Party at Meadow Mist Designs

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Happy New Year to all!

Julie in GA

Snail's Trail Quilt Top

My Snail's Trail blocks have been in the works for many years, and as of yesterday, they are finally assembled into a finished quilt top!

Snail's Trail

31" x 31"

This project began way back in 2001 when I purchased multiple packets of foundation papers for the Snail's Trail blocks. I can't remember why I thought it was a good idea to make a quilt with such small blocks (3.5".) I don't think I would make that same choice now!

The dark blue background fabric is a Hoffman International print, and it has always been a favorite of mine. I had used it along with the same yellow and orange color palette in an earlier quilt, my Blazing Hidden Nine-Patch.

Blazing Hidden Nine-Patch

46" x 58"

The Snail's Trail blocks were worked on very sporadically over the past 20 years, until I finally decided to finish them off this year. The most difficult part was joining the blocks together and getting the seams to line up well, but I am generally happy with how it worked out. Here's a closer look so you can see the fabrics better.

This quilt top will go into the closet with the rest of the unquilted tops, but I hope it doesn't take another 20+ years before it gets quilted!

Check out what other quilters are working on this week at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

Stash Report and Stitching Time 9/4/2022

My stash report for the past week shows an increase in the used column of 2.25 yards for the Snail's Trail project. I finished making the last blocks this week, then began joining them together.

This is 1/4 of the quilt. The lightest yellow at the lower right corner will be the center of the quilt. These blocks are small, only 3.5" each, so this section finishes at 14". I hope to finish joining the rest of the blocks before the end of the coming week.

2022 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:              2.25 yards

Used year to date:       91.375 yards

Added last week:              0.0 yards

Added year to date:       86.25 yards

Net used in 2022       5.125 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 stitching time. Kate hasn't been able to blog lately because of computer issues, but I'm going to continue posting my numbers here. I've been splitting my quilting time between the Snail's Trail project and machine quilting, definitely more than 15 minutes every day!

15 Minute Challenge for 2022: 

8/28 - 9/3             7 of 7 days

2022 Total      241 of 246 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

Another New/Old Project

My design walls are still empty today, but I do have some blocks to share. I pulled out the pieces from an old UFO, a mini Snail's Trail quilt. These blocks are foundation paper pieced. The paper on the backs means they won't stick to my flannel design wall, which is why you are getting a photo of them on the cutting table.

The plan is to make a total of 64 blocks and set them 8 x 8. The palest yellow at the upper left will be the center of the quilt, shading out to the orange and rust fabrics around the outer edges. The blocks finish at only 3.5", so this will be a very small quilt. I have about 20 blocks left to make, then I can get them trimmed down and joined together.

Check out what other quilters are working on this week at Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA