"Always Time" quilt top and Taming of the Scraps

Always Time (79 x 103)

Always Time has come together with some dedicated time over Thanksgiving vacation, a couple of weekends and some time during this Christmas vacation.  The blocks are larger, therefore it has been a decently quick quilt top to piece.

Many of the fabrics are from the "Twilight Frost" line that was discontinued to Connecting Threads a couple of years ago.  The pattern is the Rambling Aunt Sukey design from Marti Mitchell (published in the from Jan/Feb '08 Quiltmaker magazine).  

Like many, many others;  it has been folded and added to my ever-growing--never-shrinking pile of quilt tops ready for quilting.

The 2014 Rainbow Scrap Challenge was wrapped up with a final gray block in order to round out the year with twelve blocks :)    

Naturally, it would be right for me to pass up a year of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, so.... I'm in for 2015 too!  I don't really have a solid plan in mind (yet), despite spending countless hours last night and this morning searching the net for that perfect idea.

Although, this morning, with my new rotary cutter in-hand, I started trimming up numerous bonus-HSTs in blue (January's color), trimming them to 2".

With a few hours of "Avengers" and "Avengers" in the DVD player, (yup...when it ended, I simply pushed 'Play' again),  I added four scrappy star blocks to four block I had pieced last year during Judy's Scrap Challenge for January.  (All pictured lower left).
Yesterday was a day well spent trying to tame all (some?  a few?) of the scraps I had scattered around the sewing room.  All the while, sew-skyping with buddy Nancy.  It was the first day in a LONG time that I felt my quilting mojo had come back.  It truly felt good using up SOME of the scraps, even through, TRULY, barely a dent was made!!!!

The OMIGOSH blocks (upper left) have been an on-n-off Leader-Ender project of mine for the past couple of years.  The scrappy Talkin' Turkey blocks (upper right) are a Bonnie-design, these done in scrappy though :)

Although I'd love to keep my quilting mojo flowing, I don't know if I want to head back downstairs since I've spent the past couple of hours upstairs, cleaning and decluttering the kitchen and laundry/entryway room.

Maybe some more Gibbs (NCIS marathon on USA) and my crochet hook ?? ;)

Happy New Years everyone!

New start - Always Time

Bonnie's mystery quilt of 2014 has begun, and of COURSE I'm eager to participate.  I hadn't chosen fabrics, so after arriving home Friday afternoon after celebrating Thanksgiving at my parent's house, I spent some time in the sewing room.  I had a stack of luscious lilacs/sages/olives that I was hoping would fit the bill, but..... *sigh*.... no matter how I sorted them, varied them, added to them.... 

... they weren't working out with Bonnie's requests.

And, in a weird silly moment, I begged the silent aura of Bonnie for forgiveness.  I chose to push pause on her mystery.  I needed to work with these fabrics!

Friday evening, I spent in front of the television with stacks and stacks of quilt magazines.  I'm thankful I've been able to ignore the little voice in my head that often tells me  I need to reduce my pile of magazines, thinking I'll NEVER make a quilt from a pattern.  By the time I headed to bed, I had narrowed my choices to four that I felt would work with the fabric amounts on hand.

Saturday morning, I finalized it to the Ramblin' Aunt Sukey pattern.  I've made this pattern before for Cathy's Aunt Sukey, back in 2008.  It's a lovely, elegant pattern. 

The morning was spent cutting up most of the units.  It's crazy how much time it takes to cut all of these pieces, but yet...... there's SO little to show!

I would have loved to begin sewing, but I had a wedding to attend of a very special young lady.

Bright and 5:00 early this morning though, I was up raring to dive into the project.

Hours later (7?), the blocks are completed and are resting on the carpeted area, waiting to be sewn into a quilt top.  Today was a wonderfully productive day :D  After working on it for hours, I think it'll suitable fit the name, Always Time.

My Green Bay Packer scrap leader-ender project is growing nicely on the design wall.  I have no definite size in mind;  I'll just keep adding until it reaches (no larger than) a queen size.

Now, I have decisions to make!  I would love to continue tackling this collection of yarn odds-n-ends in a new 'Scrap Ripple' afghan, but, sadly, I think my school work needs to take some precedence.  (At least long enough for me to know what I'm planning to do tomorrow!)  And soon---the Packer game is on!