Rainbow scrap blues & Friendship Chain

 

My leader-ender project has been these tiny 2" 9-patch blue blocks for much of the month for the 2025 Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I really don't know what my plan for them will be, but... they keep accumulating.  At the close of today's sewing, a few beyond 50 have been pieced.  The blue scraps are almost finished; I dare say there isn't much blue ANYWHERE in the bins anymore.

The simple planned pattern in mind for the beginner quilter's class, Friendship Chain, has almost reached flimsy status today.  A small border is still being considered; it's currently 40" x 40"; crib quilt, nothing fancy, and will eventually be donated to Quilts for Kids.  These fabrics have been on the shelf for many years, so the feeling of accomplishment definitely brings on a "feel-good" moment or two.

Linking up with SoScrappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge today.

 

Quilts for Kids done - Hawaii Sunset progress

Cassie cleaned and organized her corner when I wasn't looking!  This neat area gave me a bit of a pleasant surprise when I headed downstairs this morning.

The Quilts for Kids projects were quilted, bound and labeled.  They still need to be packaged up and sent off on their way.  

And then much of the afternoon, I spent working on Hawaii Sunset units.  All 25 9-patches are finished, and I'm finished with 62 of the 80 4-patches.  As for the flying geese units.....324 of 600 are now complete.  Progress....slowly but surely.

And now, dinner is calling me for preparation:  Honey-Seseme chicken

Yup, yup, yup.  The first official school-night!

Today, I want to sew!

Yesterday, 85 pounds of tomatoes were dealt with...

Today, I want to sew!

So, sifting through pictures from the past month, let's see what I have downstairs that I could work on.....

Ah yes!  I must start working on more Flying Geese units.  I have about 200 finished so far.....

 

I also need a few more 4-patches and 9-patches for Hawaiian Sunset too.

My Framed Rectangles are sitting in organized piles to be sewn into rows...

Ah.....Freeze Frame awaits quilting (but that's not going to happen today).  At least the backing and batting have already been prepared...

Jamestown Landing also awaits quilting, BUT I DO NOT have backing or batting prepped.  I suppose I could consider doing that today....

Hmmm...another top that awaits quilting (and backing and batting).  Orca Bay... 

My Christmas Goose blocks need some sashing.  Hmm....lots of Bonnie quilts down there :)

Ah yes!  BUT, I definitely MUST finish up the quilting on the two Quilts for Kids so I can get them out in the mail.  #1 priority today....

and then..... I think I'll play with some Orange/"Pumpkin" scraps for Angela's 2012 Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Ohh.....lotsa goodies to choose from.  

QFK prepped and a quilt-in-the-making?

Last night at 10:00PM, I shut the burner off of the tomato sauce; I was no longer interested in waiting and waiting for it to finish reducing and THEN waiting another 40 minutes for it to hot-water-bathe.  The ideas shared were wonderful and you can BET I'll give those an attempt the next time I need to reduce anything.  Wow!  5 hours last night.....

and then another 3 hour this morning for it to finish reducing to a consistency I was happy with.  Eight total hours.  That's a long time!  So, YES, DEFINITELY I will give the suggestions shared a fair shake the next time.

In the end, 9 quarts are being added to our shelves of canned goods.  

While the sauce was simmering away, I spent some time preparing a backing for the Cars quilts-for-kids top.  

In addition to the Lightening McQueen scraps that Nancy sent, she also had about 1/2 yard of a coordinating Cars fabric in the box of scraps she sent me.  It worked PERFECTLY for the backing; simply made a bit wider with some red sidebars.

{{stir, stir, stir inbetween}}

One wonderful outcome of making these quilts -- I pieced together a few scraps of batting that had been collecting from my bigger quilt finishes.  

{{stir, stir}}

Since having my Juki98 short-arm and frame set up, I rarely quilt on my Bernina anymore.  But these are so small, and the suggested quilting is a simple cross-hatch, so that's my game plan.

I basted them up, and they now lay waiting on the ironing board.  

{{stir, stir}}

These extra spinning star blocks (from Carolina Christmas) have been catching my eye every time I walk past my orphans which are still scattered all over the floor.  A straight-set would work.. but I think I'm going to see what I can do with an on-point setting.  Coordinating colors are being tried out in my mind;  I AM a sucker for purples/oranges/greens lately.  Sashing is a possibility as well.

{{Stir, stir.....it was READY!!!!}}

My time downstairs ended, and the sauce was processed.  The rest of my day run-down:

Lunch was made;  school supplies were organized.  Cassie was dropped off to make the bus-time for her Cross Country meet tonight; Caitlyn, Candace and myself went shopping for some odds-n-ends.  I got home and searched some of my math websites to find some week-1 "fun" projects.... and now here I am.  

Paul nor myself will be trekking over to Cassie's meet tonight;  it's over an hour away; it's already begun, in fact, and Paul won't be home for another 45 minutes from work.  And me...?  Last Spring, I had signed up to work tonight's Volleyball match not even THINKING that Cassie would be old enough and want to go out for Cross Country.  In fact, I signed up for ALL the home Volleyball matches; and sadly almost all of Cassie's CC races conflict with the home VB games.  I am hoping to find someone to switch duties with, and if not... :{  At least I'll know better for next year.

Quilts for Kids tops

Last Monday, I received a Quilts for Kids package in the mail that I requested sometime last month;  these kits come precut and ready for piecing.

They are quick designs;  this center was completed in just over an hour.  And then......"school-mode" started hitting me.  I already feel my quilting-mode leaving me;  little by little I am losing ambition and motivation to head down to the sewing room.  I dunno... it's a weird feeling that I can't really put into words.... 

...but anyway, the center remained waiting on my ironing board until this morning.

The final borders were attached.  It now awaits quilting.

I try to always send an additional quilt to the QFK headquarters made from my own stash.  Some time last year (?) (or was it this year?), Nancy (Patchwork Penguin) sent me some of her scraps.  A couple strips of Cars-Lightening McQueen fabric was included, in addition to this amazing blue dyed fabric.  Together with a yellow FQ and black yardage from my shelves, I was able to create this little quilt.  I initially was planning a disappearing 9-patch (D9P), but I never measured the two strips of Cars fabric; they looked the same.  I grabbed one; it measured 6.5".  I cut it in half (3.25") in order to make a strip set with a matching 3.25" blue strip....pieced, subcut..., and when I grabbed the second strip.... it measured 6".  :\  Ummm......well, snafu :}.  Thankfully, I'm not new to snafus, so..... I made up some D9Ps from the first set... and then used my design liberties to turn them into the unique blocks shown; and then used the last 6" strip for 1.5" borders.  I think it all worked out.  AND, if I'm up to it, when I quilt this top, I plan to use yellow thread in the middle of the black sashing units to have them look like roads.  {{Yeah, yeah...I know!  Lightening McQueen is a race car...and race tracks don't have yellow lines.  Oh well!}}  :0)

Kool Kat done; Judy's June mystery progress; Homemade French fries???

I snuck in some time this afternoon .... {{okay, so I didn't "sneak"....I just sewed allllllll day!!!}}
Kool Kat is in the washer, quilted and bound. I will need to make up a label tonight since this is a donated Quilts 4 Kids from my stash. The quilting was a fast, simple, edge-to-edge loopty-loop.

And then, once that was finished up (around 3:30), I figured it would be a perfect time to work on Judy's June Mystery Step #4 before I needed to start thinking about dinner....

I didn't realize it was such a quick, fun step! :0) I'm liking my fabric choices so far :0)


Have you ever attempted making homemade french fries? Through trial-n-error, DH has finally mastered the method! {{yes, I will give him credit! He's quite the chef when he wants to be!!!!}}.
First, slice your potatoes to your liking. We usually just punch 'em through this fry maker.
Then (and this IS an important step!), lay them out between two towels and rub gently to dry as much moisture as possible.
Once the fryer is ready, fry 'em up for a bit. Time really depends on how thick the fries are. You don't want to COMPLETELY cook them yet, so remove and let them drain for a few minutes (2-3). Then....(and this is the SECOND important step)....fry them AGAIN until they are crispy brown.

Okay....they're in the fryer right now, so I gotta run!

Tonight's agenda? Probably Dizzy, QOV Mystery 22, step #4. I might also consider working on the BOM. July is RIGHT around the corner already.

Another Q4K -- {and he's measuring}!!!

Olivia Likes All: quilting was completed this morning and binding sewn on shortly thereafter. Quilting was the "Chinese Crescents" pantograph in red thread. It's a nice, simple, and not-so-dense panto ;0)

Doggy Delight. Also quilted with "Chinese Crescents" pantograph.

Flower Child. Quilted with a meander and flower-outline.

So...all three kits are finished, bound, labeled, WASHED, and ready to be shipped back to headquarters. And since this pattern doesn't take ALL that long to piece together....{{one hour and 20 minutes pretty much from start to finish}}

How could I resist not cutting up this adorable cat fabric for some little child?!?

So, Kool Kat is pieced and ready for quilting! Later this afternoon maybe....

in the meantime...

Him: You. Here. Now.
Me: Umm...okay....
{{following Him downstairs...}}
Him: How many outlets you want?
Me: How many breakers am I allowed?
Him: One.
Me: Iron and machine really shouldn't be on the same breaker.
Him: Okay. Two.
Me: Okay. Then two outlets on each wall would be great.
Him: {{standing back, "admiring" the space}}. Alright.
Me: So, have you thought more about drywall or pine?
Him: {{more looking around the space, arms crossed....}}
.......
.......
.......
Me: {{hearing no answer...}}Do you need me for anything else?
Him: No.

He wasn't a man of many words just now, but WHO CARES?!??! This MAY mean that my walls will make an appearance soon!

Two finishes...name suggestions?

Two Quilts 4 Kids finishes today. The doggy-themed quilt was quilted with a pantograph named "Chinese Crescents" and the peace-themed quilt was my first free-motion meander on the frame. I outlined many of the flowers/peace signs as I went along.....
All that remains is to fill out the labels and sew them on....

but...I'm stumped on names.
Doggy Days
Dog Park
Puppy Power

Funky Girl
Flower Power
Peace

???
Any of them fit? Do you have any other suggestions?

The Olivia themed quilt will be quilted up tomorrow. I didn't feel like getting it loaded on the frame after finishing up two of them today. Besides, I need some thread; I'll use red :0)

I finished up the night downstairs by finishing off the 240 "star arms" for my Jared Takes a Wife. I haven't trimmed the extra fabric yet; and sadly I DO NOT think I'll be double-sewing these seams. They are only 2" squares, and I DO cringe at just tossing the fabric, but I guess that's what "crumb boxes" are for.

I'm actually thinking of keeping this quilt for myself for MY bed! Have you reached the point where you start making quilts but they don't have any recipient in mind? That WAS the plan for this one, but as I was piecing the other day, I REALLLLY was enjoying the greens! My room is a rich hunter green, so it'll be a perfect match.

Happy Monday!

Out of sync...

I haven't been on the quilting frame in a while, so it took me a bit to clean, oil, tidy-up and load-up the first Q4K quilt of the day. She's ready, but I'm not. I sifted through my pantos, but nothing really seemed appealing for this (these) quilts, so I'm off to see what inspiration I can find.

As I was coming upstairs, I hear.."CHICKEN! OFF CHICKEN!"

Candace takes care of "chicken patrol" {{keeping the chickens off the deck}}. Nothing much worse than getting chicken poo on your feet (shoes) when out on the deck.

Okay...off to search my panto files....

One long weekend...

The guests of Saturday; my Aunts and Uncles of the "Laessig" Family. Of the 15 children of my grandmother and grandfather, twelve of the clan are still kicking around. There were LOTS of laughs, LOTS of people, LOTS of fun, and LOTS of drinking (for some---specialy Uncle Timmy seated in the very front of the stairs). My mother is pictured on the right in a bright red shirt. And funny enough, she is seated next to "aunt" Joyce, the oldest sister (my mom is the youngest sister). My mom often told me that she never realized Joyce was her sister; she always thought she was an Aunt of hers that would visit from time to time. Joyce is 22 years older than my mother. I just can't fathom it; I simply can't.

Holy cow--this was a loaded weekend. Let's at least start with all the quilty parts of the weekend...

Here are the Quilts4Kids kits all packaged up before leaving for Mom's...they arrived Thurdsay afternoon by UPS while I was out mowing lawn.

Again, Friday night I was able to pieced together the "Olivia theme top...

and the "Doggy theme" top.

Today I finished up the "Peace" theme top. I will be quilting these over the next couple of days and getting them back out in the mail.

Some of my garage sale loot....

Caitlyn's big $1.00 outfit!!! .75 cents for the skirt and .25 for the top. She couldn't wait to wear it at the party! She is SUCH a girl!

Garage sale "shirting" found; washed, pressed and folded already. HEY! Do I need to count this towards my stash gain?!?!?!!?!? Well.....I'm NOT! {{sticking out tongue}}

And then there's my Hancock Fabrics visit....
Like I said, I didn't go overboard at Hancock Fabrics this time: 10 FQ's

..... and 1/4 yard of the red, 1.9 yards of the leaves, 3.389 yards of the dragonfly fabric. I will use all of these in more "Fall" Buckeye Beauty blocks (part of a swap I'm taking part in). The big yardage gain was my 8.875 yards of bleached White Muslin (not pictured)---always nice to have on hand!

But, of course, the main reason for my visit was the Family Reunion on Saturday...
Do any of you out there have that one special cousin that you ALLLLLWAYS wished WASN'T your cousin?!?!!? {{wink-wink}}. Well, here's Marino (red shirt/orange hat)...."that" cousin for me growing up! LOL....My sis (with the weird "orange" hair---long story there!), myself and Marino spent much of the day catching up. And poor Spencer (Marino's son pictured) fought some boredom until we decided to play some games....

DH Paul and (his brother) Ryan walking in from a morning of working at their sister's place.... many of my relatives thinking they were twins. Yeah, I guess I see some similarity.

The grill may have been the highlight of the show for the boys....{{Paul in the background, Ryan holding Candace, Grandpa in the hat, and "Buzz," the hired cook and owner of the traveling grill}} I DO have to admit, that was one HUGE grill!!!!!!

I loaded up the girls' bikes for the trip; it's really easy peasy with the bike rack I have. Between the girls' bikes and the bikes "grandma" had, most of the kids were tearin' up the yard.....



{{{enter crashing sound}}}

Until "Cousin Cassie" had to start show-boating to "Cousin Lindsay" and CRASH into "Sister Candace."

{sigh}

Candace got banged and bruised pretty good, but Cassie ended up with the worst road-rash, by far!

Yeah, it looks like I'm giving her the "well, WHAT were you DOING going that fast!?!?" speech, but actually, I'm enveloping her in one BIG hug for being a trooper while I cleaned out that wound!
We contemplated taking her in to the ER, but I shrugged it off. There was nothing to stitch up; all the meat was torn out. It didn't look all that dirty (yet), and we cleaned it up and bandaged it "good enough".....But it sure didn't take long for that bandage to get all grossed up!
So, this morning when we took the bandage off to clean it, we all decided maybe it would be best to get it "professionally" cleaned out and maybe get our hands on some good Doc-recommended ointment...

Yeah, she'll live and hopefully she will remember this incident the next time.

We arrived home tonight around 8:30 and I've been unpacking non-stop before parking my butt to update. Nothing on the schedule tomorrow until 9:00 p.m. (softball), so I hope to have a relaxing day tidying up and getting downstairs to my quilting room.

Hopefully your weekend was as glorious!