RSC Finished Projects Linky Party!

Angela at SoScrappy is hosting the first-ever special linkup for finished Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects!  I have loved this fun monthly challenge since I first began reading blogs, and when I started my own blog, Angela's party was among the first I participated in.  When I saw her post to link up our finishes, I had so much fun thinking back on the wonderful quilts I have today because of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!!

Soul Searching is my latest RSC finish .....

I am still putting the last binding stitches on this quilt!  Rocky is not being particularly helpful ...

He says it is after 9pm and he is OFF DUTY!!!!  He also says I should hand-stitch down all my bindings because it suits him to curl up in them while we watch tv in the evenings LOL!  Do you like that bold backing fabric?

I had a tough time choosing the backing fabric, but eventually this won out.  I loved the primarily black as opposed to the primarily white prints on the front.  And those colorful squares in each bloom are perfectly understated and fantastic!

I shared a few photos of the quilting in my last post, but here they are again...

The quilt laid on the guest bed for a week or so waiting for me to get around to trimming it.  I noticed Rocky napping in there one day and I have a sneaking suspicion he may have gotten a little impatient and tried to help me out....

I chose to use a lot of scrappy white-on-black fabrics pulled from my 2-1/2" strip bin (then trimmed down to 2-1/4"), as well as my black scraps bin, before cutting a strip from some of my fat quarters.... probably 20 fabrics in all.

Rocky had a ball at this stage of the game!  He loves those long strings of fabric!!!  I took a picture of him trying to run off with the string but it didn't take very well :(

I loved this binding choice from the moment I began stitching it down!

Of course, two of the joinings just had to work out to fall on a corner!  

I left this one because it was just to one side of the actual corner and with a little pushing and shoving it will be fine.

Sending a SPECIAL THANKS to Angela at SoScrappy for the beautiful quilts we've finished over the years because of your Rainbow Scrap Challenges!  It's been a blast and I've made some really good friends all over the world from participating in this linky.  Looking forward to another fun year of playing in the rainbows....

Hugs & Blessings

Teresa

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Linking up with the following fun linky parties:

Soscrappy RSC Finishing Party

Needle and Thread Thursday

Oh Scrap!

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

Finished or Not Friday

Fabric Frenzy Friday

Back to the Rainbows!

Before I share my rainbow scrappy adventures in PURPLE today, I have another "purple" project to share ....

I have my En Provence center together!!!!

Oh my gosh - I'm so excited!!!  I'm working now on the borders and hope to have a finished top to share next week :*)  But - since it was Saturday, I put that aside this morning and joined lots of my friends in the effort to tame our purple scraps :*)

One of my favorite blog parties has always been Angela's Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) which can be found over at her blog, SoScrappy.  Every ScrapHappy Saturday, she hosts a linky party where tons of scrappy quilters show off their stuff - rainbow-style!

I haven't been able to play along the past few years, but this year, I'm determined to carve out the time.  Actually, it's really more of a must because my scraps and crumbs runneth over!

You can see that my purple crumb jar is so full I'm having to just plop pieces on top of it!

At first I thought perhaps I would just do something with the crumbs this year, but then I remembered this pattern that has been in my "Really, Really Want to Make" file since, like, forever.....

This sweet quilt is such an ingenius design!  It's fairly simple, but looks really complicated.  The eye just roves all over it in delight!  It is called Geese Migration, and the talented Cynthia Brunz of Quilting is more fun than Housework is the designer.  My friend Libby from  Life on the Hill has been teasing me with her GM blocks for a while now, and every time I see one of her blocks I drool with envy.  Just yesterday, someone posted their completed GM quilt on Instagram and it was so gorgeous ... it was the last straw!  This is the year for me to start mine!

I decided to use my Marti Michell templates to cut the flying geese since I'll be making them one at a time.  Then I pulled out my purple scrap drawer and found lots to inspire me!

This is from a deconstructed shirt I cut up and used in a previous project...

And look at this one!  It is a sweet print from 2006 - which happens to be the year I really fell head over heels into the quilting rabbit hole :*)

The success of this pattern depends on the strategic use of blending color values together in the geese and squares.  This print gave me both a light and dark!

It was exciting to see the pieces all laid out for stitching up my first block!

 Rocky got on board with the project immediately =^..^=

This is not a great picture, but I'm in love with my first block!!!

Playing in my purple scraps was so much fun I just couldn't stop, so I pulled some purples and fuchsias and began to cut circles for the Quilty 365 Circles project that I started and left hanging last year ...

Aren't these yum???  Audrey over at Quilty Folk started this party last year.  She has since finished her quilt - and yes it's beautiful! - so for 2017, the link-up party can be found at Daisy and Jack Handmade.

This is another project that needs to get at least one day's attention each month this year.  I have maybe 50 done from last year, so lots more circles yet to be cut!  Then of course they have to be prepared for applique to the backgrounds....

You can read more about how I plan to do this project HERE if you are interested.

My time ran out today, but next Saturday I'll concentrate on my crumbs and try to tame them before they devour my studio LOL!!!

Hope you've had a lovely Saturday doing something stitchy :*)

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Linking up with the following FUN linky parties - check 'em out!

- Main Crush Monday

- Design Wall Monday

- Monday Making

So Many Projects!!!

I thought I'd share a few of the projects that are getting the lion's share of my attention lately.  I've got so many quilting irons in the fire right now!  But I think I really work best when I have a lot going on.  It keeps me energized and inspired to have lots of different projects to choose from on any given day.  There's always something in the works that trips my trigger and makes me want to play in the studio!!!

Blue Collection is one of my Dinosaur UFO's - it's been in process since 2008!!!  It's my focus project for this year, and I've been steadily plugging along on it.  I'm happy to say that I've finally added the 3D tree in the center!  This tree has been a stumbling block for me from the beginning.  I've been dreading it!  But it got to the point that I couldn't add other elements until the tree was stitched down, so I finally bit the bullet and went for it!

The tree is made from three tapered bias strips of brown fabrics that are braided together and then loosely arranged on the quilt center, with lots of little branches and leaves sprouting out from it.  (Rocky felt that this particular strip should be his - we had a little bit of a disagreement about it, but happily I finally won ☺)

I had to piece together the blocks in the center section of the quilt with their blue-and-white checkerboard sashing before I could begin to make the tree.

When I appliqued that bottom pot, I left a section open so that I could slip the tree limbs down inside ....

I'm doing hand-stitched applique on this quilt, and it's pretty difficult work handling this large center section to stitch down the tree and all those little remaining leaves, but there was just no way around it.  Of course, this little guy with his curious little nose in everything I'm doing doesn't help LOL!!!  This picture was taken just seconds before he snatched the whole piece off my lap and tried to run for it!

There are quite a few wonderful little details stitched into this quilt ....

And lots of stitching remaining to be done!  But I can't tell you how excited I am to have gotten this far on my Blue Collection project!  I will try my best to post about my progress more often :*)

I usually try to have at least one project all set up and ready to stitch at the machine, so that when I have a spare few minutes I can use it stitching.  This is a paper-pieced project in progress called Diamonds Are Forever from a class I took at guild several years ago.

Lots and lots of scrap strips are going into this fun quilt, and it is amazing how quickly these blocks add up!

Happily, I also have an almost finish to show you!!!  Notice Rocky photo-bombing in the top right?  Believe me, he's not going to miss a quilt-on-the-floor opportunity!!!

Calypso is a kit My Guy bought for me quite a few years ago at a local quilt shop that is no longer in business.  I made the quilt top and then put it on my flimsy shelf to be quilted - and it has remained there for way too long.  I decided to put it on my Guild UFO Challenge list, and it's number came up for this month.  My friend Joanne let me use her long-arm machine so I could git 'er done ...

This will be a feel-good finish for me - I love whittling down that flimsy shelf!

Tomorrow my plan is to quilt and bind my little 14" Fractured Seahorse.  The fabric on the bottom is my backing fabric, and I'm thinking to use a scrappy hot pink binding.  This one is going to go in my stand-up frame in the living room for the summer!

After all the sewing I've been doing on my Janome 6600P, it was finally time to send it off to the spa for a good cleaning and to check the timing, etc.  While it was gone, Rocky found a new favorite place to sit and watch me as I putter around the studio ....

He's such a fun little guy, and I love how he keeps us smiling and laughing!

I'll be linking up with lots of fun parties this week:

Slow Sunday Stitching

Design Wall Monday
Main Crush Monday 

Oh Scrap!

I May Have a Scrap Problem

Linky Tuesday Party
WIPs Be Gone 

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Scraptastic Tuesday - Whittling Down the Crumbs!

I've been seeing some GREAT scrap quilt ideas out there in Blogland lately!

As a part of Scraptastic Tuesday, I really want to start emptying out these crumb jars and making something beautiful out of them.  (I know - I've been saying that all year!!!)

Well, it's time to start doing something about it!  Let's see....... I've found some great ideas on Pinterest!  Check out all of the ones I have pinned to my Scrappy Love! board HERE.  What about this GORGEOUS quilt called Shattered Rainbow from My Quilt Infatuation?  Wouldn't something like this be fun???

Quilt by My Quilt Infatuation
Photo courtesy of My Quilt Infatuation.blogspot.com

Or this one - the Omigosh! quilt by Sue Garman - YIKES!!!!

Quilt designed & made by Sue Garman

A few friends have made this quilt and it is gorgeous, but Oh My Gosh - all those tiny little pieces!!!  Several blog buddies are now making it - Kathy's Quilts and Sharon Vrooman to name a few - so I am very very tempted to start one too - it's the perfect leader/ender project to use up all my crumbs... and then some! .....

I also love the idea of a scrappy Chevron quilt..... these quilts are all the rage right now - and I love the idea of no triangles :*)

Photo courtesy of  Dream Patch blog
Free Tutorial for this block on her blog HERE!

It could be done very scrappy, just using all blues for one row, with the background next, then all pinks, etc.  But perhaps this one would be more for the larger scraps?  Hmmmm..... maybe a good idea for next year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

I'm also looking through my books and have found a few that I definitely want to try!  For instance.....  I LOVE this Bowdacious pattern from the Scrap Queen herself, Bonnie Hunter.  The picture here is not great, but I've seen this quilt in person and it positively SPARKLES!!!  Mostly little 4-patches and one-sided snowball blocks.

This is a book by Jan Mullen that I have had for AGES!!!!  I love the idea of making my own fabric out of scraps - can't you just see me making this cute little kitty?  I know you can!!! So can I =^..^=

I was thrilled when I found Gwen Marston's book for $5 in the book sale section at the AQS in Chattanooga!  Gwen makes quilting fun!!!  I really want to try making a few of her funky blocks....

Sew... I think that's enough inspiration to get me started.... what about you?
Come back next week to see if I have actually started any of these LOL!!!  

Join in the Scraptastic Fun over at She Can Quilt and Mrs. Sew and Sow !  

Today is the last day to get in on this month's Linky Party HERE - there are prizes!!!!

Also linking up with Vrooman's Quilts 

for Sharon's wonderful Let's Book It challenge!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Calling All Scrappers!

Today is the first monthly linky party for Scraptastic Tuesday! 
You can visit with either Leanne at She Can Quilt or Nicky at Mrs. Sew and Sow to join in - or just to look at all the fun, scrappy projects in progress!!!

I'm really excited about this new linky party, because as you all know, I'm a very SCRAPPY girl!!!  I absolutely LOVE stitching together small scraps of fabrics to make something beautiful and useful. There are so many scrappy projects in progress in my studio, you'd be snoozing before I could share them all!   However, you can check out some of my recent scrappy projects HERE and HERE :)

One of my favorites is this recent finish - Soul Searching!

I plan to get back on track making these fun Happy Dance blocks too...



Of course, a post about scrappiness would not be complete without sharing my latest completed Patchwork of the Crosses block - these are my latest obsession!!!!  You can see some of my earlier blocks HERE and HERE....

I just returned from a really wonderful visit with some fun ladies who were retreating at Quilting on the Mountain, and they allowed me to share a talk and trunk show of my scrappy quilts and processes with them.  I have to say though, these were some very scrappy ladies, and any one of them could have given that presentation!  Just look below at the amazing scrappy quilt one young girl shared - she made this quilt when she was only 9 years old!!!!  I wrote down her name, but of course I can't find it now.  But she and her sister (who is currently 9) were sewing up a storm - and not simple quilts either!  Let me tell you - I was impressed!!!




Although the Scraptastic Tuesday linkup party is the second Tuesday of each month, Leanne and Nicky share every Tuesday about all things "scrappy" so be sure to join them each week, and maybe even do a ST post of your own.  Next week I'll be away at retreat, and Internet is always iffy when traveling!  But for my next ST post, I'll try to share a little about how I store and use scraps.

Please be sure to come back Thursday for a little "Meet and Greet" in preparation for the new FREE BOM, Sew Sweet Simplicity, designed by Jacquelynne Steves!  The first block for this fun BOM will be released on Jacquelynne's blog on October 27!!!

Photo courtesy of The Art of Home

You don't want to miss this fun BOM - 

there will be a WONDERFUL giveaway too!!!  

Come find out more tomorrow :)

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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Also linking up with
Freemotion by the River Lindy Tuesday :)