RED SCRAPS Update

I’d been thinking about what I should do with Angela’s (of Soscrappy ) Rainbow Challenge this year.  January’s colour is Red.  So I thought about it, and thought about it, and then I finally decided I would make a rainbow disappearing 4 patch with my various coloured scraps throughout the year.

I had made a couple of D4Ps last year in the green month… shown in this post here.

Well I had forgotten to make a note of the size of the squares I started with … not a problem I’ll measure the current blocks.   Meanwhile I found another tutorial on line here (which was different to the first one I saw I’m sure;)) and it suggested cutting 5 inch squares.   But I wanted to make the same size as my green ones so after I did the maths I realized I had to cut 6 inch squares.  So I found my red scraps large enough to cut this size of square and proceeded.   Sewed them into 4 patch and then thought.. oh oh something’s not right.  I had cut my squares 5”!!  What to do? I set the red 4 patches aside while I thought about it a few days.. to a week.  Then yesterday morning as I was sitting up in bed having my morning cuppa from my new Teasmade/alarm clock..  The solution hit me.  Make the green ones the same size as the red… yes that was possible.. so that’s what I did.

Here are both green and red blocks together (but not sewn together).  I think I may make a couple more blocks of both colours.  Then wait to see what next month’s colour is… and so on.

They look a bit crooked up on the wall but that’s just the way I’ve placed them.

Also, this past week I finally sorted through a bag of little crumb size squares from 1.5 to 2” approx.   I sorted them into their colours.  Here’s the pile of reds:-

The point of this exercise, apart from sorting them, was to find some little 1.5 inch squares for Kathleen Tracy’s Crosses Mourning Quilt from her book “Prairie Children and Their Quilts” 

On her blog and on her yahoo group she is hosting a year long challenge to make a small quilt each month.

Do you see those 4 red squares on the right in the picture of the red scraps.    Well I used those plus another 4 matching red squares I found in my crosses mourning blocks.  I also found the teal blue ones in the top right block, see picture below.

I’ve decided my sashing and border fabrics for this little quilt so I need to get to that this week.

Lastly, I completed all the Temecula 12 Days of Christmas mini challenge blocks, but have yet to decide sashing and border fabrics. 

I’ll leave you with a picture of my blocks and go get started on my Dear Jane block of the week.

Have a great weekend,

Happy Stitching,

Ellyx

Mysteries, Houses and Backward Crocheting, and new family addition

Firstly, I wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

This is a picture loaded post so I will try keep the wording to a minimum… also I’m having difficulty spelling today for some reason.. no not to much grog…unless you count water as grog.. just a brain full of all the projects I am embarking on doing this year, LOL…

First up:  Bonnie Hunter has revealed the result of her Orca Bay Mystery today!!  So exciting!!  Here is a picture of a ‘mock up’ of how my blocks and colours would look if I were to proceed with this as per Bonnie’s reveal.Hmmmm, I’m making this for my DS and I’m not so sure this is him…plus I don’t have a great variety of ‘male friendly’ neutrals and blacks.  So I may have to rethink.   I did see a great idea on Jillian’s blog using the stars.   I will have to get going on my EQ7 to see what I can come up with.  Some pseudo circles with some snowball type alternate blocks maybe.  I know DS likes circular things.

 

Next up my first little ‘Building Houses’ block.  I am considering combining this challenge with with Angela’s, of Soscrappy,  New Rainbow Challenge.

As if I didn’t have enough excitement going on, with all the various new projects popping up all over the place,  I decided to join in with the 12 Days of Christmas mini mystery being held at Temecula Quilt Company’s blog.   I’ve done to day 6 but there will be yesterday’s and today’s to do sometime today.

Aren’t they cute!!  These blocks are just 3” finished size.  I am using some repro charm squares which I’ve had in my box for a long while waiting for the perfect project.

Next up is my backwards crocheting.  It is a shawl I’ve been attempting to make for my mum.  The pattern was a bit brief in instruction even though it was stated as being for a beginner.  I think there was an omission in the pattern.  With my first attempt it was turning out square.  It is supposed to be triangular.  I pulled it out.  My second and third attempts (with a lot of guess work) they started to improve but still not triangular enough.  So I started a fourth attempt.  Finished up both balls of yarn which was stated for the pattern and realized it wasn’t big enough for a child let alone an adult and it still doesn’t look triangular enough to sit around the shoulders properly.  So now I’m in the process of pulling it out again for the fourth time.   I managed to purchase another 2 balls of the same yarn, which is gorgeous to work with but murder to pull out, and I am going to attempt it yet again adding even more stitches to the beginning and end of each row.  Fingers crossed!!  Meanwhile here is the non progress so far.

And last but not least. A wee story.

One evening, a couple of weeks before Christmas, DD was at the small shop where she was working when her co-worker went out to put something in the shop’s refuse bin and saw a box sitting on top of their recycle bin.  He went to put it in the bin but then realized there was something inside.   When he opened it he saw this little bunny.Some person had just dumped her there.  We suspect that someone who knows that DD has pet rabbits knew she was working and wouldn’t leave the bun.  DD phoned me to go pick them both up and, to cut a long story short, now little bun lives with us.  She’s been to the vet and is in good health though at first she wasn’t eating.  Vet confirmed she was a girl.  DD has named her Mila and she is a Netherland Dwarf.  That tray she is in is a regular sized seed tray.  She is tiny, but she is very feisty and vocal… not common in bunnies.  Quite funny to us but I can see why she may have been misunderstood and therefore dumped.  They didn’t know how to handle her and not a suitable breed for children if there were any.  She is, however, very sweet and has settled in just fine.

Oh well, I think I’d better get to some sewing or uncrocheting ;)

Have a great First Day of the New Year!!

hugs

Ellyx

KKQ Scrap challenge 2008

KKQ Scrap challenge 2008, originally uploaded by biscuitnrabbi.

I was visiting Luann's blog and saw her lovely scrappy blocks. Here is what I did with a scrappy set of appliqué blocks made from Dear Hannah sampler with some scraps I was given in a group challenge. It is made with these scraps and scraps from my own stash. I used the B-11 "To Paducah" pieced block for the alternative blocks.