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

Rainbow Scrappy Saturday

Can you believe it’s almost the end of March already.  

Here is my March Rainbow Scrappy 12” block in green.  I think I may trim it down and add a log cabin frame.  But I’ll wait until I’ve completed all my blocks before deciding.

It was a good way to try out the Inklingo Pies and Tarts shape collection.   I used the back baste appliqué method for this block after  both hand piecing the pie and machine piecing the tarts.  The placement circles were printed on the back of the background fabrics using this shape collection, as were the cutting and stitching lines for the wedges.   The greens and background came out of my scrap bag.

I also made a couple of Disappearing 4 Patch blocks to try out the technique.   I followed the tutorial on Beth’s blog Love Laugh Quilt  here.

Here is the picture of them so far :-I’m not quite sure what I’ll make with this, it is 10” x 20” at the moment.   I have a couple of ideas floating around in my head, for example, a small table runner or maybe a little block holder case. I could do with one of those for some of my hand piecing projects so that is at the moment the favourite idea.   Unless anyone else has an idea for this pair of blocks ;) ?

I really didn’t make a very big indent into my surprisingly large collection of green scraps but I have learned to see green in a new light.   I don’t dislike it quite so much :)

That’s all for now, have a great weekend.. oh and if you’d like to see other Rainbow Scrappy Saturday reports go see Angela’s blog SoScrappy .

Happy quilting,

Ellyx

Scrap Happy Saturday and March Calendar quilt

Good afternoon from Sunny Scotland.

When I went looking for my green scraps I didn’t expect to find more of them than Blue or Red, however, I found more!!  Green isn’t even a favourite colour of mine but I must use it a bit.  Here is my basket I have collected them together in. Some of these are very old!!

Here is the block I’m in the process of making for my Rainbow Scrappy quilt.I printed out pie and tart shapes using  the Inklingo Pies and Tarts shapes collection.  This is as far as I’ve got with them.  I need to decide on my background fabric and sew the Pie.

Lastly, here is my March Stitchery quilt which I have hanging above my sewing machine.Happy Stitching!!

hugs Elly

SCRAPPY SATURDAY REPORT

This week has been a busy one so I haven’t got as far as I had hoped, however, I did make a decision on the setting of my little red scrappy double 4 patch blocks.   Here it is half sewn together:-Not a very good photo as the natural light is poor today and DH had to hold my portable daylight lamp while I took the picture…. hence why it looks a bit lopsided, LOL…  Anyway, I need to decide on the outer triangles and cut and sew them on the ends then I can join the diagonal rows.   The hearts are not yet sewn on but I’ll quilt/appliqué them by machine.  The idea to just have them in alternating squares was my DDs.   I think a little hand quilting will go in the blank ones. 

I also managed to complete the little redwork block that got thrown to one side a couple of years ago.  Some of you may remember this 2008 BOM from Bea of Capricorn Quilts blog.

I had first thought to stitch it on Osnaburg fabric (I hope I’ve spelt that correctly as I keep calling it Osnabrook  :))    But I found it very stretchy to work with and being a novice stitchery person my work was messy… so I changed my mind and started it again on muslin and used different coloured threads.   However, I didn’t throw this little block away and have since learned about cotton interfacing being used as a stabilizer.  So since this month’s challenge colour is red I pulled it out from it’s hiding place and unpicked all the messy stitching, ironed on the back of it the cotton fusible and re-stitched it again.  It was so much easier to work with and I’m happier with the result.   Here it is:-I’ll have to find my multi coloured one to show you… if I can find it and I think I may have done the second one too before it got left.  I have to think about what I shall do with this one block wonder, maybe a cushion panel?  Little medallion centre?  Hmmmm…. decisions, decisions.  

For now though I must get to my Dear Jane block of the week ;0)  Until laters…

Happy Stitching,

Ellyx

SCRAPPY RAINBOW CHALLENGE REPORT; Dear Jane block and a bunny story

I’m a bit late but it’s not the end of January yet so here is this week’s report.    I started yesterday and completed today… with lots of procrastinating.. may I present my blue mug rug designed by Angela of Soscrappy .   

I have also found a new home for my blue scraps.  I’m sure there are still some lurking about but I will find them and when I do come across them I’ll know where they go ;))

 

I also managed to complete another Dear Jane block here:-  M-13 Lynette’s Diamonds.

 

 

Bunny Biscuit has still been poorly.  Ended back at the vet on Friday and he is booked in to get his teeth done tomorrow.  Worrying but if he won’t eat there is little choice.  I’ve spent a lot of time syringe feeding him which I don’t mind as we always have a lovely cuddle afterwards ;)

Here’s a picture of one of my other bunnies Chichi fast asleep… she looked so cute with one of her paws up.  Like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.  But I have a tail to tell about this bunny:-   

The other night I was in bed asleep when I was woken by DH scuttling around the bedroom with a torch...   I guessed to myself Chichi had gone walk about.  But I knew she couldn’t be far so I went back to sleep.  I awoke a little later for a trip to the bathroom where upon I met DH coming up to bed.  Yes it was Chichi who’d gone AWOL.   He said he’d looked high and low and was fearing she’d escaped into the garden while he'd gone into the garage earlier for some ice cream from the freezer.  He’d checked every possible place twice but hadn’t found her. He was on the verge of a panic at the thought of the 'hell' he'd get from me for letting her out (as if) and was on his way back into the house from his second trip to the garage, resigned to the fact that chichi had was gone.... when  he thought to look in the most unlikely spot....(as you do)…. and lifted up the lid of the indoor garbage bucket.  Hey presto! Much to DH’s surprise there she was!!!  Sitting in the bucket with the lid down on her....How exactly she got in there is a mystery but the bucket is in the back store room is next to the veggie rack....   I suspect she'd tried to get up onto the top shelf of the veggie rack by jumping up onto the bucket but the lid was up so she fell in and the lid closed on top of her... only explanation I can think of.   There was evidence of 2 half eaten pears on the top rack which she and accomplice Malachi had got to by stretching up. Anyhow, she was not amused by all accounts when DH fished her out, LOL.   That’s Malachi you can see a bit off behind her using her as a prop.  There’s never a dull moment with these rabbits.

I hope you’ve had a great weekend

Happy Stitching,

Ellyx

RAINBOW SCRAP CHALLENGE, DEAR JANE AND BUNNY BISCUIT

Firstly, after a visit to Katrin’s blog I went to SOSCRAPPY’s blog and thought I’d give the scrap challenge a go it seemed like fun…though I’m late into the game.  So since January’s challenge was to use blue I went delving into my blue scraps and found some already made patches from 3 previous projects and I joined them together to make this block:-I added the pre-cut blue star to the centre which will need appliquéd down…..  when I decide what I am going to do with the block.  Do I keep it to one side to add further blocks to over the year with this scrappy challenge OR do I make something from it.  There is the question :)  If you’d like to join in please see the button in the right column.

While I was in amongst my blue scraps I pulled out some blue squares from various samples I’ve received over the years and I’m going to attempt to make a 10 minute block quilt from them.   I’ll post a picture another day.

So my play in my blue scraps yesterday was fun but it took all day!   Therefore, today I have been trying to finish my Dear Jane block.  I had already started to re-do on Friday.  Here it is finished.  You may have read in an earlier post last week that I’d attempted this block but didn’t like the way it was looking.  Well here it is done in a different way.  Much better and it’s staying, LOL…  A-11 Pebble’s Protest  revisited.

Not so good is my elderly house bunny Biscuit isn’t eating well.   He has been to the vet and is on some medication to encourage his appetite but the vet said he may well need to have some dental work done.   Here he is:-

He is 9 and half years old.  This picture was taken sometime last year I think.

Hasta Luego,

Happy Stitching Ellyx