Too Many Quilts Are Calling My Name! (Plans for 2023)

Can you believe that I forgot to mention Spinners in my last post? After all the trouble I had with this quilt, I managed to forget it. So let's add it here. 

The block was proposed by Border Creek Station as their Stash Buster Challenge block for 2021. 

It was included in my RSC2022 blocks whenever Angela called a colour I wanted to include in it. Then, Raven had an infection, and suffice it to say some blocks got stained. :^(  I've repaired some but there are still a few more to go. It is now considered a UFO. If you want to see the Stash Buster Challenge block for 2023, click this link.

Also not mentioned in the last post are the placemats I did as part of the Table Scrap Challenge hosted by Joyful Quilter. There was a theme picked each month too. 

 Thanks, Joy, for the fun challenges. ;^) Using up scraps is always fun. 

Okay, now on to 2023! Hopefully, I won't forget any. (I'm really getting forgetful in my old age ... or is it the wine?)

I did four different blocks for RSC2022. Although I love the way RSC works, it isn't always easy to integrate blocks that need a multitude of colours. So many of those quilts are calling my name that I decided to work on them this year, and I will join Angela for the RSC2023 whenever possible. The Rainbow UFO Challenge is still on and my list is done. This year, I give myself two months for each UFO. A month goes by too fast for any real work to be done. (Hopefully, I will be allowed to work from home. If that happens, I'll have more time to sew and maybe finish something. Yay!) 

I won't repeat the projects from past years mentioned in my previous post. The following are the new temptations projects. 

Irish Star

Twinkling Scrap Star (I don't know the name of this block; if anyone knows, please share. Thank you.) 

Friends' Favourite (found on Fiona's blog BubzRugz)

I call this one Friends' Favourite because it was made by a friend who altered it from a larger block her friend had made. She shared it with another friend of hers who shared it with me. 

After making these blocks, I realized that the border is actually the sashing. Oops! 

Aah! That's better. (Not in love with the double zero piece here. Hrmph!)

Idaho Square Dance (Bonnie K. Hunter from her book Addicted to Scraps.)

None of the Log Cabin blocks are done. 

Paper Chain from Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilts

I love this one as it uses more coloured fabric than white/neutral fabric. And who doesn't have a bazillion of 2" squares? 

Crooked Creek and Around T Time are on the backburners for now. 

You might have noticed that I am still working with very small pieces. Fun! It might have occurred to you that none of my projects need 9-Patch (97 done in 2022) and very few HST blocks. They will nevertheless still be my preferred leader-enders. Someday, I'll get to those quilts! 

In case you've lost track of all the projects, here's the Summary: 

1- Scrap Jar Star (Sew-Along with the Joyful Quilter. Care to join?)

2- Star Bloom 

3- Irish Star 

4- Twinkling Scrap Star

5- Friends' Favourite

6- Idaho Square Dance 

7- Paper Chain

Now, my expectations aren't very high. I understand that this is my list of future UFOs as none of these quilts will be finished this year and that's okay with me. I just need to get them out of my mind. Any questions? How will I manage all this? Only God knows. 😂

With this, I wish you all a colourful stash of fabrics to play with, a closet full of UFOs, more ideas than there are hours in a day, sharp blades, bobbins that remain full, and plenty of finished projects. May good health and laughter accompany you throughout the new year. 

Enjoy! 

;^)

Spending time with 

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Angela at So Scrappy 

Frédérique for Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

Finishes - The Placemat, the Bird, the House

The placemat: 

I thought of doing a green placemat this month but I could only finish the black one I started in September. 

Instead of the usual white background, I chose a light grey fabric. I had to use some white-on-black strings as it was getting very dark. Used a piece of the M&M print to bring some fun, JOYFULNESS, to it. 

The back is a fun dot print. I had that print in red too and you can see just half a circle of it in the triangle on the front. 

My goal is to make a light/lime green one in November. I've barely touched the sewing machine in two weeks. Gotta get back on that horse soon. 

The house: 

We finished painting the house and I didn't post a final picture. So here's my pumpkin house. 

Next year: landscape! 
 

The bird: 

I just couldn't keep it alone!

I HAD to retouch the chickadee's back. I find its wing too low, and adding a few more feathers would help the issue.

As I opened the paint bottles, some drops splashed onto the plaque! I tried to remove them but of course, the wood immediately absorbed the droplets and I just smeared them on.  

They are close enough to the tree to become another branch, so it's not the end of my world. While at it, I might as well retouch the whole tree. It looks pretty weak.  Ok! Deep breath. You can do this, girl.

A couple of hours later ... 

And Ta-Dah! 

I decided to just elongate the first feathers on its shoulder. I'm now sealing this to protect it from me touching it again. 

The Ste-Trinity Astisans meeting is Nov first and I want to show it to the members. They don't know I paint. Then it will be given to my MIL to decorate her door at the residence. I'm so happy I was able to do this for her. 

Back to the sewing room, I go. Some catching up needs to be done. 

Take care everyone. 

;^)

Joining 

Joy for Table Scrap Challenge

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

Putting Little Bits to Good Use

Like a butterfly, I go from one flower (project) to the next. I know they will come to completion one day and it might all be on the same day by the way I'm sewing these up.

One light blue Scrap Jar Star was born this week. 

One more yellow Jericho Wall. 

One more dark green Jericho Wall. 

One dark green placemat. 

Oops! Wrong side. 

Thanks to the Table Scrap Challenge hosted by Joy, I now have 7 new placemats. The chicken fabric is from the kitchen curtains we had when we first moved here, 25 years ago. 

Next is a black one. Since the challenge of this month is met and I still have a week before Angela calls the next colour I might as well start on another colour.  

Four light blue Star Bloom Blocks. 

It looks so good that it might entice me to buy more light blue fabrics. 

The fourth scrappy border is growing fast. These are for the Hole in the Barn Door quilt. While looking for yellow scraps for borders, I found some crumb blocks almost big enough for Chaser blocks. So I got them finished. 

And painting the house! Phew! We rescued the orange paint by adding some of the brown paint to the orange. I like it now. I just wish it was done already, haha. 

The house before 

and after painting

The section above the garage (picture of before) is half done as I write this. It was washed, scraped the old chipped paint, repaired where needed, and primed. It's been raining since Monday. We need a minimum of two days of sunshine to be able to finish this. Please, please, just two days. 

I don't always sew 9-Patch blocks as leader-enders. When I have no fabric ready for a 9-Patch, I sew little 1.5" pieces together from the container beside the sewing machine. It was fun playing with little bits again. 

This is a future Idaho Square Dance quilt from Bonnie Hunter's "Addicted to Scrap" book. 

And that's all. Can you tell I was on vacation this week? I even cleaned the sewing room! Yay me! I need to set up a place for work. I am eligible to work from home but my workplace needs to be approved by Human Resources first. They have to make sure my work stays confidential and that it is ergonomically suited. Anywho! It was a good excuse to clean up. 

Have a great weekend everyone. 

;^) 

I am delighted today to join Sarah once again from Confessions of a Fabric Addict for a Whoop Whoop Friday. Welcome back, Sarah. 

Also joining 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Joy for Table Scrap Challenge 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

All Over the Place

It must be the full moon because I just can't stay put. Painting the house is coming along ... not so fine. 

The background colour is waaayy too orange even for me. It needs to calm down a notch or two. Let's revisit that colour mixer. 

My design wall is very busy with all kinds of projects.

A light blue crumb block is finished. 

Another orange one got done too. Yes, I know, orange is so last month but it was almost done and I wanted to finish it. 

Pink gave me a very light orange solid fabric and I just had to turn it into this Buckeye Beauty variant block. 

Then, there's the Hole in the Barn Door borders. I set them on the floor to take a picture. It was easier that way. 

Will the borders be on three sides only? I have no idea why I haven't started the fourth one. I guess I'm just funny that way. I will fix that today. 

A dark green placemat is also taking shape. I don't have enough light blue fabrics to fill a placemat so I decided to make the Dark Green placemat since I didn't have time to do it during Dark Green Month. Let me rephrase that. I have enough light blue fabrics but the variety is lacking. 

While searching for suitable greens for the placemat I found a dark neutral and a Framed 9-patch block was born. 

Field of Poppies has all its poppies blocks quilted. On with the next blocks in white thread. 

I'm starting to sound like an overachiever but I'm not. My sewing room looks like a mini tornado passed through it. The colours, the textures, the prints, on the wall, on the floor, on every flat and not-so-flat surface, it's overwhelming ... but fun! Too bad I have to go back to work tomorrow. 

Have a wonderful week everyone. 

;^) 

Joining 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

For Orange Lovers

What a lovely month this was. If you read this blog just every now and again (or weekly), you know exactly why this was such a lovely month for me. The best part is sharing the photos, so let's do that.


Many interruptions kept me away from my sewing machine this week but I did sew a bit. 

Like these little bits for the sashing of The Hole In The Barn Door Quilt. (not yet trimmed.) Follow this link to see the quilt which I last worked on during the Orange month of 2021. 

Do you secretly challenge yourself with your sewing? 

Here's what I mean. I did 5 orange Star Bloom blocks. Then, for Jericho Wall blocks, I decided to use only fabrics that weren't used in those 5 blocks so the quilts won't look like twins of a different mother. You know what I mean? I believe I have enough orange to pull this through. 

I used some arrow fabric in this one ...

and some books for the second one. 

More blocks are cut and are ready by the sewing machine for the next sewing session. 

I have just finished, yes at 4 p.m., I finished sewing down the binding for the Table Scrap Challenge. 

Ta-Dah! 

I'm head over heels in love with this one. It is the best placemat so far. I might be a little biased in this statement but look, the first string is exactly in the corner. Wow! The cow fabric is all that I have and I made it work! The white fabric was set aside for a special quilt but this placemat is FOR ME, so out came the GOOD STUFF. 

Can you see the kitty's shadows on the white fabric in this picture? That's what makes it so special. 

The points of the triangle are present, compared to being cut off like they are on other placemats. 

Oh, I know it isn't perfect. Nothing is. That binding corner needs to be redone I think. It was the quickest binding job I've ever done and it shows, haha. Anywho! I love it. So this is my entry for the Table Scrap Challenge. There's no embroidery but there's a chicken! 

This picture shows the true orange colours. Bright enough? It matches my personality, lol.  

That's all for now. There are still a few days left in August to sew more orange. Let's go! 

Joining 

Angela at So Scrappy 

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Joy for the Table Scrap Challenge

and Cynthia on Sunday for Oh Scrap! 

Last Sprint for Purple Sewing.

The time for sewing some purple fabric is running out fast. I still have to do some purple crumb blocks but I did succeed in doing some sewing this week. 

For the colour Purple, my Rainbow UFO Challenge is Framed 9-Patch and it is now a top. A small top. 

It measures 56 X 48 inches. I might add another row at the bottom. 

It won't reach twin bed size but at least it will be a better size throw. It is going back into the closet as the time to work on it is now over. Another month; another UFO Challenge. Wonder what Angela will call for August. 

I love this reversed one. 

Scrap Jar Star in purple and lots of 9-Patch blocks. 

For the solid coloured fabric, I was disappointed in the purple I had to play with. They look like funeral parlor purple. Yuck!

At the bottom of the pillowcase (yes, my solids live in a pillowcase, a huge one too), I found some more purple, but lovely ones this time. So I sew up more of this block. 

Pretty lilac and eggplant kind of purple make these blocks sing. The bottom left is more of a black cherry colour or deep red wine but since I didn't use it when we had the red month, I'm throwing it in this month. :^D 

And for la pièce de résistance, a purple placemat with lots of dots, circles and splashes! 

Even the background fabric has circles. And a cat for free! Haha. 

I finished the binding early this morning. The backing is something between dusty rose and color-me-purple on navy. It's an oldie but I am happy with the result. See Joyful Quilter's blog for more Table Scrap Challenge goodies. 

And here we are at the end. Phew! That was a lot of stuff this week. 

Things have returned to normal at work (whatever normal now means!) It was more fun getting up in the morning to go to work, you know I mean? anywho! It's a long weekend now and sewing is all I can think of. 

Enjoy! 

Joining my sewing sisters

Angela at So Scrappy 

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 

 

Purple is Painful

♫ I could be brown, I could be blue, I could be violet sky ♪ ♪

♪ ♫ I could be hurtful, I could be purple, I could be anything you like! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CGVgAYJyjk&ab_channel=MIKAVEVO

 (Doesn't this part of Mika's song sounds like the description of a bruise or is that just me? ) 

Purple is a painful colour. Painful to describe, to photograph, to match; it has so many nuances and undertones that it must be the most colourful colour! There is something for everyone to like in this one.

And it's so much fun to work with! Let's see what happened in my sewing room. 

Three more Jericho Wall blocks were made. Can you believe it? I have 6 purple Jericho Wall blocks! Okay! Enough of this. Let's sew something else. 

How about 4 Star Bloom blocks? Love these together. 

I found a cat. I need it in my placemat. 

The little purple scrap had a curvy cut. It wasn't easy to fix it but the cat is on my mat! (Sounds like Dr. Seuss, right?) 

I also work on my Rainbow UFO Challenge. Purple is Framed 9-Patch quilt. These blocks need to be assembled. 

Three quadrants are done. One more to go and then, I will be three seams away from a top! 

It's smaller than what I had in mind. Should I make one more row? Add big borders? Some pondering to do here. 

Also, pondering about these cornerstones. Still. 

Very early this morning, I took it outside to take pictures as the weatherman promised a wet weekend. (It's almost noon now and it's bright and sunny!) Anywho! Black or red? Just one tiny difference and yet, it changes the entire quilt. I don't know which one I like best. 

I need to show you my purple flowers too. 

Colombine 

Aquilegia, the way we see them ... 

... and the insect's view. 

I believe I am done doodling chickadees. It's time to turn to colours. (I don't know why the photo turned bluish. It's weird!) 

It was an awful week at the office.  We are 4 team assistants, but with 2 on vacation = a lot more work for me. Yet, I did a lot of sewing too just to erase the tension from work in the evening. One assistant is returning on Monday. Yay! I survived, haha!

That's all I have for now. 

Cheers! 

;^)

Joining 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!