2016 RSC January Blue Week 5, Let's Book It, Hands 2 Help 2016

During this week of the Scrappy Rainbow Challenge, I made two scrappy 7" x 10" blue batik mug rugs. I plan to make a couple batik mug rugs a month in each of the RSC colors.
Three cotton knitted dishcloths made it into the picture. To see what others made with their blue scraps go here Saturday morning.

I continue to make star blocks for the "Let's Book It" project I started last month. The blocks are made from deconstructed men's shirts. I need 42 Star Gazing blocks for this Bonnie Hunter quilt pattern. I now have 18 blocks. This post will linked on Sharon Vrooman's "Let's Book It" January 2016 blog post found here.

Difficult to believe that it is already time to start working on 2016 Hands 2 Help charity quilts. I decided to make a scrappy Sweet Sixteen quilt much like the one I made last year. I need 48 blocks. Pictured are my first eight blocks. To read about this charity quilt drive follow the H2H 2016 button on the side of my web page.

2016 RSC January Blue Week 4

I love blue and am happy "blue" comes during a five week month like January. Because there has been more sewing area organization and scrap management this week than sewing, I don't have a lot to blog about. I'm still working on tumbler units and Star Gazing blocks, a Let's book It project. I'll post progress pictures later this month or next.
In past RSC years, I've enjoyed watching other RSC participants sew Bonnie Hunter Boxy Stars blocks in rainbow colors. This year it will be one of my RSC projects. Pictured is my first Boxy Star block in blue. I'm going to sew the darker shades of each RSC color in the center of the block to create more of a star block pattern. The Boxy Stars pattern can be found here.
My super scrappy pot holders were a hit last year so I decided to make two a month this year. I have a plastic tub of small scraps and trimmings I can't bear to toss in the trash. They are perfect for scrappy projects like colorful hot pads and pot holders.
To see what others made during the RSC week go here.
I'm happy today is sunny and the snow and ice is beginning to melt. Because the roads are still covered in the icy mix, today will be a good day to continue sewing area organization as well as sew more blocks.

2016 RSC January Blue Week 3 and a Charity Baby Quilt

After a third week of playing with blues, I'll add four Happy Scrappy Houses to my collection The pattern can be found on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville website under the free pattern tab. All my little houses are occupied.

I decided to make a rainbow wonky star quilt with 2.5" squares this year. One block is all blue squares. The other block is blue and purple squares. To see what others made with blue prints go here Saturday morning.

My sewing buddy, Cathy, and I got together Saturday to sew RWB 8.5" blocks to donate for Home Town Hero Quilts. Here are my four blocks. I'll turn them in  during this month's guild meeting.

My NY buddy, Sharon, sent me a box of goodies over the Christmas Holidays.  I pulled a couple panels of wonky little houses and flower blocks from the box, cut them apart and sashed them with a sunny yellow print from my sash.

I used most of the blocks on the front and the rest on the back. It's quilted with a very loose free motion meander. The binding is a pretty yellow print, also from my stash. After a go in the washer and dryer this soft sweet little charity quilt finished at 35" x 37". This was fun to make. I'll turn it in during this month's guild meeting. Thank you Sharon.

2015 RSC January Blue Week 2

Our Rainbow Scrap Challenge Host, Angela, is hosting a RSC Column Quilt this year. January's color is blue and here are six blue stars for the first column of the quilt. I'm undecided if I want to make a lap or twin size quilt. Six blocks will be enough for a lap quilt.

I plan to make a doll quilt each month in that month's RSC color. The border, backing, binding and many of the one hundred 2" squares in this one is blue.  The border is 3" blue strips. A 36-patch blue block made with 2" squares made it into the picture.
I've been working on a charity baby quilt this week that I'll photograph and post when it's finished.
I LOVE blue so this is going to be a good month. To see what others made with wonderful blues, go here.

2016 RSC January Blue Week 1, Gifts in the Mail

2016. Can't believe it's a new year already. Angela chose BLUE for January's RSC color. I love blue so the RSC blue month is a lot of fun. 16-patch blocks are one of my favorite go to block patterns. Forty-eight sashed blocks make a nice quilt. These four 8.5" blocks will be added to my collection carried over from last year. I'm now half way to my goal of 48 blocks.
Angela is hosting a RSC Column Quilt Sew Along this year. Sounds like fun.
To see what others made with blue scraps and fabrics, go here.

It was a very busy December with lots of Christmas sewing. Unfortunately .... very little blogging and blog surfing. I sewed at least seven of these totes for gifts. They were made using 1.5" strips of men's shirt fabrics.

I'm blessed with internet blogging friends. My sewing buddy, Terri, sent me a 2016 pattern calendar. They are so much fun! Block patterns, quilt patterns. I see a cute house pattern on the front of the box that I'll be trying first! That boat block says future "boy baby quilt". Thank you Terri.

My Texas sewing buddy, Elaine, sent me these beautiful squares of Kaffe Fassett prints. He is one of my favorite fabric designers and I think these squares are wonderful! I'm looking forward to playing with them this year. Thank you Elaine.

My New York sewing buddy, Sharon, sent me a box of goodies. Fat quarters, wonderful scraps, a baby panel and a gray jelly roll. Sharon sent me a gray jelly roll last year that I used to sash colorful 16-patch blocks for a large "guy friendly" charity quilt. This year she sent me another! Soooo I'll be making another gray sashed "guy friendly" fun charity quilt this year. Thank you Sharon.

Last year was a good year. Lots of sewing fun! Fourteen or fifteen charity quilt, twelve of them baby quilts. Some quilts for family and friends. A couple dozen colorful scrappy pot holders. Many of zipper pouches, totes, pillowcases, charity blocks. A very productive year. I often reflect about how blessed I am and have been.  I am truly thankful. And very grateful.  I want to wish everyone a blessed and Happy New Year!

2015 RSC December Turquoise Week 3, Two Totes Made From Deconstructed Men's Shirts

It's been a busy two weeks since my last post. Christmas sewing, totes, tiny zipper pouches, receiving blanket. My back was out about a week. Thankfully it returned. Lol. I have four turquoise occupied happy scrappy houses to add to my collection.
To see what others made with their RSC scraps go here Saturday morning.

I made another Everything Bag using deconstructed men's shirts. A piece of thin interfacing in the side pockets give them some body. Narrow pieces of batting in the handles give them body, too. This tote will be a gift. So far, I've made four Everything Bags. It's not a difficult pattern and people seem to love them. I'll probably make more.

I've made three of these small totes using 1.5" strips of deconstructed men's shirts. I sewed 14 strips onto batting. The strips were about 14" long. The handles were made from lengths of fabric 6" wide with a narrow piece of batting inside to give them body. I have pillowcases to sew and I'll be done.
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas : )

2015 RSC December Turquoise Week 1, "Let's Book It" Star Gazing Quilt Progress

Difficult to believe that it's December. It's time to finish up RSC projects we have been working on each month this year. I've already turned most of my RSC blocks into hot pads/pot holders, mug rugs and small quilts this year. I started sewing four 16-patch blocks and four Occupied Happy Scrappy House blocks each month in the middle of this RSC year. I'll continue sewing both blocks during next year's RSC year as well as turning my small scraps into supper scrappy hot pads and mug rugs. Angela is planning a RSC row sew along quilt next year. Because I LOVE row quilts, I plan to sew along with her and my RSC friends to make a rainbow row quilt.
During this RSC year I missed playing with my collection of turquoise scraps so I'll be playing with them this month. Today I'll add four 16-patch turquoise blocks and a supper scrappy turquoise hot pad to my collections. A cotton knitted dishcloth made it into the picture. To see what others made with their RSC scrappy blocks this week, go here Saturday morning.

I've been working on my November Let's Book It Project this week. I'm using a pattern from a pattern book by Bonnie Hunter that I've had for 4 years. The quilt pattern is called "Star Gazing" and is in her book called "Scraps and Shirttails". I'll be using mostly deconstructed men's shirts and some woven fabrics to make this quilt. As it's a large quilt, I'll be working on it for several months. I'm linking this post with Sharon Vrooman's "Let's Book It" blog post. Sharon plans to continue this monthly challenge into next year. Because of this challenge, I've made some wonderful quilts and totes from patterns I've saved for a long time. Check out this challenge and consider sewing along with us next years. We link up each month.