ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC23 - Week 4

Welcome to Week FOUR of the 2023 Rainbow Scrap Challege!!  How did THAT happen??  This week didn't do any sewing, but I released several posts about sewn items or sewing related tasks.  Links are provide, in cased you missed any of them.

Read on to see how the week played out...

SUNDAY - PQ 14.2

This morning began with my weekly Zoom call to Knittingsuek...

During which, I selected fabrics for my personal RSC23 Scrap Jar Star Sew Along with my friend Chantal of At the Corner of Scraps and Quilts blog, of course YOU are welcome to join in:

Back to yesterday...

I enjoyed an Art Day with Britt:

More on that in Wednesday's post!

Now, on with the week...

Monday - BLUE Challenge (Blog Hop)  Don't miss this!! I made a TON of projects (and there just MIGHT be a surprise for you, too.)

Work...

And Quordle...

Also...

I discovered that my PQ14.2 was featured in Kristen's #scrapfabriclovesewalong Week Three video on YouTube!!!

TUESDAY - Tidy Up Tuesday

Also, I don't normally comment on No Reply bloggers here, but this comment brought a smile to my face:

Anonymous January 23, 2023 at 8:02 AM
I love the joy you share as you delve into your scraps! Looks like you had as much fun making as I did reading! Jan

Sending out a BIG thank you to Jan (and any other No Reply Bloggers!)  I make an effort to contact each commenter directly via email, but if that's not possible, I simply have to move on to the next comment.  I do appreciate you and your feedback. ~ Joy

Speaking of moving on...  It was time to head to work and today there was time for a game of Wordle during my lunch...

And Quordle, too...

AND some BLUE scrap cutting, as well:

WEDNESDAY - Today was my day off - which was really lucky, as I wasn't feeling well.

I did manage to get through my weekly Zoom with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color...

Before having to go take a nap.  I ended up having to "piggy back" Advil and Tylenol because of the aches, fever, and chills that I was experience as a result of yesterday's Tdap booster.  Ugh!!!

THURSDAY - Wonderful Wednesday (on a Thursday)

It was touch and go this morning, but I was able to down another Advil and drag myself to work.  Luckily, the phones weren't ringing off the hook, so I was able to take it easy.

Work and Wordle...

Along with a Quordle win...

Was followed by hemming and hawing, but by this evening, I was feeling pretty much back to normal and attended my Monthly Evening Quilt Bee:

I worked on an embellishment for the cover of my newly completed Board Book Journal:

Don't worry!  I'll be scaling down the me-made stamp that I created over the summer.

FRIDAY - ABC (Table) SCRAPS Challenge

Spoiler Alert:  February's letters are M and/or V

Work and Wordle...

Along with a very challenging game of Quordle:

Here's my interpretation of the SCENERY prompt for Junk Journal January:

I was really pleased with my color matching for the sky, but I went a little light on the leaves from the number that graced the portion of the scene that I cut off and attempted to replicate:

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  I hope you will join me in visiting Angela @ So Scrappy to see what the RSC Quilters have been up to this week.

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

January 2023 - ABC (Table) SCRAPS Challenge - Link Party

Welcome to the January 2023 edition of the ABC (Table) SCRAPS Challenge here at the Joyful Quilter!!  Thanks for stopping by the Link Party to see what participants have made this month.  It's amazing that another month is coming to a close.  Where DOES the time go?

I host this challenge in conjunction with Angela's (RSC) Rainbow Scrap Challenge @ So Scrappy.  It's been SEW much fun to offer the...

Button credit to Susan @ Desert Sky Quilts, updated by me.

Since basically ANY small quilted item qualifies for this challenge, I scrounge through my scrap basket to see what I can come up with.  

Each month I offer a prompt to help get your creative juices flowing.  While you are NOT required to use it in your project, the guiding word is revealed at the end of each month's LINK PARTY post.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see August's focus.  It, along with the RSC Color of the Month (as soon as Angela releases it - around the 1st of the month) will also be added to the 2023 ABC (Table) SCRAPS Challenge page at the top of the blog.

January's letters were...

C, R, and/or J

Here's what I did with that...

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge Color of the Month was Dark/Bright BLUE and there were a number of bits that looked interesting in my scrap basket...

I began with a desire to participate in Kristen's Scrap Quilt Along on her blog and @ Scrap Fabric Love on YouTube.  You can also find her @scrapfabriclove on Instagram:

With that in mind, I decided to make a JUNIOR size CRUMB block for the center:

It measure 2.5" square.

But how would I include the final letter of this month's challenge???

With a RED scrappy background, of course:

I pieced the sub-units of the block...

And then assembled it like a traditional 9-Patch block:

But, what will you DO with the completed Scrap Buster Plus block, Joyful???

Hmm... That's a good question and I have a few ideas about what I might make.

Let's start by searching for a scrap chunk that will work for backing.  Yep!  That lovely dot will work perfectly with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge Color of the Month, so I layered it up with a scrap of batting...

Quilted it right up and stuffed it with a combination of fiber fill and crushed walnut shells:

How does that fit this month's theme???

As I mentioned before, it worked like this:

C - CRUMB block for the center square

R - I used a RED scrappy background

J - The block is JUNIOR sized!  I shrunk the Scrap Buster Plus Sew Along 12" block from Scrap Fabric Love down to 6.5 inches.

Here is my completed ABC (Table) SCRAPS Challenge entry for January:

With just less than two week to go until the Link Party, it's already fulfilling its duty as a chunky pincushion:

What's next, Joyful???

February is still a few days away.  UPDATE!!  Angela has chosen PINK as the Color of the Month for February.  YOU just might be able to come up with something to do with that!  :o))

February's letters are:

M and/or V

NOTE:  Take them wherever they lead you.

And now...

It's time for YOU to link up your C, R and/or J projects in the LINK PARTY below.  All entries MUST be submitted by Tuesday, January 31st @ 11:59PM (EST).

Until next time...

USE those table scraps!!!

#ABCtableSCRAPSchallenge2023

#tablescrapschallenge2023

Britt liked the pincushion, so I let her keep it.  Actually... I took it with me HOPING that she would like it enough to adopt it!  :o))

By the way, please ignore the strange glare on my glasses.

Wonderful Wednesday - Weekend Art Day

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  I'm here to share my weekend Art Day with @britt_quilts.

It wasn't my best ever "us-ie taking" day, but here we are, ready to make an attempt at catching up on the Junk Journal January prompts from Meg Journals:

I started by adding some details to the MAP prompt:

From there I added some embellishments to my HAND LETTERING page:

The cool folded paper bit was from at tutorial by Helen @ Journal With Purpose

My TEXTURE page was a bit of a challenge.  It might look like a bit of a hot mess, but I wanted to focus on textured images rather than creating background texture:

The BEST part of the day was when (finally) I added the cover art to my Board Book Journal begun in a FREE class with quilter/artist Drew Steinbrecher:

With that done, I moved on to interpreting the EXPERIMENTAL prompt...

I chose a stenciled page from Britt's scrap folder and built around it with other scraps and some custom papers she created for me:

It went through several iterations, including eliminating "floating" elements...

Cutting out a large portion of the straight lines...

Along with playing hide and seek with our prompted word...

Before arriving at the spread you see below:

It might not feel very much like "me" in color choices or page layout, but it was an enjoyable experiment.  Thanks for hosting the first Art Day of the new year, B!  I was pleased to have a dedicated time to catch up on the Junk Journal January prompts.

Until next time...

PLAY!!!

Tidy-Up Tuesday - Declutter Challenge - Week 3

Welcome to another edition of Tidy Up Tuesday!!  My studio is currently in transition.  It has been dumping ground for all of the quilty things that were stuffed in my last studio, but little by little, homes are being found for all of the items or else the items are being moved along.  I'm on a quest to make my "new" studio less cluttered and more organized.  Karen @ Just Get It Done Quilts is helping me with her Declutter Challenge 2023. If nothing else occurs, the number of magazines in my studio was significantly reduced and there is one less packing box to trip over.  :o))

Let's see how I did since last week's post...

Day 15 - Unfinished Projects

It's another day for the hard stuff.  You're killing me, here, Karen!!  Here is the HUGE drawer that is designated for UFOs:

Some of those are even on this quarter's UFO List!  The others?  I'll work my way through them... Eventually!  That's what the (Ravelry) UFO Club, found at the Quilters Knitting group is all about.  Anyone with 5 (or more) UFOs can join The Club at the beginning of  January, April, July, and October.

Day 16 - Kits

The projects that have fabrics pulled, but little or no work put into them:

These are saved for times when I want to work on something requiring no thought.

Day 17 - Scraps

Today, Karen asked us to take a look at our fabric scrap and I've done that:

I look at my Scrap Station every time I walk into my studio.  It's my favorite part of my space. I love the fact that it is filled with little bits of quilting possibilities in any color of the rainbow and it makes me SEW very happy!

Full disclosure...

There are a couple of tubs of scraps that you can't see in the photo above and a BIG drawer full or scraps there on the right.

Oh!  And these, which I just pulled a project from the other day:

Strip drawers...

Square drawers:

You mean not everyone has scraps of all shapes and sizes filling up their sewing room?  Well, we don't ask artists to declutter their paints and the only scraps that I will part with are those coming in the door that I know I will never use.  ALL the rest will stay (and my offspring can part with them when I am gone.)  They are mine, Mine, MINE!!!  Yes, I'm a scrap quilter.  Why do you ask?  :P

Day 18 - Batting Scraps

That's our target today.  Mine are housed in this HUGE drawer:

Note:  This drawer measures 16.5" x 16.5" x nearly 2.5 feet!!

I pull from this drawer with almost EVERY project I make.  If you don't know me, you might think there's NO WAY to use those random bits.  However, if you DO know me, you know that I make a lot of SMALL projects.  With medium sized projects, Franken-batting is employed.  New batting is typically only used for large projects.

Day 19 - Precuts

I am SEW not a precut girl!  Here is my entire collection:

They were gifts and prizes, which is great. I'm pretty sure that I have only purchased two Fat Eighth bundles (one of which I've used for a project), two Layer Cakes and a single Mini Charm pack that was too cute to pass up!  I used two Charm Packs for a project a couple of years ago and the rest of these are still waiting for inspiration to strike. Since they don't take up much space, and they are so good at waiting patiently, I'm going to let them continue to hang out in the studio for the "right" project to come along.

Day 20 - Skip Day

Karen wasn't up to filming today's video and didn't post our task on her blog, either.

Day 20 - Fabric

Sigh...  I knew this day was coming.  It's the day my studio SERIOUSLY needs, but it's also the day that I have dreaded the most!  You see, I have a LOT of fabric.  It ALL has SEW much potential and I hesitate to part with any of it!

Logically, I know that I don't have room for all the fabric currently in my stash.  My new studio just doesn't have to space to store it all.  It's time to push my Fantasy Quilter self out of the way and face that reality.

Maybe later...

For now, I'll be parting with this (partial) bolt of fabric:

Day 21 - A Few Last Things

Karen is had one final task before we complete the Declutter Challenge 2023.  Today, we are supposed to gather all of the bags, buckets and bins, along with the rest of the trash, recycles, and donations.  Get them out of the house, wipe down your surfaces and call yourself done...  Unless you're taking the slow train to the sewing station, in which case, you are welcome to take all the time you need.  Karen is leaving the playlist up in the event that you are like me and have a bit more work to do.

I did gather these fabrics to pass along to another quilter:

Photo Currently Unavailable!!

What is your takeaway, Joyful???

I'm guessing almost ANYONE doing the challenge did a better job than I did, but...

I got some things out of the studio, found homes for a few more and plan on continuing with the momentum that Karen challenge helped build.  If your space still needs more work, you are welcome to confess share it in the comment section below.

To Karen...

Thanks for taking us along on your Decluttering journey as we head into 2023!  It's a great way to start a new year.  Your encouragement pushed me to dig through my studio and take a good hard look at the unwelcome, the unwanted, the no longer necessary.  (Even IF not as much progress was accomplished as I had hoped, but that is no reflection on you, Karen.)

Until next time...

Reclaim your space!!!