2017 Rainbow Scrap Challenge - The Year in Review

Warning!!!  Picture-heavy post!!!

If you saw my 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge - The Year in Review post, you might be surprised at how little I accomplished this year.  (Even more so, if you recall my 2015 Rainbow Scrap Challenge - The Year in Review post!!)  This year I went from 4 blocks per month to only two.  I originally thought that I would get a third block sewn per month.  I quickly realized that since I was doing a LIGHT and DARK version of each of those two blocks, there wasn't enough sewing time to make that third (or is that sixth?) block done each month!

SEW...

Here is how my RSC year progressed, by the month:

January - Purple

February - Aqua

March - Red

April - Multi

May - Green

June - Yellow

July - Blue

August - Light Neutral

September - Orange

October - Pink

Hmm... That's curious.  Something seems to be missing.  :o((

November - Brown

What?!?!  November???

Yep!!  Angela called a group of colors for November this year.  Darks - BROWN or BLACK, as each quilter saw fit.  As evidenced from the photo above, I went with BROWN.

Here's how it looks by the block...

Scrap Jar Stars (21):

Slab Stars (6):

There are also the RSC15 Alternate Blocks to consider.  I didn't get very far, however, I got the colorful prep work done:

When the year began, I fully intended to make these blocks along with the others.  However, I quickly realized that just was NOT going to happen this year.  Oh well, 2018 is coming!!

Besides that... 27 RSC blocks, along with 5 completed quilts, 4 scrap baskets, 6 "yarn bowls", and 12 "thread catchers", for a total of  27 quilted items for the year.  Oops!  That doesn't count the 2 pin cushions and 6 mug rugs or mini quilts that I made!!  That's a Grand Total of 35 quilted items made during 2017.  Combine that with the 2 skirts and 6 bags that I made and a few others that I forgot to mention and I had an EXTREMELY productive year!!!

Oh!! Guess what I found???

After photographing the last of the blocks, I found a baggie of pieces and parts in the Quilt Camp basket!  Apparently, I took them with me, but ran out of time.  Here are the cut, but un-sewn Slab Stars that were missing in the photos shown above:

Click here for Angela's final LINK PARTY of 2017.  It's a good thing that she is hosting a 2018 Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  I still have MANY more blocks to make in order to complete my RSC17 quilts.  Off to round up a project list...

Linking up with Oh Scrap!, too.

Until next time...

Get Scrappy!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC17 - Week 52

Welcome to Week 52 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  I can  hardly believe that the end of the year is upon us.  Thank you, Angela!!  The Rainbow Scrap Challenge has been the highlight of my quilting life for the past THREE YEARS.

If you have visited my blog before, you probably know what I'm talking about.  For those of you who are new to my blog, check out the So Scrappy blog for more information about what is also called the RSC.  You can read more about the 2017 Rainbow Scrap Challenge HERE.

This year, I was pleased to complete ONE of my original RSC projects from the 2015 Rainbow Scrap Challenge, which continued into and throughout the 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I present my FIRST EVER finish for the RSC, Rainbow Strings, completed in June of this year and pictured here with its happy recipient:

With that out of the way, let's work our way through the final week of the year 2017.

SUNDAY - Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house the quilter could be heard...

Last minute elf sewing, of course!!

I completed 2 Custom Knife Rolls from fabric scraps...

This shadowed photo shows one unrolled, interior (20+ year old) fabric from Guatemala compliments of Needleb (Thanks, B!) - after I realized that the remaining scrap I brought on cutting day wasn't quite bid enough to fit my design specs:

The colorful Custom Knife Roll was made from scraps leftover from my Rainbow Picnic Quilt, which remains unbound:

... And a Flax Seed Neck Warmer from recycled/upcycled denim:

I followed the directions from Instructables.com for the Flaxseed Heating Pad, but DH found it to be a bit short and would have preferred it to be segmented.  The seeds tend to fall to the front.  It's still usable.  Just not ideal.  (Note:  Use it as a bed warmer, too!)

MONDAY - Merry Christmas!!   To all who celebrate some other holiday, here's hoping that YOU had a great day, too!!  MIL opted not to put up a tree for the first time ever and THIS happened:

Since Angie at Quilting on the Crescent asked for a modeled shot of my recently completed Christmas Magic Cowl, here is what I looked like before dressing for our family festivities:

TUESDAY - Unfortunately, it was another No Sew Day.  :o((

Why, Joyful???

We were out of town with no hand sewing on board.  That's OK... I completed my current Wolkig cowl:

WEDNESDAY - Hmm... what did the day after the day after Christmas have in store for The Joyful Quilter?  Why, releasing another Wonderful Wednesday post, of course!  Read more HERE.

I also tried to figure out this year's Christmas gift... otherwise known as the curse of the new phone:

This might not LOOK any different from any other cell phone, but it certain does come with numerous new features than my last one!

THURSDAY - Back to our regularly scheduled programming.  Weekly Quilt Group was followed by errands and blog writing.

Oh!  And a trip through one of my favorite internet sites, Ravelry, where I found this pearl of wisdom...

Words to live by from Stitchley on Ravelry's Quilters Knitting group:

Maybe the goal isn’t use it up, but rather make it useful.

This totally mirrors my own philosophy on scrap quilting!!

FRIDAY - In Sweater Class today, I transferred my stitches to a 40" needle.  Now, you can actually SEE my project!!  Just look at all the progress I've made:

As per usual, knitting was followed by quilting with Needleb.  Today was the day that my BROWN Scrap Jar Stars were FINALLY completed:

SATURDAY - It's the LAST Saturday of 2017.  The next to last day of the year, in fact!  You KNOW what that means, don't you?

It's time for Angela's final LINK PARTY of the year!!  Head over to see how many completed RSC Quilts have been posted.

Sorry!! I'm still working on my Year in Review post.  If I don't finish by year's end, I will link to it in the first RSC18 Link Party.

On Sunday, I'll be linking up with Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

Until next time...

Wishing YOU a Scrappy New Year!!!

Wonderful Wednesday - The Thread Catcher Editon

WARNING!!!  Picture-heavy post!!!

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  This week's post is about the making of quilted gifts.  More specifically, it's about the making of more baskets.

As you may recall, I have been on a bit of a basket making kick this month.  A couple for me posted HERE.  Then I moved on to gifts for my Knit Group.  These were made by adapting Christina Cameli's Little Quilted Bucket pattern.  You can read about them in THIS post.

Once these quilted "yarn bowls" were made, I moved on to even SMALLER "thread catcher" baskets using only one of the two panels required in Christina's pattern:

With Knit Group taken care of, I moved on to thinking about making gifts for my Weekly Quilt Group.

And THAT...

Led me to a WHAT IF... moment!  As in, "What if I use this leftover portion of the failed attempt basket to make an EVEN SMALLER basket:

You KNOW that I love a good mini, right???  Well, I went into hyper-drive making these little baskets:

I had some leftover red, too:

Quilters like color, so I made a "thread catcher" basket out of a bit remaining from the back of my Rainbow Picnic Quilt.  Shown below at the "I" stage of the process.  That's after the corners have been cut out, but before any sewing has begun:

Here's the completed basket:

I was limited in the number of fabrics that worked for the binding of this one.  At the time I finished it, I thought the dot "went", but now I'm not so sure.  What's YOUR opinion?  Not that I plan on changing the binding now!  This baby has already been delivered:

This seemed to fit the next recipient:

I did "topography" quilting on this field of flowers:

Apparently, I stayed up too late while working on the next turquoise "thread catcher"!  Fortunately, I noticed there was a problem which diminished the need for stitch removal:

Here is the completed quilt sandwich...

... and the finished basket:



Hmm... that's different:

Moving along... only ONE person requested yellow:

What fun I had quilting this cheerful basket:

ANOTHER turquoise made with MORE pre-quilted scraps from my big aqua/turquoise scrap basket done in a wishbone pattern.  I'm really getting some mileage out of that project:

You may not have noticed anything different about the photo above?  (Also in that "yuckie green" pic a couple of baskets back!)  Look closely because that basket (through a cutting choice) turned out rectangular, instead of round.  Who knew?!?!  By changing the corner cut-outs, you can change the shape:

Someone is feel blue:

Aqua, anyone:

Another evening, another technique...

Let's try TWO at a time:

Alas, I only got a photo of ONE of the completed baskets:

Oops!  Here is the other one... upside down...

... And right side up.  This "thread catcher" was salvaged from that first failed attempt:

Would you believe there's more???

Well... Just ONE more:

I did some fun accent quilting in the flowers:

And, with that, Santa's Sweatshop is officially CLOSED til 2018!!

I had a wonderful time sorting through my fabric scraps to come up with pleasing groupings for each little basket.  HERE are my friends with their "thread catchers."  Together...

Oops!  A couple were missing after the first round of distribution:

... And separately...

Madame Turquoise:

Mrs. Blue:

Little Ms. Sunshine Yellow:

Ms. Purple Power:

Mrs. Positively Purple:

Mrs. All-the-Aqua:

Ms. Aquamarine:

I had a wonderful time working in Santa's Sweatshop, as my friend Needleb likes to call my "elf sewing."  LOL!  I will add additional photos as I see the rest of my friends.

Until next time...
Ho, Ho, Holy Basket Making, Batman!!!