The Guest Blogger(s) - No. 53 - Kentucky Derby in Australia

Welcome to another edition of The Guest Blogger(s)!!  I received an email from Jane in Australia last week.  She has completed her entry for the May TABLE SCRAPS Challenge.

This is what she had to say...

Hello Joy

Herewith is my delightful placemat for Kentucky Derby and Pink.
Horse racing threw me for a bit, but I remembered this scrap of fabric.

Here is the story of her entry...

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie are two little gum nut babies who live in the Australian bush, (gumnuts in the eucalyptus trees). The wicked banksia men (seed pods on the banksia trees) caught them and threw them into the ocean. The gumnuts did not drown, they were quite at home down there. They met John Dory and Ann Chovy and lots of lovely fish people.
One day they were at the races - the sea horse races!!
The colours were perfect for the fat quarter of pink and blue fabric and the scrap of pink for the border and binding was also perfect.
I’m keeping this one! Such wonderful childhood reading memories!

And a reflection...

Remember when I was making table runners and had one left to do? This is the fabric which I bought to be the ocean around a map of Australia.
The map is done but I have not finished the runner - needs more inspiration and lots more work yet.

Thanks once again for posting my entry in your challenge each month.
Trust you are well,
Jane in Australia

Give Jane some quilty love in the comments below.  I assured her that it wasn't meant to be a literal prompt, but an open one with many possibilities.  I'm pleased to share her darling entry for this month's challenge.  I feel certain that you enjoy seeing her work as much as I do!  Thank you for sending a photo for the blog, Jane.  I'm thrilled to post your projects (and anyone else's without a blog.)  They serve to inspire us to USE the scraps that most of us continue to accumulate!

Link Party REMINDER...

The May 2024 TABLE SCRAPS Link Party will be opening on  Friday, May 31st @ 12:01 AM.  I hope that YOU will join in the scrappy fun!  You haven't started sewing yet?  No worries.  Small projects are quick to make and entries can be added until Wednesday, June 5th @ 11:59 PM (EDT).

Until next time...

USE those (table) SCRAPS!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC 24 - Week 20

Welcome to Week 20 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  Thank you to the quilty friends who sent healing vibes my way after last week's back trouble.  I'm hoping that things will return to normal this week.

Let's see if there was any scrappy sewing...

SUNDAY - The day began with my Weekly Morning Art Zoom where I did a little of this and a little of that, but didn't take any photos when I was done the after lunch, I enjoyed my Weekly Zoom call with Knittingsuek:

Later, I made up for lost time by creating this page in my Messy Challenge journal following the methods of @craftysheri's lesson for Day 8 of Messy May:

MONDAY - Before work, I used the heating pad on my back and took a nap.  After work I had another visit at the chiropractor.  When I returned home, I found that our yard had received some new markings:

TUESDAY - #100Days100ThingsDecluttered

Work went better today, as yesterday's adjustment seemed to help a good bit, but now I'm back to icing for inflammation relief.  I did a little bit of PINK scrap quilting this morning AND this evening, but as evidenced below, there's still more stitching to be done:

 

WEDNESDAY - Work...

Was followed by my weekly Zoom call with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color:

THURSDAY - Today is the beginning of a 4-day weekend for me.  Yay!

Guess who attended Weekly Quilt Bee???  Not me!  I also didn't meet my friend Hilary for lunch at Saratoga Grill like we had planned.  :o((

I did do some grocery shopping, though, and made it home in time for the Winging It hangout on Get Messy:

I had gotten a head start on this page in my Hangout Journal, but spent some time coloring in loops during the "create-abration" for Get Messy's 10th birthday:

Just prior to the event, I printed out the zine that Phoebe created for us to incorporate in our NOW page for the day's Messy May prompt.  I worked on my page and added some color to the zine:

FRIDAY - I was happy to attend Knit Group today and even remembered to get a photo:

This afternoon, I was back at the chiropractor's office.  I'm working up to maintenance level.

After dinner, I headed up to the studio for my Weekly Evening Art Zoom.  I worked on today's VINTAGE prompt for Messy May...

And hung out to chat with Britt after them meeting was over:

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  I hope you will visit with Angela @ So Scrappy to see what the RSC Quilters have been up to this week.  I'm not sure that I'm going manage to make the rounds to the participant blogs this week either, but I'm going to try!!  It's been a challenge to stay seated long enough to check out the links.  :o((

Please accept my apologies.  I want get back in the swing of things, as I have really missed seeing what everyone has been up to with their PINK fabric scraps.  Hopefully, in another week or two, it will happen.  In the meantime, thank you to those of you who continue to visit my posts.  Know that I appreciate you!  Special quilty hugs to readers who leave kind comments, as well.  :o))

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

The 100 Day Project - #100Days100ThingsDecluttered - Week 12

Welcome to Week 12 of the #100Days100ThingsDecluttered new mini-series here on The Joyful Quilter!!  I started The 100 Day Project on February 18th.  I'm still shocked that I finally committed to it.  It's particularly popular on Instagram.  I have been hesitant to participate before now.  I'm releasing weekly updates for those of you who might be interested in seeing what goes out the door.

What's your project, again, Joyful???

I signed up with a different idea in mind than most.  You can read about it HERE.  That link will tell you all about my project.

While I have exceeded my goal...

I'm still NOT stopping!!  I am continuing to declutter my home and studio for the entirety of the 100 Day Project.  I really want to free up MORE space for more creativity.

In case you missed the news last week...

CURRENT PROJECT TOTAL: 300/100!!!

Here's my progress for Week Twelve from all around the house, studio and garage:

25 balls of yarn gifted

  1 trash bag

28 balls of yarn donated

  1 handful of yarn scraps

  1 knitting project bag

  1 baby blanket

  1 (more) gift bag

  1 pair glasses

  1 pillowcase bag

Week 12 Total:  60/100

Updated Project Total:  360/100

Thank you to those of you who continue to encourage my weekly decluttering efforts!  I appreciate your kind comments and your willingness to cheer me along!  Sara @ My Sewing Room blog left the following comment:

Well done!! I think week #11 was a success - for both of us. I'm at 286 items right now. This week I'm going through a couple of more crates of books we have no interest in keeping. I'm having fun lightening the load around here.

To which I replied:

Sweet!! Way to go, Sara! I'm glad to hear that you're having fun with decluttering. I can't say I am, but I am pleased with my progress.

Please know that...

I will continue decluttering through the end of the 100 Day Challenge.  My goal for the past week was to focus on the studio.  While it doesn't sound like it, I'm calling the week a success because the majority of the items listed came from there.  Come back next week to see what goes in the box during the next 7 days. 

@dothe100dayproject

#The100DayProject

#DoThe100DayProject

#100Days100Things_TheDeclutterEdition

#100Days100ThingsDecluttered

#filltheboxjoy

You can follow me on Instagram @thejoyfulquilter.

Until next time...

Do the 100 Day Project!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC24 - Week 19

Welcome to Week 19 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  Let's start with some PINK art from last Saturday's Season Opening hangout on Get Messy.  The background was excess paint from the day's lesson, but I paired it with finger painted roses made of excess paint from a piece of art shared in last week's post:

Here's how this week progressed...

SUNDAY - The day began with my Weekly Morning Art Zoom where I added details to the following journal spread which was created during yesterday's lesson:

After lunch it was time for my Weekly Zoom call with Knittingsuek:

MONDAY - Before work, I played with more of my PINK scraps to get a jump on my project for this month:

TUESDAY - #100Days100ThingsDecluttered

Today didn't go as planned.  I went upstairs before work and did a bit of tidying with the goal of finishing up my post in the link above.  What happened was something quite different...

I bent over to put something in a basket on the table and when I straightened, I knew there was a problem.  I took some Advil immediately, went about the business of getting ready for work, and hoped the pain would disappear. Unfortunately, when I sat down a few minutes before time to leave, I found that I couldn't return to standing without help and severe pain.  No work for me and no playtime, either.  DH came home from work to help get me settled into bed with ice packs for the afternoon.  (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off, alternating Advil and Tylenol every 4 hours.)  I remained flat on my back until dinner and then afterwards, as well.  :o((

WEDNESDAY - Thankfully, today began my "mid-week weekend"!  I got up and dressed with DH's assistance.  Standing at the breakfast bar, I ate my bowl of cereal, and went for a stroll around the living room while he ate.  I still needed help getting back into bed.  By the time DH left for work I was nearly asleep on the heating pad.  When I got up, I decided that a trip to the chiropractor was in order.  DS2 ferried me over there and picked me up after my appointment.  When we returned, it was time for my weekly Zoom call with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color:

THURSDAY - Fortunately, I had today off work, as well.  I'm no better off than I was on Tuesday.  Yesterday's adjustment seemed to only exacerbated the pain.  By the middle of the afternoon I was hopeful that I might be able to return to work.  I figured out a way that worked so that I could get out of bed by myself, but DS2 was kind enough to take me to my knitting date with my friend Tracy, since driving was out of the question.  The photo below shows a portion of the HUGE bag of yarn (Thanks for schlepping that inside, DS2!) that Tracy sorted through to find some treasures:

FRIDAY - Work might have preceded by Knit Group, but I didn't want to add extra stress since this was my first day there since my back went out.  :o((

The day ended with my Weekly Evening Art Zoom.  I shared my ink "smooshed" page...

And worked on labeling the pages of the small journal I'm using for the NEW Floral Petite class with Alisa Burke.

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.  I'm hoping to make the rounds to all participant blogs this coming week... Especially, since this past week didn't go as planned.  Do you know how hard it is to use the computer when you're flat on your back?!  I didn't fare very well.  Please accept my apologies.  I'll try to do better with visiting and commenting this week.

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

The 100 Day Project - Week 11

Welcome to Week 11 of the #100Days100ThingsDecluttered new mini-series here on The Joyful Quilter!!  I started The 100 Day Project on February 18th.  I'm still shocked that I finally committed to it.  It's particularly popular on Instagram.  I have been hesitant to participate before now.  I'm releasing weekly updates for those of you who might be interested in seeing what goes out the door.

What's your project, again, Joyful???

I signed up with a different idea in mind than most.  You can read about it HERE.  That link will tell you all about my project.

While I have exceeded my goal...

I'm still NOT stopping!!  I am continuing to declutter my home and studio for the entirety of the 100 Day Project.  I really want to free up MORE space for more creativity.

Here's my progress for Week Eleven from all around the house, studio and garage:

22 balls of yarn gifted

  1 shopping bag

  1 old magazine

  2 outdated food items

  1 handful of fabric scraps

12 buttons

Week 11 Total: 39/100

Updated Project Total:  293/100

Here we are with a number REALLY close to another milestone...

So I went on a hunt for 7 additional items and found the following:

1 duplicate nail polish

1 ball of yarn

1 gift bag

1 package of dried out pigment ink

3 unused eyeglass cases

Revised Week 11 Total:  46/100

UPDATED PROJECT TOTAL: 300/100!!!

Thank you to those of you who continue to encourage my weekly decluttering efforts!  I appreciate your kind comments and your willingness to cheer me along!  Jeanne @ Loving Retirement responded to my post with the following:

I am so impressed that you are still decluttering! I did get through two closets of clothes and added another box to donate along with a little more in the garbage bin! I finally got things donated today - some of the kitchen items really wanted to stay but I got them to the thrift shop just in time!

I replied with something like this:

Thanks, Jeanne! Congrats on getting more out of the house!

Please know that...

I will continue decluttering through the end of the 100 Day Challenge.  My goal for the past week was to focus on the studio.  While it doesn't sound like it, I'm calling the week a success because the majority of the items listed came from there.  Come back next week to see what goes in the box during the next 7 days. 

@dothe100dayproject

#The100DayProject

#DoThe100DayProject

#100Days100Things_TheDeclutterEdition

#100Days100ThingsDecluttered

#filltheboxjoy

You can follow me on Instagram @thejoyfulquilter.

Until next time...

Do the 100 Day Project!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC24 - Week 18

Welcome to Week 18 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  This week is going to feel like it includes extra hours.  I'm hoping that means I might find time to sew.  Sounds good, doesn't it?

Let's see if that happened...

SUNDAY - The day began with my Weekly Morning Art Zoom, but there were only only bits of paper to show for it and then I scooted up to Britt's for an ARTventure:

MONDAY - Before work, I brought out my PINK scraps to see what I have available to use in my projects for this month...

Work was followed by a bit of art:

TUESDAY - #100Days100ThingsDecluttered

Today was the beginning of my "mid-week weekend."  Having chosen bits of PINK yesterday to use, I did a bit of reorganizing:

WEDNESDAY - After running errands, it was time for my weekly Zoom with LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color:

THURSDAY - Work

While watering my new plants this morning, I was thrilled to find this one blooming.  Thanks again for sharing with me, DeeDee:

FRIDAY - Work was preceded by Knit Group, but I forgot to take a photo.  My work hours got downgraded this week.  Let me tell you, it was so refreshing!  Two extra hours of free time was much appreciated.  I actually came home with enough energy leftover for some art-ing!  :o))

The work week ended with my Weekly Evening Art Zoom.  I shared the journal spread shown above and did a bit of drawing with Posca pens.

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.  There was a mandatory Team Meeting at work this morning.  None of us were thrilled, but I was home well before lunch so I had some time to finish writing this post.

I'll be adding to these PINK scraps this afternoon:

Until next time...

Get SCRAPPY!!

The 100 Day Project - #100Days100ThingsDecluttered - Week 10

Welcome to Week 10 of the #100Days100ThingsDecluttered new mini-series here on The Joyful Quilter!!  I started The 100 Day Project on February 18th.  I'm still shocked that I finally committed to it.  It's particularly popular on Instagram.  I have been hesitant to participate before now.  I'm releasing weekly updates for those of you who might be interested in seeing what goes out the door.  (This one just didn't get scheduled properly so you are seeing it a little later than normal.)

What's your project, again, Joyful???

I signed up with a different idea in mind than most.  You can read about it HERE.  That link will tell you all about my project.

In case you missed the news...

Current Project Total:  200/100!!!

While I have exceeded my goal...

I'm still NOT stopping!!  I am continuing to declutter my home and studio for the entirety of the 100 Day Project.  I really want to free up MORE space for more creativity.

Here's my progress for Week Ten from all around the house, studio and garage:

16 balls of yarn donated

1 cardboard box

4 baby outfits

2 baby blankets

1 rattle

1 baby washcloth

3 bottles of expired vitamins

1 empty plastic bottle found in the freezer

16 clothing items

1 pkg fuzzy sticks

4 sheets of packing paper

1 bag of kid toys

Week 10 Total: 54/100

Updated Project Total:  254/100

Thank you to those of you who encouraged me in my decluttering efforts last week!  I appreciate your kind comments and your willingness to cheer me along!  Jeanne @ Loving Retirement! had the following to say:

Great job - you are now at 200% and going for more!!! I am decluttering too. I have cleaned basement shelves that house kitchen stuff. I thought it was time to get rid of the egg beater and much more. Before heading to thrift shop, I'll make a sweep through a couple of closets.

I'm thrilled to report...

That I'm still chugging along at this decluttering thing.  Unfortunately, I see potential for use of so many items that it can be challenging to let things go.  My main goal for this week was to focus my efforts in the studio, I ended up excavating a tote of sentimental items and I also emptied a packing box.  Yay!!  Even though it doesn't sound like much, I'm calling it MISSION ACCOMPLISHED for the week.  Come back next week to see what goes in the box during the next 7 days. 

@dothe100dayproject

#The100DayProject

#DoThe100DayProject

#100Days100Things_TheDeclutterEdition

#100Days100ThingsDecluttered

#filltheboxjoy

You can follow me on Instagram @thejoyfulquilter.

Until next time...

Do the 100 Day Project!!!