ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC16 - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  Lots going on this week in the land of the Joyful Quilter...

On SUNDAY, I was still shaken from yesterday afternoon's realization that my primary email account had been totally obliterated.  Emails, folders, AND contacts.  All GONE!!!  If you commented, but didn't get a personal reply (like you normally do) please know that this is the reason.

MONDAY was Knit Group and afterwards I went for a manicure.  Sorry!!  It's NOT the Color of the Month for the RSC.  (I wanted to match my dress for graduation.)

In between knitting and my nail appointment, I delivered my latest T-Shirt Quilt:

On TUESDAY, I spent the day with friends and when I got home, I posted the next installment of my Decrapification Project.  This week you'll get to see the method for the madness.

WEDNESDAY included spending time with some friends and a hair appointment.  Tomorrow is a special day and I wanted to get beautified.  I even jammed in a pedicure before dinner (since my toes need to be sandal-ready!!!)

On THURSDAY, DS2 graduated from high school.  Happy Graduation, DS2!!!  You should be extremely proud of yourself.  Here's a picture from the ceremony:

Can YOU spot him in this crowd???

Don't worry!!  Neither can I... and I'm his Mom!!!  LOL

FRIDAY was another busy day.  We had company for the graduation and I also had plans to visit a friend.  I spent some time in the studio when I got home.  Even eked out a couple of AQUA blocks!

ONE Slab Block:

AND...

ONE String Block:

SATURDAY is LINK PARTY day over at the SoScrappy blog, but it was also my monthly Quilt Bee meeting.  DS2 had MORE graduation festivities, so I spent the evening with friends.

Until next time...
Get Scrappy!!!

Wonderful Wednesday - The Carol Woods Edition

Late in May, I packed up my bag, again, and headed for Carol Woods Retirement Center.  It was just me this time (representing the Durham Orange Quilters Guild.)  That's fine, though.  I have a TON of quilts to share!!

My bag was stuffed:

With the following quilts...

Make Mine Mocha:

Made for my Dad's 75th birthday.

My Beach Quilt:

This came from the very first quilt retreat that I ever attended.  The Sun, The Sand, & The Joyful Quilters.  A weekend getaway with my (then) Quilt Bee.  We traded fabrics and learned how to use an Easy Angle Ruler.  Thanks, Tiffany!!

Kid to Kid:

That was the best name that I could think of for the quilt I started as a Mystery Quilt, along with the members of the Lakewood Centennial Quilters, when I was pregnant with DS1 and completed it while pregnant with DS2 (who graduate from high school tomorrow.)

At the Auction:

A friend of a friend passed away, leaving this quilt partially finished.  It ended up at the Capital Quilters Guild Auction, where I decided to bid on it for practice with machine quilting.  (It appealed to me for two reasons, the quilt was made with fabric that I used for Mo O's wedding quilt AND it was a Yellow Brick Road quilt by Atkinson Designs - a favorite of mine at the time!)

Older and Bolder Jacket:

I turned 40 and decided that I wanted a brighter quilted jacket (than the one that I gave my friend Elaine when we moved from our first house in North Carolina.)

2015 Dye Challenge:

My friend, Jean, taught us all how to do Gelli Printing (and then issued a challenge for us to MAKE SOMETHING with one of our prints.  Challenge MET!!!)

Circle Mini - Inspired by Kris7's (?) photo on Ravelry:

A Ravelry friend posted photos from a quilt show.  I loved the circle-y one and made the design my own using a raw edge applique technique (and scrap fabrics.)

The Mystery of Nature:

This quilt was begun at a group Sew Day when DS2 was less than one month old.  Friends played "pass the baby" while I sewed.

Bathing Beauties Bag:

Fabric from and Applique done by my friend, Tiffany, bag made by me.

Zentangle - Original Design:

The art of Zentangle intrigued me... so I turned that into a quilting design.

Racing to the Candy Dish - Original Design:

This little quilt uses my own hand-dyed fabrics (made during my Quilt Bee's first Dye Frenzy.)

16 Winters - Original Design:

This project started off as a Mug Rug for a swap, but DS1 claimed it and asked me to make another one for the swap.  With a request like that, what's a Mom to do?!?!

South Carolina Surprise Jacket by Knittingsuek - finishing by me:

I gave up most of a weekend retreat to help my friend, Knittingsuek, make this jacket (using her favorite cotton sweatshirt inside.)  Once she got it put together, she decided that she didn't like the fit... it fits me PERFECTLY!!!  :o))

SNT Spring Fling - Swap Blocks set in an Original Design:

This quilt started out as a Block Swap with my Wednesday Quilt Bee.  I don't recall how I decided on the setting, but I knew that I wanted to finish off the "rings" to completed the design.  Look closely!  Do you see the quilted hand prints?  Those belong to DS1 at age 7 and DS2 at age 5.  I traced their hands on freezer paper and pressed the paper onto the quilt to do the outline quilting.  (The boys are turning into young men.  They are 20 and 17 this year!!)

(Like last time and) In the interest of "keeping it real"...

My photos were taken after-the-fact, but I thought it might me nice to have a record of the quilts I've shared with the residents.  There have been discussions about canceling the program, but I plan to continue my visits until I run out of quilts for them to enjoy.

Until next time...
Air the Quilts!!!

The Decrapification Project - Part Five - The Reason

Decrapification (de-crap-if-ic-a-tion) The term coined by Rosamaria on Ravelry Thrifty Knitters group meaning to declutter a LOT of stuff (from a room or area.)

I liked it so much that I decided to use it for a blog post (or 2 or 10!)

The method to my madness...

In the last Decrapification Project post, I talked finding more room for storing my projects.  In this post I will share the truth about reorganizing my studio.

While THIS side of the sewing room looks GREAT:

The other side is a TOTAL wreck!!  (Just keepin' it real.)  Don't worry, though.  I'll fix it:

Special thanks to my friend, Tiffany, for sharing her Tetris skills to tackle this stage of the process!!

It MIGHT have something to do with THIS truck...

Step 10 - Rent a truck.

... And a really LONG trip (to the land of Sonny's BBQ.)  Along with an overnight stay:

Step 11 - Drive a LONG way.

And an interesting carpet in a far off hotel looks like a Modern quilt:

Some unique artwork:

The REAL reason for the Decrapification Project???

It involves a demo:

A lesson:

A modicum of panic:

Before...

We packed everything up, loaded the truck, and headed for home:

Apparently, we took the scenic route:

Over the river:

And through the woods:

OK, so it was actually around the lake and through the hills, but you get the point!!  :P

We arrived home at midnight, so it was "all hands on deck" to unload the truck (and fall into bed!)

After some much-needed sleep, the entire family was on hand to schlep everything upstairs and by late afternoon, my studio was beginning to take on a new shape:

A day or two later, the rails were ready for a carriage ride:

By the next night, the machine head had taken pride of place:

Step 12 - Welcome my new-to-me APQS Millennium!!

Not long after, my friend Joanna came over, proclaiming the machine perfectly balanced.  Nice job, DH!!!  Kudos and a big THANK YOU for making this happen!!

Until next time...
Dreams CAN come true!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC16 - Week 23

Welcome to Week 23 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  I've got good news.  I actually sewed this week!!  I made the rest of my GREEN blocks (even my Tiny Nine - once the background fabric was located!) and then got busy choosing my scraps for June.

Here is a recap of the week...

On SUNDAY, I finished up the ONE String Block in GREEN (with a touch of brown) that I started on Saturday night:

With that done, I pulled out scraps for a Maverick Star (also in GREEN - with a bit of brown) and got to work...

Points and a center:

Rows for the block:

Ta! Da!!  ONE Maverick Star Block in GREEN with brown accents:

MONDAY was Memorial Day in the US.  My family observed the holiday by remembering family members who have given their lives in the line of duty (and by consuming traditional holiday fare of hamburgers and hot dogs, along with other picnic foods.)

The remembering and the eating were prefaced by a search for the background fabric for my Tiny Nines.  I'm almost out of it, but the last of it appears to have gotten lost in the shuffle during the Decrapification Project.  :o((

There was also a special edition of Mail Call Monday.  Someone special deserved a BIG thank you! Read about it, if you have time.  It's a short post.

I took time to remember the scrap sewing that I did during GREEN month...

ONE (1) Maverick Star:

ONE (1) Slab Block:

ONE (1) String Block:

ONE (1) Tiny Nine - thanks to my friend, Hilary, who found the background fabric on the sewing table when she came to help me focus long enough to clear it:

Needs a bit more pressing, don't you think?!?!

For a total of 4 blocks made during GREEN month:

Add in the ONE (1) Rainbow Crumb Block:

Which brings my block production to FIVE (5) for the month of May:

Not bad, considering all of the work I've done moving my room around and getting it reorganized!!

Now back to my regular weekly report...

On TUESDAY, I said goodbye to GREEN:

This selection GREEN "bricks" are brought to you compliments of Lori at the Dakota City Quilter.

And hello...

Angela posted June's Color of the Month and if you look all the way to the right on the color card above, you will see what she has in mind.  BLUE tending toward AQUA (with a hint of LIME green!!)

You can also visit the next installment of my Decrapification Project which was posted today.  This edition discusses what I did with the WIPs and UFOs.  You may be surprised by my solution, but I think you'll like it.

WEDNESDAY should have been a stay-at-home day, but you KNOW how that goes!!  In this case, it turned out that I had a dental appointment in the mid-afternoon.  That left PLENTY of time to play in my studio before and after.

THIS is what I did at my monthly evening quilt bee meeting last night:

I arranged the layout of the NEXT commission T-Quilt.  (Help from Britt and Karen. Thx!)

THURSDAY was my weekly Quilt Group... WITHOUT me!!!  :o((  Instead... I had to take the girls to school and spend the day with a new friend.  :o))

But... HERE is what I would have shown, if I'd been there:

 Thanks for sharing your scrappy strips with me, Joanna!!  These were the 2" cuts.

On FRIDAY, I spent the day with my new friend.  We went for a long stroll and enjoyed the summer-like weather.

HERE is what SHOULD have been included in a Design Floor Friday post:

This UNC T-Quilt Commission is ready for quilting... and it might happen SOON!!

SATURDAY is the day for Angela's LINK PARTY.  I joined in to share my scrappy progress.

What progress, Joyful?!?!

Well... pulling out the AQUA scraps will HAVE to do for this week.  :P

Or are these turquoise?!  I'm SEW bad at this part of quilting.  Ugh!!!

Until next time...
Get Scrappy!!!