Scrap Attack Tuesday - December Results

Welcome to the final edition of Scrap Attack Tuesday!!  (Obviously, NOT released on a Tuesday, but that would be NEXT YEAR.)  I had an extensive job list at the beginning of 2018.  I have worked through each of my goals for the year.  Now, I'm here to report in on my scrappy progress for the month.

December Accomplishments...

From my Scrap Attack list:

10. Britt ordered, Organize/label scraps under the longarm.

FAIL!!!

I never even attempted this one (and don't plan to do so.)  The thought of digging in the bin was/is just too overwhelming.  :o((

From the secondary list:

10. Cut Triangles like Chantal.

I don't recall what kind of triangles Chantal planned to cut, but I will use my Sizzix Triangle die to cut random scraps.

CHECK!!!

Even with a variety of time-sensitive projects on the go, I wasn't going to take a FAIL on this task!  How hard can it be to grab a stack of fabric?  How long could it take to wind out a few triangles?

With that attitude (and a few days remaining in the year), I loaded the machine...

... And cut this stack of triangles:

As a last ditch effort...  Mission accomplished.

Thanks to Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for encouraging me to work through some of my fabric scraps.

Until next time...

Attack those SCRAPS!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC18 - Week 52

Welcome to Week 52 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  Unless I mislabeled a post during the year, this is the FINAL week of RSC18.  I hope YOU had a good one.  Was it filled with frantic end-of-the-year sewing?

Here's how mine went...

SUNDAY - Would someone PLEASE tell me how Mt. Washmore and trips to the grocery store must be done EVERY week?!?!  

Sigh...  Time to focus on puppy dogs... and rainbows:

MONDAY - Ho! Ho! Ho!!!  Santa may be getting ready to take a wild ride on his sleigh, but at my house... It's holiday baking day!

THIS is the way my Pumpkin Pie is SUPPOSED to look:

And it was DELICIOUS, too!!!

Mystery Monday Link-Up, Part 5 can be found HERE.  Are YOU sewing along with Bonnie Hunter and hundreds of quilters around the globe?

TUESDAY - Merry Christmas (to ask who celebrate!)  Peace.  Love.  And all that stuff.  I received this adorable hand knit ornament from my friend, Tracy:

Tracy knit it (and several others like it) from her holiday yarn scraps to give as part of her gift for each member of our Girls Night Out group.  We meet for dinner and knitting once a month.

BEST Christmas dinner EVER!!!  We gobbled it all up, so you don't get to see the fully laden table.  Here's a picture of Grandma's minimalistic holiday decorations:

WEDNESDAY - Rocker assembly maintenance?  Check!!  My service technician is home for the holidays:

THURSDAY - I have a sad.  A sad and lonely (hand knit) mitt:

WHY do you have a sad and lonely (hand knit) mitt, Joyful???

Well, that would be because I had an idiot attack before lunch.  I left them on the top of the car (like I didn't have pockets?!) to take care of something, finished with that, then got in the car and drove away.  Never remembering that my mitts were up there.  Atop the car.  Alone.  And holding on for dear life!

I didn't think anything about it until I was almost home.  That was when I saw something GREEN in the middle of the road.  I drove past it and suddenly realized what it was (and how it came to be there..)  Picture me.  Slamming on brakes and jumping out of the car to retrieve the mitt.  After lunch, I retraced my entire route...

No second mitt was found.

On a happy note...

Look what DH and DS1 did in the studio last night:

Since "The Beast" moved into the studio 2 years ago (?!), I've been asking to have this unique "drawer system" moved from the longarming to the sewing side of the room.  Merry Christmas!  :o))

I'll post about these again, when I get all the "stuff" back on them.  There may be a few alterations necessary, in order to get full use out of the piece.  I plan on putting some thought into that over the next few days.  A friend suggested another solution to some of the "wasted" space in the design.  More on that later...
FRIDAY - Happy day!!!  Knit Group was followed by a Sew Day over at Needleb's house.  She even fed me lunch!  :o))

I started the heel on my sock at knitting, but I'm afraid that it may have gone horribly wrong.  That's ok, though.  I know how to frog.

As for the sewing, this was likely our final Sew Day of the year.  It was very productive.  I finished off some secret sewing (which you can't see) and made a new custom knife roll from start to finish.

All rolled up and ready to gift:

Ties untied to release the roll:

Here is a better shot of the interior fabric:

Photo Currently Unavailable!

Needleb worked on a variety of small projects and finished out the day working on this experimental piece:

SATURDAY - It's the LAST time this year that I'm going to say this (during 2018.)  It's LINK PARTY day over on the So Scrappy blog.  Head over to see how many more of the RSC Quilters posted a Year-End special post.  There were SEW many beautiful RSC quilts completed during the year! and there may be a few more.  Ready.  Set?  GO!!!

Until next time...
Get SCRAPPY!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC18 - Week 51

Welcome to Week 51 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  This week, I've been busy with holiday sewing and parties.  That doesn't leave much time for scrappy sewing.  :o((

I'll take you through my week, anyway...

SUNDAY - Mt. Washmore demanded my attention.  Also on the agenda, catching up on random blog work.

MONDAY - It's Quilt Guild night.  The Holiday Pot Luck was yummy and there was a chance to win a special prize for attendees.  That is, IF you had paid your 2019 dues before the drawing!  I didn't win the prize, but I was still a winner.

Thank you to my friend Diane who was kind enough to bring me a bag of her fabric scraps.  Always a treasure:

Guess what?  A package was waiting for me when I got home!

Look what my good friend Sue made for me:

Also...

Check out the Good Fortune pics at Quiltville.com for Bonnie's Mystery Monday Link-up, Part 4.  It's always interesting to see the variety of color options from around the globe.

TUESDAY - Another evening away from home.  It happens, on occasion.  A festive occasion, it was.  The ladies of our Girls Night Out group met for a gift exchange:

WEDNESDAY - Knit Group met this morning.  Playing with mini skeins kept me busy.  In arranging, I accidentally came up with Christmas tree made of yarn:

I had a hair appointment this afternoon.  By the time that was done, I was relieved that I could enjoy an evening in.  There are precious few days left before the BIG gift giving day.  I've still got a LOAD of gifts to make!  Must. Sew. FASTER!!!

THURSDAY - My Weekly Quilt Group met this morning.  I had hoped to make it there.  At least, for a little while.

It happened!  I was there to take photos of Jean's (Machine Embroidered) Christmas Tree Challenge.  A bunch of us cheated by pooling our trees to create ONE special gift for the issuer of the challenge!  Our hostess brought in cardboard to "beef up" her own dining table for the BIG reveal:

We called Jean in and the quilt stopped her in her tracks:

"How did you do this?", she wanted to know, since it was made to fit her very own dining room table.  An absolutely HUGE round one:

Jean was stunned.  Her reaction was that of total disbelief:

(Most of the) Challenge participants with the recipient:

A couple of us passed out gifts.  Mine was edible.  Jean's was not.  No photos of either of them, but...

Here's a little rainbow love for my RSC friends for the week:

FRIDAY - The weekend has arrived and Friday Night Sew-In is on the agenda for the evening.  Last minute holiday sewing kept a number of machines buzzing.  Another round of gift sewing occupied a portion of my evening:

SATURDAY - It's time for Angela's LINK PARTY!!  You'll find it over on her So Scrappy blog.  There may be a rainbow of finishes, as the year draws to a close.

I leave you, just a few days before Christmas, with the lovely card that arrived in today's mail from Linda at Art in Search blog:

Thank you, Linda, for sharing this beautiful card with me!  It is with great pleasure that I will add it to my collection of two.  Your artwork is just lovely!  YOU can read about her process in THIS blog post.  If I correctly assessed the 100 that were made, I am the proud recipient of card number 90.  :o))
Until next time...
Get SCRAPPY!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC18 - Week 50

Welcome to Week 50 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  Thank you to Angela for hosting our weekly scrap loving place to hang out on the internet.  The good news is that she's already planning for 2019, too!!

Are YOU ready to join the fun???

While you think about it, let's have a look at my week...

SUNDAY - Today was snowy and cold.  I stayed warm by making the next cuts on my niece's T-Quilt.  Several shirts remain, due to sizing issues, but by the time I was finishing there just wasn't enough brain power left for problem solving!

MONDAY - This morning it was snowing and sleeting, again.  My plan for the day?  I'll be attempting to figure out those challenging shirts.  Those left from yesterday's adventure in T-Quilt making:

Mystery Monday Link-Up #3  While I'm not (currently) participating, I still want to keep up with how everyone is coming along on their projects.

TUESDAY - Measurements.  Measurements.  And MORE measurements.  It's starting to look more like a T-shirt Quilt:

WEDNESDAY - Manipulating the measurements.  I don't often make quilts where I have to assemble the columns.  This quilt is insisting that MUST be how a quilt is made.  Ugh!  Every column has to be the same length, too.  The tee shirt designs are NOT playing nicely.  :o((

THURSDAY - Yes, Tuesday's photo is just an illusion.  There are shirts that are overlapping other shirts.  Careful calculations are necessary in order to fit this puzzle together.  I walked away for the evening and left it at this (pen and paper) planning sheet:

If you look closely, you will see three sets of numbers in most "squares."  (I use the term loosely.)  Anyway, where was I?  Oh, yes, sets of numbers.  Three of them.

Why, Joyful???

Well, the number in the center is the current size of the shirt.  Then, there is the "desired" measurement in the top left.  That leaves the "absolute minimum" in the lower right.  The challenge comes in when you factor the column lengths and various "match points" that I was hoping to achieve.

Sigh...

I'm thisclose to ignoring the bits that I had hoped to match up and just make the columns the same length, letting the seams fall where they may.  Let's face it!  My niece isn't going to know (or care) how I wanted the quilt to look.  She's going to LOVE it because I made it (and because it holds SEW many of her college memories!)

FRIDAY - Yay!!  The weekend has arrived.  I couldn't be more pleased.  Tomorrow is my Quilt Bee's Holiday Potluck Party.  YUM!!  Tonight?  We bake.  :o))

SATURDAY - Several days of going nowhere made this a very strange week for me.  Nine inches of snow in Central North Carolina will do that, though.

On the up side, it's LINK PARTY day over at So Scrappy!  I'm on my way out the door, but will check in on all of the RSC Quilters later today or sometime tomorrow.  Feel free to go ahead without me.  I'll be eating my way through a quilt meeting.  :o))

Until next time...
Get SCRAPPY!!!

Sew Some Love Sunday - Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project

Welcome to another edition of Sew Some Love Sunday!!  As you may or may not know, there was some extreme weather in the Carolinas in September and October of this year.  Hurricane Florence was quickly followed by Hurricane Michael.  Thousands of homes were destroyed and many more were damaged.

Quilters, to the rescue!!!

Fellow blogger, Carole, at From My Carolina Home first developed a plan to help victims of Hurricane Florence.  She suggested an easy quilt block to make.  It's incredible how quickly these quilts make up, which is good because she is hoping to collect a LOT of them!  The need is great.  Can YOU help in any way?

The following month, Carole expanded her project when disaster struck again, in the form of Hurricane Michael.  She has made arrangements to provide new quilts to people who lost their homes in the six (hardest hit) counties surrounding Wilmington, North Carolina.  She would like any quilters to help in any way they can.

This is her challenge:

In fact, I would like to challenge every quilt guild and club in the Carolinas that were not affected by the floods to commit to making and shipping at least 5 quilts per club.  If my friends and I can do five, surely an entire club can do more.  This disaster affected our home state, so let’s come together to help our neighbors.

Carole gave information quilt size:

The ideal size is 72 x 84  or larger with borders, (12-1/2″ quilt blocks 6 x 7 or more) large enough for a full size bed or more – the size you would want if you had nothing and needed to start over. 

Carole posted an update HERE.  The first quilt has arrived at the Catholic Charities office in Wilmington.  It came all the way from Milwaukee, Wisconsin!  If the very first Carolina Hurricane Quilt project donation came from that far away, maybe YOU could help, too!!

This post outlined the donations that are pouring in and the longarmer quilters who have volunteered to quilt some of the tops that are sent.  I have volunteered my services, in the event that Carole is in need of additional quilters.  After all, I actually LIVE in North Carolina!

At the November meeting of Durham Orange Quilt Guild, I presented a donation quilt made by Donna, an honorary member of my Weekly Quilt Group, who lives in New York:

After sharing the quilt with Guild President, Patti, I turned it in at the Quilts for Hurricanes table to be forwarded to someone in need:

Carole posted about our Quilt Guild in this UPDATE.  Here is what she said:

The Durham Orange County Quilters are helping out with quilts sent directly to several families they have identified through guild members.  (Thanks for the shout out, Carole!)

Again, this is just me, providing another opportunity for YOU to help, if you are able or feel inclined to do so.  Read through the links provided for additional details.

Until next time...
Charitable contributions help others!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC18 - Week 49

Welcome to Week 49 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  The year is coming to a close and the RSC Quilters are working hard to  finish up their 2018 rainbow scrappy projects.

Me?  I'm working on finishing up a few other projects.  My RSC projects have been put on hold.  Here's what went on this week...

SUNDAY - The 3 Musketeers gathered for a day of sewing at Needleb's house.  I concentrated on getting the last of my niece's T-shirts stabilized prior to squaring them up.  DONE!!

Mt. Washmore greeted me when I got back from a stop at the grocery store on my way home.  Three loads later, I was headed off to bed.

MONDAY - It was a LONG day today!  I went up to the sewing room when I got home, but only THOUGHT about quilting.  Couldn't bring myself to sit down to sew.  Instead, I plopped down in my reading chair and spent some time at the computer enjoying all of the lovely quilts my RSC blogging friends (and others) posted about over the weekend.  I also stopped my Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Monday Link-Up #2 for her Good Fortune quilt, currently in process.

I released another (somewhat late) Sew Some Love Sunday post.  It slipped my mind last night, but really couldn't wait for next weekend, as it holds some time-sensitive information.

And then...

My long day turned into a sad day.

Crazy Mom Quilts released a post about changes ahead.  Amanda Jean is one of my top three Scrap Quilting Goddesses.  I knew that she had taken a fair amount of time away from the blog this year, but...  Go read the post, if you haven't seen it.  :o((

TUESDAY - As if I didn't buy enough at the grocery store on Sunday, I went back to get the list of items that suddenly appeared upon my return the other day.  Strange how that happens...

I released a new Scrap Attack post.

WEDNESDAY - Knit Group proved rather unproductive today.  A couple of us did get our fingers and toes done in holiday brights, though!  :o))

That shopping thing?  It happened again today.  Ugh!!  I must be subconsciously preparing for the holidays.

I released a new Wonderful Wednesday post.

THURSDAY - "Weekly" Quilt Group hasn't been a "thing" for me lately.  Today, the blog editor was absent.

SEW...

My plan was to run by for a few photos.  Sweet!  That actually happened.

And...

I was rewarded with scraps from Ruth S:

Thanks, Ruth!  I already sorted them and put them away.  :o))

FRIDAY - Another week has come and gone.  The weekend is on the horizon.  Date night with DH and ... finished the week.

SATURDAY - It's LINK PARTY day!!!  Angela encourages us to USE our scraps.  She blogs over at So Scrappy and has joined in the finishing fun.  Go see the quilts!

I'll catch up with you later.  I've got to make a quick trip to Raleigh to take care of some things.  I hope your weekend is SEW special.

Until next time...
Get SCRAPPY!!!

Wonderful Wednesday - Weekend Sewing

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  I'm here to tell you about my weekend.  It involved a LOT of sewing related tasks.

Sew Saturday in Rural Raleigh - Since it was 1st Saturday, my friends and I would normally have met for Sew/Craft Friend-zy.  On this particular weekend, our usual venue was unavailable and many members found themselves with other plans for the day.  Fortunately, Tiffany was able to host those who had planned their calendars such that they were able to attend.

Tiffany started with a bit of handbook:

Denise "borrowed" binding to finish this quirky tree wall hanging:

Tiffany started cutting a new quilt and quickly became frustrated:

Joy added the edge triangles to her Blooming 9 Patch:

Denise pieced Block 20:

Here's the completed block...

Tiffany showed off her project bags:

By the end of the night, Denise has completed a 2nd block...

... And I had pieced a rainbow:

3 Musketeers Sewing Marathon in Hillsborough - Helena and I cooked up a scheme to quilt at Britt's house this past Sunday.  Britt, being very Britt-ish, was totally on board!  :o))

Britt decided on an alternate border solution for this B9P:

I completed the pressing of stabilizer on my niece's T-quilt:

Helena made a template for quilting her Paint Chip Challenge:

She also added the last 2 borders on the cheerful quilt:

Britt shopped the Craftsy SALE:

"Denise made me do it!!!"

SEW...
There you have it!!!

Disclaimer:  Things may NOT appear in the manner that they occurred over the weekend.  My phone charger (photo uploader) cord is missing and I did the best I could with the time available.