Saturday, October 1, 2016

And Just Like That..... It’s October!

Another month means another color at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. But since today is just the first of October, all I have is a recap of my reds in September and a recap of my busy sewing week.  But you can join us over at So Scrappy to see what everyone else is up to!


Well, this isn’t really everything, but it will do.  There were actually THREE litters of red cats, two of which have been sewn with other colors into quilt tops. More on that in a moment.  Last week I showed you my red Dresden, and all the other colorful Dresdens pinned up on my design wall.  With the final block for October, the top will be complete.

In the lower left of the above picture, you can see four 8” strip blocks I made from reds. Those are going to join the two blue and one pink that I made earlier in the year; strip blocks will be one of my projects for 2017.  Then (bottom right) there are the 10 16-patch blocks, bringing my total to 90, and finally (center, with dark background) the 8 - 8” improv blocks I made. I love red and white. Maybe I should just mix all the red and white blocks together and make a red and white quilt!

So.... last week I showed you one of the pieced Kitten quilts. Here’s a memory refresh.


That quilt is still awaiting basting. But, I did piece the second quilt and basted it. That one is here (lying on the floor, pathetically), posing for a Picture of Proof.


The third quilt is in process and so far only has a red litter. This month I hope to piece as many of the remaining litters as I can; yellow, green, purple, pink and blue.

And speaking of purple, pink and blue, I got my son Shane’s Christmas Quilt top pieced this week. Shane picked the colors and pattern himself. It is called Magic Carpet by Christina Cameli. I tweaked the pattern in two places. First I enlarged the squares along the top and bottom so they are square (pattern has them as rectangles). Then I added a 3” black border on every side so that the squares float against the black. The flimsy measures 75"x89”.


Each color will be quilted with a matching thread (or black for the darkest purple). Not sure how I want to do it yet as I would like to keep the squares visually advancing. Any ideas or suggestions appreciated. I've been searching out what others have done and with the exception of 1-2, I’ve not been gobsmacked by any.....  Not that I could replicate any brilliant quilting anyway, but I do want to at least give it a try. The kitten quilts, on the other hand, will get simple loops or stippling.

So, from here on out until Christmas, my goal is to baste one quilt and quilt one quilt every week (not necessarily the same one, LOL). And in addition to that I need to keep up with the RSC (this is the last of the new colors for the year) and get the tops sewn of the remaining Christmas quilts. 

Oh, I also sewed this little guy this week. Mr. Cozy Gingerbread Man is block #7 of 12, so I am still on course there.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Finally, I plan to have some demolition pictures in my next post (either mid-week or next weekend). The demolition last weekend was minor; we (our general contractor and the fireplace guy) needed to see what they were dealing with, so only removed the fugly brass surround and knocked out a few bricks. We have now ordered the fireplace insert, and it will be installed on October 21. 

As it turns out, the brick along the entire end wall of the living room that we thought was a brick veneer is actually whole bricks - and stuck right to the exterior brick of the home. Weird. So, the protruding hearth/bench will be the only part that is demolished.  When the built-in cabinets on either side of the new fireplace (which will be more centered) are built, they  shouldn’t portrude out into the room much more than the existing bench. And once those are done, the place can be painted and the flooring laid. 

We have ordered the flooring already, as it will take a couple weeks to arrive and then need to acclimate itself in the living room (still in boxes) for a couple weeks. It’s going to be a lovely Thanksgiving! Not. But we are shooting to be done by early December. 

So, this week, the bench will be ripped out. The contractor will hang plastic to protect the rest of the house from dust (as if). Over the next three week he’ll build the false wall, run electrical, etc. Bruce and I are going to pick out the tile for the fireplace surround, and I have to sit and design a rough sketch of the the shelving and cabinets we want for the carpenter to begin his design process with. I do have a background in design (and did design our existing kitchen), so it will not be a problem. Yeah, I am Crazy by Design....

I am really enjoying this process! I’m learning a lot and have no reason to dust or vacuum the living room, LOL!

Cathy maroon

13 comments:

  1. Oh, my! You've been a busy busy bee! All your reds are fabulous, and I adore all those kitties!
    Good luck with your demo project!

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  2. You have been busy! I think you have very realistic goals for the rest of the year, and the fact that you don't have to dust or clean makes it all better!!

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  3. picture of proof! lol
    lots of kittens.... so pretty.... now, if real cats came in colors, what would yours look like? Mine would have a purple and turquoise body, red ears, and a lime green tail!LeeAnna

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  4. That's a LOT of kittens!! As if that wasn't enough... there's ANOTHER quilt on the go AND a reno project. YIKES!!

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  5. Your cat family quilts are both adorable. Such a great idea. The Christmas quilt is also beautiful.

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  6. Beautiful kitten quilts. Both of them are awesome. Talking of AWESOME! that Magic Carpet quilt qualifies for a triple AWESOME! WOW! Love it. Good luck with the reno and all your quilty goals. ;^)

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  7. Love all the red and white blocks. The cats are fun. That's a big task of demolition and building

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  8. I love your kitten litter quilts! Such ambitious plans for the rest of the year! Good luck with that and the remodel. (I happen to love red and white too; I suspect my bear paws may end up in a quilt along with other red and white block patterns.)

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  9. You could quilt your son's quilt with echoing arrows pointing inward on both sides...like this >>> <<<. I'm not sure if that makes sense! LOL

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  10. Love your kitten litters! Such fun quilts. Your son's quilt is beautiful. Love the colors he choose.

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  11. Three cat quilts in one year. That's too many kittens for me to count. You should keep them locked up at night so they can't get into mischief. As for the quilting, the rule is if you want a part to stand out you quilt it less. The background is the quilted tightly and visually recedes. It gives the important parts a sort of trapunto effect, popping forward. Good luck with it! It's a stunning pattern with the color gradation.

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  12. I love those mama and baby kitten quilts! Your granddaughters (I think I remember that is who they're for!) are going to adore them! Do you think they'll want to name every cat? Good luck with all your remodeling! I'm sure it will be a mess for awhile, but so worth it in the end!

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  13. The reds are amazing blocks. My gosh the cats turned out so GOOD!! Love that quilt so much! That Is funny about the fireplace. Whoever built the house was not very forward thinking. I'm pretty sure this is going to turn into a great makeover though. We used to have shelves at one entire end of our living room with a space for the TV that Terry built. I used to laugh at his dad because he was always changing walls in their house. Terry inherited that. I can't tell you how many walls and door Terry has moved and redesigned in this little house. I can testify that that plastic does NOT keep drywall dust at bay...not LOL.
    xx, Carol

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