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.

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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!