A Rainbow Recap for 2016

I have had such a blast this year participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. If you sew or quilt, you might want to consider joining us in 2017.  It’s run by Angela of So Scrappy, and every Saturday she holds a linky party where we show our progress. Today’s linky party is HERE.

Here’s how the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) works: At the beginning of every month, Angela assigns a new color for us to work with. We dig through our  scrap piles, boxes, bags, drawers, etc. and set to work.  You can pick what you want to create: blocks with a purpose, blocks with a purpose yet undetermined, quilts or anything your heart desires. The best part is that you go at your own pace. There are no minimums or guidelines or accountability. Angela posts a linky party every Saturday morning on her blog, and you can post (or not) as your progress dictates. And you get to visit others’ work, get ideas, make new friends and generally just have fun.

Also, there is an optional quilt-along where a block design is given monthly by Angela (with the finished product being another one of her stunning quilt ideas!). Again, that’s optional.

So, think about it for 2017, mmmmkay?

And since the end of the year is virtually upon us, I figured this is a good time to recap my quilt makes for this year.  Some are Rainbow Scrap quilts (and I will show the flimsies that still need to be quilted too), and some are “other” quilts - mostly gifts. Ready?

RAINBOW QUILTS AND FLIMSIES

First are the three Mama Cat & Kittens quilts I made for my three granddaughters. Each quilt is a litter consisting of a 12” Mama Cat (my pattern, write me if you’d like a copy) surrounded by 12 - 6” kittens. The kitten block is a pattern by Sally T (visit her blog and check it out under her Tutorials tab) and it inspired the whole idea. Thanks, Sally!  These quilts finished at 52x72” each. 

OOPS!! I  just noticed that one of them (on the left) has a 2” white border down the center that the others do not! So, let me correct that to say two of them finished at 52x72” and the third finished at 54x72”. 

And in 2016 I also chose to participate in the RSC Sampler, since I didn’t have the skill set needed to do it in 2015. (Really, I tried and failed miserably). But this year I did it! Thanks, Angela, for great patterns and inspiration. 

RSC Sampler Quilt, 60x72"

The following three Rainbow Scrap projects are still in the FLIMSY (top only) stage except for the one I just basted (see captions)

RAINBOW DRESDENS - still a flimsy

Rainbow Rails (Vintage Sheets) - basted this one on Thursday

Rainbow Improv in Cools

I also have improv blocks in pink, yellow, orange and red that will be pieced into a WARM version of the improv quilt above. The sashing will be white or gray. That will finish up in first quarter 2017.

Finally, I have 90 blocks of 16-patch blocks; colors with black and white measuring 8.5” unfinished.  They will be set 9x10, yielding a quilt 72x80”. Also planned for 1st quarter 2017.

 OTHER QUILTS & WALL HANGINGS

In no particular order, here are the rest of the quilts I finished this year:

Aria Quilt.  October, 86x103"

Seeing Red, February, 58x76"

Valentine Quilt, January, 62x62"

Birds & Bees, April, 56x64"

Magic Carpet, November, 75x89"

Cityscape Wall Hanging, April, 48x54"

Notting Hill Sampler, September. 58x72"

Petals, November, 64x75"

November Rain, December, 67x83"

Cozy Christmas, December, 58x71"

Big Game, December, 62x74"

 Totals were: 15 quilts, 3 flimsies and blocks for 2 more flimsies. Not a bad haul!

This week we attended Bruce’s Christmas Party. He works at The Leonardo, a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) museum in Salt Lake. Anyway, they had an Ugly Sweater contest and Bruce won the $200 first prize (hooray!). His sweater? Butt Ugly. We got him an ugly blue thrift store sweater from the ’90’s. Then he set about crafting it to look like it was a Bruce History of 30+ years. We captioned the additions with names and “dates”.  Burnt hole - check (“Great Aunt Mabel, 1986”), Mustard stain - check! Half-smoked doobie - check (it was really just cotton rolled in toilet paper, then burnt), BBQ sauce stain - check! Dead mouse - check (an old cat toy. He wanted the mouse on there because in their Tech Take-apart museum activity, they actually found an old desiccated mouse in a computer last month). Baby poop - check (not real, of course), Chewed gum - check! Cheetos - check! Peanut butter - check! Axle grease - check!  ETC ETC....  Between the way it looked, the IDEA of it, and the smell (axle grease, mustard and BBQ sauce together, ugh!) it was so ugly on so many levels.

Next Saturday I’ll be talking about my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects planned for 2017 - and there are several. After all, scraps come in strips, itty bitty pieces, chunks, etc. So that is how I sorted possibilities, then narrowed down from there. What are you doing next year for RSC, and how did you make your decisions?