A Rainbow Scrap Finish!

Welcome to another Rainbow Scrap post! Today I get to show off (finally) my sampler for the 2016 Rainbow Scrap Challenge. For the first 10 months of the year, Angela at SoScrappy gave us a new color and a new block pattern and away we went!  My sampler finally got quilted (managed it in one afternoon on my Bernina) and bound this week. It finished at 60x72” and was so much fun!

This quilt is a potential Christmas present for one of my dear step-daughters. She will have a choice of one of three: this RSC sampler, The Birds and Bees quilt, or the Notting Hill Sampler quilt. Anyway, this is backed in a cute hexie and bee print from Connecting Threads, and I noticed that there are actually a couple bee references here and there on the quilt with the fabrics used.

This quilt finish was also one of my Finish Along 4th Quarter Goals.  It was # 7 on my list.
I am also linking up to Angela’s So Scrappy blog for Scrappy Saturday, where everyone is showing their rainbow scrap projects as they finish up. Join us!

Moving right along, here is a promised picture of the black, white and red quilt that my cousin and sewing-partner-in-crime Kim finished (and I quilted) for her sweet granddaughter Zoe.  Zoe is in the picture and is absolutely THRILLED with the quilt. She is such a cutie (and may or may not have shorts on under her T-shirt, LOL). Kim took this picture with her phone and sent it to me, so I was not able to lighten it. Didn’t the quilt turn out beautifully?? Way to go, Colonel Cousin Kimmie!!

I had a blast this week finishing up the piecing on November Rain for my son Ryan. I had said I would do a mid-week post with possible layout ideas, but there were so many blocks and not enough design wall area to making playing around easy. And finally, I decided on the layout that Rob Appel used in his Man Sewing Video shown here.

So, the above picture shows all the blocks pinned and taped on (and over and under) my design wall. Below they are sewn together with a 1” black border and a 4” outer border added. The dimensions are 67x86", and it is slated to be quilted (by me) probably week after next.

It’s not perfect, but I LOVE love love it. It was so much fun playing with color placement and planning, sewing and matching up blocks. In the process I learned a lot about sewing on the bias (it is very forgiving, but you must be careful).  I definitely want to do another one of these quilts again in some outrageous interesting color way.  The backing for this quilt will be half of a duvet cover that Kim bought at Ikea for $10 (in the “as is” bin) - and it is 100% cotton. Those duvet covers have two sides, so using only one was the equivalent of a $5 backing. Small economies sure help when one is cranking out about 10 quilts for Christmas!

And you know I had to bore you fill you in on the remodeling of our living room. The cabinetry, bookshelves, mantel and surround were delivered on Thursday. Jeff will begin installing them this weekend. He has this weekend and next before the furniture arrives on Monday the 12th. Well, part of the furniture. We will get one couch, my chair, the rug and a small end table (to add to the end table and new recliner we already had). The leather couch and ottoman is coming from Italy and is back ordered until mid-January. Our salesperson is checking the warehouse daily for the possibility of someone changing their mind or scheduling later deliveries (meaning we could grab it), but we are resigned to patiently waiting until January. So, as per usual, Christmas seating will be scarce, so we’ll just have to pull in some kitchen chairs.  But there is a silver lining; without the second couch and ottoman, I will have room to place the Christmas tree without wracking my brain.

So here is Alfie on the new hardwood floor (the small part that isn’t covered with drop cloths by the front door).

And here is the current state of affairs. The baseboards are painted and mostly strung across the sawhorses waiting their installation - which is the final thing - in the living room, hallway and back bedroom. Also up on the sawhorses are the (wrapped from the carpenter) crown moldings. Leaning against the fireplace stone is the base of the mantel; the shelf and molding trims are somewhere in that mess. The cabinet bases (rear left) and bookshelves (upside down in left foreground) are ready to be installed. The drawers and shelves are either under the sawhorses or stacked in front (not in picture).

I have no idea how long it takes to install them from this point. Measuring, installing the toe kicks, bracing against the walls, shims and molding and cutting access to electrical on the wall, etc etc. But we’ll take whatever progress we get.

And all this has caused me to re-think the traditional Christmas carols to fit our situation this year.  My favorites include:

Have Yourself a Merry Dusty Little Christmas
O Little Town of Bethlehem House of Construction
Silver Bells Bills
Do You Hear What I Hear? (no change needed, but imagine the air compressor or hammers)
All I Want For Christmas (is my living room)
Away in a Manger the Back Room (no space for TV)
Rudolph Alfie the Nosy Cat-child (had a very frisky day...)

I could go on and on, but I’ll spare you. You’re welcome. Have a great week!