Saturday, December 31, 2016

Rainbow Scrap Plans for 2017

This will likely be my last post of 2016, and in it I want to look forward to 2017 (sewing-wise).  There are so many things we cannot control or plan, and I`m OK with rolling with the punches life throws. But it’s nice to have an area of creativity that I can control (mostly, if time and funds are not counted, LOL). And so I will outline some basic sewing goals for 2017, realizing that reality may look slightly different.

I love the Rainbow Scrap Challenge! It helps to get rid of fabric scraps (“leftovers”; and I’m a big fan of leftovers. If it’s food, leftovers mean I often don’t have to cook but can do something instead). Doing something with my fabric scraps means that I can conjure up quilts out of pieces that may have had no further life expectancy. The RSC also adds a framework around which I can plan my sewing - by monthly color. I prefer to attack my colored scraps when the color is announced, sewing them as I’ve planned. After they are done (and sometimes in between if I get tired of a color) I turn to other projects. It works well for me.

So here is what I have planned for RSC for 2017.


2.5” Squares and HSTs

1.   Friendship Star Variation

This 6” quilt block
This quilt layout


2.  Arrowhead Puzzle (or Garlic Knot)

This block
This quilt layout
The background will be scrappy for this one. Tentative plan is to use all colors, mixed up, but that may change.


PIECES, smallish

3.  Color Me quilt by Emily Herrick.


I started Color Me last year and have a couple of the crayons done. The pieces within the crayons are 2.5x5”, a good size for my scraps. I will continue to add to this until it “feels” done. There may be more colors....


STRIPS

4.  Diagonal Strips

This is another project I started last year. I have several 8.5” blocks done in pinks, reds, and blues. I’ll just keep adding to them as my scraps dictate.



5.  The Rainbow Bookcase

I’m really excited by this one!  Blocks are just 12” squares (5 per row); a color topped by the background. I can piece them so the books stand vertically or horizontally, using different width scraps and even adding lettering or selvages to mimic book titles. Depending on how many scraps are available, this may be a 1-2 year project. I’m thinking of combining pink and red in one row, and combining the aquas and blues in one row, then purples and grays in another. So, most of the variables are open at this point, except that I do have a gray piece to cut up for the “shelves”. Not sure what background I’ll use yet, but I have lots to choose from and it doesn’t all have to be the same.



SELVAGES

I believe I’ve shown this one before, but here we go again....

6.   Rainbow Selvages, pattern by Riel Nason.


What I like about this is that the selvages themselves are all mixed up and with all the white they contain, they form the background/alternate piecing to the rainbow colored blocks. I don’t know if the color blocks will be solid (probably not) or pieced, but I think this will allow a lot of flexibility to use up lots of scraps and selvages. I would like to try 1-2 columns per month, with more of a varied range. For example, the oranges could be dark orange (one column) and light oranges (one column) moving into golds (one column) then yellow (one column), light greens, darker greens, etc.  I tried sewing together some selvages this week  and I think I have enough selvages to keep to the same color family in the same column. If I run short, though, I have so many multi-colored selvages that we’ll just make up any shortage with those.

And finally, I have four RSC2016 quilts to finish in the first quarter. One is ready to quilt and the other 3 are now flimsies. I will show some pictures of those in the next few weeks.


NOT RSC, but Must-Do’s for 2017

1.   Lozenges. My birthday is March 14 (Pi Day) and earlier this year I entered and won a contest from @Laurie3.14 on Instagram. The prize was 314 scrap pieces of fabric, dozens of which were her leftover lozenges from making this quilt (a Bonnie Hunter pattern) for her daughter (picture is of daughter’s friend holding quilt):

photo courtesy of Lauri M
I’m doing this same quilt, with white and black or gray accents (flip corners). I used Laurie’s gifted orange scraps as the start, then cut out a hundred or so more when we had orange month earlier this year. I will take stock and begin work again in earnest come our next orange month.

2.  Disappearing Nine Patch (D9P) for BIL Marv.  This year I took a red quilt for Bruce’s brother Dennis when we visited in February. When we go again next year, I will take a quilt for Marv - a D9P in black, white, gray and teal.

3.  A quilt for me. I’m using Olive’s Flower Market (I have bought up enough of that line to probably make three quilts, LOL. I lerrrrve it!!) Pattern is Rose Cottage.

4.   Finish up Farm Girl Quilt.

5.  Kennel quilts - small size quilts (12x18” up to crib-size). Our Best Friends local group takes any size, so I am going to try to donate 6 per month, or more if I can manage.

6.  I promised hubby Bruce that I’d make him another quilt, and he wants guitars. Also, one son-in-law is deployed currently, but when he gets home I will make him a quilt. His wife (our daughter Emily) says he’d love one of those Big Game quilts I made this year.

Bernadette (my Bernina 550QE) was gone for Three.Whole.Days. for a spa treatment this week. But she’s back now and I’m ready to get sewing. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to finish another quilt before year-end.

Do you have any plans for New Year’s Eve? We don’t either, LOL. Too darn cold to go downtown to celebrate outdoors. We’ll just cozy up in the new living room, have some Kahlua and eggnog (my seasonal favorite drink) and try to stay awake until the New Year rings in. I know, we’re so boring.

Linking up to Rainbow Scrap Challenge.


16 comments:

  1. Love your idea on the scraps you won. What a great prize! I have a bunch of those garlic knots too. Don't know when I'll pick up that project again. The scrap crayons are cute. Looks like you have a lot of fun projects to get RSC17 underway. Happy new year! Looking forward to see what you do in 2017.

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  2. So many great projects you have in the works. I hope you get plenty of creative time in the sewing studio doing whatever project calls your name. Stay warm and safe this evening and through the new year.
    I don't think I have stayed up for the midnight hour in years... something about kids getting up at the crack of dawn still.

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  3. Oh my goodness, Kathy! So many projects!! My head is spinning! Love the quilts you chose for RSC2017. The selvage quilt is awesome. I might copy that one myself. It would have to be small as I don't have that many selvage yet. (I used to throw them out! }^8 ) Good luck with your goals and have a wonderful New Year! ;^)

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  4. Okay, you are a bad influence on me, because now I want to do one of everything! Love the friendship star block, the garlic knots, and the crayons especially, but the rainbow bookshelf - ohhhhh! There are no words! Lol! So many fun ideas to try! How did everyone like your kitty quilts? Hope they are well-loved! We will have a quiet New Year's too - probably some Netflix and wine! I am so boring I don't even stay up until 12, but fireworks in our neighborhood will most likely wake me up. So then I know it's official! Happy New Year, Cathy!

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  5. I'm loving ALL of your RSC plans for 2017!! While I don't (currently) plan to add any new projects for the coming year, I would certainly entertain a few of yours. Best of luck for scrappy success in the coming year!!

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  6. You've expressed very well how I also use the RSC. I don't have very specific plans for the new year yet; I'm impressed at all you've got planned. Love that rainbow bookshelf!

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  7. I love how detailed your plan of attack is for next year! I am planning to stick with just one RSC project, but I like the idea of sorting the project by fabric size!

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  8. You have so many great quilts in mind to make this year. This promises to be a very productive year for you. I love the arrangement of the friendship star blocks especially.

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  9. Wow, that's a lot of projects! I love the crayon quilt and the bookcase one. Those will be very exciting!

    Happy 2017! Have a shot of Kahlua for me!

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  10. Cathy, the crayon quilt is exactly what I can make for a Project Linus quilt,many it uses Jellyroll strips. That will go on my list for sure. You have some great plans and an exciting year ahead. Happy New Year!

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  11. Boring? You? With all the projects you do??? Although - I have to say that I might haul out the Irish Cream tonight and have a wee nip just to recover from the feeling faint after reading your list of plans for 2017! No celebratory plans here either - probably will be in bed with our noses in our books long before the big event. Happy 2017 my friend!

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  12. Woohoo! Look at all the fun you're planning! (I'm now eyeing that Friendship Star... I thought I had finalized my RSC2017 plans... Drat!)

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  13. There are some great plans here! I love that crayon; I just may copy you and do the same thing! The bookshelf is pretty great, too. What fun plans!

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  14. Pardon me while I drool just a bit over your plans. Yum! That variation on a Friendship star really looks great with the layout you showed, and the crayon quilt has been on my must try list for a while now. Hope you don't run out of scraps!

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  15. So much scrappy fun and inspiration! It will be great watching all your projects come to fruition this year!

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  16. You've got some fun scrappy projects for 2017 and a full plate of gift projects. Good luck with your goals for the next year. Looking forward to seeing all your projects come together.

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