A Red January Saturday

The weather is bleak and gray, the nights are long, the politicians are all crazy ..... yep, it must be January. Thank goodness for friends, family (and that includes the furry members), and sewing. I’m doing my best to keep my sanity until we get to the Vernal Equinox (only 67 more days, if you’re counting) ... or vacation in Arizona, whichever comes first. And this month we are focusing on the color red in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. That’s a cheery color, so it’s fun to see my sewing room decked out like a bomb went off with red.

Last week I showed you samples of the cracker block and the classic anvil block that I intended to make. Well, here are their red little friends that got made this week.

10 Red Crackers (will finish at 7” each):

In addition to the blocks above, and in case you only drop by for Rainbow Scrap Saturday and didn’t see any interim posts, I made 42 more of these red cracker blocks out of some Scottie dog fabric I’ve had sitting around for awhile. This picture shows the blocks just pinned up on the design wall, but it is actually a completed flimsy now. I hope to have it completed by month-end into a gender neutral donation quilt for kids.

And then I sewed 5 red anvil blocks. Last week I called them “Little White Doves”, but that actually was the name of Jen Kingwell’s quilt that used this block in white. The blocks themselves are actually the classic Anvil block. And many thanks to Mari for pointing that out to me so now I can just call them anvils!  They are 8.5”, unfinished.

Much of the week was spent focusing on Saguaro Sunset. My goal for the week was to finish the 4 cacti in the second row, and I got it done. This is how the two rows look together so far.

Please excuse the blue painters tape. I had to get the first row up as high as I could to allow room on the design board to work the second row. The rows are not yet sewn together. Instead, after this picture was taken I pinned the second row up where the first row is so that I have room to work on the third and final row. That will consist of 4 more saguaros on a background that fades from light orange to golden yellow to light yellow. How it will look is anyone’s guess because I’m having to pull in whatever solids or ombre fabric I have left lying around. I hope to be able to squeak it out without having to go shopping for more fabric, which would be tragic (muahahahaha). Fingers crossed.

Next week’s goal on Saguaro Sunset is to get two more cacti done. The blocks take For.Ev.Er. when you are cutting pieces and playing with colors. But I am enjoying it.  :-)

I also sewed up eight “Fireball” blocks for the January Block Lotto. They are 6.5” each and I grouped them together for their glamour shot.

Darla had a dental appointment at the vet’s office this week and ended up having to have 2 teeth pulled. I told her she ought to brush better. She was NOT at all pleased to be caged in her carrier to and fro (the indignity!), but finally forgave me by the next day.

Alfie, on the other hand (paw?), was not in the least upset with Darla being gone, because he didn’t have to take turns in my lap.