Scraps in the LImelight

October’s color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is lime or light green. We did the darker half of the green spectrum earlier in the year. In between all my catch-up sewing from the last couple months plus some secret sewing to be revealed later this month, I did whip out my bucket of green scraps and sort through those I wanted to take aim at this month. But before I get to that, let me  show you the one finish I had this week.

As I said, I’m trying to play catch-up, since the studio remodel put me way behind on finishing quilts for Quilts for Kids. This is the second of the two orange scrappy quilt whose tops I sewed in September when we were focusing on orange. I showed the orange string quilt (Orangesicle Strings) last week. This orange quilt is a hodgepodge of orange blocks, parts, squares, strips and crumbs that I quilted up this week.

It measures  40.5 x 48.5” and is quilted in a loopy design. The binding is folded over from the back and machine sewn, just as our chapter of QFK prefers. I used up a couple of old orange chunks for the back. I wanted to get a picture of it outdoors with the changing leaves, but it’s been rainy and dark the last couple days. Oh well. 

In green news, I finished 12 framed four-patch blocks. My only plan for these is just to sew them up and wait for a use to come along. At 8.5” each unfinished, they’ll be a useful size to insert into hodgepodge quilt as fillers.

Yep, some dark green snuck in there, but in the overall scheme of things it doesn’t really matter. The scraps are the boss, you know. 

And here is the current quilt-in-process on the design board. Perfect for lime green month! I have the length about right, but will have to add something to the sides to bolster up the width.

It’s partially sewn and partially pinned. And I do intend to match the seam in that horizontal chevron strip.  But my first step is always just to arrange these strips and off-cuts that I get donated to see if they are cohesive enough in color and theme to cover enough area for a quilt top. 

The goal is to get this one to the finish line this week, along with two other fish-themed tops that are ready to be pin basted. Those three quilts will bring me current with QFK finishes as far as RSC colors go. Speaking of the RSC, come check out Scrappy Saturday! 

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This week I cobbled together this little arrangement of flowers and other bits of interest from the last gasps of our garden this season. Besides roses, delphinium and zinnias, I added pods from our trumpet vine and fronds (small branches) from our dwarf Japanese maple. 

Our rains are forecast to stop about mid-week, so I hope to get my bulbs planted and bring in any last tomatoes before the first frost hits. Also, I saw a flower at the garden center that I am coveting - an echibeckia. It’s a cross between a coneflower (echinacea) and a Black-eyed Susan (rudbeckia). They were actually developed in 2015, and there are several varieties to chose from. But this is the first time I’ve seen (or at least noticed) one locally. Does it say “autumn” or what?!?

Photo Credit: Perennials.com

Oh, and did I tell you?!? My washing machine has been giving me trouble for a few weeks now and is getting wonkier by the week. The programming is screwy. Sometimes when I push a button to do X, it will say Y. That is, if it will even acknowledge me. I would love to go back to simpler technology. At any rate, we did our research and bought a new washer and dryer that will be delivered next Thursday. They will remove and haul away these old monster front-loaders on pedestals and install our new dryer and top-loading washer. The only catch is that I have to clear a path to the laundry room from the back basement door. That means moving 2 sewing tables and 2 plastic storage drawer units. *Sigh* 

Have a great week!