Just Another Month End

It’s been a week of cool, rainy weather. Nothing of note happened this week around here. It was just the stuff of everyday life - errands, sewing, housework, phone calls and visits to and from family and friends. One highlight (for me) was that I finalized the details with a new housekeeper who has been cleaning for other extended family members for decades. She will start with us on Monday, and return every other week. That’s perfect timing because on Tuesday night, several of my friends from our Tuesday morning Weight Watchers workshop are coming over for a game night here. It should be a blast, and I may get some pictures if they’re willing.

But you’re probably here for Scrappy Saturday, so let’s talk about what I got done to wrap up Green October. First off, elephants! These four blocks (pattern by Wendy Sheppard) will finish the blocks needed for another elephant quilt. 

So these blocks will be added to these piles, 

which represent other quilt tops in various stages of assembly. In total, there will be three more elephant quilts, a pink and blue patchwork quilt that I never finished last month, and a Community Quilt that needs a backing to be pieced. Once assembled, the tops will be pin basted and added to my stack of 7+ tops to be quilted. All of that will hopefully happen during November, which is shaping up to be my Finishing Frenzy! I’m hoping to turn out at least a dozen finished quilts in November.

But I did finish one quilt this week, so here’s that one. It’s the Little Green Bricks (block pattern from Sylvia at Treadlestitches)

Little Green Bricks finished at 42x48” and will go to Quilts for Kids. The back was mostly this green tree print (I’m refusing to call it a Christmas print, because evergreens exist in all seasons!):

I also sewed up some fun wrapped candy blocks, which will finish at 8”. This is a new Rainbow Scrap Challenge block that I’ll carry over into RSC23:

The centers are 4.5” crumb squares with flip corners, and that will not be enough size to help whittle down the crumb piles, so I’ll probably begin doing 6.5” crumb squares in addition to the candy blocks beginning in January. But for this year, I did use some crumbs to finish off one green placemat.

In November, I’m also going to try to finish up the last miscellaneous mixed-color elephant blocks in order to put together the final two elephant quilt tops before year end. And I hope to tackle my black, brown and gray scrap drawers - the black one won’t even close anymore. I’ve been saving ideas, and look forward to sorting those scraps and putting together some quilt tops. So much to do and never enough time!

I’m in a bit of a hurry this morning - can you tell? - to get going to our last Quilts for Kids scrap workshop of the year. I think I’ll just be taking along my solid scraps and Accuquilt 2” square die and cutter to cut squares for future Zipper quilt kits. Today I’m turning in three finished quilts, 180 multi-colored string blocks for kits, 45 green string blocks for kits, and one completed Zipper Quilt Kit. And I’m going to resist all the sweets they always bring so that I don’t backtrack on my good recent weight loss (which I may or may not discuss at a later date, LOL). But for now, time to pack up the car! Have a great week.