Second ~ and Third ~ Scrappy Thoughts

 This is my Second Thought.

I am thinking of limiting my palette and

 hoping to create a secondary design in the chain.

In this layout, I have only blue, yellow and white background colors in my squares.

I have taken out the green scraps and am limiting the green 

to the single fabric in the chain borders

My First Block for my Scrappy Irish Chain 

looks maybe a bit too busy even for my "all scraps are welcome" eyes.

My seam ripper has to find that lightest green square. 

Then this block may turn into a kitty quilt. 

This is my Third Thought. 

For this layout, I also pulled the white and used dark blue in the center and light blue to yellow for the center of the chains.

I would have to cut many more dark blue scraps.

Mr. Scrapatch has already added his thoughts while walking by my cutting table and said he likes the dark blue center in this layout. Mr. Scrapatch loves blue.

I am going to make one Block B and think some more.

Which layout would you choose?

Opinions always welcome.

:) 

Back to Sewing ~ Block 1

 

My first block is done for my

Scrappy Irish Chain Scrap Along Quilt

This scrappy goodness is being hosted by Corey Yoder.

This is Block A ~1 of 13

Here are her inctructions

Scrappy Irish Chain Scrap Along ~ Part 2 ~ Block Piecing

This is a very big and busy block made of 9 rows of 2.5" squares.

I need to make one of the Block B next so I can see how my fabrics and colors are working.  Right now I cannot see the pattern.  The large neutral background center in the alternate block is really needed as a place eyes to rest.

It was good to be back to sewing.  My lovely workhorse of a Janome MC6600p is getting old.  I have sewn so many seams with her that her tension mechanism is wearing out.  I have the tension set to the max to get an even stitch.  It is one of the reasons that I took a break from machine sewing. Buying a new machine is not an option for me now.  I need to find away to get my machine working.

Overall, I am pleased with my back-to-sewing efforts so far.

Looking forward to playing with the fabrics again tomorrow.

Happy Sewing!

Hope to get another block done tomorrow. 

Wishful Thinking ~ UFOs & Quilt Goals 2023

This Lonestar Quilt Block was made in 2011.

I had to wash a stain off one of the points and press it before I took this photo.

This is the center block that I made 

while sewing along with the ...

Lonestar Quilt Along 2011

@ 

Ridge Top Quilts

It was my first attempt at this start block. 

Dorian, my online quilty bestie, patiently helped me through the process. 

I admit that I am still not a fan of "Y" seams.

I have never actually finished a Lone Star Quilt. 

This quilt block is the end product of a previous Stash Busting effort...

...  while I was trying to use up fabrics from this

 Mystery Quilt in 2011

My Favorite Bed Quilt

The large blue floral fabric in this Lonestar Block

 is the last of the focus fabric for 

I think I had intended to complete the QAL and use this as a wallhanging in the bedroom.  The corner blocks and border were never sewn.  

Now this large block is a UFO that surfaced when I was pulling yellow, blue and green scraps for my Scrappy Irish Chain WIP.

Maybe I will add a scrappy border and finish it as a wallhanging

 when my Irish Chain Quilt is finished and on my bed.

"It could happen ..." ;)

This quote is one of our family sayings for wishful thinking.

It comes from an old family type movie that my daughter had on repeat on the VHS player on our old television in the 90's. She wore out the VHS tape.

Can anyone name the movie?

Anyone want a hint?

I am walking down memory lane and thinking wishfully 

about getting my UFOs and WIPs this Sunday afternoon.

Will 2023 be the year I complete a Lone Star Quilt?

It has long been on my quilty bucket list.

I saw this post on 

#quiltgoals2023 ~ The Jolly Jabber @ Fat Quarter Shop

It has me thinking wishfully about setting one goal this year.

I am thinking my goal should be to finish one UFO.

Will this Lone Star block be the one? 

Time will tell.  

Scrappy Saturday ~ Scrappy Irish Chain Fabrics

 

I have decided to restart my sewing skills by making the 

Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt

featured in my last post. 

I am making a yellow and blue and green quilt!

I have printed the pattern and Corey Yoder's background fabric cutting chart

Here are the fabrics that I have pulled from my stash. The jelly roll at the top is one of my oldest treasures. I have two charm packs of the prints and a charm pack of the wovens, too.  It is Sunshine by April Cornel for Moda fabrics.  The charms in the front are from a newer Corey Yoder line called Spring Brook.  The pieced fabrics are left from a project made with the scraps from my Favorite Bed Quilt reposted here on my I Like Thursday post. I will also be including other random blue, yellow and green scraps.

This cream background and green fabric is from 

Birdsong by Pat Sloan for Benartex

You may purchase these fabrics 

Birdsong by Pat Sloan @ Fat Quarter Shop

via my affiliate link where

I will receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra charge to you.

This fabric is from last summer and is still available in many shops.

I really like the soft green in this fabric line.

I bought a panel and some fat quarters and the lovely creamy neutral.

It is the last stash purchase I have made

 other than the bee fabrics for the baby quilt.

I am committed to sewing my stash this year

and keeping any fabric purchases to a minimum

 with only occasional visits to my local quilt shop.

Today is Local Quilt Shop Day

So I will be visiting my favorite local quilt shop ...

Bits n Pieces Quilt Shop in Pelham, NH

when I take my afternoon break.

This morning I hope to have at least one Scrappy Irish Chain Block done. 

May you have a happy Scrappy Saturday! 

Free Pattern Friday ~ Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt

 

Corey Yoder is hosting this free pattern scrap quilt along on her blog

Coriander Quilts 

The first post in the project has information on choosing fabrics and cutting:

Scrappy Irish Chain Scrap Along

 ~ Post 1 ~ Cutting

The second post is already up 

Scrappy Irish Chain Scrap Along ~ Part 2 ~ Block Piecing

Corey has posted very helpful videos on her for this project on her

Corey Yoder YouTube Channel

This is not a Corey Yoder pattern. 

On her posts, she gives the link to the original pattern. 

This free Scrappy Irish Chain pattern may be downloaded in the link below: 

Scrappy Irish Chain ~ Free Pattern by Jessie Fincham

I have sewed other Irish Chain patterns in the past

but this version is a new one to me and I am adding it to my files.  

I have not decided yet if I will be sewing along this time, 

but I have many, many 2.5" square scraps that need to be sewn into a quilt.

Hmmm ... this is a maybe.

I shall finish the baby quilt that I have in the works

and see what I sew next.

 I do <3 Irish Chain Quilts. 

<3 <3 <3 

I Like Thursday # 152 ~ Colors of My Life

 

In keeping with today's theme for 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

my post will be all about colors.

The main colors in the fabrics above, yellow, gray, white and black, were chosen by our niece, Naomi, for her baby girl's nursery.  Her theme is "baby bee." I love yellow and gray together, so this will be a fun quilt to make.  

My first grandniece was born two weeks ago.

Her name is Isabella Grace and her nickname is Izzy Bee.

I have seen only photos, as her little family lives in Texas, but Baby Izzy Bee is adorable and has a full head of black hair. I hope to have her quilt made soon.

I am still choosing a pattern but have narrowed it down to two ideas.

It took me some time to find baby bee fabric. 

I ordered the 9" panels from  I Need Fabric

and it took some weeks to receive it and by the time it arrived, it was December and I had no time over the holidays to sew and get the quilt to the baby before she was born.  They have interesting panels, but I am not sure I will order from them again.  Besides the time it takes to print and send, the fabric quality is thinner than my quilting cotton.  In the photo the panels are laid on white batting to show the colors. I will have to use fusible fleece on the backs before I sew them into my quilt in order to stabilize the stretchy fabric.  So these panels are suitable for a "t-shirt" type quilt setting and process.  I did order a yard of coordinating fabric which is not shown.  This fabric is also thin and the colors are a bit muted.  I am not sure if I am going to use it in a quilt.

I like bright colors.

I had no bee fabrics suitable for a baby quilt in my stash so I looked for baby bee fabrics online and did not find much.  Then I found just what I needed in December in my local quit shop. The fabrics in front of the panels are an older fabric line by

Susy Bee by Clothworks

I really like how they brighten the panels.

These fabrics have been quilty kitty approved by Nutmeg. 

The prompt for the day asked our favorite color. 

I love all colors but if I can only choose one ...

my favorite color is yellow.

My favorite color combo is yellow, green and blue.

I made My Favorite Bed Quilt  in these colors in 2011 

when the walls of my bedroom were yellow.  

We painted the walls gray last year.  

I love this light gray.  

The color changes with the quality of light and is never tiring.

I would be happy to paint all my walls this color.  Maybe I will.

My yellow/blue/green quilt looks lovely in this room and is still my favorite but the fabrics are wearing out and it needs repair. It is folded in a corner of my room, treasured and loved ... and occasionally napped on by my kitties.

Meet Cassian.

Our new cat is this smokey gray tabby.  Yes, I was watching the Disney+ series, when I named him. A handsome tomcat, he lived in the shadows and started coming to our door for food late last summer.  He was free-roaming, charming when he wanted to be, always looking for what he could get and played Romeo under the windows, meowing at our girls.  Then he would disappear for days and we would fret about him.

Although feral, he started accepting our offers to give him treats and pats. Efforts to find who might be missing him went unanswered and he had no microchip. When the weather started turning colder, we started making plans to take him in. We did not trap him. He chose to come in out of the cold and into our kitchen.  First off, he had to go to the vet to be neutered and get a clean bill of health in order to be share our home with our spayed girl kitties. After a few weeks of quarantine in a large cage in our living room, he was cleared to mingle and make friends. After a few meds, he still does not have a perfectly clean health record.  Cassian is FIV positive which means his immune system is compromised and this is not treatable. It is not something humans can catch. Although it is not passed to other cats through casual contact or shared food dishes, it could be passed to our other cats by deep bite wounds.  Normally a cat who is FIV positive is recommended to live in a one cat home.  We briefly considered placing him in a no-kill shelter, but decided we did not take him in and to live in a cage waiting for someone to rescue him, however well he would be cared for. 

Cassian had found a place in our hearts and home. The vet estimates his age to be over a year but under a year and a half. Apparently he had a hard life on the streets.  Fortunately, he is a very peaceful and friendly guy and shows no signs of aggression.  He just wants to be part of the family. 

And so he is! 

Cassian is living the good life as an indoor cat. 

For more of his story, you may follow on my 

Here on my TikTok

I like the kitties and crochet and places and colors of TikTok and have learned to manage it carefully so I do not see what I do not want to see.

May your life be colorful and happy and full of love.

Back to Blogging for 2023!

 

Hello!

I am making plans to get back to blogging this year and hope you will visit me again.

I took an extended online break in the last few months of 2022 and also did little sewing, stitching and crocheting.

I am back to working on this Tunisian Crochet Shawl which is a gift for my daughter that I started Here Last October while I was visiting her in Indiana.

I will post the pattern and more photos soon!

For those of you who have been followers of my kitty helpers, you may notice something new in this photo.

We have a new Scrapatch Cat!

This handsome gray tabby was a stray who started coming to our door late last summer.  In November when the winter cold started to arrive, we decided to let him in and here he stays, after many visits to the vets. I will be telling his story soon, too. 

Katniss, Maestro and Nutmeg are all well and have accepted their new brother. It has been a quite a process. They are even starting to play with him.

My plans for 2023 are quite small at this time.

My goals are:

(1) Finish this green shawl for my daughter.

(2) Make a baby quilt for our new grandniece.

(3) Start another crochet project for a friend.  

(4) Join one new quilt-along this year, which I have already chosen.

More soon! 

Happy New Year!

 

May you and yours have a happy healthy, 

prosperous and peaceful 2023.

<3