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 

I Like Thursday # 151 ~ My Autumn Home

 Hello from my sunny back yard!

I have been home for almost and month from my summer vacation.

It has been an eventful month.

After staying well throughout our travels, Mr Scrapatch and I, who are fully vaccinated and boosted,  both caught covid. Both had a mild flu like case and we are now recovered.

One of our sons called us while we were on our way home to say he had it. His symptoms were similarly mild and he is also recovered. Although we dropped off groceries and supplies to his doorstep, we did not catch it from him either.

Mr. Scrapatch, who has been going to work all through the pandemic, apparently caught the new variant and brought it home to me.  Fortunately, we have not passed it to our other son or anyone else. 

As you can see, I finished the purple shawl for my friend.  This was actually completed before my trip but we have not been able to get together for lunch until yesterday.  For details on the yarn and pattern stitch I adapted for this shawl ... Read More Here

After shaping the shoulders, I added deep pockets to the front for keeping hands warm and carrying a phone or other essentials.  

The pockets are the same pattern stitch as the center back piece.

All of this is done in Tunisian Crochet except the final edging.

I worked the pockets on the back side of the ends and folded them forward and stitched up the sides with a single crochet stitch border. 

I am pleased with how this worked up and my purple loving friend was very happy with it.  I may work on another shawl like this soon, but will be making a few changes based on what worked best for this one.

I am now working on a new Tunisian Crochet Shawl in the Tunisian Simple Stitch (TSS). 

This one is for my daughter and she picked the yarn and the pattern. 

I am also working outside when the weather is good to get our garden ready for winter.

In keeping with today's theme for 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

Here is a photo that I have posted before about the type of snacks I prefer when crafting, whether it is sewing or crocheting.  For home, I buy big bags of fresh nuts, dried seeds, dried fruits and make my own mix.  For traveling or carrying in my hand work bag, I buy small bags or bag some myself. I always have a bottle or insulated cup of ice water near me at home or on the go.

I cannot really say that I am back to regular blogging.  

I may post from time to time on this day or that.

May all of you stay well and happy and safe.

May you have a Happy Thursday!