Last Scrap Happy Saturday of April

Wow, this month has flown by!  That can be a good thing or a bad thing, lol!  I did get a little sewing done.  I also helped a friend clean out her neighbors' house in preparation of selling it.  When helping downsize it makes you realize how much "stuff" you have and I ended up taking a couple of  bags to the Volunteers of America which made me feel good but I need to do more.

I made a few blue kitties with a UK theme in memory of Prince Philip and his passing.  They are not really light or bright but they are blue!

I also decided it was time to work on a hankie quilt as I have quite a few hankies that were my mom's and grandmother's.  My mom will turn 90 this year and she gave me the hankies years ago and I think it is finally time.  I soaked the hankies in Retro Clean to get out any spots and now am appliqueing them to a white background.  I oversized the squares so I can trim them down once they are all sewn.  The largest hankie is around 17" square so all of my backgrounds are made to accommodate that particular hankie.  Time will tell if it all works out and these are blue!

In February I made a hankie memory quilt for a friend of mine.  She had her mom and grandmother's hankies for years and hadn't done anything with them and I volunteered to do something with them and in the end she was thrilled.

I had a lot of fun working on her hankie quilt even with all of the pressure to do something nice.

In January I decided to buy a Bernina Q-16 and it was delivered in February so my friend's memory quilt was my first quilt on the Bernina.  I should add that I LOVE my Q-16!  My previous machine was a Bailey Home Quilter and I used it but didn't love it so all in all it was such a good decision to upgrade.  Here is my almost 19 year old cat, Flash, who must love my Bernina too as she never "bothered" me when I quilted on the Bailey but she adores the Bernina.  We are definitely Bernina girls!

I also decided to start yet another quilt--crazy!  Since travel is out of the question right now and I don't see myself traveling for quite some time--thanks pandemic and I assume costs will be prohibitive once we can travel.  I decided to make a word travel memory quilt.  I don't know where it will go but I have lots of ideas--most of them are from traveling in France or French pastries.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try to make eclairs and they actually turned out!  The worst part is I had to eat almost all of them as my hubby isn't fond of them.  So sad, lol!  Now I wonder why my scale seems to be weighing a bit heavy.  I know, the photo isn't really "pretty" or instagram worthy but I think I was in a hurry to indulge!

Finally, I made a Union Jack quilt block--I love Union Jacks and am always on the look out for the perfect block.  It was a bit square for me so I added some words to make a wall hanging.  Are you shocked at the words I chose, lol!

I think that is all for now. Thank goodness for Angela and all the folks who link up for Scrap Happy Saturday as it is such fun to see what everyone is up to and it is also so nice to meet so many wonderful quilters from around the world!  

Cheers, 

Debi

Bright and Light Blue April

I actually got a few blue kitties and hearts done for the first weekend in April!  The light blue is very light and might be difficult to see in the photo.  

When I logged on to blogger today I had a notice that, according to Google, by law Google had to have my birthdate, what?  So I made one up, so there Google!  I made myself oh so much younger too.

Does anyone know what happened to Kevin the Quilter?  I used to read his blog and about a year ago he quilt blogging due to changes with blogger.  I bet it wasn't about his birthdate but I could be wrong.  I miss reading his posts and hope all is well with him and his family.

I am linking up with everyone and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Happy Easter and Cheers!

Debi

RSC March Green

March is turning out to be a much better month for me as I am actually getting a few things made,  I really enjoyed working on green blocks this month.  I also said I wasn't starting anymore new projects, lol!  With that said, I have wanted to make some kitty blocks and decided to go for it.  

Aren't they cute?  These little kitties measure 3" x 4 1/2" unfinished so they were lots of fun to sew.  Here is a kitten with some microspools!  Yes, I am still working on microspools but haven't sewn any for quite some time.  My spools measure 1 1/2" square and the pattern can be found on Sally's blog The Objects of Design.

My mom always asks me what am I going to do with this or that when I share something I am working on.  She doesn't understand the need to just enjoy the process no matter where it takes me.  I have no idea where the kitties or the microspools will go but I am enjoying the ride!

I also appliqued a few hearts.

And pieced a sage-green butterfly.  I may be able to wrap this quilt top up this year!

We are having a bit of nice weather this weekend and I need to get outside and clean up my hydrangea's.  I always wait too long to hack them back so this year I am on it!  Before I head out I am linking up with everyone at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Cheers!

Debi

Scrap Happy Sunday

January and February flew by without me doing much of anything and I have been in a bit of a funk.  The weather has pretty much been crap all month and that certainly affected my attitude on getting anything done along with the never-ending covid drama.  It seems like the days fly by and I can't figure out what I did all day long.  I am looking forward to March and maybe nicer weather.

Anyway, my RSC has been simplified this year.  I have some small projects to work on along with a couple of past projects as well. Last year, Canadian Needle Nana and Michele Ridgeway Designs worked on little appliqued heart blocks and I decided I wanted to make some as well and decided the hearts will be one RSC project for the year.

I am continuing on with Basket Case blocks that Michele Ridgeway Designs shared last year.  They are fun to do but I have no idea what direction I will eventually go.

French Roses are still in the pile of projects to work on too as well as some butterfly blocks that need some attention.

I think that's all for this year so far.  I have my fingers crossed I will get a little more productive as time goes on.  Almost forgot, I am linking up with everyone at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Sheesh!

Cheers!

Debi

Scrap Happy Saturday on Saturday!

It has been busy around here finishing up a few quilt tops and, oh my, it feels so good!  I am so thankful I decided to get on board with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge as it has helped me focus on getting a couple of projects done and as is typical with me, start new projects, lol.  Thank you Angela for hosting a fantastic challenge!  I look forward to next year.

Here are a couple of tops I actually finished up. I am going to try to quilt a few of them myself but that is a frustrating project for another day.

Carolina Chain, a Bonnie Hunter pattern, that I started several years ago and had wanted to set on point like Bonnie did but in the end the extra effort just wasn't worth it for me.  I like the pattern but really don't love it. 

Next up, bunnies that have been waiting for months for some sort of border.  One on and then one off, a couple of times, lol, before just adding the cabbage border. Not sure if this top was really a RSC, but it did get done this year and it is scrappy.  I need to send it out to get quilted but I think I will wait until after the holidays as there is no hurry.  My original plan was to donate the lap-sized quilt to Buckeye House Rabbit Rescue and perhaps when it is finally finished I will.

I didn't know what I was going to work on when the RSC month was dark green as it isn't one of my favorite colors; however, I ended up re-working a little quilt that I purchased at our guilds' Second-Time Around Quilt shop.  I deconstructed the wallhanging and added bright green trees and a brighter border.  I am really happy with the results of the "new" wallhanging.

Finally, last year one of my RSC projects was to work on Cake Walk, a Lori Holt pattern.  I really loved working on this quilt and looked forward to each month and the selected colors.  It was probably one of the most fun quilts I have ever done as I used quite a few ribbons from my travels to Paris and London to embellish the cakes.  It really isn't practical to use as a bed quilt, but I love it none the less. I took this photo before I added the final whtie border to the quilt.

I think that is all that I finished up in November and December.  I still have lots of projects to work on for next year so I am pretty sure I will be joining the RSC challenge once again.  

Naturally I have been trying my hand at baking.  It is such fun to try recipes that I never dreamed I could do.  Today I tried my hand at Gateau Breton!  Last year I was lucky enough to visit Rennes, France and not only did I love the area I wanted to try some recipes of their baked goods.  Luckily I happened to record an episode of America's Test Kitchen on PBS that had a recipe that looked easy peasy.  I searched online to find he recipe and found it on the Hallmark Channel, go figure!  It is a recipe from Elle Simone and it is delicious!

Yeah, I tried to be festive with my photo which doesn't really show how nicely it turned out.  It tasted like a cross between shortbread and a cake with yummy apricot filling.  Anyway, it is delicious and I will probably make it again.

That is about it from me for this year.  I will be happy to see 2020 in my rear-view mirror and I am sure I have tons of company.  Speaking of company, I am joining Angela and lots of other folks who are finishing up their projects at SOScrappy and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I hope to see everyone in 2021!

Cheers!

Debi

Scrap Happy Sunday

Wow, how did I miss last month?  I guess I just haven't felt much like sewing but I did today and here are a few blocks I completed.

Yellow Carolina Chain blocks which I am calling finished. I have actually been working on getting all of the blocks together and hope to share it next month.

A yellowish butterfly. I want to make a few more butterflies in various colors before I quit making more.

Last month I picked up some crumpets at Trader Joe's.  I kinda liked them and thought I would try my hand at making some.  I used Paul Hollywood's recipe from his book "How to Bake" and here is the photo from the book. I ordered rings from Amazon as the dough is similar to a pancake batter and needs to be contained.

And mine, which look pretty close to me.

In the end I wasn't wild about the homemade crumpets!  I am not a fan of pancakes and the texture was pancake-like.  I guess if I want crumpets I will just pick them up at Trader Joe's in the future which is crazy, lol!

It is a day late but I am linking up with everyone and all of their yellow sunshine at RSC Scrap Happy Saturday.

Cheers,

Debi

Scrap Happy Saturday

 Another month has flown by without much sewing going on.  Sadly, I have been dealing with elderly parent health issues for the past two months and I have my fingers crossed all has settled down and I can get back to doing fun things again.  I also need the weather to cooperate on the days when I can sew as it has been hot and humid around here and I haven't been motivated to sit in an upstairs bedroom to sew in the afternoons.  Anyway, here are a few things I have managed to sew for the purple RSC.

I haven't made any new micro-spool blocks but I did sew a few purple blocks together although I intend for the rest of the blocks to be scrappy.

And finally, I have been admiring Bonnie Hunter's Blossom Time block for quite some time.  I had the issue of Quiltmaker when it came out but thought I wouldn't make the blocks so I recycled the magazine  I should have known better and I ended up ordering the digital issue to get the pattern. I made a few purple tulips and I know I will be making more blocks.

Hmmm, I see what other folks are taking about with blogger changes.  I think I got some of it but only time will tell.

For the first time this month, I am linking up with everyone at RSC--Scrap Happy Saturday.  I hope I can get a few more purple projects done before month's end.

Cheers,

Debi