A very pink week

 Hi all! How's it going? We are hot and humid, but, you know, it's July. Have to expect that, right?  Break out the popsicles and ice cream, because hot food is out of the question right now.

I've been working on a couple of things this week, and it turns out there's kind of a pink theme happening right now. First up are the latest of the "old and new" blocks:

 

 

I didn't set out to make three coral blocks, but that's how it worked out. Sometimes it's like that, right? I love these blocks, and now I understand why the modern blocks are so popular. They are so much faster to make than the traditional blocks. I think the traditional blocks are worth it, though, especially when they turn out so pretty.  The block on the left is actually a block from a Civil War sampler, if you can believe it. So much prettier in coral and green than gray and blue!

 

While I'm thinking of it, if you happen to know the fabric line or designer of the fabric above, could you please let me know?  I messed up and used that fabric for a different quilt, and now I only have a few scraps and I need some more of it. I know it's a long shot, but maybe one of you will recognize it. 

In other pink news. . .Lynne over at Patchery Menagerie has been making herself a luscious pink quilt, and that inspired me to pull out these leftover magenta pieces:

 

These are left over from a Bonnie Hunter quilt that I finished in a different way from the pattern. If I use four of these per block, I have enough already assembled for 16 blocks, and enough pieces cut for a total of 24 blocks. My real dilemma is how to put them together. As I see it, there are two options:

 

I like them both, which makes it difficult to choose. The four patches are also leftovers, so I thought I might go ahead and use them here, too. It feels like there are hundreds of them, and they have to get used somewhere! For the stars, I'm leaning to the ones on the right, if only because they'll fit better with some kind of alternate block. I haven't chosen that yet, but I feel like I have to figure the stars out first. One thing at a time! (Which doesn't seem to happen around here, actually. . .)

So, it's been a very pink week so far! I love pink, so that makes me plenty happy. Plus, here is a sneak peek of a non-pink project that I'm trying to finish up:

 

 

Yikes! There is embroidery involved with this one, and it's a bit too warm to hold on my lap, so it's going slowly. But it's thrilling to have it at this stage!

Hope you're all having a good week, with lots of air conditioning. Try not to melt, and pass those popsicles!

Sharing at Midweek Makers.

Peaceful blue vibes

 Hi all! How have you been, besides really hot? I had a great week, mainly because we spent most of it with family, including both my parents and my grandkids. It was my dad's Covid-postponed big birthday bash, and it was a blast! A lot of us in this now-extended family were able to get there, and it was just great to be together. There may have been some tears, and not just from the teething one-year-old. The best part for me was getting to see my grandkids interacting with my parents, and listening to the five-year-old tell my dad all about his trip to the haircut store (which he loves.) We all had the best time.

We got home to find a pile of mail that was postmarked in December. (I am not joking.) Thanks for the Christmas cards, folks! I also got back to today's finished quilt top. I meant to take pictures before we left, but it didn't happen. Oh, well! That's what Friday mornings are for, right?  Here is a nice cool blue quilt top for those of you who are really warm right now:

 

 

Yahoo! This is my first quilt top for the Positivity Quilt Along, and this quilt is destined for Mercyful Quilts. You know I had to do something different from everyone else, so I set mine with alternate blocks and added borders. I kept it all monochrome so that it would feel peaceful and calm, and I'm happy with how it looks.

 

 

To tell the truth, I think the borders really make this quilt. When I finished the quilt center I was really in despair because it was just so bland. Not peaceful and calm, just blah. I added a pale blue narrow inner border and a wider outer border in a deeper blue and it came alive. I was so relieved!

 

 

This quilt used up a couple of pieces that have been kicking around here for a really long time. Every last bit of the primary beige in the quilt top got used, and I even had to piece the very last large square. All of the beige in the alternate blocks also got used up, and if you look really closely you'll see that there are four alternate blocks that use a different beige. I ran out of the first fabric and had to improvise. Nothing to be done, and it still looks good. Most of the two blues were also used up.

 

I've ordered a pale blue backing for this quilt, and I really need to have it finished before mid-August if I have any hope of making Preeti's deadline. I think the only way to quilt this is with a crosshatch that follows the chains in the alternate blocks. Thank goodness, because I am pretty sure I can handle that!

Hope you all had a great week and are looking forward to a great weekend. It's nice to be home, but I have more laundry to do,  and I'd better hit the grocery store because I'm pretty sure we'll want to eat sometime in the next 24 hours. Then there is that second Mercy quilt, which is calling my name, along with sixty more things. . .it never ends. Not that I want it to! Happy stitching, and I hope you all are having happy reunions, too.

 

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, and Preeti's linkup.

Chain links

Hi everyone, and happy weekend! I hope you all had a lovely week. I was mostly inside, because it is hot and rainy, but I did get a lot of things done. After almost two years, the house is finally starting to feel like home. Once I get the hallway done, I think I'll be finished with home improvements for a while. Until I get sick of something else and absolutely have to change it or paint it, that is.

Since I wanted desperately to stay in the air conditioning, I made some progress on the Color Chain quilt that I'm working on for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This month's color is a darker blue, which we all know is not my favorite color. How about some medium-ish blues instead? Here we go:

These blocks are super easy to make, but my real surprise was how many blue bits I actually have.  Since I cleaned up and sorted out the scraps that were in various baskets, I discovered quite a bit of blue. I'm going to need a plan for that, but for now these blocks will have to do.

 

For last month, I had made two lonely purples:

 

 

I don't know why there are only two instead of three, but I must have gotten distracted. That's easy to fix, though. I have a whole bunch of purple to use up.

Finally, I also finished up the red chain blocks that I also got too distracted to finish:

 

 

Very cheery, aren't they? Red is a perfect color for midsummer, and none of the flowers have dried up yet. I love having the pots up on the railing. I can see them from inside and they always make me happy.

In a crazy moment between rain showers, I took all of the blocks out to the rustic stone patio we have and laid them out:

 

It was very sweaty, but worth it. They look so great! It will be a cheerful quilt for sure. I only need ten more blocks to finish this up.. Not sure how I'll lay them out yet, but it will definitely emphasize the chain. (If you'd like to make these blocks, there are instructions right HERE.)

So, there is my progress for a colorful chain quilt! I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the weekend. Today (Saturday) is my dad's 81st birthday, so there are some shenanigans sure to ensue, involving everyone, including great grandchildren. Looking forward to quite the time!

Sharing at soscrappy for RSC21.

Blocks and flowers

Hello from the very warm East coast! I know it's July, and I know it's warmer in other places, but holy cow it's been warm here. I've been getting some things done in the house in order to stay out of the heat, like cleaning the kitchen cabinets, and ordering wallpaper for the hallway, and hanging up some more photos. Oh, and I did some sewing, too. A lot of it was boring stuff, like hemming pants and taking in a dress, but I did manage to move a couple of projects along. It always feels good to do that, doesn't it?

The main thing I've stitched away on was the old and new quilt. Here are some more blocks:

 

 

Sorry, I just love the flowers and had to get them into the picture! I do love samplers. Every block is a new challenge, and it's hard to get really bored because they're all different. These blocks will finish at six inches square, and are a mixture of modern blocks and traditional blocks from the many block books that I own. Eventually there will be at least 48 blocks, half modern and half traditional, and I'm nearly finished with the modern ones, as you can see:

 

 

I love these colors all together and I think it's going to be a really cool quilt. I have no idea what the layout will be, but it will be interesting to figure out! 

Other than the clothes I altered, which no one wants to see (really), I also made myself a small treat:

 

I think the context with my messy desk there tells you that this is a bulletin board! I spared you most of the mess by cropping out the teetering pile of paper on the side there, but this is my new "home office." I taught classes from this bedroom for a year, and now I've decided to keep it as a home workspace, though I sincerely pray that I'll never have to teach from here again. If I'm going to work here, it might as well be nice, right? I covered a piece of foam board with quilt batting, then covered that with a pretty but non-distracting piece of fabric. This is a piece of Spring Brook by Corey Yoder. I also got some of the yellows, but why use them on the wall?

 

I hope all of you are doing well and not melting or anything else in the weather extremes. I have a binding to put on a finished quilt, but I just can't bring myself to do it! Before I finish up, you all know that my friend Bernie is retiring and closing up her online fabric shop. She's now marked things down even more, so hop over and see if there isn't a treasure there that you can't live without. I'll bet you can!

 

 

Sharing at Midweek Makers.