Stars setting with raindrops

I got this far with the setting triangles.  The batik for the triangles is a bit lighter than I wanted, but the pattern itself is perfect, so I'm going with it.

I'm thinking a dark/black batik for an outer border will do this right up.  And maybe a multicolor confetti rainbow binding?
I'm happy to be wrapping this quilt up, and totally looking forward to next year's RSC.

And Angela?  Thank you so much for all your work providing us with rainbow inspiration.  Without the RSC, I would never have made this quilt.  I wouldn't even have thought of this quilt.  This is all due to you!
I can't wait to see all the rainbows that 2016 holds!


Linking to So Scrappy for Rainbow Goodness.  Come see all the fun!

Is it Friday yet?

I finished my decapitated geese for Allietare today.  (Though apparently these units are being called Santa hats, now.  I prefer decapitated geese or headless geese.  Just because.)

I'm loving these pieces - I've got cows and chickens and paisleys and ditsy 70's prints and swirls and snowflakes and  flowers and repros.
And I'm now only about 50 short on the 296 HSTs, which is practically done, for some values of done.  I've sewn at least half of these as leader/enders while working on other projects, so I have no worries about finishing them.

So bring on Clue 3!  I'm so ready!
Is it Friday yet?

Brioche everywhere I look!

The new Knitty just went live, and guess which pattern caught my eye?

Yep, Willow.

No surprise there, eh?

I see a lot of barking and burping in my future!  (Those are brioche technical terms.  And you wonder why I like brioche knitting so much...)

A little this, a little that

I got a little bit of sewing time in today.  The day always goes better when I get to dig around in my fabric.

There was Allietare happening.

I'm up to fifteen decapitated geese, with three more cut out.  So that leaves 2 more to cut and 5 to sew, and then clue 2 will be done.  Still plugging along on the clue 1 HSTs, but since I'm past the 2/3rds point on those, I'm not sweating it.  If all else fails, those little triangles make dandy leader/enders.
So, for a little change of pace, I went on to the extra credit portion of clue 2 and started cutting black and gray squares.

It was a nice break, not having to cut any angles sharper than 90 degrees...

And there was a little other sewing going on, but since it's in the realm of gift-giving, I'm just going to share a glimpse of scrappy colors coming into play.

I promise I'll share after the holidays.  8)

And the fabric for my setting triangles for my RSC2015 Ohio star quilt finally came!  (I'd waited to order it until Black Friday, hoping there might be a sale.  It was a good call.)  Now I just have to finish a few time-sensitive projects, and then I'll be able to finish the top!  (And think of a name for it.  *sigh*)


Linking with Scraptastic Tuesday, for the December Linky party.  Come see the scraptastic fun!

At least I'm halfway!

Allietare marches on.  I've hit the halfway point with Clue 2:

That's ten sets out of the 20 that I need.  Eighty units is small potatoes compared to the 296  HSTs from Clue 1, though.
And I hit 200 of those HSTs today, so only 96 to go! 

I dither on whether I'm committed to making the whole quilt, or if I'll take the easy way out and just shoot for a half-size Allietare.  (And you all know how I love a good dither, so there's probably no resolving this one any time soon.) 
As busy as I am at the moment, and considering how many projects I've already got underway, my compromise is to finish each clue at least to the halfway point.  That way, if I have to set the whole project aside at the time of the reveal, at least most of the heavy lifting will be done and I can finish at my leisure when things calm down around here.  Well, if things calm down around here.  If I don't start eleventy more quilts and other assorted projects before the end of next year.
Or between now and the start of Bonnie Hunter's next mystery quilt...

Scrap quilt!

Y'all know how much I love scrap quilts.  So when my aunt brought an old treasure over  today to show me, I was grinning madly, admiring all the old fabrics.  I didn't get any pictures of it laid out flat.  I'm guessing it's about 5.5'x6'.
Anyone else been watching Barbara Brackman's Stars in a Time Warp series this year?  You'll recognize some of these prints:

That gray, black, and red print in the center of the above photo is my favorite.

There are a lot of browns, a few pinks (mostly double pinks), reds, blues, and greens, and lots of shirting prints.
Many of the triangles have fabric that has completely disintegrated.

And I suspect there's been some fading over the years.
With my limited experience in dating quilts, I think it's pre 1900.

Here's a photo of  an edge flipped over so you can see the back.  (Which is actually a redder/rustier color than shows in this pic.)

And here's a corner where you can really see the wear.

This quilt was loved and used for many years.  The binding is almost completely worn away, and the batting is very thin around all the edges.  (And for the record, the binding is single-fold, straight grain.)  There are stains here and there.
It's sort of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of quilts.
My aunt doesn't remember where it came from, though we agree that it doesn't ring any bells as a family quilt for either of us.  So, she figured it ought to go to someone who would appreciate it.
That would be me.  It's now my Charlie Brown Christmas tree quilt.
I suspect I'm not the first person who ever loved it.


I'm going to link to Oh Scrap at Quilting is More Fun than Housework.  While this isn't technically MY scrap project, I hope that 100 years from now, someone loves my scrap quilts as much as I love this old dear.

Allietare - bring on the reds!

We got our next clue for Allietare this morning - still using the constant gray, but it's now time to crack into the reds.
Today's pieces could either be made with rectangles and squares, forming flippy corners, or by using the Companion Angle ruler combined with the Easy Angle ruler.  Now I like flippy corners as much as the next quilter, but the waste really bothers me.  If the bonus triangles from the corners aren't going to be a useful size, I generally will opt for the rulers.  Waste not, want not, and all that.

I grabbed some reds and my rulers and got right to work.  My selection of that color has really improved since last July when the RSC made me realize I had almost none.  Now I've got a healthy stack to choose from.  And as long as I had them out, I cut extra strips in sizes I use - 1.5", 2.5", and 3.5", as well as 2" strips for Allietare.  I started to just cut what I needed for today's clue, then decided that I'd do extra 2" ones, since Bonnie uses a lot of 2" strips and squares.  If I don't need them for this quilt, they'll just go into stock.

So, I cut 2" strips and stacked them up, ready to cut the pieces for clue 2.  (The fabrics are upside down as I find it's easier for me to see them that way - higher contrast between the fabric and the cutting mat helps a lot.)

Then, just because of my natural minginess, I used my easy angle ruler  

to cut the end of the strips to prepare it for using the companion angle ruler.  This way the end is a usable HST measuring to 2" (unfinished) instead of waste.

Bonnie hasn't called for any red HSTs yet, but I figure it's a real possibility, so why not be practical and efficient at the same time?
After cutting my four matching trapezoids (or decapitated geese, as Bonnie referred to them), I used the easy angle again to square off the end.

And that little bit at the end looked like it would yield another couple of triangles

 with very little waste, so I cut them, too, and set them aside for later.

.

Here's some of those decapitated geese. 

And here they are with the neutral rectangles added.

And a couple more sets on the way.

Four out of 20 finished, 2 more on the way, and I've been cutting more 2" strips of neutral backgrounds.  (Which I would have done when I had those fabrics out to cut strips for HSTs, if only I'd known.  I cut extras of the reds I handled today, and I plan to continue doing extras when I start with the golds and blacks.  I can always use 2" strips (piglets!) (sawtooth stars!), so I might as well stock up.)  These will keep me busy this coming week, as well as the rest of the HSTs (I still need 100+ of those!), not to mention my actual REAL projects.
I have to chuckle when I recall someone who should have known me better once asked me 'What on earth are you going to do with yourself when you retire?  You're going to be so bored...'
Yeah, right.


Linking up with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework, since this is a scrappy-all-over project!  Come join the fun!
And also linking up to the Allietare Linky Party at Bonnie's place!  Lots and lots of decapitated geese!