Rainbow Roundup

So there I was, minding my own business (and how many times has that been the lead-in to me getting myself into trouble?  Clearly I should stop 'was'-ing and minding my own business, because it drops me down rabbitholes...)
Anyway.
I was catching up on some blog reading when I found this post from Linda at koka quilts.  Now I was all about being in love with kaleidoscopes, after seeing Cathy's (and more here)  (and I could keep linking for another hour - she made a whole bunch of gorgeous blocks!) (but I won't, because I want to finish this post) (eventually), and I still am in love with them.  I've got two done so far:

and I have dreams of making lots and lots and lots more.
But seeing Linda's made me go 'whooo' and have to fan myself.  Go look, if you haven't already.  Seriously, go.
So I grabbed some 2" strips in blues and blue-ishes and purples and purple-ishes (a thousand thanks for the accent color, Angela!!) and started stitching.
I was only going to make one block, of course.  Maybe two.  Just to see what it would look like.

Because I'm already making a kaleidoscope quilt for RSC.

So I made a couple of blocks.

 And, you know.  A couple more.  Because there I was.  With that ruler and all.

Ahem.
And I really like the first kind of kaleidoscopes, where there are two colors alternating in the block.  And I really like this second kind, too, with multicolors in each block.
So, you know how I'm making my 365 quilt and my other 365 quilt?
Now I seem to be making my kaleidoscope quilt and my other kaleidoscope quilt.
I'm not entirely sure why this keeps happening.  I may have some self control issues.

Speaking of self control issues, I made some more piglets.  (Who just laughed?)

Just because he isn't plaid is no reason not to love him.  He's a perfectly respectable pig.

And he has a couple of little friends.  They're not rainbow piglets, though.

But they are plaid...


I'll be linking with ScrapHappy Saturday at So Scrappy.  Rainbows galore!
 
And special thanks to Sally T for designing the Perfect Piglet.  I think it's my favorite pattern ever!

It has to be Widdershins

I don't know why I even considered clockwise when widdershins was an option...

Block 1 of Quilty 365 is the red and white one on the lower left.  I've dated it with my starting date 12-31-15, and I dated the next one (to its right) with 1-1-16 (and "Happy New Year!").   They proceed in order to the right, then make a counterclockwise (widdershins!) turn and head off to the left.  You can see that I made a partial seam so I could keep adding blocks to the working end of the strip.

And since I've reached the point where I'll be turning again, I've done a mockup of what I'm up to.  I pulled the starting blocks up a little to get them out of the way, then set down some squares to represent the next blocks .  I'll be running three across the end of the strip I've got going so far, then will turn again and head back around.

And here are my blocks for the first 14 days, all sewn together.

I'll be joining yesterday's block with today's and tomorrow's, and will sew them across the end, using a partial seam again so I'll be able to keep adding blocks as I go.  Eventually it will get a bit unwieldy, but at least I won't be waiting until the end to join the blocks together.  I think it will be fun to watch my orange peels dance in bigger and bigger circles.
I'm alternating light and dark backgrounds (and there will be occasional mediums standing in for either), so each day I'm choosing two fabrics - one for the background and one for the peel.  I do consult the blocks that are already done (like the other day I realized I hadn't used any green yet, and was appalled because I like green!).  At first I wasn't going to do that - it was just going to be a choice based on how I felt at that moment.  But then I realized that in real life my todays are always influenced by my yesterdays, so it made sense for my fabric choices to be affected by the colors already in that area.  (I'm probably overthinking this.  It's what I do.)
If you look closely at those peels, you'll notice they're not really uniform in size or shape.  Since I knew going in that I was going to end up with some variation (it's been a long time since I did an applique project), I decided to just embrace that and roll.
Instead of tracing around my template and cutting out on the line, I'm just holding it on the fabric and cutting roughly around it with scissors.

Or I'll use my rotary cutter if I'm at my studio.

This has the additional benefit of not wearing out the edges of my template, and since I'm going to be using it 365 times, that's a big plus.  (I first learned quilt making techniques back in the Middle Ages, before rotary cutters were invented, where we had to trace around a cardboard template for every.single.piece of the quilt.  The template would wear down and get smaller and smaller as we went along, so that the last pieces cut were a whole different size than the first pieces cut.  Sometimes they were a whole different shape by that time, too...)

And speaking of 365 times, here's my other daily project - the Challenge 365 blocks.
Today's block didn't make it into this picture, but it'll be included in the next batch.

I'm really loving these tiny little blocks.  Eventually there will be 6" blocks to make - they're going to seem huge after 3 months of these little guys!

So, for both of these projects, that's 15 down and 350 to go.  Piece of cake!  (Sometime around the middle of August, I want y'all to remind me I said that...)

Because one plaid pig deserves another

I've already decided I've gotta have at least one plaid piglet for each color of the rainbow.

Looks like I've lost all hope of being "that crazy cat lady."  I'm now destined to be "that crazy plaid pig lady"...

Happy Blogday to me!

Today is my 8th blogiversary!  January 12th, 2008, was Day One of what has been a fascinating adventure.  I started as a knitting blog, which morphed into more of a farming blog with knitting, and now I seem to have wandered off to be a quilting blog with occasional farming.  I've made a lot of friends, shared a lot of joys and sorrows, and I'm awfully glad I signed up for this!

This is also my 700th post.  Who knew I'd have so much to say?

This is my 365 quilt and my other 365 quilt

For reasons that are completely mystifying to me, I've got not one, but two Every Single Day All Year Long projects going on this year.  For a person who isn't much of a joiner, I seem to be joining a lot of things.

Here's the first 10 days of my 365 Challenge -

As of today, I've got two blocks to make to catch up (there's the International Dateline thing involved here, which makes me always a day behind somehow), but since they're 3" blocks, they only take a couple of minutes to make.
I've always wanted to make a quilt in a red/blue/brown color scheme, and I've decided that this is the one.  These blocks will form a dark ring around the central medallion, so I've had to pull the darkest fabrics I have.  (And in the process, I've discovered that I tend to buy a lot of mediums.  That explains why I had to make a particular effort to get enough neutrals/lights for Allietare.  I've been unconsciously shying away from both ends of the light/dark spectrum, and just shopping in the middle.  Now that I'm aware of this, I can fix it!)   The lightest fabrics called for in these blocks is a medium, though medium-darks are encouraged.  It's interesting working with what is, for me, a limited color palette, and going for low contrast out at the dark edge.  Very different than the way I normally work.

And my other 365 is Quilty 365, which I'm also keeping up with.  (Hey, I can keep up with anything for 11 days.  Lets see where I'm at along about the middle of July...)
I sewed together the first 8 blocks - the top row, starting at the left with New Year's Eve 2015.  (I started Dec 31st rather than Jan 1st, just to be contrary.)

And here's this week's effort.  The split orange peel in the middle of the bottom row is a chunk leftover from a kaleidoscope block I made over the weekend.

But after thinking about how I want to eventually set the blocks, I've decided to unstitch the last block and sew it on a whole different side.  Because I want to start the quilt in the center and sew the blocks out in a spiral.  My math indicates that if I make the first bit 7 squares long, then turn and go back the other way, the whole thing will work out nice and even.  (I'll diagram it out if anyone's interested.)

The only question now remaining is:  shall I go clockwise or counterclockwise?

I gotta admit there's a whole lot of appeal in going widdershins.  It's way more fun to say...





Linking to ScrapTastic Tuesday over at Mrs Sew and Sow.  Come see some great scrappy action!

I'm afraid my Word of the Year might be 'Chaos'...

So many people are sharing their Word of the Year -I've seen 'Momentum' and 'Release', 'Patience' and 'Mindful'.  Wonderful words, all of them.
But I'm thinking if I had to pick one (or if one picked me), it might be 'Chaos'.  Or possibly 'Oops..'
I've got a lot of irons in the fire at the moment.  And some of those irons are downright shiny.

There's the Twinkle Stars quilt, Allietare, the Piglets, and Chantal's Pinwheels, all of which would be fun to work on full-time.
Kaleidoscopes, Whatchacallit Stars, and the four other blocks I want to do for RSC.  I even remembered the other day that I'd wanted to do Snail's Trails as well.
And I've got a Storm at Sea I want to launch, and that triangle star quilt.
Oh, and the Silly Monkeys - can't forget the Silly Monkeys.

Hmmm...  I think I'm going to need a plan.

One of the things I'm trying to do is to pay attention when I'm cutting, and combine steps, or at least plan ahead.

These stars (I'm calling them Whatchacallit stars until I figure out their names) use 2.5" strips, and I'm keeping a list of how long a strip is necessary for cutting all the parts out for each one.

And since I'm using just one fabric for all the backgrounds in these stars, I cut multiple strips of it and subcut lots of little triangles to have at hand  when I want to make blocks.

And since I'm cutting 2.5" strips anyway, I use some for a piglet (if I haven't already!), and I'll usually cut some HSTs for a monkey, and then I make a block that I hadn't planned on making, because you know, the ruler was right there in my hand and this block practically makes itself.

Every time I see one of these blocks, I like it more and more.  And seriously, six HSTs and 3 squares?  How easy is that?

Anyway.

Time now to reach for the kaleidoscope ruler.  I'm using 2" strips for these. (Since Allietare calls for 2" neutral strips, I've got lots to choose from - I cut a bunch of them!)

I measured for the kaleidoscope block and realized I can get a whole block from one 18" strip, and since I typically cut my strips from a fat quarter parallel to the selvage, this works perfectly.

Chantal's Pinwheel blocks also use 2" strips for the pinwheels, and 3.5" strips for the HSTs.  And as long as I'm cutting 3.5" strips, I cut a couple of squares for Quilty 365 while I'm at it.  (I have a traveling kit that goes everywhere with me, with all the goodies I need to stitch my fat little orange peels.)

Once the block is cut out, I stack the parts neatly, then keep them next to the sewing machine.  Using them for leader/enders lets me work on my main project (the Twinkles) (or, you know, the piglets...) and still get a block or two done for RSC.  Or I can just let the block distract me and sew it right up.  Whichever.  Oh, look, shiny!

 One thing I did with all this madness in mind was to invest in lots and lots of little plastic bins.

I think it's one of the smarter moves I've made.  8)



So, let's see.  I've got all those blocks going, plus I'm handquilting Katie's Star Patch, plus I want to get borders on Garden Party and machine quilt that, plus I'm doing Quilty 365 every day.
That ought to be enough to keep me busy.



Well, except for one more thing...

Did anyone else fall down this particular rabbithole?

There's a lovely Australian designer who's doing this 365 Challenge .  One block a day for the whole year.

How could this possibly go wrong?




Linking with Oh Scrap at Quilting is More Fun than Housework, because everything I do involves scraps!  And oh, look!  She says nice things about me!

This little (blue) piggy went to market, this little (blue) piggy stayed home...

When January started, I hoped that Angela would pick either red or gold for the monthly color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, seeing as how I had big stacks of both of those colors right at hand for Allietare.
But, hey, blue is nice, too.  8)
I got a few little pigs done right off, and decided to go with the larger size.
My plan is to make one piglet each week throughout the month, along with a block from the list that I've chosen for RSC2016.
So, I made another blue piggy this week, and again used a bit of purple for an accent color. 

Once again, thanks to Sally T for this sweet little oinker.  Tutorial here.

Then on to Chantal's Pinwheels*, which is the other high-on-the-list block.

But, of course, once I had that blue plaid out, I had to have a blue plaid pig.  Because seriously, who wouldn't want a blue plaid pig?

(Colors are darker in real life.  Sometimes my camera just hates me.)
So, at this point I should have two blue piglets, and I have three.

I can see it now - it's going to be the monkeys all over again...



* I've got a couple of leads on the name for this block.  There's a pattern for a miniature called Pinwheel Garden by Primitive Gatherings, and I found it called Rhubarb Whirl from a book called Home to Roost.  (picture - Sister's Choice blog)  I don't see anything rhubarby about it at all, so I may just keep calling it Chantal's Pinwheel.  (Hi, Chantal!)



Linking to So Scrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday, where all the rainbows gather.  Come see the fun!