Some Blue Scraps

 The Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month is light and bright blue. I used two inch scraps in all the shades of blue to make 62 little houses that finish at 3 inches. 

 I've been making these since mid year 2018. My goal was to make 540 of them. 

After I made those 62 blue houses I only needed 41 more toward that goal...

 ...so I made 43 more houses from other colors of 2 inch scraps and made my goal. 

Now I can start assembly! But my sewing machine flywheel froze up this week after I heard a big kerplunk. Last year when that happened my feed assembly needed to be replaced.  Of course my sewing machine repair shop has been closed and I'm not sure when they will reopen.  I do have an old Janome and even older Kenmore. The Janome was sewing along just fine and then it turned into a  tension headache (one of the reasons it was replaced with the Brother) so I may get out the Kenmore today. Or not. I may just do some hand quilting and binding and putz around in the gardens. Or not. 

I made more Wishing Rings that finish at 3.5 inches. 

I am now halfway toward my goal of 624 blocks. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

Orange 2 Inch Scrap Edition

 This week I worked with my orange 2 inch scraps. 

I made these Wedding Ring (aka Single Wedding Ring or Odd Scraps Patchwork) blocks that finish at 7.5 inches.  I started making these blocks last year. 

 I also started making these Sixteen Patch blocks last year. They finish at 6 inches. 

 I've been making these little Wonky Stars off and on over the years. They finish at 4.5 inches. 

 I use little waste triangles for the star points. 

 Then I made a few Little Houses from my 2 inch scraps. These finish at 3 inches. 

 Before I made the latest orange batch of  houses I had 351 out of a target of 540 houses. 

 Then I was in Little House making mode and felt the urge to cut some 2 inch strips of 30s reproduction fabrics with little characters so I could make more houses. Now I have 399 out of a target of 540 Little Houses.  And I added some scraps left over from making these houses to the 2 inch scrap bin. 

 But I didn't throw the orange scraps to the 2 inch scrap bin. Instead I made those into more Wedding Ring blocks and a Sixteen Patch. 

Then I cut the remaining orange 2 inch scraps into 2 inch squares and if there wasn't enough for a square it was sewn into a strip for use in a Chinese Coin quilt at year end. 

And next week I hope to show blocks made with my 2.5 inch scraps. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

Green Two Inch Scrap Edition

Little Green Houses Made of Ticky Tacky

3 inch finished

Actually these houses are made of 2 inch scraps.   I have been making these off and on since 2018 and have hundreds of them. Maybe it's time to take an actual count and decide what size quilt I want.  They are quick and easy to make. There are instructions for making the Quilting Company Home Sweet Home Bitty Block  but I don't make mine following those instructions. I use the Easy Angle and Companion Angle ruler to cut pieces for the roof instead of using "flippy corners". 

 Wonky Stars

4.5 inch finished

I've also been making these little stars off and on since 2018. I started making them to use up those little waste triangles left over from using "flippy corners" and some 2 inch scraps.  Maybe it is time to count these too.  Or maybe I'll just keep on making them. 

 Sixteen Patch

6 inch finished

These also came from the 2 inch scrap bin. I think I started making these last year. I was going to combine them with an alternate block like the Broken Dishes blocks I've been making from 3.5 inch scraps but then changed my mind and decided to make a large quilt with just Sixteen Patches. 

Single Wedding Ring

7.5 inch finished

I started these blocks last year as another way to use 2 inch scraps. I haven't taken count of these either but I want to make a big quilt from these so I will continue to make these as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project again this year. 

And that's it for the blocks I'm making from 2 inch scraps this year. 

 I sort most scraps by size and have 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 inch scrap bins.  I've been working out of them for years and this year I hope to empty them all.  So when I finish making blocks each month in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color I have been cutting anything left in that color into squares. If there is not enough for a square I sew it into a strip to be used later on in a Chinese Coin quilt. 

Then next year if I need to make any blocks to finish any RSC project I will cut from my scrap chunks. I keep those all together regardless of size or color in a milk crate. 

So this 16 quart (why don't they just say 4 gallon?) bin of 2 inch scraps is what I hope will be empty by year end. 

And speaking of scrap chunks....

Double X Variation and Snowballs

4 inch finished

...I've been making these blocks since last year from scrap chunks because they require different sized pieces -- 2.5 and 1.5.   I always cut the pieces for these before any other RSC blocks so I can throw the remainder of the 1.5 and 2.5 inch strips into the appropriate scrap bin so those scraps are immediately available for use when I make my blocks that use 1.5 and 2.5 inch scraps. 

These Double X and Snowball blocks were inspired by a c. 1860 quilt.   

I only had that mint green piece of yardage in my stash to use for background so I guess I will make blocks until that piece of yardage is used up. 

Now I've made all my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks for the month and will patiently await next month's color. In the meantime I will work on assembling a top (or two) made from RSC blocks. Or maybe I'll work on quilting a top (or two) made from RSC blocks. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday 

More Rainbow Scrap Challenge Projects

 This week I worked with 2 inch scraps in dark neutrals.  I've been making these Sixteen Patch blocks that will finish at six inches all year long and so far I don't have that many blocks. I think that is mainly because I don't have a lot of longer scraps in 2 inch width. 

 I counted 48 blocks and if my target is a 10 x 13 layout (60 x 78 inches) then I need 130 blocks total and since I don't have half that amount of blocks after a year I can either continue into another year and wait for scraps to happen, I can make the blocks a lot scrappier, or maybe I can combine them with another block. Hey, I've been making Broken Dishes blocks for awhile. I wonder how they will look as an alternate block. 

Looks good to me.  So, I now just have to make 17 more Sixteen Patches and I'll have blocks enough to start assembling a top.  I'll make those Sixteen Patches from scrap chunks.  And this RSC project will not have to continue into next year. 

Another block I've been making from 2 inch scraps is called Wedding Ring and finishes at 7.5 inches. 

 In case you are wondering how I piece blocks...I stack the pieces on top of each other and then...

 ...do lots of chain piecing. I often have piles of blocks behind my sewing machine with the rows pieced waiting for the rows to be sewn together at another sewing session. 

I took a count of these blocks and found I have 43 of them. A 12 x 12 layout (90 x 90 inches) will require 144 blocks so this project will continue into the next year and if I don't have scraps in the 2 inch scrap bin in the color of the month I will cut pieces  from scrap chunks. 

 These houses also come out of the 2 inch scrap bin. Next year I may cut the 2  x 2.5 house pieces from 2.5 inch scraps and still use 2 inch scraps for the roof and low volume backgrounds. These finish at 3 inches and I need about 200 more. 

 Another project that I have neglected this year that uses 2 inch scraps and waste triangles is Wonky Stars. I'll probably work on those next year. When I started making them I didn't even have a 2 inch scrap bin so I kind of forgot about them. 

And speaking of 2 inch scrap bin...it is a 16 quart container and it looks like this now. In the new year after  I finish making Wedding Ring blocks and Wonky Stars I will cut any remaining scraps of that color into 2 inch squares and eventually will make a 100 Patch Quilt. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

Ticky Tacky Town Sewers and Sewists

Merriam-Webster cites the first usage of the word "sewer" meaning "one that sews" in the 14th Century. ...Sewer remains the dominant term, but sewist (combining "sew" with "artist") appears to be gaining popularity, especially among sewing bloggers.   - Miller, Stephani L., "Sewer vs. Sewist", Threads, Oct. 11, 2012

I'm a sewer. I started out sewing clothes way back when I was probably in sixth grade. I spent several summer months on the farm with my paternal grandmother and she let me pick out a pattern and fabric at the Five and Dime store. I picked out turquoise broadcloth and turquoise lining for a V neck and V arm jumper with zipper in back.  Grandma must have been proud of me because every time someone stopped by grandma made me model my turquoise broadcloth V-neck jumper for them.  For years afterwards when I would attend family reunions I was known as "Oh, you are the one that sews". 

I started making a lot of my own clothes after that when I was able to buy my own fabric. My first job was working at Howard Johnson's soda fountain when I was sixteen. (I think I made .75 cents per hour plus tips).  I would rush off to J.C. Penney when I got my paycheck and buy either fabric or a record album.  (I still have some of those record albums and play them every once in awhile.) The rest of the paycheck I put into a passbook savings account. I was saving for college. (Oh, yes, I took my sewing machine to college too).  

Sometimes I received fabric as a Christmas or birthday gift.  I remember gifts of green faux suede I made into a skirt and jacket and brown plaid Amana wool I made into a Drindl skirt with buttons down the front that I wore with a sweater I knit. 

Grandma was a patient teacher and also taught me to embroider. My first project was a dresser scarf with lazy daisies.  I added embroidery to a lot of my clothes like the yoke of a purple gingham dress I absolutely loved. I made clothes for my sisters too including prom dresses and wedding dresses with embroidery. I never threw away scraps.  Later I made quilts, Barbie doll clothes for my sisters or braided rugs (like my maternal great grandmother) with the scraps. 

I made my husband's shirts when we were first married. And I made my kid's clothes. And I continued to embroider on some clothes and make quilts from scraps. I still have a quilt I made in the 70s from scraps. I also saved a shirt I made back then (now too small). You can see it matches some of the fabric in the scrap quilt. Oh, the memories sewn into that quilt! 

Yes, I am the one that sews. I'm a sewer. 

Easter in Ticky Tacky Town

I'm pretty sure this was taken after Easter Mass on Sunday, March 29, 1959, in the backyard of my maternal grandmother's farm.   I had just turned seven years old about a week earlier.  I'm the oldest one squinting into the sun.   My sister Debbie would turn five in April, Kerry would turn four in October and Steve would turn three in September. And my baby sister Theresa would be born at the end of May 1959. 

That was a time when everyone wore their "Sunday best" to church and women and girls were required to cover their head with a hat or chapel veil (and sometimes as silly as it sounds...a kleenex or hankie if no hat was available).  That was also a time when most businesses like gas stations, grocery stores, department stores and liquor stores were closed on Sundays.  It was a time before big discount stores existed and most grocery stores were "mom and pop" shops. Some restaurants were open on Sundays. My dad managed one and almost always had to work on Easter Sunday and all other holidays except Christmas. 

And so you see our new clothes we wore for the first time that year to Easter Mass and would wear every Sunday thereafter until the weather got cold. Our next new set of Sunday clothes were brought to us by Santa on Christmas.  I think my dress and duster was a light purple and my sister's was pink. Looks like I was showing off my fancy white gloves and purse. And don't you love my Easter bonnet! 

I don't remember any Easter baskets. I don't think we ever got one. Maybe no one did back then?  I think we dyed eggs a few times with food coloring, hot water and a teaspoon of vinegar. I remember once that dad told me to use a white crayon and to write my name on the egg before dipping it. Oh, I thought it was magic when my name resisted the dye and showed up in white! 

 I only had Easter themed scraps enough for four little ticky tackies. 

I think those scraps are left over from making Easter baskets for the grand kids over the years. 

And that makes 254 little ticky tacky houses. I still need lots more. Memories will be written on the back of the quilt. 

Happy Easter from Ticky Tacky Town! 

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Ticky Tacky Town

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

May the roof above you never fall in and those gathered beneath it never fall out.

I made a few Irish Ticky Tacky houses for the occasion. 

And today I celebrate my Irish ancestry. 

My paternal ancestors emigrated to the U.S. and Canada from Ireland. 

In loving memory of those Irish immigrants: 

David Joynt and Bridget McDermott Joynt, great great grandparents

Michael Joynt and Bridget Brennan Joynt, great grandparents

John Walsh and Margaret Herron Walsh, great great great grandparents

James Brennan and Catherine Walsh Brennan, great great grandparents

Myles McNally and Mary McDonnell McNally, great great grandparents

Red Two Inch Scrap Edition

Red is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month. I've started out the month with my red 2 inch scraps. This is the first year I've had a lot of 2 inch scraps -- leftovers from making a couple of quilts in 2018 that called for 2 inch pieces. Previously I threw the few 2 inch scraps I had into the string box. 

So now I'm working on a few scrappy blocks that will hopefully use up my 2 inch scraps. I could just pick one block and make lots of that one block but I like to spread around the scraps into multiple scrappy quilts plus just making a few blocks in the RSC color each month keeps me from being bored with making any particular block over and over again every day.  If I have to roll projects into another year or so because I have to wait for scraps I'm okay with that. I like to end up quilts with maximum scrappiness. 

So, first up is a 7.5 inch Wedding Ring block.  I'll use low volume backgrounds and have a few chunk scraps to work with but after that pile is gone I'll attack my yardage.  I'm aiming for a queen sized quilt of these. 

 Next are some some 6 inch Sixteen Patch blocks.  There are no self imposed rules for the second color other than try to keep with the same values in the blocks.  I'm aiming for a twin sized quilt. 

 I found these Wonky Stars that use waste triangles in the RSC box.  I made these a few years ago to use Waste Triangles but at the time I didn't have many 2 inch scraps to use for the backgrounds so they stalled.  

Now that I have the 2 inch scraps and still have LOTS of waste triangles Wonky Stars are on the agenda again. I'll see how many Stars I have at year end and then may decide to set them with some nine patches. Not sure what size quilt I'll end up with. For now I'm just making and using 2 inch scraps and waste triangles. 

And then there's these little 3 inch Ticky Tacky houses. I have over 200 of them and I'm aiming for a total of 540.  These are "filler houses". Some Ticky Tacky houses have memories attached which will appear on the back on Memory Lane. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

Christmas in Ticky Tacky Town

Christmas in Ticky Tacky Town

Stockings

I don't remember any special Christmas stocking growing up. I think we actually put out one of our old knee high socks. I do remember that we usually got a big apple, orange and candy canes in our stocking and sometimes we also got nut to crack. Fresh fruit was a special treat in winter as was candy.  Mom and Dad separated and later divorced when I was 12 and I think that was the end of stockings. We lived with Dad and I don't think he remembered to fill stockings. 

When my kids became teenagers and we didn't know what to put into the stockings we would spend all year collecting any kind of free stuff to fill the stockings. After a couple of years  it was a tradition and they would look forward to what we found for free to stick in their stockings. I continued the tradition well after the kids left home but haven't collected free stuff for about ten years or so now.  

I made Christmas stockings for my two oldest kids and finally this year made them for the rest of the family - kids, spouses and grandkids. 

Presents

We always received pajamas and a new outfit to wear to church on Sunday.  We usually received a book or books.  One of the first and all time favorite books I received when I was younger was The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.  I usually received a crafty gift because I never really liked playing with dolls.   I remember a potholder loom, small weaving loom I still have, paint by number, yarn dolls.  When I was old enough to sew I received fabric so I could make clothes for myself. Green faux suede that I made into a jacket and skirt and a brown plaid that turned into a drindl skirt come to mind. As a family we received a game from Santa that Santa left unwrapped under the tree. We would play it on Christmas. I remember the game of Life and Mille Bornes  (coup-fourre!) were family favorites. 

We opened our gifts on Christmas morning. I have to admit that a lot of the time I knew what was in the gift. Yes, I was a peeker. 

Songs

My favorite Christmas carol is Oh Holy Night. I loved hearing it at midnight mass. My second fav is Little Drummer Boy.  I also like Silver Bells. I remember singing it in choir at a Christmas program in sixth grade. 

My husband's family opened gifts on Christmas eve. After a dinner of Oyster Stew and ham sandwiches all the kids, grandkids, and most adults would gather in a room other than where the Christmas tree was (usually the dining room) to sing Christmas carols. Then suddenly we heard a bell ring.  That was Santa ringing it as he was leaving.  The kids then knew to run into the Christmas tree because there would be lots of presents left there. 

Trees and Ornaments 

We always had a real tree when I was growing up. And we've always had a real tree since. A few times when the kids were younger we went to a tree farm and cut our own. 

Dad liked tinsel on the tree. Mom insisted we put it on one strand at a time. That was not fun. Fun was throwing it on in clumps. Also not fun was finding tinsel here and there about the house all the way into the following Christmas.  One year there was Angel Hair on the tree.  That stuff was dangerous and we got cuts from it. 

Most of the ornaments on our tree are handmade and full of memories. Starting when the oldest son was about four we made ornaments every year of some kind.  When they grew up, got married  and had their own trees I gave them the ornaments they had made throughout the years for their own trees.   I started the same tradition with the grandkids.  They would make ornaments for their parents for Christmas and one for my tree.  They enjoyed that until the oldest girls turned twelve a couple of years ago.  When the grandkids leave home and have their own trees I'll pass on their ornaments that I use on my tree to them.  My youngest son, aged 34,  moves around a lot so I haven't given him the ornaments he has made yet.  I have a macaroni laden cardboard star painted gold he made when he was five and a Christmas tree metal punched with a nail into an orange juice lid and a painted cardboard Christmas tree to give him someday. 

I made a Garden Angel for a tree topper, have cross stitched ornaments and crocheted snowflakes and made yarn doll angels.  Some old ornaments that aren't handmade came from a lady named Lois that worked with my husband and me. After we married we didn't have much money to spend on ornaments and I think Lois knew that so she gave us a bunch of hers. Her husband had died years earlier and she said she just kept them in storage so we might as well have them.  I remember Lois every year when I put them on the tree.  Other ornaments commemorate trips to places like Ireland.  And I collect jingle bells. 

Christmas Baking

When mom still lived with us she made cookies at Christmas. I don't remember her making cookies at any other time of year.  She used Betty Crocker's Cooky Book and I still have that very book with pages stained with flour and butter.  She always made Snickerdoodles and Molasses Cookies we secretly called Mole Asses.  We would have had our mouths literally washed out with soap if she heard us. (I actually had a few mouth washings in my time). 

Our family tradition has been homemade Cinnamon Pecan Rolls fresh from the oven on Christmas morning after we open presents.  I sent away a bunch of Gold Medal flour UPC codes for a free cookbook when the kids were younger and decided to make the rolls one year to use some fresh pecans my aunt in Georgia sent us. The rolls were a hit and I've made them ever since. It's a nice recipe because they raise overnight in the refrigerator so you can just pop them in the oven Christmas morning while everyone opens presents. 

 Every year at Christmas I think I should gather all the old Christmas pictures and make a Christmas Through the Ages scrapbook. Heaven knows I have the scrapbooking supplies! 

This is an old picture of us in our new PJs (except for my brothers) one Christmas. I'm the oldest and on the left with a book on the arm of the couch next to me. It was probably the book I received as a Christmas gift and I probably didn't want to put it down to have a picture taken.  I'm not really smiling. 

I'm thinking this is a year later than the previous picture but it might be the same year. Of course the picture isn't labeled as to year.  Looks like I'm the only one that didn't get dressed for the picture. I have one some horrible looking ruffly robe I probably received for Christmas.  At least I'm smiling in this picture - one of the few pictures that has captured me with a smile. 

Merry Christmas to you and yours! 

Plans For The Two Inch Scrap Bin

 This time of year I look at my scrap bins that are sorted by size and decide what I will do with them in the following year.  I never used to have a two inch scrap bin but this year I seemed to accumulate one because I cut some scrap chunks into 2 inch pieces to make Fractured Rainbows. 

As new projects I've decided to make 7 inch Wedding Ring blocks and 16 patches. I already have Wonky Stars and Ticky Tacky Houses in the works. 

A lot of times I consult The Ladies' Art Company Block Tool for ideas. I won it several years ago and it sure comes in handy. The block I called Wedding Ring was from this Block Tool. It has a similar block called Odd Scraps Patchwork - the left and right of center piece is just made a little differently from the Wedding Ring; however, the end result looks the same to me.  I preferred the Wedding Ring method of construction. 

A couple of years ago I made some Wonky Stars with waste triangles and 2 inch squares. I used all the 2 inch scraps I had at that time and the project stalled. Now it seems I have plenty of 2 inch scraps and waste triangles. These finish at 4.5 inches so it will take lots of blocks for a twin sized quilt. 

 So that's the plan for two inch scraps. I hope this bin of scraps will be gone at the end of 2019 and I have four quilt tops instead. These will be Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects and I'll make just a few of each block every month in the color of the month. 

Speaking of quilt tops...I have a flimsy finished and I also just finished a quilt; however, it's too snowy and cold for me to go out today to take any pictures of them on the clothesline. This is the view from my sewing room (dirty) window.  We received about 14.5 inches of snow overnight.

Moving it Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt