Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Saturday, February 6, 2016

February Blocks for RSC 2016

It's been fun this week, hunting around in my scraps and stash for fabric in the February colors of browns and pinks.  January was easy - blue seems to be everywhere around here, but I wasn't as sure about what I would find for my February blocks.  So I was actually surprised to see how much I had and it turns out that I've been able to add something to each of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects.

But first, when I saw the colors Angela at So Scrappy had chosen, I immediately thought of my Winter in the Woods quilt, made out of Into the Woods by Lella Boutique, which I think is the perfect combination of pink and brown, with a little dark red and teal thrown in.  I had a few orphan blocks leftover from that quilt, and I decided to turn them into coasters to use whenever we are having coffee or tea in our family room.


Since I actually had four leftover blocks, I made these coasters two-sided!  After squaring each block up to 6 1/2 inches, I sandwiched two of them together with a piece of batting and quilted very simply with wavy lines of stitching, then used another brown fabric I had for the binding.  I have a lot of this brown, so it will show up in my RSC blocks, too.  Since these match my Winter in the Woods quilt and pillow, they make a great set for February decorating!


Then I started working on my RSC blocks - lots of four patches to begin with.  Just for fun I put them up on the design wall with a few blue blocks.  


I think these four blocks, below, are my favorite brown and pink combination so far!  I'm not sure how these blocks will end up going together, but it will be fun to see what they grow into.


I also made a few 16 patch blocks.  These are made with two 21 inch strips, and I have less of those in my scraps, so to make more, I think I'll have to get creative with the pink and brown scraps I do have.  My plan is to make six of these each month in each color combination, so that I'll end up with 60 blocks by the end of October.


Finally, I added one more Scrap Jar Star to my collection.  I plan to make two of these blocks each month, so that I'll have a total of 20 by the end of the year. This week's star has lighter browns and darker pinks.


Next week's star will have some darker brown with brighter pink in it.  Below are the stars I have made so far, up on the design wall.  (I made the yellow one in December for an experiment!) I love the secondary pattern that is starting to emerge with the corner blocks!


So far, I am really enjoying this challenge of using my scraps to create something new as the year goes along! I was certainly surprised at what I came up with to sew together this week, and I'm not done with brown and pink yet!

Linking up with Angela at SoScrappy for Scrap Happy Saturday, and looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been working on!






15 comments:

Mari said...

Love those stars! They do look lovely. Nice use of those brown scraps.

Turid said...

I agree, I love the stars. Will make a great quilt.

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

All your blocks look great but I love the stars the best! Wonderful idea to turn those orphan blocks into coasters. I hope to get out my brown scraps out today and join in the fun!

gayle said...

I'm a big fan of 4patches, so I'm enjoying those as well as the star blocks. (Which are gorgeous!)

Chantal said...

Love your coasters. The brown and pink fabrics are gorgeous. I think I admire your Scrap Jar Stars the most. I have that one on my to-do list. Maybe next RSC. ;^)

LA Paylor said...

you got busy! Leeanna

Ivani said...

The pink and brown star is my favorite, but I love also the 4 patch blocks. Great blocks.

The Joyful Quilter said...

What a productive week!!

scraphappy said...

You had so many great browns. They have already turned into so many great blocks. Great coasters! Practical and pretty.

PaulaB quilts said...

Your blocks on the design wall are the first I've seen with the two color schemes and I like them very much. They've given me the vision to choose my color placements. Great work this week!

Nell's Quilts said...

The scrap jar stars look lovely and it's so nice to have a plan for the next one. Great use for of the extra blocks.

PeggyinNO said...

Love the coasters and your Scrap jar stars. Those are definitely on my to to list!

Cathy said...

Lots of scrappy goodness!

Christine B said...

Love your coasters, quilt and pillow.... fabulous decor for February! Beautiful scrappy blocks too! Christine x

Marsha Cooper said...

Coasters....you have given me another idea. I've been cutting 5 inch squares while cutting fabrics. I can do coasters in the color scheme of the month for soscrappy!