Caught Red Handed!

There's been some more red in my sewing room this week!

This bright red 10 inch Tiny Rails block is finished -

and enough bits sewn together for a dark red one, too.

When that one is sewn together, there will be 12 of these blocks.

Progress in little bits and pieces!  600 of them, so far!

Two red Scrappy Sprouts are also finished now.

I love this project more and more with each new color added!

Those purple ones still need to be fixed!

After I've made 20 of these fun blocks, I'm picturing a 4 x 5 layout with four scrappy blooms at the top.  Maybe some green sashing between the columns of sprouts, a border...?  Hmmm... I'm going to enjoy figuring this one out!

Need some Red inspiration?  Check out the other Rainbow Scrap Challenge posts at SoScrappy!

I Like Thursday #91 - Red, White, Blue, and Rainy!

Happy Thursday, friends!  Welcome to our weekly celebration of all things positive, hosted by LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color.  Thanks for visiting!

I loved having a cool rainy day this past Sunday!  It's been hot and dry here, so a day of rain was just wonderful!  (The resulting humidity, not so much, but I won't mention that...)

Do you make Caprese Salad?  I discovered it recently, and we've really been enjoying it.  A friend told me her very simple recipe - cherry tomatoes, chunks of mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  

Yummy!

I've enjoyed sewing on a few last Red, White, and Blue projects this week.

Friendship Stars for Kat's July/August Covered in Love block drive

and

Flags for Sue - Alycia at Quilty Girl is sponsoring this block drive to celebrate the life of her friend, Sue, who was very involved in Quilts of Valor.

I like participating in these kinds of quilty projects!  I'm a slow finisher of larger quilts, so being able to contribute in a smaller way is a really good feeling!  For more info about either block drive, click the links under each picture.

And my last like for this week - did you see the thin crescent moon with Venus earlier this week?  A fun sight that I just discovered in the western sky right before heading to bed.  I didn't get a picture of it, but there's one HERE, at Space.com.

I loved the headline on the article - "Look up!  Venus Snuggles up to the Moon Tonight!"

Hope you're having a great week!  Be sure and visit all the other I Like Thursday bloggers at LeeAnna's place!

Happy Scrappy Birds

In between other projects, sort of Leader/Ender style, I've continued to make more 9 inch Happy Bird blocks.  They are just a 5 inch center square with 2.5 inch outer borders, alternating lights and darks.  I'm up to 30 blocks now - progress!

Here's my latest favorite -

Don't you think those cats would love a little penguin snack?!

I haven't bought a single bit of fabric for this project, except for this  -

It's a two yard piece I found in the sale bin at my LQS - I think it will be perfect for the backing.

Hope you're enjoying some weekend sewing!  

I'm linking up with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

ScrapHappy Saturday - Red Hot!

Has it been hot where you live?  It definitely has been here...  Fortunately, my sewing studio is in the basement, which isn't everyone's favorite location, but for me it's an ideal spot in the summer!

This week there was lots of red sewing going on!  My first goal was to make two blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge Squared Away Sampler.

I found two red fabrics in my stash to use for these blocks -

I wasn't actually sure if the print would work very well for this purpose, but it was what I had, and that's what this project is all about, right?!  Using what you have?!

Here are my two red blocks - 

I do like the way the print fabric looks after all!  There are a few bits of pink and green in it, and since there are both pink and green blocks in this project, I think this will fit in just fine!

I took just a moment to play with these blocks on some Kona White yardage which is the background color of these blocks.

I'm wondering what other color might make a fun sashing color for these pretty blocks...

Also this week, I finished up the rest of the red bowties that I planned 

for this month - 

as well as all of the tiny rails needed for a 10 inch block -

It turns out that I have more than enough red scraps to make two of these blocks this month - a bright red one and another out of my darker reds.  More on that next week!

Hope there was some Red Hot sewing going on at your house this week!  Linking up with Angela at SoScrappy.

I Like Thursday #90 - Out and About and a WiP

We took a quick road trip to visit our two sons earlier this week, and had a really good time!  I know the plains of eastern Colorado and western Kansas and Nebraska are not the scenery for everyone, but we love it.  The big sky and wide open spaces really are beautiful!

Something we particularly enjoyed on this trip was seeing the winter wheat harvesting crews hard at work as we passed by -

Photo courtesy of Google!

In our yard this week - more baby birds figuring the world out!

I think this little guy was wondering where his mama went!

I'm liking this pretty bit of color in my small flower garden - 

I rarely manage to pull together a mid-week WiP post, so I thought I'd include it in this one.  I've been enjoying stitching these hexies together over the last few months as we watch TV in the evenings.  (This is a true slow stitching project!)

I glue basted the hexies from one of those 2.5 inch square charm packs at least a year ago, and then they sat!  I think it is Persimmon by Basic Grey for Moda.

I liked this shape you can make with 9 of them - and was able to make 4 of that shape out of my charm pack.

Recently, I've started making some more hexies out of a Kona solid blue - I think it could be Lagoon - with the idea of them becoming a background for the project and a way to join the original shapes together.

There were just enough pieces left to join together in a flower - that's what I've been working on the last couple nights.  Maybe it will go in the center of the diamond shapes...?

What am I making?  I knew you were going to ask me that!  Of course, I don't know yet - it will probably depend on how many more hexies I want to stitch together!  I'm just enjoying the process for now. 

Hope you're having a great week! Thanks, as always, to LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for hosting our weekly "I Like Thursday" party! 

The Red Scraps are Out!

It's July, and the new Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for the month is red - both the lighter and darker shades of it.  So the reds are out on my cutting table!

I'm hoping to get closer to having enough bow tie blocks to be able to figure out a layout and start sewing them together soon, so I always check that collection of blocks first.  Here are the red ones I've already made - 

And a few new ones added this week - 

The first week of a new color, I always do a lot of cutting - 3.5" squares for bow ties, 2.5" squares for Scrappy Sprouts, and 1.5" x 2.5 inch rectangles for my Tiny Rails blocks.

Meanwhile, the 4th of July holiday this week put me in the mood for some Red, White, and Blue sewing!  So I made a couple new coasters/mug rugs, which we use daily for setting drinks on where we sit to read and watch TV.

They go perfectly with the 4th of July flag table topper that I made last year!

And with this mug - 

And one last bit of sewing - I turned this orphan string block (leftover from my String Star finish earlier this year) into a potholder.

I layered the string block with a scrap of regular batting and a piece of Insulbrite plus backing fabric to make it thick and heat resistant.  Such a good way to use up orphan blocks!   I know other quilty friends have done that and gave me the idea to do the same, so thank you for that!

Sharing at SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday, and

at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap! on Sunday.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I Like Thursday #89 - Happy 4th!

Happy Thursday, friends!  Hope those of you in the U.S. enjoyed the 4th of July holiday!  We did at our house.

This week, I liked finishing up this little project, which ended being called Lemon and Lime, because I used Aurifil Lemon thread to quilt it.

Earlier this week, I really enjoyed spending a few hours boating out on a lake near us with some special friends from my teaching days.

Beautiful, green, and peaceful!

Lots of laughter and good conversation!

And our intrepid mascot, sweet Remi, who evidently loves going out in the boat!

I love fireworks!  Every 4th of July we walk down to the park near us to watch our city's big professional display, and it never disappoints.

I really liked this song that we heard in a local coffee shop lately - 

"Love is a Wild Thing," by Kacey Musgraves.   You can listen to it on YouTube  - just search for it and it comes right up.  The words, melody, and voice are really beautiful!

Running like a river trying to find the ocean

Flowers in the concrete
Climbing over fences, blooming in the shadows
Places that you can't see
Coming through the melody when the night bird sings
Love is a wild thing

My favorite line is, "Even if you lose it, it will find you."

Joining in with I Like Thursday at Not Afraid of Color - click the link to see what other blogging friends are sharing this week!