RSC Week #16 - End of Yellow... Almost

...at least for me!

I have a small finish

The table topper got black border and binding, Grunge Onyx Black

The hot pads, placemats and coasters are quilted and binding added to the front.

Round hot pads and coasters

Square placemats and hot pads

Both fabrics have some blue / turquoise and I found this Moda Marbles Key West Blue 9880-49 in my stash. I had a look at the new Moda Marbles color chart and it looks like it has been replaced with 9863 Turquoise.   

The bindings need to be hand sewn or machine sewn to the back. I do not have matching thread at all, either too light or too dark. 

Need to purchase a small spool, but that has to wait some days. Usually parcels to Mauritius transit through Dubai Airport. A few days ago, Dubai got rain worth of 2 years, in about 24 hours! Streets flooded, airport flooded, flights cancelled, everything to a standstill. Airport is still disrupted after the storm. Parcels are usually shipped UPS, I wonder if the company is redirecting flights to other airports. 

Yellow yardage and squares are stored away for this time. 

This weekend I'm actually working on a UFO! Part of it is quilted and before I continue, it's time for an afternoon CUPPA. Thunderstorms this morning and torrential rain expected, meteo says. Perfect sewing weather! 

Fascinating scenery this morning. If you look closely to the right, you'll see a faded

 second rainbow.

Linking up with Angela and the RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge

RSC Week #15 Yellow continues

First of all, as Chantal pointed out in my previous post, that I sewed three of the four bowtie blocks the wrong way! I was a bit cross-eyed after making all those blocks that day! lol Mistakes happen when we are tired. 

I had to make them the right way, or else it had haunted me forever!

 Here they are! Redone!

Thank you Chantal for pointing it out! 

Yellow Scrap Jar blocks done

...and finally; Zipper blocks

The small yellow table topper has got a black border. I used a piece of ... well, not really 'ugly' fabric, but... a bit too yellow to my taste, for the back. (Forgot to take photo of the back). The black border is 2" cut, I may trim it down a bit after the quilting is done. 

Currently working on some hot pads, placemats and coasters.

I want to do as much as possible on these this weekend. Monday is already middle April and I so, so, so need to work on UFOs! 

The last days have been HOT. April, it is supposed to be cooler. The last couple of days we've had +32C / 89.6F (+34C / 93.2F in Port Louis and along the coast). Meteo says +3-4C above seasonal means! It feels like it's February! Not April! 

More yard work was done the last couple of days. 

This is the 'Rodrigues Lemon' tree I wrote about here. 

The leaves are looking healthy and I hope it stays like that! 

Linking up with Angela and the RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge

RSC Week #14 - Yellow for April

 HAPPY APRIL!

Easter came and went, I hope you all had some relaxing and nice days. For us, it was all normal days. In Norway, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday are all public holidays. None public holidays for Easter in Mauritius. I never get the feeling of Easter here, except seeing the odd chocolate Easter bunnies and Easter eggs in the supermarkets.

New month and new color!

Angela at SoScrappy has chosen YELLOW for April's RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

I don't know about you, but I prefer doing the RSC blocks the first week(s) in each month. When the blocks are done, I can concentrate on my 'to-do' list. No, I don't make a 'to-do' list for every month. That had freaked me out and I hadn't been able to do anything! LOL I don't even make plans for the next day. 

April's BOM block from Sherri McConnel , 'A Quilting Life'

All the blocks for 'Keep the Home Fires Burning' are done 

6 four-patches

2 Pinwheels

4 bowties

3 friendship stars

2 nine-patches

2 nine-patches

Split-9 blocks in yellow. These are fast and fun to make

...and I had all these (already cut) 2.5 inch yellow squares. 

A box containing quilt shop samples were gifted to me some years ago. (Quilt shop in Norway that had to close). I didn't like these yellows, a bit too modern for me. I cut the samples into squares and I have used some in scrappy 36-patches and there were still a lot! 

First I thought of making two placemats, but 'of course' there were not enough (by one square!) for making two! 

I was playing with the layout and this is how it turned out

...a small bright sunny table topper! 

I think it needs a narrow black border, what do you think?

I still have the Scrap Jar and Zipper blocks to make.

The green table quilts and coasters are finished and off to Norway they fly next week! 

I have neglected housework for ..... I don't dare saying for how long!!! It's long overdue and I have to get to it soonest. 

But first; COFFEE!!! 

Second: Housework (ugh!) 

Linking up with Angela and the RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge

 

Green finishes

A dear friend in Norway loves green, his favorite color.

When green was announced as the RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for January, I asked him if he wants something made of green (I have a lot of green already cut squares).

He decided on this set: 

Table runner

Table topper

Coasters

They are finished and off to Norway they fly in a few days. 

Hope you'll like them, J! 

 

 

RSC Week #12 - No Purple Sewing this Week

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

This is my delicious Easter treat; Choco Balls! 

I don't buy Easter Eggs here, I don't like the taste. If I'd been in Norway, that's another story; the marzipan Easter Eggs are to kill for! 

The week switching between rainy- and sunny days, which meant more yard work (when the weather permitted before noon)! Living in the tropics, yard work / weeding is a never ending task! April is just around the corner, the days & nights are getting cooler and the worst growing season is over (for this time!). Most households employ a yard worker. We don't. Our philosophy is as long as we are fit and can manage, there's no reason why we'll get other people doing the job. At any age, it is important to keep fit and yard work is good exercise! Well, enough of that and over to sewing!

As stated in the title; no purple sewing this week. 

I haven't got the purple thread yet. The Customs is waiting for missing papers from the sender, which seems to take some time. I may not get it until end of next week. That's OK. 

In addition to yard work and other tasks, I'm spending the evenings quilting the green table quilts. My goal is to get them done in time for April 1st, when a new color-of-the-month - RSC - is announced. The straight seams quilting is a bit tedious, but I love the look of the finished quilt.

Update: Table Topper quilted, except the border. 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the Norwegian Flag table runner; it's finished!

I had some leftover binding and other red scraps from making the table runner, decided to make a few coasters

I talk about yard work, but never post any photos from the garden. 

Cloudy today, the perfect outside photo weather. We don't have a lot of blooming trees/plants, but here are a few. You may recognise bougainvillea and croton. The one top right is called 'Miss Hong Kong' here, not sure about its Latin name. 

 Edibles: guava berries and taro leaves, called brede songe in French/here. Very popular here, served together with curry. 

Taro leaves touffe recipe, click here

Green bananas and its flower

The roots from this plant are edible, not the leaves. Roots are boiled and can be prepared same way as mashed potatoes or just eat it boiled. Locals call this plant 'corn flour', but it doesn't have anything to do with the real corn plants. Most probably it has got that local name because it is possible to make flour from the roots? I don't know. MIL doesn't know another name for it either. 

Do you see those 'antennas'? It's a tiny dragon fruit (pitaya) plant grown from a seed! We got it from our dear South-African friends (they moved back to SA last year). I'm thrilled this little 'baby' made it and is growing! Don't ask me when it will give fruit! lol Well, it does say 1-2 years, so let's see. What I need to do is to transfer the plant to a bigger pot and eventually to a sunny spot in the garden. 

It's Easter Weekend

It's cloudy

Weather forecast: heavy rain and thunderstorms (typical weekend weather! LOL)

Best weather for staying comfy inside and SEW! 

Linking up with Angela and the RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge

 

 

RSC Week #12 - Purple UFOs and Green Split-9s

How did it happen it's weekend again?! I hope you all had a good and creative week.

The week started with more rain (as if that was a surprise!), but got better midweek. What's better staying warm and comfy inside playing with fabrics?! Purple and green, that is. 

Not much playing with purple since all the blocks I needed to do are done. If you missed it, click here and here. 

However, I did cut the backing for the two purple UFOs (from last year).

When I made the big quilt, I had enough purple to make a pieced backing, but needed to purchase more for the sides, top and bottom. 

For the smaller quilt, the backing is one piece. 

Both quilts are thread basted and ready to be quilted. I went through all the purple threads I have and 'of course' there's not enough of the color that matches the backing! More is on its way, should get it within two weeks. 

What else have I done this week? 

I sold an XL Norwegian Flag table runner (Etsy Shop) and since I have all the fabrics, I decided to make another one. Thread basted too and ready for quilting. 

I'm working on two scrappy green and white/cream table quilts to a dear friend in Norway. Green is his favorite color and I think these 'split 9' blocks look great in green. Here's the table runner

...and the table topper. I love the scrappy look! The blocks are made using 2" and 2.5" squares, all from my already cut squares. To use up more green; the back and binding will be Moda Marbles from my stash. 

I'm writing this post early Saturday morning. Coffee mug is almost empty, I think that means 'get to it', which means add border to the table runner!

 

Afternoon update: added border to the table runner, went grocery shopping, had lunch. I needed a short nap, woke up two hours later! I guess I needed it. We took advantage of the nice weather (from midweek) and spent three days long overdue yard working. So glad we did, today we have rain showers off and on. Same weather is predicted for tomorrow = sewing day! Happiness!  

Linking up with Angela and the RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2024 

HAPPY  SCRAPPY QUILTY WEEKEND! 

 

 

RSC Week 11 - More Purple and Catch Up on Keep the Home Fires Burning

 Another week has passed. March is still 'PURPLE', meaning working with purple fabrics for the RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2024).

I've made the remaining 9-patches 

for 'Keep the Home Fires Burning'  

The pattern calls for 15 9-patches. I'm making them in RSC colors and may need another purple depending on the other upcoming colors. 

A little progress on the purple quilt I mentioned in my previous post:

When I pulled it out, I had forgotten I made two quilts! Just a little pre-senile! lol Part of the backing for the big quilt is pieced, I just had to add more to the sides, top and bottom. The backing for the small quilt is one piece, cut too, as well as the batting for both. (No photos today). 

I made only a few 4-patches in red and green for the above quilt. A bit marathon sewing last weekend (it was raining! Surprise!) and I'm all caught up with those colors. Easy-peasy, since I already have the required square sizes cut and HST (half-square-triangles) from other projects. 

Bowties, 9-patches, friendship stars, another 9-patches and pinwheels in green.

I couldn't resist that cute bunny in two blocks! 

...and here they are in red.

Linking up with Angela and the RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge

HAPPY CREATIVE WEEKEND! 

Seeing PURPLE all week!

 Angela over at Superscrappy has chosen PURPLE for March' RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge).

Purple has never been a favorite, hence there's no stack of purple in my stash. Either one likes purple, or not. After I started quilting, I must admit I'm growing on purple, with all its shades. Interesting history about purple here. 

Last week, we had 4-5 days glorious weather and when that happens this time of the year, we always ask 'what's wrong?' We took advantage of the sunny days and spent a couple of days yard working. It feels good being outside, dig in the soil and get dirty hands! I love that! It's a nice break from quilting. However, after 11-12 a.m., it is usually too hot working outside.

After a couple of days break, another few hours were spent in the garden. I did some weeding and cut off all the branches on two lemon (Rodrigues lemon) trees. Both trees had been attacked by some bugs and the only way was to remove the branches. They are a pain to cut, with all its thorns. 

Except from yard work (I don't have to mention house work, do I?! lol) and a couple of walks to the neighbor village Rose Hill (3.7 miles / 6 km return), I've been playing with purple. 

Scrap Jar blocks in PURPLE

I used some of my own cut 2 inches purple and some from swaps to make each 16-patches unique. 

Split-9 blocks were made too

...and some Zipper Blocks

Purple has a lot of shades, and I must admit I'm not good at some of them. For example, #3 from left (last row) is a Moda Marbles 'Currant', I've had a hard time deciding whether it is purple, or red? It looks more red on this photo than in real life... 

Oh well, if it is red, it doesn't really matter, does it?! It's scrappy!!! 

Bowties and pinwheel blocks for 'Keep the Home Fires Burning'

4-patches, 9-patches and Friendship Star blocks for same.

For this one, I have to make some bowties, pinwheels, friendship stars, 9-patches in red and green.

... and there's a new BOM block from Sherri McConnel, 'A Quilting life'. 

I don't have a big variety of purple left, after I made this quilt last year. 

I thought I had a photo of the flimsy, but can't find any, except the last photo is this post. OK, let it be a secret! lol 

My goal this month is getting the three layers together and quilt it (she said hopefully!). 

About 3 weeks to go, so let's see how that pans out. 

Linking up with Angela and the RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2024

HAPPY CREATIVE WEEKEND!