RSC Week 20 - Orange / Small UFO Finish

Another week has passed and it's time to show what I've been up to with orange.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't have any orange yardage left. There are squares in different sizes. I have a few orange 5" squares left and I just couldn't leave these cute cats in the box! 

Two squares + leftover black = two mug rugs! 

The quilting will happen another day.

After finishing four big UFOs (I need to take photos!), it felt good working on something small. 

UFO #22 is FINISHED!

This is the table topper or candle mat I wanted to finish two years (!) ago! I ran out of the black garland lights fabric (narrow border) and it was put on hold. Some of the pieces were already cut, it was an easy UFO to finish!

Measures 14.5 inches / 37 cm square

Small table topper / candle mat, measures 11.25 inches square (28 cm square)

I had some leftover fabric in that bag and whipped up some cute Snowman mug rugs. 

I'm not in a hurry to finish these, the quilting will happen eventually. 

Linking up with

 Angela and RSC 2026 (Rainbow Scrap Challenge)

Melva Loves Scraps - Sew & Tell

Small Quilts & Doll Quilts - OMG (One Monthly Goal) 

RSC Week #26 - Last of the Blues

 ...for this month, that is.

It has been a busy sewing week, working on Advent Calendars for my Etsy shop.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I ran out of Silver Metallic thread for the Blue Holidays calendar. It was delivered a couple of days ago. I got to it right away and now they (3x) are waiting for binding to be attached. 

4x 'Tomten's Forest Friends' - binding to be attached

2x 'Tomten's Village - binding to be attached too

...and finally...

 ...the table runner for the buffet!

I bought a charm pack some years ago; 'Indi-Glow' by Studio Mousseau / Wilmington Prints. Never knew what to do with it, until recently. The buffet needs a new table runner and these prints are perfect. I had to trim the squares to 4-7/8", since none of them were 5x5", they were 5x4-7/8", some even smaller! So irritating! That's why I seldom buy precuts. 

As you can see, binding is missing on this one too. I found one print in my stash that can go. 

All blues stored away for this time! Waiting for Angela to announce the RSC color for July.

Update: July's color is AQUA. 

'Winter' has definitely arrived. It's raining almost every day and with the high humidity it feels sooo cold! It was +16C / 60.8F and 72% humidity this morning. BRRR! You are allowed to laugh! lol

Keep sewing, it keeps my fingers warm! 

Linking up with Angela and RSC - Rainbow Scrap Challenge

 

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

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

 

 

Finished UFO and Other Finishes, No progress on Purple

 I took some days finishing several small items sitting on the table and taking up space.

Two scrappy green table toppers are done

These green pieces were scraps left from RSC March - the GREEN month - after I finished the green Churn Dash quilt. All batik, except the green Moda Marbles backing. These two small table toppers are for the kitchen; top of microwave oven and cupboard.

Out of approximately 30 yards green fabric, I have about 11 yards left, mostly Moda Marbles. Yeah me!

I've finished the custom order for my friend in Norway

Table runner

Two pillow covers

Placemat / table topper

Mug Rug

Placemat and mug rug are made from table scraps

A finished UFO! 

This is the one that popped up AFTER I had done my UFO list!

(UFO list to be updated end of June)

Made another patriotic table runner for my shop

...and coasters from table scraps

No progress on the purple quilt, except that I received the charm packs. 

These squares are soooo yummy! 

The idea was to use mostly tonal purples, but now I don't know what to do?! These purples and greens are so beautiful and I think they would brighten up the quilt. I may not use the greens, but maybe the tonal purples and those with greens. What do you think? 

So, the color for May is ORANGE. That's not an easy one for me. I may have a few, but not enough for anything, I think... I will have to go through my stash this week, searching for orange! 

 

RSC Week #8 - End of the PINK Month

The PINK month is over!

It has been a sew fun month, doing the RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) hosted by Angela over at SOS Scrappy.

Where to start? I have a lot to show and tell. Oh, better start with making a CUPPA! Done, and enjoying! 

First of all, progress on the pink quilt; it is quilted! I didn't have to purchase pink thread and wait days for it to arrive! Yippie! Next step is trimming the sides and add binding. 

I'm sure fabric multiplies! At the beginning of February, after counting how many yards of pink I have, I counted approximately 13 yards. I thought I had pulled all pink from the shelves. Nope! 4.75 yards suddenly popped up! Some of the yardage were ugly fabric (in my opinion). That gives a total of approximately 17.75 yards.  I was so determined using up as much pink as I could within February. The pink quilt measures about 66 x 92 inches / 167 x 233 cm, quite some yards went into the quilt, since the back is pieced too. 

What to do with the remaining pinks? 

I decided making some items for my Etsy shop, mostly table toppers, and some coasters. 

Most of the pinks were half yards. I had enough of this pretty primerose (?) fabric to make a table topper and table runner. For this one, the back is pink too.

Since I've been into baskets this month, a basket table runner was born. Thank you for the suggestion Phyllis! Pink floral for the back. 

Tiny pink roses. Have to look for backing for this one. 

Same pink roses fabric with pink sashing, and the back is pink too. 

I've had this big scale floral fabric for some time and didn't know what to do with it. Adding burgundy Moda Marbles sashing, it became two almost identical table toppers

..and one more, with pink backing. 

Pink pastel coasters, insulated with Insul Bright.

Pink with white dots insulated coasters

...and finally

Round reversible placemats; hearts on white and white dots on pink. 

Out of approximately 17.75 yards, I'm left with 4.36 yards, mostly batik. Binding for the pink quilt will be deducted from what I have left and I have an idea for one of the fabric left, maybe a table runner and two placemats, if I have enough of that pink. 

A marathon pink month for sure! Now I'm curious what the color for March will be!  

Linking up with Angela and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) 2023

HAPPY QUILTING! 

 

A finished UFO and What Came Out of the Rest

 It's early Easter Monday morning. I've had my breakfast and brewed coffee. I love early mornings; enjoying the first cuppa of the day, the quietness (hubby still sleeping) and the best of all; reading latest blog posts to see what dear quilters have been up to lately. You all are so creative and especially I love the RSC challenge many of you participate in. Lots of great projects!

What have I been up to the last weeks? Busy sewing, of course! The best of all, I have a FINISHED UFO; kitchen wall organizer! 

It became a UFO because I dreaded the inside out pockets. IMO; I never get the corners right. I spent quite some time trying to figure out if it could be done different. That failed too, so I decided to go for it! In the end, it didn't turn out that bad? I added Prairie Points to one side of each pockets and it has a sleeve for easy hanging. A fun project to make! Measures 16.50 x 32.50" / 42 x 82.50 cm. Pockets are 8.25" / 21 cm deep and 7.50" / 19 cm wide. For the back I used a floral white on cream.

Here's the second one

This is how I wanted to make the first one, but could not figure out how to add the pockets since they have different placements. It has the same pocket panels as the above one. Measures 12.75" x 34.25" / 32.50 x 87 cm. 

A large table runner

This is approximately 3/4 of the runner - LOL. I was too lazy to empty the sewing table (which is big enough) to take a proper photo. You get the idea; it's the same pattern at both ends. Measures 18.25" x 52.25" / 46.50 x 133 cm

In my previous post I had prepped for some place mats, which is done

Four round place mats, 13.75" / 35 cm diameter

Set of two square place mats, 13.50" / 34.50 cm

...and another set, 13.50" / 34.50 cm

Thank you for your suggestions to turn the small tomato piece into a trivet

I listened, and here it is, 10.75" / 27 cm square

As I've mentioned earlier, one of my goals this year is to use up fabrics from my stash. After finishing the above items, I had some bits and pieces left. A bit too big to be cut into squares and strips, so I made...

...four round trivets / pot holders, 7.25" / 18 cm diameter. As you can see, there's not four, but three. How come? 'Of course' I ran out of bobbin thread on the last one! More on the way, should get it by next week. 

Two square trivets / pot holders, 9.50" / 24 cm

I need the same bobbin thread (green) to finish this rectangle trivet (plus the round one).

Do you keep records (invoices) of fabrics/notions you buy? I do, and just for fun I had a look in the files to see when I purchased these fabrics. Surprise! Purchased February 2012! My goodness! I didn't realize it's that long ago! Well, you know, some fabrics are too beautiful to be cut or I didn't know what to make.

Fabric purchased; 2 yards of the text fabric and 1 yard each of the others. 

   I didn't use all. There's about 7/8 yards left of the cream, used it only for the table runner. 1/4 yard left of the green, one 2.25" strip will be used for binding the rectangle trivet and there's about 0.15 yards left of the red. The green as well as the cream for backing are from my stash too. 

Small bits and pieces are cut into 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3" squares and a few 1.5" strips. 

I forgot to take a photo of the strips. Nothing to show really; a couple of strips from the text fabric, the vegetable/fruit one and the green fabric. 

Now to wait patiently for the thread to arrive to finish the last two items. 

What's up next? I'm not sure... I have some non-quilting related projects coming up, but not sure when I'll get to it. It needs some planning! I've finished a cross stitch project and currently doing a small cross stitched Easter bunny, but that will be for another post. 

HAPPY QUILTING!