Friday, January 27, 2017

The Last Saturday of January Purple!

Joining the Rainbow Scrap Challenge hosted by superscrappy.blogspot.com is the best thing I have done since moving to Washington! I am having such a fun time, and I am getting so much sewing done...AND...I have also conjured up enough energy to start really going at my reorganization of my sewing room. As I have been sewing, I have formulated in my mind what would work more efficiently for me. Friday I worked on it and got some furniture moved around so my room mate could fix my old (really) shabby chic cabinet to the wall so it's good and sturdy. Then I will have lots more space to stash my goodies.

This month flew by in one way and in another it didn't. I love purple, love it so much everything I buy for the critters outside (buckets, pooper scoopers, lead ropes, etc.) are purple. Always have loved it and always will. BUT...I think I have had my fill of purple for now!

I can't wait to see what our next color will be in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

I have to say again how much I am enjoying this process. I am learning a lot of stuff! About me, about my machine and about new ways to do things. Can I say thank you big enough to Angela for facilitating this challenge? It has gotten me in touch with my machine and my fabrics, and I needed this gentle shove in the right direction.

What have I learned? Well, I believe the most important lesson is to take a deep breath and think about what it is I am about to do. I broke a needle and bent one and thought I had broken my machine, because I was just in too much of a hurry.

I went through my machine feet to see if I could find the right 1/4" foot. Yep, I did say the right one. I thought I had it, but my blocks were not very accurate at all. The foot I ended up with was indeed the actual 1/4" foot I should have had to begin with. That one came with the "no time to be in a hurry" lesson. I have to make sure that my needle is in the center position in order to save my needles. Twice...twice I forget to put the needle in the proper position when I turned on my machine. I now have a note as big as life under the presser foot to remind me that I need to change the settings.

Another lesson was the "shrug my shoulders and say oh well" a lot, or get out the seam ripper and think about what I am doing, while I'm ripping out the same seam over and over. GAH!!! Oh yeah, and have fun!!!

The magazine where I found the boot quilt came in handy. I did start on the boot blocks in purple. I was saying eek a lot when I was making this. I loved how they turned out, they are so dang cute! There is some foundation piecing that goes along with this block and that is something I have never done before. In fact, I never knew what foundation piecing was going in. So another lesson learned and another technique learned. I have a lot of practicing to do with that to be honest. I've done okay with it, but boy does my brain get turned around a lot in the process! Egads! I'm sure after watching a few more videos and some snipping and ripping I will get it down. This is where Smitty over at CatPatch is a good teacher...Smitty says, "Furrst, you should read over all of the instructions before beginning."  I made a few tries before I actually found the instructions I thought were missing. Can you say Frustration?

So, I have gone on long enough...here are the blocks I made this week:


These are the rest of the purple blocks I did from Tula Pink's book. Lots and lots of the same fabrics, but those were the scraps I had. I used half a shoe box sized tote full of scraps. I'm really pleased with how they turned out for the most part, but like I said earlier, the blocks are definitely not accurately sewn, I will have to do some finagling to get them sewn together with future blocks. Oh well, I am looking at this as a learning thing.


These are my first blocks from the boot pattern in the magazine I am so smitten with. I just love how these turned out. I can't wait to get all the blocks done and set together and into a quilt sammich! I may gift this to my horsey daughter...or I may keep it myself, we'll see at the end of this journey.

Thanks for reading this far. I know I can go on and on sometimes, but it's generally when I am super excited about something.



14 comments:

Scrapatches said...

Wonderful scrappy purple stash blocks. The RSC is a good way to get motivated and accomplished. I have not yet made blocks for this year's challenge, but hope to join in the fun soon.

Smitty is a smart kitty.

The boots are adorable. Looking forward to seeing your quilt ... :) Pat

scraphappy said...

So glad that you are having fun with the challenge. Getting on a sewing streak is always so much fun. Great to follow inspiration while it flows.

The Joyful Quilter said...

You made a wonderful set of PURPLE blocks!! I remember feeling as "charged up" as you are when I began the RSC in 2015. I couldn't say thank you enough to Angela then and I continue to LOVE the challenge NOW in 2017!! May you continue to learn and grow as you make a rainbow full of scrappy blocks this year. Enjoy!!

LA Paylor said...

hi again! Haven't talked in a while... cool boots ma'am

Pamela Arbour said...

I loved all of your purple blocks but I have to say those boots really caught my eye! Good job.

Also, thanks for sharing your journey.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

I like your blocks - those boots are adorable - Better luck with the needles this week!

Nell's Quilts said...

Welcome and I'm glad you're enjoying the process. Some great purple blocks. Love the boots.

Ariane said...

Love your scrappy purple blocks! Those boots are so cute!!

Edith said...

Lots of nice purple blocks there, the boots are great. I too really enjoy the RSC, it helps me to get things done and organize my fabric.

Delighted Hands said...

The 1/4" feet are not created equal; my machine is fancy shamcy but the button for the 1/4" seam allowance has to be tweaked to make the blocks come out the size they are supposed to !
Work slower helps cuz I go too fast when I am excited about a new block etc, too!
Love the boot blocks! My niece is cowboy boot crazy! (remember which magazine?)
Thanks for stopping by my blog, also!

Cathy said...

I love your enthusiasm! I'm not fond of paper piecing because I always get pieces all turned around and waste a lot of fabric most of the time. So I have to say I can appreciate your boots...they look ready for a rainbow line dance!

selina said...

love purple too, am always drawn to it when i see it! like you can't help myself (i knit, most of the yarn i buy is many shades of purple!) love your blokes, very pretty.
have a great week
thanx for sharing

selina said...

oops, blocks* not blokes lol

Rachaeldaisy said...

Purple is a tricky colour but you've used it so well. I love your boot blocks, a quilt of those will be so fun!!!