Half Way (plus 18 days) there!

Besides being the middle of the week, July 8, is also the middle of this year. And just as importantly, it is also the middle of the RSC15. So six months and 18 days later, what have I done, or accomplished?

January was blue...and I have this great slab quilt to present to a grandson at Christmas...now that's sewing ahead Grandma! (Click on any of the photos for a closer look.)

 The February was pink, and I got to work on my RRCB. This will also be a Christmas present for a granddaughter.  It is presently in the lineup with the LA.

Also going along, I have made string blocks

The yellow, red and green will find themselves in a special Remembrance Day project. But these other ones will find a home somewhere, if not this year, then next.

The RSC15 Sampler-Centred-Sawtooth-Star are looking fabulous. There will be lots of time to get the connector X's made as I go along...she says! (Click on the photos to get a closer view)

I have also created a set of 16 patch-Centred-Sawtooth-Stars...just because.

To check out what others have accomplished at this point mid-year (& last weekend on July), please click here to be taken to a link up with SoScrappy. AND the next colour is to announced very soon for August...fingers crossed for orange. Just because it is also Sunday, I am linking up at Oh Scrap!

Love and hugs
Kathy

July = Red

July moves us to RED, the Happiest of Canada Day colours. Angela over at SoScrappy dished out the first suggested block...a Lantern. This will be a strong block to anchor the bottom row of the quilt.

Also, because at some point I thought it would also be a good idea (?) to do a simultaneous quilt of Sawtooth Star blocks with a16 patch centre. It certainly is using up my supply of never-gonna-make-another-colourwash-quilt 2" squares.

To see the happy scrappy progress of others participating in this challenge, head on over to SoScrappy here.


I am also having a ball having three of precious grandchildren in the city for almost two weeks. Could a grandma be any happier? Here posing after blasting off - then finding - a rocket to help celebrate Canada Day at the Telus World of Science Centre.

love and hugs to you all

Kathy

Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!!! I love this amazing country.

I was a bit behind because of my fabulous trip to Ireland then a case of "must prioritize" came over me. I had house work to do, garden to finish planting and back to work...and well, it left me out of the studio. But now I am back on track and so looking forward to the next six months of RSC15....and the new colour is red. I have such a plan brewing and am so excited to have red next! And it revolves around this idea from April...stand by!

Onward with the RSC15: This Woven Four Patch with a lot of my favourite fabrics, but admittedly is a little weak, I should have used a different medium...ah well.

I love this Ohio Crossroads with the tiny gingham. I don't know about you, but I think of summer and little girls dresses with eyelet lace when ever I see gingham. And this is such a lovely tint.

Love and Hugs this Canada Day 2015.
Kathy

Getting my Overseas clock sorted out

The only down side to international travel (and even then it is a teeny weeny downside) is getting back to "home-time". Awake at 4 and wanting to be in bed by 8:30 is small potatoes after spending 10 glorious days in Ireland with Celtic Quilt Tours. Ireland is beautiful and full of magical and tragic history and triumphant new beginnings. We visited Limerick, Killarney, Galway, Donegal and Dublin and all the wonders in between.

We went out for a medieval dinner...in costume.

We stayed in at Kilronan Castle. We climbed the wall in an ancient ring fort (500 BC).

We visited woolen mills and quilt shops in out of the way places. Local quilters provided us with quilt shows topped off with tea and scones...always.


I am playing catch up to get my RSC15 up to date. The little houses fabric for my Sawtooth Star points was made with one of my Ireland purchases...from RAGs for Linda at Oughterard. The hexie quilt shown here is all Peter's work.
 
I will think fondly of Peter and Linda each time I look at this stars in my quilt. And ahem...that was not the only fabric that made its way home to Canada from Ireland. You must visit them if you are ever in Co. Galway.

And now I am caught up on the last of the green blocks, Split Pinwheel. Thank you again SoScrappy for providing this venue for us all to share. Of note, the inner green pinwheel is fabric from circa...1986...wow!

hugs
Kathy

Final week of Green

Another week of Green and what have I done...barely anything. A few string blocks: greens and purples, because I have lots of purple scraps and need more purple string blocks. I have made green string blocks, because there are green scraps and want green string blocks.

I have also been given the most wonderful sets of pewter buttons from my friend Bonnie Taylor. Bonnie is an accomplished bag piper and proud collector of all things Celtic and Scottish. So when she gave me these particular buttons, I can barely describe how privileged I feel to have received these. The claddagh buttons are right on the green theme.

 as I plan to be in Ireland on Wednesday. This is my third trip to Ireland in as many years. My co-hosts and I will be hosting an International Gathering of the Guilds on Saturday June 6 in Killarney, Co Kerry, then off on a Celtic Shop Hop Tour of northwest Ireland. The Scottish thistle buttons will be used to celebrate our first quilt tour of Scotland, beginning September 22, 2015.

In the meantime I have got to get caught up on the green RSC15 blocks (still have the spinning pinwheel to do), pack, clean up at work, pick up some Euros...

Celebrating Green Churn Dash

To catch up on all those that have kept up with their green scrappiness at SoScrappy, click here.

Love and hugs
Kathy

Grass is Greener

Grass is getting Greener everyday. And so are the scraps on my cutting table. Angela at SoScrappy, and leader of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2015, has posted instructions for a 6.5" Sawtooth Star within a 12.5" Sawtooth Star...and I love it! And it gave me a chance to make a tiny 3.5" string star centre, though I was sorely tempted to make a tiny tiny Sawtooth Star. I am sure someone out there has taken on the challenge.

I was delighted this past week to receive an email from Angela at SoScrappy advising me that I had won the April's Purple Hand Dyed fabrics, donated by the very generous Vicki Welsh. I am on pins and needles waiting for that package to arrive. I am feeling so blessed.


To add to the greenness of my surrounding there are also two green 16 patch-in-a-Sawtooth-Stars for the alternate quilt, ready and waiting.

We (the Edmonton and District Quilter's Guild Endowment Committee) have had two generous studio clean-out donations to deal with this month. Happiness is helping someone else downsize their studios as they move onto smaller homes and really focus their energies into doing and making the exact types of quilting they enjoy. I really should take a clue from this and clean out my own studio to have just those supplies for the kinds of quilting I now like to do...large patchwork bed quilts.


There has been great opportunities to watch my granddaughter enjoy her dance competitions.  To see her blossom with skill and confidence. Can a grandmother's heart hold that much love?

 

I linking up at SoScrappy to share the many shades of green.
Love and hugs
Kathy

The Copyright question?

Amongst my other projects I did dig into the purple bag again for some scraps to make the next of the RSC15 blocks, this one Broken Sugar Dish.

I went for an early birthday brunch today to Glenora Bistro with my daughter, son and DIL and grandchildren. I showed the following picture to my 11 year old grandson and said I thought this would make a great quilt. He asked, "what about copyright?" So here is my question: what 11 year old asks such a thing, and can I make a quilt inspired by this painting? I cannot show it and accept a prize. I cannot sell it. Am I on the correct path here? Because I really want to use my stack of yellow string blocks for the background and free style the poppies. Already I have a name for it: Bistro Poppies.

To have at other purple loveliness while you ponder my question, please head over to SoScrappy.
Hugs
Kathy