Aqua, Confetti and more

Aah, aqua! This was fun. I have a surprising amount of scraps with this color, so the Rainbow Scrap Challenge/52 Weeks of ScrappyTriangles blocks were a cinch to sew up this month. In fact, I had more different fabrics than I needed. Not a problem, as I'm sure I'll need to add more blocks later. So many memories in these scraps.

Another view of the whole bunch:

This seems a bit dark. That background is navy, not black.

It needs some orange, no? Pretty sure this will be a longer term project than 52 weeks, unless I decide I'm done with the slow pace and make a whole bunch.

Meanwhile, I've got a good start on Rachel Hauser's Confetti Quilt. 12 blocks done.

And the next twelve are ready to sew. These are the chain piecing parts.

I'm making this quilt by prepping 12 blocks at a time. It keeps it from taking over the whole house. Not sure yet how many blocks I'll make. It might depend on how long the background fabric lasts.

We spent several days with a couple of our grands this month between their day camp and the start of school while their parents were at their offices. One of our little treats is to shop the used book store near their house. They each found books in their interests: baseball for him and clay bead making/rock painting for her. But I couldn't resist a small purchase, too.

I didn't need this book for the lessons, but it has lots of small (4-inch) block patterns that use the smallest scraps. I won't have to draft the patterns myself, and I'll have more ideas to keep winnowing those bins full of scraps. Win-win.

There was some sewing. I didn't take my machine along, but I did bring scraps for hand piecing. My granddaughter sewed up a little tissue holder to match her new purse, and my grandson asked me to make a quilt for his tiniest Beanie Baby. I happened to have 2-1/2-inch squares with me, so I made a 6 by 6 inch 9-patch quilt (no batting) that was just the right size. No photos. Sorry. We were too busy making to stop for photos, but believe me, they were cute!! 

Before our little trip, I finally settled on a hand sewing project. I've been without one for some time. I was considering hexies, and had a good idea for a project, but I didn't look forward to the more finicky prep work. I found some squares I had cut a long time ago when I was thinking about trying a scrap system, so I added to them for a quick four-patch take-along project. I'm really enjoying them. Those scraps came in handy for my grandson's project, and now that I'm home, they are next to my chair for sewing while watching TV. I don't have a plan beyond the four-patches right now, but I'm thinking they might eventually become a car quilt. Here's what I have so far. I love how the seams spin in that little patch in the bottom right corner. 

So that's it for the scraps this week. There is something missing from this post. Where is my monthly acquisition of new fabric in the color of the month?? I didn't have time for it, so I'm hoping to combine it with the next color. (Orange, please?) 

I'll leave you with a little summer pleasure. It might look cool in the forest preserve, but in fact, we felt like we were walking in the tropics. So much hot, humid weather this month. 

All of our grands are starting school this week: pre-school, K, 1st and 4th grades. I must admit, I'm more than a bit anxious but am thankful that there are at least some protections in place for them thanks to the governor's mandate in Illinois and a county mandate in Michigan.

I'm linking up this weekend with Angela at So Scrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Cynthia at Quilting is more Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap. (Keep Angela, her family, her school district, her state and the whole world in mind. I just read her post. It doesn't seem quite right to post about happy quilty things when there is so much trouble in the world. Hopefully, it will raise our spirits a bit?)

Now back to the confetti quilt...I have a mile of chain piecing and lots of foundation piecing to keep me occupied. The heat index is supposed to be over 100 today, so it's a perfect day for sewing. (Oh, by the way, I have two posts up this weekend. Yes, two! If you want to read about my squirrel project this month, check it out here or at the DrEAMi linky party at mmmquilts.)

Please take care of yourself, others and the environment in whatever way you can. Our lives depend on it.

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores I'm just documenting what I used or liked.)