Little House SAL, RSC Blocks, and Orphans

 

This is the last block for Melva's Little House SAL! Melva's pattern (see her version in this post) called for a really cute nine-patch block, but I had a fussy cut I desperately wanted to use in this SAL, so mine is modified a bit.

Here is the center block up close

I am eagerly awaiting Melva's layout suggestions for these completed Little House blocks

The Nine-Patch orange blocks and Snowball blocks are completed for May. The color for June is "pastel" - to use up all the "extra light" colors in the scrap bins. I'm not sure how light I can go on these blocks, because they need contrast, but I'm happy to give it a try.

Scrappy Irish Chain blocks

I recently dived into the Orphanage basket and set aside blocks that were unappealing to me (hopefully appealing to someone else) to donate to Goodwill. I kept these 8-1/2 inch Scrappy Irish Chain blocks. I made them in 2020, after seeing Cynthia's on Quilting is more fun than Housework... , and posting about them on my old blog. I spent some time pondering layouts and admiring chain quilts on Diann's blog, like the one in this post and this heart and chain quilt. Most likely I will simply add light blocks in between the chain blocks, but I am open to suggestions! I do need to add more chain blocks to bring it up to a nice lap-sized quilt. 

I am joining these linkups:

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch

Melva's Little House SAL - Prairie Rose

Brenda's Monday Musings

Melva's Sew and Tell

Alycia's Finished (Or Not) Friday

Oh, Granny!

First of all, Happy Memorial Day!

However you celebrate, may you have safe travels and good memories

Here are my May blocks so far for OP Quilt's Oh, Granny! Granny Square Sew-Along. Elizabeth's method for the Granny squares is addictively easy, and the hardest part is choosing fabrics! I will probably stop when I have enough blocks for a wall hanging for our living room. The Christmas wall hanging is still up - lol!

The Barbie coin quilt for my youngest granddaughter has reached the sewing-vertical strips-together stage. Grunge White Paper has been ordered for narrow sashing between the strips and for framing the stars.

My goals this week are to make the Prairie Rose block for Melva's Little House SAL finish up my RSC blocks, and continue making Oh, Granny! squares.

What are your plans for today and for the week to come?

I am joining these linkups:

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch

Brenda's Monday Musings

Melva's Sew and Tell

Little House SAL and Oh, Granny! SAL

 

Here is Block #8 for Melva's Little House SewAlong. Melva challenged us to sew with little pieces, and in spite of my fear of tiny pieces of fabric, I did it with no bad words!

I even found a Little House quote to use in the surrounding log cabin. This has been a very enjoyable SAL with only one block left!

Oh, Granny! quilt block, pattern by Elizabeth Eastmond

I thought I would limit my participation in sew-alongs and quilt-alongs this year, but that is not happening. Sometimes you have to go with the enticement, right? While innocently reading O0P Quilt, I was tempted by Elizabeth's description of an easy Granny Square block. I thought about it for a bit, then when an update post appeared a few days later, I was reeled in. The idea is to make a couple blocks a week. I have missed the first couple weeks of May, but I think I can do it. The pattern is crazy easy, and there are options to make 3-block square or 4-block square. I made a quick 3-block just to test it, but I have not yet ruled out a 4-block. You may find more versions under #ohgranny2026 on Instagram.

My only other experience with a granny square quilt block was Crochet by Fig Tree and Co that I began and never finished in 2023. I'm not even sure I blogged about it. Mine is a Christmas version. The pattern is a bit more complicated than Elizabeth's simple, genius block, but I have renewed interest in it as a Christmas make. At any rate, it is out of the closet and back into the rotation!

This is the latest incarnation of the Barbie coin quilt for my youngest granddaughter. This iteration  would include white sashing strips between the coin strips. It still needs a few more color strips, then I will decide if I want to add the sashing. It would certainly make a big girl quilt to cover Delaney's bed!

I am adding this post to:

Melva's Little House linkup

Yay May!

 

I turned my back for a minute and Gus decided I needed a break

It is hard to believe it is already the second week of May - time to get serious about the May orange RSC, a new block for A Quilting Life BOM, more Little House blocks, and new stamps for Melisa's Summer Stamp SAL.

Orange Rainbow Scrap Challenge scraps are ready to go for Nine-Patch and Snowball blocks

Delaney's Barbie quilt is a bit different than it was in this post. I felt something was off in my color choices and expressed this to Wendy, who suggested I use photos to determine what was causing my uncertainty (thank you Wendy!) After studying a bit, I removed strips of color that seemed out of place and added in more lightness. And oh look, I added a few stars! I am still percolating and pondering on this fun little coin quilt.

Melisa, whose very entertaining blog is Pinker n Punkin Quilting, creates beautiful, original cross stitch patterns and generously offers them as freebies! She even had a tutorial on how to dye your own fabric for cross stitching! She recently offered a free Summer Stamp SAL (SewALong), and I am finally starting on the border. The SAL stamps are revealed every Tuesday through June. She introduces each patterns with a sweet story about why she chose the design. You may find all the free patterns to date in the following posts:

Introduction

Borders

Header

Stamp #1 - And the Garden Grows

Stamp #2 - Summer Harvest

Stamp #3 - Summertime Treats

Stamp #4 - Sunflower Strut

Kit In The Corner block for Little House SAL

Melva's Little House SAL is almost over! I just finished block #7, and the new heart block is in the works.

Sherri at A Quilting Life released the block for May last Thursday, and it was an easy one. My fabrics are primarily from a Peppermint Bark layer cake by Moda.

My 23 yo granddaughter, Samantha texted Saturday to see if I could make either a tote bag or a quilt for her friend who just graduated college. Well of course I would! These are the colors Sammy says she prefers. A tote bag would be less expense and sewing for me, and it would be a fun make, so I will give her some options for that.

Dining room chair seats with new fabric, waiting for attaching to the chairs

Another project I have enjoyed is re-covering dining room chair seats for our son and daughter-in-law. Jeff removed the seats and sent them to us via our grandson Brandon, who lives in Dallas. My husband gifted me with a cordless stapler to replace my handheld craft stapler - not a bad deal!

Beautiful fat quarter from Melva

Quilters Dream Quilt Batting - a prize from SAHRR sponsors

Here are two prizes I received just for participating in a couple of events! Thank you Melva and the SAHRR hosts!

My husband just got over a bout with shingles, of all things. He was miserable for about 3 weeks, then it began to ease. The pain has settled into his lower back, but it is mild compared to what it was. On May 20 he will have outpatient surgery to replace his implantable defibrillator (ICD), which was originally installed in 2012, right after his heart attack. He had a pre-surgery appointment this morning, and will have labs on Friday, plus post surgery follow-ups in June and August. And I have dermatology and podiatrist appointments scheduled for June. Karen mentioned that as we grow older, our lives seem to be centered around doctor appointments, and how true that is!

I am linking with:

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch

Melva's Sew and Tell

Brenda's Monday Musings

Alycia's FInished!! ( Or NOT) Friday!

Fun With Scrappy Coins

The start of my first coin quilt. I will add to and rearrange the strips

I have mentioned before that I am a fan of Rachel LaBour, who used to be Rachel Hauser, and who is the blog author of Stitched In Color. I started reading her blog in 2013 when she still lived in the US. Being a fairly traditional quilter, I was mostly astounded at her fearless choices in fabric and colors. I did not want to try to be her, but I enjoyed reading about her boldness.

Rachel's thrift store chairs and pink walls

Along the way, she has been beautifully transparent about her private life - the heartbreak and loss of her baby, a move to The Netherlands, a divorce, boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, becoming a Dutch citizen, moving in with a boyfriend, moving out, getting back with ex-boyfriend - it has been quite the read! A recent end to a relationship and a change in living plans lead her to a move to an apartment for just her and her daughter. And the decorating reflects her current state of freedom and independence!

NOT my quilt - this is Rachel's new Rosie Coin Quilt in her new pink bedroom!

Go read about her pink bedroom - it is a fun post about exuberant joyful self-reliance. In it she features the gorgeous quilt she made for herself - she calls it "Rosie Coin Quilt". When she first started the quilt, I reacted as I normally do - "oh that's too much pink, it isn't matchy-matchy, why does she have all those other colors in it". Then I began to appreciate the harmony of it all, and now I am obsessed with it!

Months ago I purchased a few fabrics from the Barbie World collection and started a pull for granddaughter Laney's Barbie quilt. I had a completely different pattern in mind, but after I saw Rachel's pink room I decided to emulate her pink coin quilt, adapting Barbie colors instead. Having not made a coin quilt, I followed Rachel's advice and sewed strips of 3" fabric together then cut them into 4-1/2" pieces - big enough to showcase the fabrics. I added stash and scraps with wild abandon.

Photos of her quilt are scattered on my cutting table (along with Gus) to encourage me out of my color comfort zone. Just when my mind says "no that won't match" I look at Rachel's quilt and think "why not!

I pulled some long hoarded fabric such as Carrie Bloomston Painted Cups, a piece of Heather Ross Brides, a couple of Basic Grey PB&J floral cuts, and three pieces of one of Mom's old dish towels!

I am joining these blog linkups:

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch

Brenda's Monday Musings

Melva's Sew and Tell

Little House SAL Blocks

As usual, it took more time for me to choose fabrics for the blocks and the log cabin frames than it did to actually sew them together! Melva's sew-alongs are so entertaining with her stories and posts. Her choice of the Little House on the Prairie series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, which are the inspiration for these pretty blocks, was a perfect pick for this sew-along.

Block #3 - Harvest Basket block is based on the Farmer Boy book about the childhood of Laura's husband Almanzo Wilder. Melva's post about it is here.

Block #4 - Shoo Fly block represents On The Banks Of Plum Creek. Read about how Melva ties it to the grasshopper devastation here.

Block #5 - Rails block depicts traveling by train in By The Shores Of Silver Creek, which Melva writes about here.

Block #6 - Snowflake block symbolizes the blizzards in The Long Winter, and Melva has a great post about it here.

Here are the 6 blocks completed so far. If I had to choose a favorite, it would be the Rails block!

Rosie has been supurr-vising every block and is exhausted from helping me

This has been a relaxing and fun SAL, and Melva's patterns and instructions are easy to follow. It has been a joy to work with a jelly roll of Indigo Garden by Riley Blake, along with a bit of stash and a few scraps as well.

I am linking to:

Melva's sewalong link

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch

Brenda's Monday Musings

Melva's Sew and Tell

April Reboot

Swapping rooms last month shifted my focus and tapped my energy, but what a joy to be back in my happy place. Here is a look at a diversion and ongoing projects:

Disappearing Four-Patch Diversion

A little doll quilt for granddaughter Delaney, being modeled by Marvin

Bari J, who is one of Art Gallery's fabric designers, had a disappearing four-patch quilt on her Instagram post, and I found instructions on her blog. It is quite a simple little pattern, made by taking two 4-patch blocks and sewing outer seams together, then cutting on the diagonal to make quarter square triangles. The resulting units are arranged and sewn together. I used some fat quarters from Sea Cookies Island Batiks, which I won in a giveaway from Brenda at Songbird Designs - aren't they pretty!

Doll quilt for youngest granddaughter measures 22-1/2" x 22-1/2"

Backing

For the batting, I pulled out a receiving blanket my Mom had stored in a box for years. I don't remember who it belonged to in our family, but it is quite old - probably 80 years or more.. As you can see it had been mended neatly. It is very soft, and why not use it inside a quilt for Mom's great-granddaughter Delaney, who was 10 years old yesterday!

This is Bari's version - I love her colors

Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) Blocks

Completed snowball blocks and nine-patch blocks in March reds and April pinks. I am making a dozen of the RSC color along with a dozen snowball units each month.

A Quilting Life BOM

Blocks so far - I accidentally made two March blocks!

Today I am working on Melva's Little House blocks. The blocks are really cute, and I love picking out fabric for each one. It takes me a long time to pick out fabrics for the log cabin frame!

I will be adding to the links below during the week:

Melva's Sew and Tell which is being hosted by Patricia this week!

Brenda's Monday Musings

Alycia's Finished Or Not Friday

2026 SAHRR Flimsy

For my Stay At Home Round Robin this year, I made sampler blocks based on the prompts provided. This worked well for the goal I had in mind - a quilt for my husband with blocks surrounding a panel he had admired. For the blocks, I picked out colors from the panel and tried to stay with a rustic, masculine feel. 

The blocks look different on point!

I made two 10-1/2 inch blocks for each prompt and made two extra corner blocks for a total of 14 blocks to fit around 34" x 43" panel. For the layout, I gave the blocks a new look by turning them on point. I added setting triangles for the blocks to end up at 14-1/2". There was extra space between the middle blocks of the top and bottom rows, so I added a couple of creative fill-in pieces. I would love to add a border, but there is already wrinkling from the on-point process, and my husband will be happy with a lap quilt.

The unfinished quilt measures about 64" x 74". I will post again once I decide on a backing and finish it up!

I am obsessed with the light fabric I used in the setting triangles - Grunge Roasted Marshmallow

A big thank-you to these ladies who chose the most creative prompts for us. I could hardly wait to see what they picked each week!

Brenda @ Songbird Designs

Kathleen @ Kathleen McMusing

Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts

Gail @ Quilting Gail

Anja @ Anja Quilts

Be sure to check out all the Parade of Quilts at Kathleen's linkup: Kathleen McMusing

I am adding my post to:

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch

Brenda's Monday Musings

Melva's Sew and Tell