Rednesday

Here is a real hodgepodge of reds for you. They range from our tomatoes and our precious granddaughter (on the right) and her best pal to sites around the county, one of my quilting squares for the “Rainbow Around The Block” charity project, and my most special red pendant made my Vicki Anderson at Cherry Chick.  I bought two of her Mary Engelhreit inspired pendants and they are my favorite things to wear. Click on the pictures to get a larger version. 

“An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight...the truly wise person is colorblind.”

~Albert Schweitzer

Rainbow Around The Block Phase II Complete

As you all know I am taking part in the “Rainbow Around The Block” charity quilting project sponsored by Anna Maria Horner for the flood victims of Tennessee.  We all sent in our first 2 blocks on July 1, and second set is due August 1, and the last ones are due September 1.  That way Anna, along with her many kind and loving friends, will be able to assemble all of the quilts so the needy recipients can have them in time for cold weather. The pattern for the squares is Isabela’s Argyle Quilt Block. Each of my squares is made from Amy Butler fabric and consists of four 7 1/4 inch squares cut on the diagonal one time and then on the diagonal one more time yielding 16 triangles.  It is a wonderful pattern, very easy to follow, and I really like the colors and prints of fabric.  I was so careful this time to cut the squares to the correct measurements and then to cut the diagonals as evenly as possible. Before I went to sew the triangles together,  I used some wonderful adhesive called “505 Adhesif Temoraire Polyvalent" made in France instead of pins to hold the designated pieces together, and it is the greatest thing since Santa Claus.  The can was pretty expensive- I paid full price for it - butyou can find it for $12.99, and it will certainly made sewing your seams so much easier. If you would like to see photos of all of our quilt blocks, go the the "Rainbow Around The Block" Flickr Group Pool site.

Here you see I used the same fabrics for each square but in a different configuration.

“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance."
~St. Francis of Assisi

Little Dresses for Africa on Rednesday!

     This Rednesday I decided I needed to get back to work on my “Genie’s 100 Dress Challenge.” Earlier this year, after reading about the needs of the orphans in Africa, I set for myself the goal of making 100 pillowcase-type dresses for the Little Dresses for Africa Charity.  If you are interested in reading more about the project and seeing some of the dresses I have made along with photos of some of the children in their dresses, there are lots of entries listed on my right hand sidebar...”Little Dresses for Africa” and “100 Dress Challenge."  I was going great guns with the project until we got into the SOL testing those last 3 weeks of school.  Then, once school let out, I began just plain goofing off, “messing around my house, ” and working on quilt squares for the “Rainbow Around the Block” Tennessee flood victims project with Anna Maria Horner.  Unfortunately, my little dresses got placed on the back burner until I got the idea to make some for Rednesday.  All the material has been donated to me by children from my school...all I do is sew the dresses and add the applique. These three are not made from pillowcases but rather these 2 are from donated fabric...

 

and this next one is from a dress I picked up at Goodwill, cut it apart (it was full of holes but the material was so cute), and turned it into a new dress.

These little dresses are so much fun to make, VERY easy, and I get the warm fuzzes each time I complete one.  Since each dress will be the ONLY DRESS the orphan has, I decided to make and send along a little something extra special for each child. That was when I came up with the idea of the little necklace made from Shrinky Dink plastic.

Now I am faced with something else...LDFA needs little shorts for the boys. After my children grew up, and I no longer needed to sew their clothes, I made the mistake of giving away all of my patterns. In the stores they cost an arm and a leg. but I finally lucked out. One of the custodians at my school found an old Simplicity pattern she had squirreled away so now I have a pattern for the boys.  That’s great, but I still need to come up with a little something special I can make for them like I have done with the necklaces for the girls...do any of you have a suggestion? I am stuck on that one.  Once again, HAPPY REDNESDAY....it’s a shame they only come once a week!

“He who wants to do a great deal of good at once, will never do anything.”

~Samuel Johnson - 1707-1784

#4 Rainbow Block Complete

For this square I decided to leave my “comfort zone” of the reds, whites, blues, and blacks and move over to the pinks and greens.  Once again, I used some of my leftover stash pieces: some Wally World cheapie fabrics, some from a divine quilting shop in Poulsbo, Washington, and the batiks I buy from our local guild shop, The Quiltery. After finishing this 4th square, I decided to take a picture of the completed ones down by our creek.  I am definitely making some progress, and while I was sewing our yard and fields were getting beautified.  It is so lovely out here right after everything has been cut and weed eated.

Rainbow Around the Block #3 Completed

This afternoon we got a bunch of rainstorms so was stuck in the house. I just couldn’t pass up the chance to work out another block for the Rainbow Project so hit the stash and started mixing and matching fabrics.  As you can tell, I like reds and blues, and reds and blacks so have a lot of those fabrics up in my library/fabric room.  I really need to branch out and start using more of Anna Maria Horner’s and Amy Butler’s materials.  The times I’ve sewn with them have been so enjoyable. Their designs are absolutely out of this world.  It’s been a hot and humid day but one where Buddy and I got a lot accomplished inside and out... but any day where I have some spare time to make a little something for charity is a successful one. I wonder what we will be up to tomorrow.

The Second Time Around the Block Was the Charm!

     My children, students, and husband tell me I am the most hard headed woman in the world when it comes to getting something just right, but this time it paid off big time!  I was so upset with myself for messing up my first block for the “Rainbow Around the Block” project - a wonderful project spearheaded by Anna Maria Horner - it made me work even harder to get it right this time. I decided NOT to use the pinwheel in the middle since I was designing this block from scratch.  Rather, I went back to the old stash and found just enough of a batik scrap left over from the backing of my ragged square quilt and the other reds and blacks surrounding the center were leftovers from that quilt, too. Thank heavens for the old stash! I love the way it all came together, and I am especially happy that is ended up measuring 12.5 in. X 12.5 in square.......HURRAH! I kept telling myself...”If at once you don’t succeed, Eugenia, try, try again!”  Oh, Happy Rednesday!


“Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.”
~Duuglas MacArthur

FInished First Square, BUT It’s the Wrong Size!

Well, I sewed all the pieces together, BUT the square ended up being 12in. X 12in. instead of 12.5in. X 12.5 in. What a bummer!  I am so upset!   My back is acting up and I can’t bend forward to cut. Consequently I ended up having to rotary cut the pieces in my bed on a little bed table instead of standing at the dining room table as I usually do. That, I am assuming was the BIG mistake.  Cutting pieces correctly holds the key to successful piecing. The only fix I can think of is to add strips around the perimeter so I can bring it out to the correct measurement. Ripping out the whole square would leave me with one big raveled mess. Of course, I could use it in one of my totes or as a pillow. Ah, such is life.  I will not let it discourage me. It was just another “learning experience.” On the brighter side of life, tomorrow is Rednesday, and it doesn’t have to be any particular size :-)

“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.”
~Oscar Wilde

Began My First Quilt Square Today for Rainbow Around The Block

Trying to select the fabric for my "Rainbow Around The Block” 12 inch quilt square was not easy.  I don’t know about y’all, but whenever I go to my stash to look for something, I wish I had something else.  I finally ended up choosing Thimbleberries “Timeless Grace” fat quarters, and the pattern I am using is the “Thirties Pinwheel in a Square Quilt Block Pattern” which I found on About.com Quilting.  I’ve cut out all the pieces and will start sewing tomorrow.

Come Join the “Rainbow around the Block” Quilt Square Project

Rainbow around the Block is a quilting project set up for giving quilts to families in Middle Tennessee who lost their homes and possessions to the flooding in May 2010. The project was organized and is moderated by Anna Maria Horner.  If you are a quilter, or if you just like to sew and think you would like to be a part of this wonderful undertaking, please visit the Rainbow around the Block site for all the information you will need. If you do not sew and want to contribute, there is also information there on how to do that. There is also a Flickr group online where you can view the squares that have been completed to date.  Anna has her gorgeous ones posted on her blog. They are all absolutely beautiful. 

Also, she has written the greatest book entitled Seams to Me which I have used over and over again to create the bags I have posted in earlier entries. In the back she includes all the patterns for the projects in the book. Her “I Want One of Everything Bag” is my gift of choice for my family members and close friends for gifts, and they absolutely adore them. I even adapted it for my little 5 year old granddaughter and her best friend. Her directions are easy to understand, and her bags are just FUN to make.