Wednesday, April 4, 2018

A few yellow bits and pieces




The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for April is yellow and gold. So I pulled out my scraps and made a few blocks. Here are the string blocks, sewn onto foundation fabric. 


And here they are with the photo edited to try to catch the true colors. I thought most of my yellow strings were sort of pale, but these turned out quite bright and saturated. It's been really hard to capture color correctly on my camera because the blue water reflects off every surface including our white boat ceilings. Even the underside of the clouds are turquoise here! 

I'm really happy with these scrappy stringy blocks and would have made a bunch more, but four seems to be about right for each color. I figure at the end of the year I'll have either 40, 44, or 48 blocks, depending on whether any of the monthly colors are neutrals. Any colors that seem to be missing can be stitched up later to fill in.


Two yellow backgrounds were put together from larger scraps, making the 12"x15" block for the wild cat appliques. Once again, I had to piece a smaller chunk of cat fabric for the vine/paisley print. I tried six ways from Sunday to make the seam match, but didn't have anywhere near close to a fabric repeat. It doesn't bother me too much because I think all the busyness of the quilt will mask a multitude of sins. And the photo is crooked because the wind kept trying to blow these into the water...see the lifted corner in the lower right? I let go just long enough to snap a pic, any pic!

My third RSC blocks, the spirals, aren't pieced yet. The design depends on fairly good contrast between the color and the background. Since I started with light neutrals for the backgrounds, that's a bit tricky. Do I switch to a darker background like gray for the yellow spirals? Or try to find my darkest gold scraps and select very very light neutral backgrounds? Cut pure white backgrounds just for these two blocks? Hm.

I also finished the flimsy from the blue fabric pull I showed last week. It turned out so well that I'm thinking about giving it as a gift. So now it's secret sewing and I can't show you. Sorry about that! I can tell you that I used Liz's Haphazard pattern, available for free. It's computer generated and each run is unique, which tickles my engineering soul. And if you don't follow Liz yet, go check out her blog and her amazing free motion quilting. She makes it look so easy...

We're thinking about moving on to Conception Island tomorrow. It's a very remote Bahamian National Park, so I don't think there will be any cell phone towers and connectivity there at all. There is a special species of endemic boa, though! I like snakes and hope we get a glimpse of one. Don't worry, they are only about 3 feet long and too skinny to squeeze humans. We'll be traveling with another boat and I'm looking forward to getting to know Steve and Barb and their (large, not boa snack sized) dog Molly a little better. 

19 comments:

  1. Lovely bright yellow blocks Louise, and I do like the look of the sea!! Have fun boa hunting, they're the only sort of snake I really like the patterns and colours are beautiful, I should love to see an albino, they really are a pale yellow.

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  2. I love your bright and cheery string blocks! They really sing. The cat blocks are so cute, too, and they rather whet my appetite to do another cat quilt. And do share some pictures of the little boas...

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  3. Love your RSC blocks! How many cat blocks do you have made now? My daughter is a cat lover and I might have to try that one! By the way, for the life of me I can't see the place you're talking about that you had to piece??

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  4. Thanks for the ray of sunshiney yellow which is very welcome as I contemplate a forecast for Saturday snow here in the NY area. I am actually pining to go out and cleanup all the deadfall from these storms. Winter has gone on too long for me.

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  5. Your string blocks are looking fun and bright, and so are those beautiful waters! I like everything about your post except your last paragraph!!!

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  6. I love the yellows - one of my favorite colors.

    All you have to say is snake and I am out of there. It doesn't matter how rare OR small they are! Have fun.

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  7. Louise, those yellow string blocks are so cheerful and bright! The cat seam barely shows and I couldn't find it until I expanded the picture. Funny how those things don't show in overall quilt. Can't wait to see the Haphazard quilt.

    I am a high stepper when snakes are around.

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  8. I like your yellow string blocks. They look big which is an intriguing idea to me to make super sized ones. Enjoy the next part of your journey including the snakes if you see any. I don't like snakes at all.

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  9. Ohhh, can't wait to see what you did with Liz's random quilt generator! Have a great time at the island nat'l park!!!

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  10. The view of that turquoise water is just ahhhh! I can feel the warm sun too. Those yellow string blocks and cats just make the views even better! I have to go check out Liz's random quilt generator!

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  11. Pretty yellows in your string blocks, and I love the cats, too! The random quilt is really fascinating! Happy travels!

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  12. I had to really enlarge the cat block to see what piecing you were talking about. I think you did a great job of matching the parts you could. The pattern flows well. It will be interesting to see how you do the spirals. I vote for your darkest golds and most contrast-y yellows, but it’s easy for me to be an armchair advisor not seeing your fabrics. I keep looking at that haphazard pattern. It’s fascinating. I’m scared of piecing all HST quilts, but this one wouldn’t be quite as picky if I chose not to piece all perfectionist-y, if you know what I mean.

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  13. Oh how I wish I had had you with me in December in Florida to help get the (probably terrified as my friend John and me were) snake out from the lanai door track! He did a wonderful job though. Brandy, his pibble, not snack-sized, and I hung out in the back yard while he knocked it down and swept it out the lanai door into the flowerbeds. I cannot get over gazing at your turquoise waters. Truly gives me a lump in my throat atbtheir surreal-ness. Surreality? Love the yellow string blocks and the cat blocks, which don’t look pieced at all to my eye but I’m not enlarging as Janine did to find it! I haven’t even contemplated my April RSC block yet.

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  14. Ooooooh, Yellow! So pretty! Decisions, decisions, on the yellow spiral blocks. I think if you change the background you may regret it. Do you have enough dark yellows, or "orangey" yellows to make it work?

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  15. such pretty yellows... funnily enough it is the one colour I have the least of in my scraps... and yet I do love it - always a happy colour

    Hugz

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  16. Your yellows burst with sunshine....esp. against the blue waters.

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  17. You've done well with your yellows this week. I love those kitty cat blocks, too fun. Haphazard is a bit addicting! Enjoy your trip, I'm not fond of snakes, but I hope you see the one you are looking for.

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  18. Wow, those yellows are so pretty. I am so envious sitting here with temps flirting with freezing while you are on the water basking in sunshine. I too enjoy snakes and insects...interesting. Anyway, enjoy every minute!!

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  19. I was with you there, nearly the whole way. I always smile when I see your heading photo, it makes me happy in a one step removed sort of non stalkerish way. I was smiling at your happy yellow blocks, smiling at the name of Conception Island nad wondering if it was frequented by honeymooners. And then, my friend, you got to the bit about snakes and boas and things like that and you lost me. Completely. I will not be visiting Conception Island, no matter how appealing the name!

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