Saturday, January 7, 2017

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2017

A New Year, A New Direction

It's Rainbow Scrap Challenge time again! And Angela at soscrappy is once again hosting this fun way to eliminate some scraps from our quilting activities.  The color for January is PURPLE.  (I think that must be Angela's favorite color because we had two purple months last year!)  So you'd think I would be running out of purple fragments by now.  NOT!

Last year I used the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colors to pull out a UFO to complete for my One Monthly Goal.  That turned out to be a pretty successful approach as I was able to complete seven tops, with another soon to be finished.

This year I want to make a bigger dent in my scraps.  Diann at Little Penguin Quilts has inspired me to make Scrap Jar Stars, a pattern she picked up from Gigi's Thimble.

Scrap Jar Star
I've made three already with scraps leftover from the Bonnie Hunter mystery, En Provence.


If I make 3 of these 12" blocks every month, I'll have a nice size quilt by the end of the year! 

But I didn't stop there. When looking for purples to use in En Provence I came across a big stack of
2-1/2" by 4-1/2" rectangles.  I started cutting them down to 2-1/2" squares for the 4-patches (my units are bigger than Bonnie's, a story for another day), but that seemed wasteful, leaving me with odd 2-1/2" x 2" chunks. So, inspired by a quilt I saw on another blog, I decided to make 2-log rail fences and do a zig-zag pattern.

Zagnuts
Do you remember Zagnut candy bars? They were one of my favorites, but hard to find.  Anyway, now I'm torn on a setting.  Maybe you can help me decide.

Traditional setting
My first attempt is fairly traditional and certainly the easiest as it will go together in straight rows.  But if I put them on point, I think it gives a more modern look.

Modern setting
The only problem I see with this option, other than having to stand on my side when I sew, is I might be short of background to do any setting triangles that might be required.  I'd have to work that out.  What do you think? 

While you're thinking, pop over  to soscrappy to see some fabulous finishes from 2016 and some great plans for 2017.











9 comments:

  1. Wow!! You really jumped in with both feet. Looks like that "head start" that I gave you really paid off!!

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  2. Great purple blocks! I like both of your projects. I agree with you, the on-point rail fence blocks that make chevrons look more modern. Whichever option you decide, it'll be a great quilt.

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  3. I love your star blocks. It almost makes me want to join in on the fun. Both of your settings look great, but I think I like the traditional setting more, especially if you are going to be adding other colors.

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  4. Oh my stars - you really went to town!! Great projects!!

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  5. The scrap jar star is a great block for this year's RSC and you've done really well so far. I don't honestly have an opinion on the setting with the other - I like both.

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  6. Great projects for the RSC! I'm planning to jump in again this year using my crumb jars. I have to clear En Provence out of the way first though :*)

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  7. I'm still on the fence with the ScrapJar stars - they're in the 'probably' column right this minute.
    As far as setting triangles for the on-point zigzag, why limit to background fabric? They're another opportunity for a zig-zaggy element.

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  8. The Jar Star blocks are fun. Their on my list for a future RSC project. I like both rail fence settings, you can't go wrong with either. Sorry I'm no help at all on that front.

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  9. Your Scrap Jar Stars look great! Making 3 every month will make a good size quilt.

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