Green
I am obsessed with green. Could it be because, living in the northern hemisphere, it is Spring? Maybe. All the trees are in full leaf, the lawn has returned and it feels rejuvenating. Despite weather that begs me to venture outside and tip my head to sun, I managed to buckle down and attend to my quilting goal for the week.
Rainbow Scrap Challenge
A new month, a new color and that color is…GREEN!
I focused exclusively on tackling the green blocks necessary for my 2025 Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt. First I worked on the four Broken Heart blocks. Fortunately these don’t require much fabric, so I always have a choice of material to make these from. Boy do those fabrics go back aways.
Next I turned to the green blocks. I begin by sorting my scraps into triangles, rectangles, strips and odd ball shapes. These are combined into units and sewn into strips. The second to last stage is to sew the strips into an 18″ x 18″ square. I actually only need 16.5″. That extra 1.5″ allows for squaring and trimming. Finally, I cut nine 5.5″ blocks. Note how when these are set rail fence style each green block appears to be created intuitively on its own.
What does green suggest to you?
I’m linking up to the following posts:
Good for you to have your RSC blocks complete so early in the month! Green says Spring and lush to me. I love the color of new foliage.
Thank you, Terry. Have to admit I am stoked. By finishing the RSC blocks early, I can turn my attention to other projects demanding my attention.
I’m not normally a green person but I love the spring green color of grass and all the greens of leaves and other plants. Every spring I think I need to make a green quilt. You made good progress on your green projects, today is only the 3rd day of the month! Happy creating!
Like you, I tend to lean towards other colors with my decor. Still there is something invigorating about green. It does act as a glorious backdrop for brightly colored Spring blossoms.
I love spring when everything is turning green! So fun to see everyone’s green scraps coming together. A perfect colour for this month.
Yes, there is something so uplifting about Spring. The SEDOSO and I went for a dawn walk this morning. We are treated to blooming shrubs, early flowering perennials and many colors of pansies.
Pretty scrappy green blocks, ‘Broken Heart’ blocks too. Good for you to have them all done already. Living in the tropics for +20 years, I’ve got so used to all the greens that I hardly notice anymore. Of course I remember springtime in Norway, when everything outside turn green and flowering. I’ve never been a big fan of green, but after I started quilting I have grown on it. I don’t wear green clothes or decorate our house with green. Green to me means lovely walks/hikes in the forest, to soak in its green nuances and smells.
I knew you were in the tropics, but hadn’t realized you have been there for over twenty years. Yes, green must be everywhere for you amongst the tropical vegetation. Walks in the forest, especially the scents and the sunshine through the trees showcase deep greens.
That’s a great technique for building scrap, crumb, improv blocks. It always makes me smile to use the scraps and strips to build new fabric!
I read with envy, sometimes, about other RSC participants who use jelly rolls and strips, so that their scraps are predominantly strips and squares and HST. Not mine. So, that technique was born out of necessity. The advantage is irregularity of different angles and small vs large pieces. Yes, Judy, you and I are doing what we can to use vs toss.
I feel the same way about spring. Here in southeastern South Dakota, spring really just arrived this week. The Broken Heart blocks are really going to make an interesting design.
Part of the fun of participating in the RSC is seeing Spring arrive around the world. Lengthens the season. 🙂 We lived in Appleton, WI for 8 years. Winters were significantly colder than what we were used to in the Boston ‘burbs.
I have enough of the blocks made to lay out the quilt with a few gaps. I was feeling uncertain about this design. Looks like it should work. So, you are on target with “an interesting design.”
I am not a green person, but your last photo reminds me of a cool, lush forest. Very pretty.
I thought I wasn’t a green person either, Cathie. Always loved blue and vibrant colors like magenta. Yet, when it comes to quilting I find my work is often dominated by green. Go figure.
I am obsessed with green, too, and I do think it’s because it’s Spring! For the last month I’ve been watching the leaves slowly come out on the trees around town and it’s so lovely. I love sewing with green also. Your greens are really pretty, Gwyned! Congratulations on getting the blocks done that you need for your RSC project!
Always good to hear from you Diann. Last week our leaves were mostly buds. Now they are fully grown. It’s going to be hard to focus with such gorgeous distractions outside. Enjoy the Spring!
Hmm green, it’s what I see from my window, trees and plants, full of birds and bugs. Bravo for your green blocks! Is it a hen hiding there? 😉
Thank you for sharing and linking up today!
Oh yes, the bugs. Both pests, but often so gorgeous, too. They have returned with the leaves. You are correct. One of the fabrics included a hen.
I don’t think I appreciated green until I became a quilter. Working on a project a few years ago, I learned to distinguish the range of it (from yellow green to deep blue green). As a member of a community garden, I get to enjoy the transition from early Spring green to Summer green every year!
That’s it precisely, Vivian. The more you work with color, the more you appreciate all colors.
I don’t know how that worked, but on May 1st everything here was suddenly green!!! Your green rail fence blocks say “spring” all over, Gwyned!!! Fabulous!!!
I suppose May Day was selected precisely because winter is banished and spring has arrived.
Always good to hear from you, Nancy.
You do have great greens!! and Wow!! you were fast!! I am still digging into the green scrap bin. The Broken hearts are so pretty together – and your scrappy blocks – love them!!! Green… what does it mean to me? Spring and maybe the snow is put away for a while?
Snow put away forever… Makes me chuckle. Still I recall around 1978 I was taking a night time college course on the second story of a building in a Boston suburb. It was the Monday after Mother’s Day, I believe. I would occasionally glance towards the window and see large wet flakes coming down. The teacher and the rest of the students thought nothing of it. After all it was May and the temperature had been moderate enough when we entered the classroom. Boy were we in for a shock. Because the trees had leaves and the temperature had dipped dramatically snow accumulated in the trees. When we entered the parking lot it sounded like rapid gunfire as branch after branch snapped pulling down electric wires and blocking the roads. It’s known as the Mother’s Day storm. I feel very confident there won’t be repeat this year. 🙂
Thank you for stopping by.
Green means life to me. 🙂 Your scrappy blocks look great!
Thanks for sharing in Sew & Tell.
Great answer, Melva. Green = life. Love it.
You are speedy to finish your RSC blocks before the first week of the month!
I’m looking forward to seeing how you set the broken heart blocks. It’s an unusual block pattern.
I’m not a “green person” but I like greens well enough that don’t lean toward yellow. Give me rich, Christmas greens and pair them with reds and white (or not) and I’m happy.
I do have the advantage, that unlike many of the RSC participants I design a single RSC each year. Each color requires an average of 15 blocks. The first few passes/colors, I am figuring out the requirements of the blocks and fast piecing methods. Now that we are five colors in I can whip them out in two studio days. Then it is onto other work.
It has been a while since I shared my quilt pattern. I’ll try to remember to do that with the next post. I’d lay the blocks out on my design wall. I was getting worried about whether it would all work out. It will. Always a relief.