September Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) Blocks

Miss K chain piecing string blocks

This month, I have a ghost sewer to help me with completing the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) blocks. My nine year old granddaughter is excited about sewing! (Be still my heart!

She started a string project when she sewed on my lap; but, other activities caught her eye. She had forgotten about the project. I showed it to her. She decided that she wanted to work on her top after her sister finished her quilt top. The reason for the wait is that both projects are at the design wall stage and I only have one space!

An "X" orientation of four blocks

While she is waiting to work on her project, she is practicing sewing with a quarter inch seam stitching string blocks. When she sewed on my lap, she enjoyed choosing the fabrics the most. Now, she wants to sew seam after seam. Sometimes, she wants to press; but running the machine is her favorite. I'm encouraging her to continue her favorite part of the process!

I pin the strips to the blocks; she sews; I press and we repeat the process. Actually, the process went fast. In a couple of hours, she had stitched four blocks. As she stitched, she hummed songs and asked lots of questions about the RSC.

Her preferred layout

Some of her questions were: Why these blocks? Why 12 blocks? What made you decide to participate in the challenge? Have you kept up? What were the other colors? How long does it last? What do other people do? They make a different blocks with the same color? Does that mean they make more than one quilt?

About the time that she asked the question, What are you going to do with your blocks?, she had sewn four blocks! I  trimmed the blocks and she arranged them into an "X" layout.  I told her that the blocks would be a quilt and that I would have 80 blocks. She thought 80 was a "huge" amount.

Next blocks

I showed her the square layout which she liked better. She asked if the next time she was over could she make more of these blocks. My answer was a resounding, "Yes!" By the way, there was a next time and in about 20 minutes she managed to stitch about half of a second set of four blocks. Since she is becoming more comfortable with running the machine and more accurate with a quarter inch seam, I plan to ready another four blocks for stitching.

She was disappointed learning that next month will be the end of the challenge for this year. She thought lime green was a great next color. When I said that I hoped she would be on board for figuring out the layout for the blocks, she was interested being part of the design team.

I also let her know that there likely would be another challenge next year since this challenge has been ongoing for a number of years. She is interested in participating which would be a ton of fun. I've decided to let her stitch the blocks. If "we" don't finish the orange blocks this month, I'm okay with whenever we finish! This is goal number nine in my September list.

I'm linking up with Angela and the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I'm also linking to Cynthia at  and Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework.

Regarding COVID:

Worldwide: 219M cases; 4.55M deaths; United States: 41M cases; 660K deaths; Oregon: 297K cases; 3,419 deaths. In Oregon, 65% of the population has received one dose of the vaccine and 59% are fully vaccinated. This morning I learned that a fully vaccinated friend attended a wedding and came down with COVID. She said she wore a mask all the time except at the wedding. She also said she believed her symptoms would have been much worse had she not been vaccinated. 

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attack. I remember the event clearly. I was teaching a water aerobics class when we heard the news from a lap swimmer. At that time, I worked at the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Until the volunteers could be mobilized, all staff were manning phone lines answering the incoming calls of how people could help. I will never forget those early days and how people of all different opinions pulled together to provide support and assistance for those affected.