I kept working on my Stash Bee blocks in RSC colors this week and came out of it with two more purple improv trees.

I think I’m getting better at it.  The tress didn’t take nearly as much background material, though I still ended up with substantial scraps.

I’m generally happy with these three trees, though piecing them wasn’t a lot of fun for me.  I don’t think I’m going to make a quilt of just RSC improv trees.  I’m going to stick with my original plan of integrating them into a year-long quilt of improv-leaning blocks from the Stash Bee in the RSC’s colors.

I still have another block or two that I’d like to make from this month’s Stash Bee hives, and I’ll probably get one done this coming week, but the other two need more thinking (and possibly a die-cutter).  They’ll go on my Project List (see the menu bar up above) under “Someday”.

In the meantime, I like my trees!

And I can’t wait to see what else will join them.

I’m linking up with RSC at so scrappy.

Today was a dark day for our democracy here in the US.

I did some hand-sewing for Grackle Party, which I’m not ready to share yet.  I don’t want to associate that piece in my mind too much with this part of history.

A few days ago, I did my first Stash Bee blocks in that month’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge (from soscrappy) color.  January is PURPLE.

First up was Hive 2’s January heart block:

I didn’t quite hit the final measurement of 8 1/2″ square, mine’s more like 8 1/4″, but it’s close enough for an improv-ish block.  It wasn’t supposed to be improv, but it’ll likely fit better with the improv blocks than the more traditional ones.  I also learned that I need WAY more light in my sewing area to cut accurately.

Second was Hive 6’s January improv tree block:

I didn’t even bother with her width and height requirements and my top’s uneven, but I think I nailed her look.  I enjoyed this one so much (though it had a steep learning curve for me) that I have trunks cut and pieced and purples pulled for two more blocks.

I’m going to have lots of neutral scraps for other projects or blocks when I’m done with these trees:

It was a mess, but I think I understand better how the angles go together now.  The back’s less of a mess than the front, amazingly.  I did press after each seam, which helped.  Unfortunately, the purple fabric’s been in storage for a LONG time and I could not get that crease out.

I’m linking up with RSC at so scrappy.