Having fun making blocks!

I completed the group one January blocks for the Just Takes 2 quilt.  The orange persimmon fabric arrived and I fell in love, but after much to-ing and fro-ing, I decided that I just might get tired of all that orange, and that red and white is what drew me to the quilt in the first place

Before cutting out the block pieces themselves, I cut strips of each colour in widths that were called for in the cutting instructions.  I didn't cut widths that were something plus 1/4", deciding to use the 1/2" equivalent piece.  I then labelled each piece on the selvedge with a pigma pen.

Some sewing, some applique, and even some red-work, and I'm happy happy!!

For that persimmon colour, I have an idea brewing... stay tuned!

I also got involved in a another sampler quilt (can't hardly say no those!),  This is called Fundamentals block of the week, offered by Sew Sisters.  I chose the 30s colours, as I don't do those much, and I could use some bright and cheerful in some of my work!  Haven't they done a great job in picking fabrics?

Applique was the order of the day for yesterday, but not much done there.  I'm feeling a little behind in my hand applique....maybe too many on the go! My hand applique projects are Stars and Sprigs by Kim McLean, Antique Sampler by Sue Daley, some Dear Jane blocks, and My Whimsical Quilt Garden, by Piece O Cake.

Inspiration has come to visit!

I seem to be full of good ideas in the past several days...great colour choices, quilt design plans, and confidence in what I'm doing!!

I was supposed to be catching up on hand applique yesterday.  But I ended up in the sewing room thinking I'd sew a block or two from a couple of projects, blocks that are already cut and ready to go.

Instead I found myself thinking about the Free Motion Quilting Project.  I can't actually start it yet, as the machine I use for quilting is in the shop getting serviced, but I could prep for it!  Well I had all kinds of ideas for the sampler quilt that was suggested here, starting with neutrals.  Then I thought, wait, I have a drawer full of solids, I have a fear of quilting on solids or something that my free motion stitching will really show .  So that's it, I thought.  Well no, after a morning of pulling out all kinds of stuff suitable for this kind of sampler, I had decided to just make practice sandwich squares using some squares I had found already pre-cut.  Then after a little bit of time, I went back to the idea of the solids sampler.  I love it!  I think I'll use grey thread throughout, and it will be a real confidence booster for me.



In my hunt for fabrics for the Free Motion sampler, I came across a pile of pre-cut dark brown squares about 8" big.  An idea hit me.  Combine those with these scraps, and I think that will be great for Jo Morton's Prairie Flowers...I think I'll machine applique these.  I started on a sample, but haven't finished it yet.

I also got my batting scrap bin under control, and made enough pieces for four wallhangings and a bit more! All neatly bagged and labelled!

The Just Takes 2 quilt colour choices are driving me mad.  I went ahead and did some strip cutting of appropriate sizes of the red and white...but I'm still interested in that persimmon solid that I'm waiting for.  Now I've discovered that Tangerine is the colour of the year for 2012 (as announced by Pantone).  Do I really want to use a colour of the year?!  My interest in the Just Takes 2 started because I love red and white quilts.  So I don't know yet.

Consider the Lilies

I so much enjoyed working on Val Laird's 2011 block of the month, Consider the Lilies!  I finished the first half, and completed the pumpkins block, and then I had to put it aside.

 Yesterday was the day I got to complete it!  The quilt top didn't turn out quilt like the one Val had designed .  I had to make it smaller, as I want to hang it in my sewing room once it is quilted.  I ended up taking apart the top half, sewing the cottage block, and shuffling the pieces around to make up a top that is about 22" square.  I added a bit of embroidery to reference the bible passage (one of my favourites, which is why I had to complete it, and why I want it in my sewing room!).  I haven't added a border, and I don't think I will...I like it the way it is now I think.

I'm looking forward to what Val has planned for this year's block of the month!

Twelve of Eleven

I did finish the Electric Quilt Sampler b.o.m. and I have to say I am so proud of myself!  It isn't that I am so immensely happy with the quilt itself, as I am happy that I stuck it out and finished it!  And the quilt does look pretty good!!

Wednesday afternoon, I had something that looked like this.  I used a background fabric from my stash that I thought would calm down the colours a bit, and a second fabric for the alternate columns.  I was so disappointed.  I was convinced that what I had planned and sewed would be wonderful!  And you know that horrible feeling when you go to press some pieces and you open it out and say, oh ugh!!  I just wanted to throw it on the floor and stamp on it!! (This picture doesn't really show how bad this beginning was!)

I had been working from a group of fat quarters for the sampler blocks, and with all the cutting up I  was doing for the design process after drawing ideas in EQ, I was rapidly running out of fabric.

Thursday morning, I had just about decided to put the whole thing in a bag and let it age for a few months or more.  I on-line shopped for fabric that might help make it into a good quilt.  I huffed and sighed and played with EQ, and cut up some more bits.  Took a deep breath and started at it again. By the end of the day, I finished this 42" wallhanging, called Twelve of Eleven.

I really need to learn how to use the camera, or how to fix pictures.  This quilt looks like it has a different background than the first, but its the same!

Sunshine and Shadow

First things first...I want to finish this quilt top and quilt it as soon as I can, to hang above the couch in the living room.  I was flipping through patterns, trying to find something fairly simple to  on that spot until I have an applique quilt finished.  Above the couch is a great place for wall hangings, the couch is along the left wall as you come into the room, so the quilt isn't immediately obvious as other pictures and things attract your attention, but as you sit down the extra colour or design in the quilt catches you eye.  This Sunshine and Shadow pattern is in a book called The Simple Joys of Quilting by Joan Hanson and Mary Hickey, it is just the right size and presented in just the right colours so there was no fiddling with the pattern or colour scheme.

And, here is a picture of the Remembrance in blue and white, pattern by Kim Diehl in her book Simple Seasons.

A New Year's Reckoning

I have finally finished hand sewing the binding to the blue and white quilt...and I promised myself that no other sewing was allowed until its done...so I'm looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully some peaceful piecing.

For the new year, I have several quilts that need borders or re-setting.  Several  tops to be quilted.  And a few new tops that are in various stages...these I consider to be works in progress...Christmas Traditions, Dear Jane, Blooming Nine Patch, Wheel of Fortune, and one called Pick up Sticks.  Applique quilts in progress include Antique Sampler, My Whimsical Quilt Garden, Stars and Sprigs and parts of Dear Jane.

New quilts that I'll be starting, these are have to do's  for me, is the new Just Takes 2 free mystery block of the month; and, Praire Flowers Encore by Jo Morton.

I'm really looking forward to the Just Takes 2 series, presented by two very talented quilters and inspired by the exhibit “Infinite Variety: Three Hundred Years of Red and White Quilts” .   I will be using kona cotton snow for the "background" and one of the following for the second colour.  The brown is has more red than the picture shows; I have ordered the solid orange which is called persimmon, and I have high hopes for using that.  The red is from the Bonnie Blue Basics line.

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A Quilting Marathon!

Well, I'm just about done, and done in with quilting. I don't think I'll ever do this to myself again. Somehow I ended up quilting four quilts, all with a 'deadline" of sorts, all in about six weeks.

First came the red Thirties Sampler, a design by Eleanor Burns. I wanted that done for my daughter's return home from college, for use in the basement rec room where she hangs out. Bright and large for a couch quilt! (red is so hard to photograph, with a flash it looks awful, without a flash it just looks bad!)

Then came the Jelly Roll Quilt, which I wanted to finish for my niece before it became a Christmas present! I think I finished that one quick, with meandering stitches all over. (hubby took this pic, and I should have checked it before handing over the quilt!)










 
Finally it was time to quilt a Christmas quilt, which was a mystery block of the month by the Fat Quarter Shop. I really enjoyed sewing these bright colours, and the designs of the novelty blocks! This was for my son and his wife for Christmas, but I wanted them to have it for Christmas, or to use during the holiday season, and I was going to be visiting them on the 15th of December, so I wanted it finished by then. And it was!!

I had fun free motion quilting a different little design on each block...I think I used up all of my "library" of free motion designs on this one!





 Then there was a quilt needed for the guest bed. It should have been larger, it could have been the Stars for a New Day top, but ended up to be Remembrance in blue and white, a pattern by Kim Diehl. First I needed to make the quilt bigger than it was, by re-jigging the final border design so it ended up to be 85" square. My Mom will be staying here for New Year's weekend, so I wanted this quilt to be both used that weekend and a present to take home.

I did this quilt all with straight stitches (which makes me laugh, because really so many of these stitched rows are not straight!! lol, but I do the best I can!). My sewing machine has been giving me fits, and needs servicing for a few issues, so I didn't trust that I could confidently free motion any of it. This picture doesn't show the border, which is a wider version of the sashing. Just the binding left to go, which I can do one day next week.