Is it Saturday already?

Brick Pavement is this week's Grandmother's Choice block.  I elected not to make last week's block because it was so much like an earlier one I really didn't care for.  This one was relatively easy to put together.  I didn't pay much attention to the cutting, but it looks like I fussy cut two squares.  Maybe I should have paid more attention so they were all fussy cut.

I like the batik one as well.  I am glad I am doing two versions.  It is helping me use fabrics from my stash that I am enjoying working with.

 

The next row on the row quilt, America the Beautiful, calls for the "amber waves of grain."  When Tom and I drove across the country in the summer of 2008, we saw fields of grains, veggies, and flowers stretching for miles in all directions.  The colors varied from lavenders to dark greens with lots of browns and golds in between.  I decided to use all these colors for these blocks.  There are six 6.5" blocks in this row.

This is what it looks like on the design wall so far.  The sawtooth star row and the waves of grain blocks are not sewn together yet.  The next row is made up of trees.  I hope to get that started tomorrow.  I may even get a chance to sew these last two rows together and add them to the top.  I think I am going to use a light blue for the background for the trees.  I am feeling that the middle section is getting a little dark.  The bottom section, "from sea to shining sea" is also pretty dark, so I want to introduce some lights before I get there.  I am really enjoying making this quilt.  We have already picked out a place for it to hang once it is done.

We are having a rainy weekend here.  I am concerned about my friends and family on the East coast, and hope you all stay warm and dry the next few days.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress on the row quilt

The row below the eagles has three 9.5" x 12.5" mountains with two suns and one moon.  This is the first one.  I think it is meant to be a sunrise.  The background is pieced on a muslin background.

The middle block is a mid-day sun.  I chose a lighter blue batik with a pattern because during the day, you can see more details in the hills.  This one is also done on a muslin background similar to foundation paper piecing.  If I was to do it again, I think I would cut my radiating strips a little wider and use a lighter yellow for the sun.  Since I am using only what I have, this was the best I could come up with.

The last one is a moonlit sky.  I have used this background fabric for night skies before and I really think it is effective.  The french braid style mountain was fun to make.  Each block in this row uses strips in a different method.  That has made this row very interesting to make.

Here is how it looked on the wall.

 

The next row is six sawtooth stars.  I wanted to introduce some purple to the quilt, so found a light and a couple of dark purples in my stash.  It was really fun selecting the fabrics for these stars.  The points are all still there, but they don't all show in the photo.

This is how it all looks on the wall.  I haven't sewn the bottom stars together or the mountain row to the top piece yet.  I have been measuring very carefully, but my rows are not all coming out the same width.  I am going to have to do some adjusting before I sew these rows together.

I went to Bremerton to quilt with my sister last Thursday.  She is making great progress on her quilt, as well.  When we are both finished, I hope to post photos of both quilts.  They are very different from each other because of the colors we have both chosen.  I love her colors almost as much as I do mine, but I am glad we are using different colors because it is much more fun.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring in the studio.  Until next time, joyful quilting, everyone.