Four more 12 inch blocks

I spent the day today creating more 12 inch blocks for the online exchange. I am having fun making blocks with fabric I like and trying out different blocks. The top two were made with more fall colors, and I have enough fabric left to make a small quilt. I like this block, but I will play with the fabric layout some more. The bottom two are made with more civil war era prints. I did some strip piecing, and used them in two different ways. It is hard to see in the photograph that there are five rows in the stripped part. I am not sure I really like the dark brown on the bottom right, but it is growing on me. Maybe if I used it as inner strips with lighter outer strips, I would like it better. Actually, I do like it better on the wall than on the computer. I have one more to go before they all go in the mail.

I have received three blocks from other members of the exchange. Now that I have started this, I am not sure what I will do with the blocks from others. These three are very different from anything I would make. All are well made. I like each one for different reasons. I think I could make table runners out of them, not together of course. I will have to dig through my stash and see what I can find that will go with them. If any of you participate in block exchanges where you get individual blocks from different quilters, what do you do with them?

More 12 inch block play

Today, I did some fusible applique for a presentation quilt for a guild member. I did not photograph those yet. They are Scottie dogs with plaid blankets. Cute, if you like that sort of thing. I also made this 12 inch block for an online block exchange. The colors didn't show up perfectly, but this is close. I actually used the reverse side of the fabric with the large circles because the circles showed up better. The black is not as dark as it looks in this photo, but it is close. I was going for modern, sophisticated. The block was very easy, and I like how it turned out. I think I may make some other blocks like this for myself.
The other thing I did today was finish the top for the D9P. I did a little piecing on the inner border to add interest. I am very happy with it. I have to piece the back together because the fabric I am using is not quite big enough. I have designed something fun to do to make it bigger, and attractive at the same time. I may get this on the quilt frame by Monday, meeting the timeline I set for myself.

This is what my new design wall looks like today. I am very happy with the size and the holding power of the felt/flannel.

I spend a good long day in the studio today working on the D9P and my intuition quilt. I got all the 9 patches done, cut, rearranged, and sewn together. Then, I cut the sash pieces, put together the rows, and celebrated with a piece of dark chocolate. I really love the colors in this quilt. I wanted to use a darker sashing. At first, I was going to use a solid brown, but an end of bolt piece of paisley jumped out at me. I has dark brown, golds, greens, and oranges. What could be more perfect. I am going to add a border of this paisley, then a lighter border of a gold tone. It appears I have broken some rules here of combining traditional patterned fabric with modern prints with batik. I didn't know there were rules about this sort of thing, and I am glad. I just look at the colors and see if they will go well together. I've never been much of a purist in art. Below is a detail so you can see the sash.

I have been looking at my intuition quilt for a few days without getting back to it. I decided to add a light border around the focal square, and then add the flying geese to two sides. I used the light fabric because I thought the quilt needed a place to rest your eyes between busy units. I find that I think about adding things I really like to this quilt. I am going to make some house blocks because I enjoying being at home, or in someone else's house. I am also going to make some applique bird blocks because I really like wild birds. I may even stick in a sunflower or two, and definitely some moons and stars. There will also be more wonky blocks like the center, only smaller. I think this may take me a while, but I am enjoying where it is going.

Busy studio day

I had a very busy day in the studio today, and got a lot done. I finished piecing 12 of the 16 nine patch blocks for Mary Ann's quilt. I just had to cut them up and get them on the design wall. Of course, I had to go buy a new design wall because my two small ones were filled. I am loving the colors of this quilt. It is primarily batiks I have collected over time, some left over fabric I had from Moda's Tranquility line, and a wonderful piece of purple fabric, also from Moda. I found some rich warm brownish paisley for sashing and borders. On Thursday, when I get back into the studio, I will finish up the last four nine patch squares, cut them up, add them to the wall, and start to cut and sew the new blocks together. I have designed this so there won't be any seams to match, at least not too many.

I also got all the strip units sewn and cut for the bonus grab bag quilt. There will be 30 5 inch squares. I am going to add sashing and borders to make this a comfortable lap quilt. I think there may be enough fabric in the bag to complete the top.

I have quilt guild tonight. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and hearing what everyone got over the holidays that is quilt related . We also get our new block of the month, and make some decisions about other projects we may want to continue or not. I am hoping we continue the mystery quilt, but I will have to wait and see until this evening.

A Bonus Quilt from a Grab Bag

I am a sucker for grab bags. When I was a kid, I used to save my allowance to by the sealed brown paper bags and the five and dime. I guess that dates me, but I don't know what the equivalent would be today. Anyway, I savored the moment that I got the bag home to open it. The other day, when I went to Pieces, I looked through the grab bags, which were clear, and came up with two of them. I paid $2.25 for each. Today, I opened the first one and was totally surprised. Some wonderful person had thrown in all the leftovers from a wonderful, I am guessing, quilt project. After some calculation, I figured out I have enough fabric in strips and squares to make a wonderful lap quilt. I did some sewing of strips, and put together one of the 30 blocks. The inside squares will all be the same. There are five different fabrics for the smaller squares. I will do sashing with the light. There is enough of the print fabric to do cornerstones in the sashing. Don't know if I will do it, but I am thinking about it. I am pretty excited about my $2.25 quilt.

Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative quilt

This is my first quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. I first discovered this program on The Quilt Show blog. I really like that there are so many charitable opportunities for quilters. I am currently involved in four. I have mentioned the American Hero Quilt project, my quild's preemie quilts for babies in a local NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), and making blocks for a cancer patient's quilt. This quilt is 9" by 12". The quilts for this project can be no bigger. They have to fit in a priority mailer from the post office. These small quilts are auctioned to raise funding for Alzheimer's research. I think it is a fantastic idea. There are art quilts as well as more traditional style quilts. Check it out and see if there are any treasures calling your name.

I also completed four more blocks for the disappearing nine patch. The other thing I got done this morning was to wash and iron all the new fabric I purchased at my going out of business quilt shop, Pieces, in Renton. When I went in, I knew I wanted fabric to back my American hero quilt, when I get it done. I also looked for lights, Asian prints, brights, and some African prints. Some of these were to fill holes in my stash (lights), and others just needed to come home with me. Quilting is certainly an expensive art. If not for the generosity of a friend who decided to give me her large stash when she quit quilting, I would not be able to do any of the things I am now doing. I have been building my stash for a couple of years, little by little.

I have now completed six quilts, including the alzheimer's quilt. I am going to add my goal list for 2011 in the sidebar. I need to put it somewhere to remind myself not to keep adding more without finishing what is already on my list. I also have to figure out how to make quilt labels, and a good way to name my quilts. <>

Stars and 9 patch blocks

I finally finished the 2000 Member Star created by Carol Doak. I am very pleased that it came together with only one big pattern glitch on my part. Can you see it? I also need to plan my colors a little better next time. I love all these colors, but wish I had spaced the lights differently. I will still use it in my star sampler quilt that I am working on. I guess I will have to go through my stash and find colors I can use, then save my pennies to go to the quilt store again.

Speaking of quilt stores, my local quilt store is shutting its doors very soon. This makes me very sad. In this time of difficult economics, many small independent book and quilt stores are having a very difficult time. Another nearby store that I used to really like moved in with a bead store and a Bernina shop. They carry fewer fabrics, and the selection is really not what it used to be. The closest fabric store is the chain store I was complaining about the other day. I think I will have a very hard time going back after my last visit. In addition to the fact that they don't have great fabrics, they have lousy service. I was standing in a long line at the check out counter, where there was one person working. There were three people standing at the cutting table helping one customer, but mostly chatting about some reality TV show. I really don't like bad service. I guess I will have to venture further afield to the shop in Auburn, or Puyallup, or Gig Harbor. I feel a field trip coming on.

The last thing I did in the studio today was to organize the squares for my disappearing nine patch. I even got four basic squares sewn together. I am loving the colors. I am using a purple piece in the center of each block that I will make the pattern around. I love that it has radiating circles.

Starting a new quilt block

I spent much of my time in the studio cutting fabric for a new quilt and for a star block, that I started stitching. I really enjoy foundation piecing. I always see these wonderful complicated stars, and know that I could never make them because I can barely get the seams matched right on a basic nine patch. Then I discovered Carol Doak and her fabulous patterns. She has quite a few free ones at her website, Carol Doak.com. This one is from the 2000 member celebration quilt designed to celebrate the 2000th member of her Yahoo group. I selected colors that will go with my intuition quilt so the completed block will be another unit in that project. I am pretty pleased with this corner of the star.

I also put together three small squares highlighting my favorite reptile, the lizard. In my stash, I found a fantastic border print with a southwestern motif. I noticed the colors were almost perfect for the intuition quilt project. I quickly played around with some other fabrics until I came up with these. Such fun. I never know what I will find to add to my project. I am glad I found these.

A Quilt for a Hero

Before I got my quilt frame and new sewing machine, I made a list of all the things I would like to do this year with them. One of the charitable quilts I want to make is an American Hero Quilt. This project is a big one that was started by a Washington resident. Today, I decided to make the first block for this quilt. The quilts need to be blue, red, white (or off white), with some gold. The completed quilt will have five of these stars altogether. This pattern is mostly paper pieced, which I really enjoy. It took me a long time to do this one, but I am pleased that I took my time. I am happy with the results. The pattern is #121 in Quiltmaker's 101 blocks vol. 2, and is by Chloe Anderson and Colleen Reale. Toadusew is the name of their blog.

One of these days, I will get out of the studio with enough energy to add a list of all the quilting blogs I check regularly. Each day, I find one or two more that I add to the list. There are so many great quilters out there who are willing to share tips and patterns. It is fun to take a look at what others are doing.

Today's 12" block

Today, I worked with the pink again and added a bit of turquoise. This block was from a quilt designed by Gerrie Robinson. I am very pleased I got the points to come together in the middle. I am getting better with practice.

Playing with Pink - disappearing nine patch

Today's 12 inch block is a disappearing nine patch. I heard about this block and wanted to try it. I opened the bin with pink fabric and the one with purple. I picked out nine fabrics that worked well together and built a standard nine patch block. Then I cut vertically down the middle and turned it to make the cut the other way. I played with the blocks until I came up with a pattern I liked. I can see there are wonderful possibilities with this pattern depending on the colors, patterns, and ways you turn the blocks. The bonus is that there are no points to match. I will get back to a new star block tomorrow.

For a completely different sort of quilt, I have started an intuition quilt based on instructions over at 15 Minutes Play by Victoria. I have been having a great time creating cloth from scraps and crumbs. For the intuition quilt, I have been pulling colors from the scrap bag that I really like together - golds, oranges, greens, and purples. I will probably add some blues before it is all done. This is the center 12" by 12" block. I love the freedom to this method. I can use abstract collage style along with some more traditional. I added a star and some flying geese as well as a wonky house. The next step for me is the first border. Since I am using only fabric I have on hand, all the borders will be pieced in some manner.

Another 12" Star Block

I finally got a 12 inch block I am pleased with. All the points are in the right spots. The measurements came out right. I like the colors, even though they do not show up well in this photo. I took it in really poor light at the end of the day in the studio. The orange is not nearly as muddy at this looks.
Before I started this, I spent time figuring out what size to cut squares to get the half square triangles the size I want. The method I use is to put two squares together, front sides facing. Then I sew a 1/4 inch seam all around the block. Then, I cut from corner to corner twice. I learned this method from Jenny Doan at Missouri Star Quilters. Some people don't like that the resulting squares are on the bias, but I have not had any problems with that so far. I learned that I need two five and a half inch squares to make four three and a half inch half-square triangles. It was worth the time to figure this all out.
Tomorrow, another 12 inch block, and more fun with fabric.

Today, I ripped out as many seams as I sewed. I guess this is the way I am going to learn. These are the three blocks I managed to complete. The one on the upper right is a wonky log cabin. (I told you I was embracing wonky.) I had the most fun with this free form scrappy block. I only used scraps that were pretty small. I ended up with a six inch block I really like. I will try and make one of these each time I go into the studio. Eventually, I will have enough to make a lap quilt. That would be very cool.
The block on the lower right is a five inch pinwheel block. For some reason, I had loads of trouble with this small easy block. I just could wrap my head around the geometry. I am very pleased that I finally conquered it. It is not my favorite pattern, but it had to be done.
The largest block is a twelve inch block in a traditional pattern. This one really threw me for a long time. It was, once again, a matter of me trying to adapt a pattern without the necessary knowledge. In this case, I wanted to use flip and fold instead of trying to peace triangles. Unfortunately, I did not measure right and ended up with triangles that were too small. I am going to look for a tutorial on how to measure correctly for this method.


This is a photo of the fabrics I have chosen for the disappearing nine patch. The bottom fabric is the inspiration for the rest of the colors. I am still thinking about the light purple. It really stands out in this photo. I may not use it, but I do want some light colors.

Quilting Fabric Choices

Here is the preemie quilt with the borders. I am wondering if I should have done a dark green border to match the sashing before I put on the yellow. I like it this way, and I have a size constraint, so this works for this one. I will have to try it differently next time. I could do six 8" blocks with sashing and borders next time and stay within the size limits. By the way, I have decided to embrace the wonkiness, so I have called this Wonky Zoo, which brings me to the fabrics.

I chose not to use my stash for this one because I didn't really have anything for babies. I went shopping at my local large chain fabric store. All the fabrics in this quilt are from their line, and I am not thrilled with the quality. The overall animal pattern on the light fabric is cute, but the fabric is hard to work with. It constantly sheds along the edges. The dark green has an overall dot pattern that is very wonky. Just when you think you have figured out a straight line, it has a tilt, like a screen was used and turned very slightly every time it was moved. I think this could be effective if done a little better. I guess you get what you pay for. In the long run, you make quilts to last. It is worth spending the extra money to get really great fabric. There are always sales online if you look.

Here is the first in my larger block practice stars. This one did not quite work out. I think if I had actually followed the measurements on the pattern, it might have worked better. I, of course, had to resize it. From now on, I will either look for patterns in the size I want, or change the size I make to the pattern size. Lesson learned. I will learn how to resize as I improve, I am sure. For now, I will find another star to practice on, and find cut fabrics for a disappearing nine patch I want to make. So far, I have found the inspiration fabric and a few to go along with it. I will show you what I come up with when I find the fabrics.