Making progress, and a wonderful gift in the mail

A week ago, I won this fantastic giveaway at Spontaneous Threads. Stephanie is cleaning out craft and quilting supplies.  The box arrived today, and it was jam packed with goodies, like this fabric above.  Look at this one.  It is so stinkin' cute.

See the birds on the chairs?  I am going to have to find something wonderful to make with it.

Look at the cute coin purse.  She also included three extra zippers just the right size and one of those metal purse clasps.  I have long wanted to make a purse with one of these.

Yummy yarn.  Now I can crochet that scarf I have been thinking about.

Lastly, there is crafty goodness for projects with Bella. 

Stephanie is going to be doing another giveaway in March.  I suggest that you keep watch over at Spontaneous Threads so you have a chance at getting the wonderful March box.

The Primitiva quilt is coming along.  I got all the nine patches done and put up on the design wall.  I then started putting up squares in the corners of the orange blocks so that the snowballs would all be as random as the rest of the quilt.  I may have done this in a very inefficient way, but it worked for me.  After I had all the blocks the way I wanted, I carefully pulled the orange blocks down and stacked them neatly.

I nearly finished marking the squares and pinning them on this afternoon.  Tomorrow, I will start sewing.  I have marked them so I will get the extra half square triangle units I want to use in the second quilt I will be making with this fabric.  Whoo hoo!  A two-fer.

The last thing I did in the studio today was to play with some scraps.

I got some pieces sewn, but mostly I just pulled more scraps to add to what I was building.  I have missed just playing.

It will be interesting to see what comes of tomorrow.

Joyful quilting, everyone

Don't forget to go here to enter the Pass It Along Box giveaway contest.

Bella's pre-school class (read moms here) is making a quilt for their annual auction.  I have nothing to do with this project except to make Bella's block. (You may read a little frustration here, but it is a story for another day.)  Bella said she wanted cats in a window and hearts on the front. I was given the green pieces and a bunch of scraps.  The only thing I pulled from my fabric is the kitty print.  The name is embroidered, as well as the stems and leaves of the flowers.  I haven't done much embroidery for a very long time, and I really enjoyed doing this.  Maybe I will do more for another project.

The other thing I worked on today is Tom's Primitiva quilt.  It is really hard to get all the colors right for these fabrics.  I am close on the orange, at least on my computer screen.  I have sewn a total of nine of the nine patch blocks.  Keeping them random has been interesting.  The orange blocks will become snowball blocks, creating a secondary pattern of stars, and I want to make sure the corners are different from the squares they will touch.  This is going to be a very bold quilt, and it is great fun to work with all these wonderful colors and designs.

I will work more on this quilt over the weekend, but I also want to get started on a couple of other projects.  I would like to get started on my lone star quilt.  I am debating whether to cut individual diamonds or create strata and work from those.  I have seen it done both ways.  Do any of you have words of wisdom about how I should proceed?

Joyful quilting, everyone.

The Pass It Along Box needs a new home

This drawing is now closed.

Last week, I won another traveling quilter's box from Katie at Katie's Salt Marsh Path.  I love these boxes.  They have such treasurers in them.  This one is about half books and patterns and half fabric. I like the mix.

The fabrics range from two packs of 100 2" squares each to some yardage.  There are a few fat quarters, including four that coordinate well, and some baseball print.  There is a Curio by Basic Gray charm pack and a Riley Blake charm pack.  There are five orphan blocks that are made from coordinating fabric.

I love the Lotus Garden patterns and the Dogwood Delight.  I also love the bug jar quilt pattern.  I almost took one of these, but went for another one instead.

There are some great books, and some wash away foundation paper.  There were two packs of the paper, but I grabbed one to play with.  So, what did I take?

I took one of the wash away paper packs, three fat quarters, three books and an applique quilt pattern.  I am determined to improve my hand applique techniques.  This is what I put back in the box.

I put in three books, a pack of Steam-A-Seam 2, an older edition of a Fons and Porter quilting magazine with some really nice quilt patterns, and three fat quarters. 

Now, it is time for the box to move on.  Here is what you need to do if you want it to visit you.

1. You must be a blogger so you can "pass it on" to another blogger and keep us posted about where it's going.

2. You must be willing to ship it on to the next person.

3. You may take anything you like, but for every item you remove, you must replace it with another item.

    Items do not need to be new, but if they are not new, they must be gently used.

4. You may fill the box with:  orphan blocks, books, patterns, notions, rulers, and definitely fabric.

5. There is a note in the box that logs where the box has been.  Please add your info and place the note          back in the box.

Sorry, but because of shipping costs the box cannot be shipped internationally.

You know you want to see everything inside.  Leave me a comment and I will announce on Sunday, February 26, who the next lucky recipient will be.

Organizing for Randomness

Do you remember this beautiful group of Primativa from Andover that I bought from the wonderful Julie at Intrepid Thread?  I started cutting into it Saturday morning, but not until after I did a bit of quilter's math.

(I would love to teach classes on quilter's math the way I do it.)

Anyway, I knew I had to figure out a method to get random in an organized way since I was using these 18 fat quarters to make Tom's quilt.  I saw a quilt on a blog and asked the maker if she used a pattern, and if so, where she got it.  She said she saw the quilt in many places, and just made her own pattern.  I love to make patterns, so I drafted one that would work with the Primativa.

The first thing I did, after figuring out the math, was to cut the fat quarters into 3.5" strips.  I got five from each piece with a narrow strip left over.  I cut two strips from each piece into 3.5" x 3.5" squares and set them aside for the snowball blocks.  The first blocks I need to build are nine patches.  I wanted to sew random groups of three 3.5" x 22" strips together to make this work.  In order to get these really random, without repeats, I used the narrow left over strips.  I cut them into thirds to have three of each, then put them in groups on the cutting board.  Then I built the strip sets, following the mini examples.

I was so excited when I got them all together, and it all turned out right.  The bonus is that I can now build mini wonky nine patches for another project.  Maybe a baby quilt or a doll blanket. 

After I sewed all the sets, I cut a series of 3.5" strips.  Of course, I had to put a nine patch together to see how my plan was working.

One of the things I had the hardest time with when I started quilting last year was to get the seams ironed the right way.  I don't like open seams for many reasons, so I need to make sure to get them pressed in the right direction for nesting.  Sometimes, that is just really hard for me to figure out.  This time, I made sure all my seams were pressed in the same direction when I built the strip sets. Then I could turn the center one around as needed.  Here, on the backs, you can see that seams are going just the right ways for great nesting.

All that prep payed of in a beautiful random block with corners that meet nicely and lay nice and flat.  Now, I have 27 more of these to make, and no two will be alike.

As you may know, if you are a regular follower of my blog, I am not one to go out and buy a bunch of fabric from one line.  I don't often see many that I like that much, and I am very mindful of how I spend my limited fabric budget.  When I first saw this line, I immediately fell in love with the colors and the designs.  As I was pressing each piece before cutting, I couldn't decide which design was my favorite.  These are colors I love to use together, and I couldn't believe someone would put them all together in one line.  I think of this as my first "Modern" quilt.  Wait until you see tomorrow's post with the bright orange snowball blocks!

I am having a very good project year so far.  I am not finishing much, but I am having a great time creating tops.   I hope you are having a great quilting year, as well. 

Joyful quilting, everyone.

February AAQI quilt

Hope Rises

8" x 10.5"

I realized the other day that I hadn't made my AAQI mini for this month.  I belong to the quilt-a-month club at AAQI, and I haven't missed a month in a year.  I didn't want to start now.  I had drawn out a sketch for this one a while ago while I was waiting for Bella at dance class.  I wanted a Phoenix-like bird rising from the dark into the light.  This morning, I pulled my blacks and whites and created the background strata.  I then pulled what I thought were going to be really bright colors for the bird.  They are not nearly as bright as I thought they were going to be.  They are very spring like.  Hey - that symbolism works okay for what I wanted.  Spring is rebirth and hope.  Once I got everything cut out and appliqued on, I started building pebbles at the bottom where it was solid black.  I used a variegated King Tut by Superior in a really light mix so they would stand out.  Then, I put some FMQ feathers on the bird and some wavy lines going up from the pebbles.  The binding is another batik that is very spring like in this piece.

It was very interesting creating a piece like this.  I haven't done that much FMQ except overall stippling, so I really had to concentrate on what I wanted it to look like.  I didn't want to pebbles to look uniform or perfect, and that was no problem.  Ha ha.  I think I could have put more feathers on the bird, but I wasn't sure where to go with that, so I stopped while I was ahead.

I am not sure how much studio time I will have this weekend, so I may not be back until Monday.  Until then, joyful quilting everyone.

Happy Valentine's Day

Stash Bee Blocks

I think I mentioned that I am the queen bee for Hive #2 over at Stash Bee.  I decided I want to create a rainbow quilt with string blocks.  I am so excited about the blocks that have been coming my way.  I just got a squishy from the UK today.  There are 20 members in this hive, and I have asked for one or two 8.5" blocks from everyone.  I said they didn't have to be trimmed.  It is so much fun to see all the fabrics.  The siggy blocks are great because they list the names and the places of origin.  For now, I will just keep adding the blocks to the design wall as I get them.

I have been doing other things, but I can't show them for now.  One, I will post tomorrow, but it is a surprise for now.

I will be with Bella for the next three days.  Until Friday, joyful quilting, everyone.

The last house

Here she is.  The last house for the wonky house swap.  This African Hut created itself, practically.  I had a pile of scraps on the cutting table from other projects, and they asked to be made into a hut.  Do your scraps ever talk to you, or is it the diet I am on that has turned my mind toward hallucinations?  Anyway, this is the last one I am making for now.  I need 11 to send in for the swap.  The object was to make 12, then decide which one to keep.  That choice was becoming very difficult.  I wanted so many, and Tom wanted other ones.  This way, I don't have to choose.  I can make the 12th one after I get my 11 back from the bee and see just what is needed to make that quilt work best.  And, I have photos of all the others in case I want to recreate one of them.

This is a pretty pitiful showing for an entire day, but I am off my game these days.  My body has been invaded by a pesky and irksome bacteria, and my doctor has put me on some hideous medicine to get rid of it.  The bacteria is less annoying than the side affects of the antibiotic.  I am a big believer in the development of all modern medicine, but I think we may have gone a bit over the top with some of it.  I won't get on my soap box here, so rest easy.  I only have to take this terrible stuff for another couple of days, then I should be as good as new, and back in a creative frame of mind.

Hopefully, I will be somewhat productive tomorrow.  I have siggy blocks to make, and blocks to mail.

Until then, joyful quilting everyone.

(By the way, for anyone intrigued by my diet statement above, I have lost 23 pounds since January 1, and almost 4 inches around my middle.  I am on my way to a new streamlined me.)

Getting closer

I took some good advice from yesterday's comments and used some scraps to work out the best way to sew the units onto the center block.

After getting the size and shape sorted out, I made four paper foundations for piecing.

I had first thought I would have the pointy part of the purple pointing toward the center, but changed my mind.  I decided that I wanted to continue having the energy from the center flowing outward.

This is what one completed corner looks like.  I got two sewn in place before I had to leave to go to a vision board creating party.  As you might imagine, my board has a quilting and fabric area. 

Tomorrow, I will finish up this project and get the last two wonky houses made.  Week after next is spring break for my daughter, so I will have an entire week to work in the studio.  I am going to dedicate one day to clean up my studio.  It is time. 

Until tomorrow, joyful quilting everyone.

It's about the process some days

I am participating in a round robin with four other quilters.  They are all extremely talented quilters.  They pay attention to things like points and seam allowances.  I try, but sometimes I fall a bit short.  This time, I am really working to be disciplined so none of them will be sorry I joined and they will want to work with me again.  My first center came from Jackie at Canton Village Quiltworks.  You can see it here.  After looking at it on my design wall for a while, I made some decisions and have started my addition.

First, I measured the center, and decided how wide the base of these triangles needed to be.  I decided how tall I wanted them to be, added a 1/4" seam allowance all around, and cut out the pieces I needed.

Since I have been playing with triangles lately, with varying degrees of success, I decided to mark the points in the corners where the seam allowances met.

I carefully pinned these points together, and sewed my strips.  This really worked well.  I got nice straight lines, and the strips are nice and even.  I am very happy with these results.

Amazingly enough, my measurements were correct and the strips were just the right length.  Then I got stumped.

These next few photos are without the strips sewn to the center. This is what the corners look like now.  Here is my dilemma.  I know how to achieve this:

But what I want to achieve is this:

I know how to build this corner piece, I just don't know how to sew it on.  It is a Y seam of sorts, but totally outside my comfort zone.  I will figure it out tomorrow, I am sure, but for now, I will just look at it for a while.  If you have any words of wisdom, I would be so grateful if you would share them.

What wonderful projects are you working on that have challenges to them?

Until tomorrow, joyful quilting, everyone.

A challenge or two, or maybe three

I could not bring myself to create another house today.  I tried to pull fabric, but they all so no.  I had ten things on my list to get done between last Friday and today, so I grabbed the list to see what I had left.  On it were three challenges.

Challlenge #1  Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict put up a challenge to design a block any size using blocks no bigger than 5", 3.5" and 2", cut.  They could be smaller.  I love a puzzle, so I started with a 12" square design, and started filling the space with squares.  My drawing called for 4.5", 3.5", 2.5", and 1.5". 

Since one of my goals this year is to conquer the Y seam, I paid no attention to how it all laid out.  In the end, I ended up with two Y seams, and I pulled them off without a hitch.  After the drawing, I had to pull fabric, which lead to

Challenge #2  At the November Rebels meeting, we each took a piece of this fabric and are to return with a project using it in February.

I started out really not liking this fabric.  Then I decided the colors were okay if I only paid attention to them.  So, I pulled it out and started pulling other colors.  I decided not to focus on the reds and blues, but on the golds, pinks, deep purples and mauves.

When I was pulling the pink hand dyed, I remembered the small Madonna from Victoria, and knew I had to use it.  It violates the rules about squares in the first challenge, but maybe I can sqeak it by.  I also pulled a couple of scraps from the Mexican Star quilt and another batik I thought would work well.  I seem to be in a very warm color mood these days.  I know there is a fancy name for this color combination besides complimentary, but it escapes me at the moment.  It is one I like.

Here are a couple of detail shots.

I decided I could use some vignettes of the challenge fabric, as long as I kept them small.

Challenge #3 The colors for the Patchwork Times February color challenge have been posted.

I have them up on the wall, and I noticed that today's puzzle project was very near the right colors for the left half of the bar.  If I want to add lime green strips and borders, I will have completed challenge #3.  Hmmm.

All in all, I got 6 1/2 things out of the ten done.  I usually over-estimate much worse than that.

I will be with Bella the next three days, so you probably won't hear from me before Friday.

Until then, joyful quilting everyone.

Building houses again

I decided I needed to try and finish up the wonky houses this weekend so I can get them in the mail.  For the first one, I decided to go with pink for the house and a nautical print for the windows that makes it look like little panes.  I am afraid, it looks like bars on the windows, but it will look better when I get the machine applique stitches on them.

The next block started with the bottom.  It is left over from my Jacob's Ladder quilt.  I thought it looked like a farmers fields, so I decided to build what I think looks like a farm house.  Tom thinks it is a bit of a stretch to see farm fields, but I just let my imagination  go.

The last house was made with some strata I was playing with.  My goal here was to have it be sort of symmetrical wonky.  I am pleased with the way this one came out.  Now, I have two more to make before I have to select one to keep.  This one is in the running.  Here are the ten I have made so far.

I will be happy and sad to see these go, but I have seen some real beauties from other players.  This will make a fun quilt.

Until tomorrow, joyful quilting everyone.

Making Bee Blocks

Today, I decided to get some of my February Bee blocks made.  This one is for the Comfort Group Quilting Bee.  There are  ten members in this group.  The goal is for each person, when she is queen, to collect two blocks from the other members and make a quilt to give to someone who is really in need.  This bee was started by Angie at Summerfield Quilts.  My turn to be queen is in August.  I enjoyed making these blocks.  They helped me practice matching my points and corners.

This one is for Hive #1 at Stash Bee.  It is my second block for Hive #1.  I am also queen of Hive #2 this month, and people are making me some really beautiful strip pieced blocks in the colors of the rainbow.  There are 18 to 20 people in each hive.  Hive #3 has just started, so if you are interested, head over to Stash Bee and get signed up.  Sunni at Love Affair With My Brother started this bee. 

This block started out fine, then about half-way, I felt like I was getting lost.  I know some people paper-piece this pineapple block, but these instructions did not include paper piecing, so I tried it this way.  It is my first pineapple block, and once I figured out what I was doing, I enjoyed it.  The queens choice of red and black is very dramatic.  Unfortunately, I only had black solid.  Others are making blocks with various mostly black fabrics.  One thing that was reinforced for me today is that I really don't like working with black fabric any more than I like working with white.  My eyes are just not good enough any more to see what I am doing on the black.  Too bad, though, because I do love the dramatic effects.

I signed up for three bees and a round robin this year as part of my skill improvement plan.  These two blocks were great for that.  As an added bonus, I also got to practice my patience skills on the pineapple block.  I worry that my blocks will not be just what the queen is looking for, but for now, I will continue to do my best and hope it is good enough.

Joyful quilting, everyone.

Another finished top

I think the top is finished.  The working title is Quilt Provencal.  The very dark piece on the right is not as noticeable in real life, but I may have to change it out.  I learned many things in making this top. 

1. Triangle spike borders are not as difficult as I thought they would be.  Of course, I took the easy way out in the corners because I wanted to use more of that fabric, and I only had enough to do the corners.

2.  Allowing the process to be the most important thing helped me to focus on what I was doing at the time.  That helped me to work on skills development along the way.

3.  I shouldn't be afraid to play with colors in all their varieties.

4.  Paying attention to fabric patterns can be fun.

5.  It is okay to have fun and focus on only one project at a time, sometimes.

6.  It is good to challenge myself to continue to learn and grow, and jump outside my box.

I am very happy I took up this self-imposed color challenge.  I will continue to look for more.

This is Primitiva by Jane Dixon for Andover.  I fell in love with it when I first saw it at Intrepid Thread.  I started saving my pennies, then Julie put it on sale so I was able to get a fat quarter bundle of the entire collection.  I saw a quilt I thought would work great with this collection over at Michelle's.  I thought I would use the Primitiva for the scrappy blocks and an orange that Julie found for me as the snowball centers.  This one is going to be for Tom, and he approves of my color choice.  He needs another bright lap quilt to keep the beauty his sister made him company.  I don't think one can ever have too many quilts.  I plan on getting this one started after I finish up some small projects I need to do because they have deadlines.

I look forward to a weekend in the studio playing and enjoying the process.

Joyful quilting, everyone.