New Block of the Month project

As if I don't have enough projects to finish, I have started a new one. Of course. Thirty-some odd projects are just not enough to keep me busy. ; )

 

 

In June I signed up for a Block of the Month at Sager Creek. Then I decided to have foot surgery. Great timing. : /

 

I've been picking up my packet every month, and now I'm finally able to start on it. A mere five months late. Oh well. Better late than never, right?

 

 

 
Here are my first few half-square triangles. Now before you get too excited about how quickly I was able to crank out these little beauties, please be aware that all is not always as it seems. The units on the right in the photo above are the HSTs. The pile of material on the left is the waste. OMG! What a pile of waste! I HATE wasting fabric. So why am I using this method? No choice.

 

The photo above shows the HSTs in progress. Have you ever seen this type of material? The fabric came printed in strips! I cut apart the strips in two-color pieces (as modeled by Tessie in the upper photo). I then use my ruler to measure out 2 1/2" squares with one side of light fabric and one side of colored fabric (bottom photo, after I retrieved my fabric from its furry protector). Fast, definitely; wasteful, even more definitely! No sewing though. I love the quick outcome, but feel incredibly guilty. Is his method cheating? Really? You think so too, do you? Oh well, just don't tell anyone else how it's done, and maybe no one will notice the lack of a center seam, okay?

The pattern is "Provence and Beyond" by Bloom Creek, and I love the finished pattern. Won't it be gorgeous? I just didn't realize how it's made when I signed up.

 Here is another picture of the pattern with less glare on the glossy page.

Below are photos of the finished blocks. I made six of them for the first month's assignment. The whole project is made up of only six monthly installments. And yes, I did catch the error in the top block, thank you for noticing. One of my green "leaves" is turned the wrong direction. Already corrected, thank goodness. Otherwise I would be quite distressed at noticing just now. So why am I showing you the photo with the error rather than one with the corrected version? Just trying to stay humble (hanging head).

This next photo is actually the same block pattern but with a different, lighter color green for the leaves. Why do the blocks have two different colors for the green leaves only? Beats me, but that's what the pattern says to do *shrugging in bewilderment*.

 Here's a photo of the July block. As you can see, this one has a LOT of applique. I have chosen my preferred method of needle turn rather than machine applique. I am actually almost finished with this block, but I haven't taken any photos yet. Maybe tonight.

 

As you can see, this block will be the center of the quilt. The pieces are large and easy to applique, so it's actually turning out fairly well so far. I should be on to the third month's package sometime this weekend if all goes well. And if I stay at home. Which is questionable since my husband loves to go out to eat on the weekends.

 

I've also been trying to measure the backing for my Day and Night quilt, but my helpers keep making things very difficult for me. Good thing I love them enough to find something else to do while they examined my workmanship, huh. Please don't be too critical, girls; I have a fragile ego. : )

 

They're not looking too impressed, are they? Tough audience.  : )

Deb

THREE new finishes! And not one of them mine...

Five of us signed up for a class to learn Eleanor Burns' Day and Night pattern from Sharon at Guthrie's Fabrics in Colcord, OK. I have heard from four of us students - guess which one of those four has not yet finished her quilt top? Yep. Me. But I have photos of the other three!

Stephen and his mom both signed up for the class and Stephen just sent me photos of both of their quilts.

This is Stephen's block on the day of the class. Lovely, isn't it?

Here is the finished quilt top. Great job, Stephen! I love the motion that these colors bring to this quilt.

Stephen's mom, Ruth (I hope I'm remembering her name correctly), chose a quiet, elegant approach to the same quilt. Here is her first block.

And here is her quilt top on the long arm machine. Just lovely! Maybe we'll get an update when it's finished. I'd love to see what the borders look like. Thanks for sharing these photos, Stephen. : )

The last Day and Night quilt top finish is Mom's. Looks a little different from the other two, doesn't it? Mom ran into my favorite situation when making this quilt - she ran out of purple fabric. Redesign time! How fun!

First, Mom picked out a different, complimentary purple fabric. Next, she used the scraps from the pattern (you're supposed to use them for a wall hanging) to make a small center rectangle. She surrounded that with the second purple fabric and then started sewing on the actual Day and Night blocks.

Then she started on borders and matching pillow and foot panels, again using the scraps.

The colors in the upper photos are truer than the one below, but I wanted to show the entire quilt top laid out. (Should I mention that once she was finished, she found a yard of the original purple fabric that she had apparently mislaid? No. I'll keep that secret.)

Here are the two blocks that don't have matching finishing photos. We may never see the finish for the first block (unfortunately), but the second is mine. I'll get it finished some day. I have 20 blocks sewn together so far.

We've had rain for the last two days, so we're finally starting to see some green for the first time since May. Of course it's almost fall now...

We took the dogs for a walk and saw a few flowers and lots of poisonous toadstools.

Those toadstools popped up overnight. And in some strange places. Yes, that's exactly what that looks like. Yuk.

And here's a pretty little flower that we saw along the way. I'll take flowers any time I can get them.

I'll try to get some more owl quilt photos for you soon. I ran into a little problem with some ears. Don't ask...

Until later,
Debbi

Day and Night quilt progress

After my class at Guthrie's Fabrics about a week-and-a-half ago, I didn't make any more of my Day and Night blocks for a few days. After a while, the guilt began to nag at me ( I swear I could hear the fabric calling my name in the night!), so I pulled it all out and began cutting strips once more. After sewing strips together, I cut them, using Eleanor Burns's hand-dandy triangle template (it comes with the book). These triangles are then sewn together into quarter-blocks like those below. 

At this point, I start matching seams. This block looks so complicated but it is a breeze! I have always steered clear of using templates because of the fabric waste, but these blocks go together so easily and look so great, that it's worth it to overcome my phobia. : )

I sewed eight blocks into two rows of four. I then tried to take a picture of the result. I got Callie's belly. I moved Callie, got glared at, and tried again.  

The picture below shows two rows of three (actually, two rows of parts of three blocks). The quilt's going to be interesting when it's all done. Certainly busy, but I really like it! You know I like bright colors!

But, of course, all good things must come to an end. Sinnie found my accent fabric on a nice, warm ironing board.

*What? Were you using this?*

 It takes very little time for Sinnie to decide to ignore me and get comfortable.

And even less time to fall soundly asleep. Well, at least I got some bocks finished before he showed up. I'll try again tonight.

We finally got some rain in my little corner of the world. The zinnias in Mom's garden appreciated it. So did the beautiful little butterfly that refused to be budged from his flowers!

I took these photos with my camera (of course), so I realize the last photo is fuzzy, but just because the butterfly refused to leave the garden didn't mean he cooperated by actually holding still!

We are expecting to get more rain thanks to the remains of the hurricane in Louisiana, so maybe my own garden will revive a little. Let's just hope we don't flood!

Until later,
Debbi

Some work done on next owl.

I've started - slowly - on my next owl.  I'm starting to have a little bit of trouble with my elbow when I sew, so I think I'm going to have to slow down my appliqueing for a while. I'm hoping to get this done in time to enter it into the Q.U.I.L.T. guild's quilt show next spring. I have eight more owls to go, including the one below that I have just started.

You can see the this little guy's plumage is going to be much quieter than his neighbor's I want them to look as different as possible. But now that I'm looking at Mr. Colorful in this photo, I'm wondering if I've made his eyes too calm and light colored. I was trying to calm him down a little, but I may have gone overboard! He's looking a little stoned. Oh dear! I guess I'll wait until I have both of his neighbors in and then see how he looks before I decide if I'm going to do any tearing out and replacing.

I haven't chosen the fabrics/colors yet for the owl on Mr. Colorful's left. I'll work on that when I get home today.

I also want to work some more on my Day and Night quilt this weekend. I have two blocks made from the class the other day. Now I'm excited to make more. If you didn't see my block earlier this week, here is a picture of it. I can't wait to get more of them sewn so that I can see how they'll look together!

Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, we had a great speaker last night at our Q.U.I.L.T. guild meeting -- Jenifer Dick, who is a modern quilter. We are an almost universally traditional group of quilters, so we rarely see modern quilts in the style she uses. It was quite refreshing to see something here that I usually only get to see on some of your blogs. : )

Well, I'm off to finish my first full week back at work with students.

Until later,

Debbi

Hello! How have you been? Butch has been worried about you. (Just imagine that your face has been licked in greeting; my camera was.)     : )

Sinnie has been sitting in his favorite seat watching all of the bustling back and forth today. All of that sewing equipment out - all of that sewing equipment back in. What on Earth could Mama be up to? Well, you may remember that I told you yesterday that Mom and I would be going to a Day and Night sewing class at Guthrie's Fabric in Colcord, OK, today. We did, and it was tremendous fun! I made three new quilting friends, including a mother and son duo! How fun - two mother and child combos in one small class.

Okay, I promised to show you the fabrics that I chose for my quilt. I needed three fabrics for this quilt, so I, of course, narrowed it down to eight. Sigh. Decisions are not one of my strengths. Mom affirmed my three favorites as the best combination, so these are the ones I took. And no putting on sunglasses! Just squint like the rest of us. The fabric on the far right, by the way, is not yellow. It is a brilliant, eye-watering chartreuse. I love it! My mom and my husband both said that it was an irredeemably ugly fabric that could never be made beautiful. Oh ye of little faith. I'll show you my block in a minute.

 I'll be using some combination of these fabrics in the borders. The fabric on the left is actually a dark green that matches the darker green in the floral fabric above. How can colors get so terribly distorted? You'll just have to trust me. It's very pretty. And very green.

Now, on to today's blocks. Remember that we were making Eleanor Burns's Night and Day quilt. The five of us quilters all made totally different looking blocks. It's incredible how the same pattern can look so different with different fabrics!

This block was made by the son of the other mother-child duo. He has only been quilting for less than a year (and no, he's not a child - in fact, he's a veteran). Gee, I wish my early quilts had looked that great! Isn't this a great color combo? The completed quilt is going to be quite striking. I hope I get to see it some day. How cheerful it's going to look with its little pops of red! He's doing a fantastic job.

This next block was made by his mother. Instead of a bright accent color, she chose a lovely, muted print. What a difference in styles! With the classic cream and black motif, this quilt will be elegant and understated when completed. I hope she uses the print in one of the borders to pull it through and let it stand on its own a little. I'd love to see it in all its glory. Again, I would love to see a picture of this one completed some day. The same black-and-white-style theme as her son's, but so different!

Now here was the surprise of the day. The woman who chose these fabrics is a more experienced quilter, but I admit I was surprised by her choice of the calico as her light color instead of the white. I was really interested to see how it would turn out. I must admit, the lady knew what she was doing! While the other blocks emphasis the star in the middle of the block, this selection emphasises the pinwheel effect. The white pinwheel really spins in the center of the red pinwheel! This finished quilt should really have some movement to it! Oh, for a photo of the finished project... It will be a very stong looking quilt.

Sadly, I got sidetracked and forgot to get a photo of Mom's block, but don't worry. She can't escape my camera. I know where she lives! He fabric choices include a cream polka dot, a deep purple pinpoint polka dot, and a lovely creamy pink. I WILL get to see her finished quilt - and so will you, later. But I'll settle for a block photo in the meantime.

Okay, so how did mine turn out? Not too badly. The pattern is much easier to follow than I expected, although the cutting is a little tricky thanks to having to cut around a complete triangle template. But it goes together like a dream! Who would have thought it? I look forward to getting more blocks completed so that I can see how it's going to look put together. I'm definitely going to like it, but of course I LOVE bright colored quilts! I'll keep you posted on progress, but since this is UFO number 301, don't hold your breath on my finishing it this week!

Well, Butch wants to thank you for stopping by to visit. He hopes you had a good time and will come by for a face washing again sometime soon!

Until later,
Debbi

Day and Night...

Guess what I'm doing!

Give up? I'm starting a new project! Yep, that's right. I still have three hundred unfinished projects, and I'm starting a new one. I'm not giving up on my owls, and I'm not abandoning my Farmer's Market, and yes, I'm going to finish my pizza box quilts, but just one more tiny, queen sized project...yes? ; )

  

Actually, there's a reason I'm starting this new project right now. Sharon Guthrie from the wonderful Gutherie' Quilts in Colcord, OK, is offering a class this Saturday. If you haven't ever been to Guthrie's, you're missing an incredible shopping experience. The shop is hidden down a long, curved dirt road and is in an old house, but it is crammed to the rafters with incredible fabrics - especially batiks! And by the way, when I say crammed to the rafters, I really do mean crammed to the rafters. One definitely needs a ladder to reach the bolts stacked up on top of the highest shelves. What doesn't fit is placed on the floor and leaned up against the bottom shelves. If you manage to get a bolt out of a shelf, you may need a helper to get it back in again! What fun! I love shopping there.

Oh, sorry, I was supposed to be talking about my upcoming class.

Two years ago I was on a bus shop-hop trip sponsored by Sager Creek Quilts and Yarnworks (another of my favorite shops), and I won Eleanor Burns's new book (new at that time anyway) Day and Night. No, I didn't win it in a lottery. No, I didn't win it by having my name drawn from a hat. Actually, mumble, mumble, I won it by spending the most money on the trip, mumble, mumble. But you should have seen the fabrics I got! Anyway, back to Day and Night. I loved the pattern (You can see it pictured above), but I never got around to making the quilt. It requires a special ruler (provided in the book). I blush to say that if I can't make a quilt using my trusty 8 1/2" x 24 1/2" rectangular ruler and my 6 1/2" square ruler, I probably won't make it. Pretty sad, huh?

The quilt that I've shown above is the one we're going to make. It's the 4-strip, 3-color version. The queen sized quilt top takes 17 1/2 yards of fabric! That should help my stash numbers! Now if I could just decide which fabric to use... That's my assignment for tonight.

The quilters I know all tell me to take every class I can. They say they always learn something new at each class. I think I have taken...hmmmm...maybe six classes in the seven years I have been quilting. I haven't gone to a single retreat in almost two years. Yep, I think it's time for a class. And since it's only $20, who could pass it up? I conned Mom into coming with me, so there should be six of us there. My husband is off to the races with a friend tomorrow, so I have the whole day to go to class, then sew some more when I get home. I can always do the laundry on Sunday, right? And the dishes. And vacuum the floors. And get ready for the first day of school on Monday... Hmmm, maybe this is why I don't get to take classes very often...

I'll let you know how it goes. And what fabric I chose. And whether I'm ever likely to finish it. : )

Oh, did I mention I bought seven new quilt patterns on Craftsy yesterday? Well, I do have all of that fabric I need to use...

Until later,

Debbi