So Much for My Quilting Hiatus

Quilting is addictive - I can't give it up. Actually I had already prepared some "hexies" for a quilt block and I didn't want them getting lost in the shuffle, while I worked on the window treatments for my trailer. So I figured I'd better finish that block. And another, and another, and...
All of the blocks for this post are from  Craftsy's 2012 Block of the Month.
For the April blocks, it was English paper piecing, something I never thought I'd do. Not only is it tedious, but it involves a fair amount of hand sewing. Years ago, when I bought my first sewing machine, one of the requirements was that it must have a blind hem stitch, so that I would never have to hem by hand again. I do not hand sew any more than I absolutely have to. When I crocheted a cardigan for my grandson for Easter this year, rather than sew it in separate pieces, I crocheted the front and back all in one piece. And the sleeves I crocheted as a long tube, instead of a flat piece that I would later have to sew together. I didn't sew any more seams in that cardigan than necessary. So, the idea of doing English paper piecing was really not appealing to me. However, I was determined to do every block in both of the BOM quilts I'm doing, even if that meant hand sewing and tedious paper piecing. So, here are my April blocks:

I have to admit that I'm still quite happy with my fabric choices. I love the way the black background just makes the bright colours "pop." While I don't particularly care for some of the individual fabrics within the fabric bundles - browns have never ranked high with me, and I would have been happier with more purples and at least one true orange - generally I've been very satisfied. 

In order to make all of these hexagons, I would have had to trace and cut out a template (one for each size) and then trace the template onto paper/cardstock in order to have one paper hexagon for every fabric one. As I said, English paper piecing can be quite tedious. So I skipped that step and purchased precut paper hexagons online here: Paper Pieces. The prices are reasonable, my order was shipped quickly and I got good customer service. And it sure beat cutting out all of those hexagons myself. I still had to cut out the fabric hexies, but I used my rotary cutter for that. 

The block on the left is the Hexie Stripe Block and the one on the right is the Sunny with a Chance of Hex block. I used all but two fabrics from one fat quarter bundle in the first one and every fabric from another fat quarter bundle for the second one. All of the hexies had to be basted by hand and sewn together by hand, and I actually hand-appliqued the hexie stripe on the first block. And I survived. :-) So, hand sewing really isn't deadly after all. But I doubt I'll be in a hurry to use hexagons in a future quilt. However, I am glad I did it and am pleased with the results. 

Here are May's blocks:

This month's topic was Wonky Log Cabin Blocks. On the left is the Modern Log Cabin and on the right is the Wonky 5-sided Log Cabin, though mine looks more like a spiral than a 5-sided figure. I have to be honest: I really didn't like either of these blocks in the course materials. The Modern Log Cabin is kind of boring to me. And the Wonky one is a little too disorganized, chaotic - I'm not sure what word I'm looking for. I just know I didn't really like it. Certainly, I feel that my use of colour improved both blocks immensely. I hope that doesn't sound too arrogant, but let's face it - there is a reason why I picked those fabrics. It's because they appeal to me and everyone has different tastes. You might think my blocks are horrid and you're entitled to think that. My niece was over and I was showing her some different blocks and quilts online, and some that appealed to her did not appeal to me, and vice versa. It's not a cookie cutter world. And that would be extremely boring if it was. 

But back to the blocks, I have to 'fess up that I didn't do the Modern Log Cabin exactly as I was supposed to. I hadn't watched the video yet and only briefly glanced over the instructions. The centre square was supposed to be outlined in a round of background fabric, then a round of print, then another background and a final round of print. I did the opposite. In the video, the instructor used all one print for each print round and I used 4 different ones. But I'm still happy with my block. 

Another confession: I had originally planned on using only fabric from the three fat quarter bundles that I bought for this project. However, I was trying to follow a rainbow sequence in the Wonky block and really didn't have enough oranges and yellows, so I borrowed from my stash. You may recognize the one yellow along the left edge - it's the centre fabric from the offset log cabin blocks from the 2013 BOM. There are also a couple of orange pieces, one above and one to the right of the aforementioned yellow strip, which are from fabric I have purchased for a quilt for my daughter. And both of the fussy-cut centres are from my stash. 

I think I prefer the hexie blocks over the log cabin ones, but I doubt I will use any of these blocks again. However, you never know...

Now, will I be able to leave quilting long enough to get those curtains done?

Handy as Well as Craftsy

Today was my "X day," which is what we call a scheduled day off, because it's marked on the schedule with an "X." (Our collective agreement stipulates that a full-time nurse can only work 19 shifts in a 4-week period. That means I get a three day weekend every four weeks). I've been puttering around at home and haven't accomplished nearly as much as I would like, but I did get some things done that I've been putting off for awhile. Here's a picture of my sewing/craft room, to show you what I've gotten done: 

No, that is not a finished quilt. That is my design wall, AKA a cheap flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth with the flannel side facing out. (If you look closely, you can actually see the design on the tablecloth). That way I can stick quilt blocks on there, or even fabric swatches, and see what they look like together, and how I want to arrange them. It's a bit of a problem, however, when I'm working on more than one quilt. As you can see, I've got blocks from both the 2012 and 2013 BOM quilts and I'm not halfway through either one yet. I only have so much wall space, and I hated to hide them away while taking my quilting hiatus. I might put another "design wall" in behind the door. And maybe I'll replace the tablecloth if I can get a flannelette sheet for a reasonable price. It's not a good time of year to find flannelette sheets, but I might just check out some thrift stores.

Next to my "design wall" is something that, in all likelihood, you won't recognize as pegboard because you've probably never seen pegboard that colour before. I bought a can of fluorescent green spray paint at WalMart and painted it myself. As you can see, the spray paint didn't go on very evenly, but that's okay. It makes it look like a Batik fabric. :-) And I installed the pegboard myself as well. I got some directions from my local Alta-Wide/Tim-Br Mart, where I purchased the supplies. Actually I should say some of the supplies. Because I didn't want a full 4'x8' sheet of pegboard, they trimmed a piece the size I wanted from some scrap they had, as well as the lumber I needed for the strapping and gave it to me free of charge. Wow! That's what I call good customer service. I really appreciate it, as well, when someone in this type of store is willing to take the time to explain to me what I need to do to get the job done. My local Home Hardware is good about this also. But I still have to be able to do it. And I did, as you can see, using a level, a measuring tape, a power drill and a screw driver. I was looking for some way to store my quilting rulers and other stuff without them getting damaged. The main 6x24" ruler won't fit just anywhere easily. And I wanted it all to be readily accessible. Now it is, and I can see what I've got at a glance.

This was one of yesterday's projects: 

I had bought these containers at WalMart and yesterday I sorted fabric. One container has the fabric for the 2012 BOM, one has fabric for the 2013 BOM, one is various cat fabric, including a very nice panel that will become the centre of a quilt. Then there is various orange fabric destined to become a quilt for my daughter, John Deere fabric for my grandson, miscellaneous purple fabric for a Christmas tree skirt (I have a tree that I decorate all in purple that I need an appropriate tree skirt for). And finally, there is a container of odds and ends that I have yet to determine their destiny. Now I have to find shelf/closet space for all of these containers...
Today, the mail brought both my parcels. One was the book, The Quilter's Album of Blocks and Borders, which I found to be exciting and inspiring. You can find it here: The Quilter's Album of Blocks and Borders: More than 750 Geometric Designs Illustrated and Categorized for Easy Identification and Drafting The other was my Quilters Design Mirrors and Lazy Angle ruler. The ruler is already hanging on my pegboard, but I haven't figured out how to safely store the mirrors. Probably on the bookshelf. The mirrors can be found here:
Quilter's Design Mirrors: For Star, Kaleidoscope & Repeating-Design Quilts Get the Big Picture-Preview the Whole Design with this Larger Format Mirror
And the ruler can be found here: Creative Grids: Lazy Angle Ruler
I still need to put my tools away and maybe run to WalMart for some hooks. I want to hang my frying pans on the kitchen wall. I tried some swag hooks, but the ones I got won't fit the handle of my cast iron frying pans, so I'll have to explore another option.
Until next time,
Laura

Curved Piecing and Machine Applique: Fan Block

 Well, it's official: I am now up-to-date with my 2013 Block of the month as this is the April block. (I have yet to complete the April blocks for the 2012 BOM). I really never had any desire to do curved piecing as I felt there was too much room for error, but it is part of this course and I was game for giving it a try, at least for this block. (There is also some curved piecing in the 2012 BOM that I haven't gotten to yet). It went surprisingly well, though if you look carefully at the above picture, you can see a little bit of rippling in the background fabric. This is the first block in which I have used my background fabric - the pale green. It's a coarser weave than most quilt fabrics and I suspect that has something to do with the distortions I ended up with. The block was wider at the centre seams. I had to trim to get rid of this unevenness and ended up with a block that is 18" square instead of 18-1/2", but I will remedy that with some extra sashing when I assemble the final quilt. From now on, when using the background fabric, I will give it a shot of spray starch, which will hopefully help to prevent the stretching and distortions. I was careful not to pull on the fabric as I sewed it, but obviously some stretching happened anyway. 
I was puzzled when I read the name of this block and looked at the final product, as it doesn't look anything like a fan. The final block, however, is actually composed of 4 fan blocks sewn together to make a circle. In the course materials, each of the 4 fan blocks is identical, with only 4 different fabrics in the fan. Since I had 40 plus green fat quarters, I opted instead to use 16 different fabrics, making something of a green colour wheel, with the various green shades progressing from one to another. While not a perfect blend, I don't think I could have done better even if I had chosen my fabrics individually, unless I was prepared to spend lots of time and money going from shop to shop. And maybe not even then. It was very challenging selecting the right 16 fabrics to get a blend that I liked. In the original course materials, the border of this quilt block is made from the background fabric, but in the video the instructor used two different fabrics. I considered using purples for this, but, after comparing, felt that the background fabric achieved the look I wanted. 
For the appliqued circle in the centre, I chose to use a fussy cut from the following fabric:

 Isn't this gorgeous fabric? Unfortunately, it's such a large print that it won't work well in a lot of pieced blocks. So, when I had the opportunity to use a larger piece for the applique - a 6 inch circle - I decided to use this fabric. This circle is first applied using a fusible web and then you have the option of using machine or hand applique. I, being the type of person who doesn't hand sew unless I absolutely have to, used my sewing machine, with a purple cotton thread. I was too lazy to wind a new bobbin with the purple thread and unfortunately the grey bobbin thread does show somewhat on the front of the quilt. Live and learn. 
Initially I was not thrilled with this block. I was happy with the greens, but that appliqued flower really annoyed me. I felt that it was too great a contrast from the rest of the block and almost "shouted" at me, and was actually considering appliqueing a green fabric over top of it. I have since gotten used to the appearance of this block, however, and have gotten compliments on it on Craftsy, so have decided to leave it as it is. 
A couple of my classmates had entered their real blocks into the colouring sheet, so I figured out how to do this in Windows Paint, and here's the project so far:

Obviously, I chose the wrong colour blend when I "painted" the background originally as it doesn't match the background fabric in the fan block. Blending colours on a computer and matching them to real fabric is not an exact science. But I'm not going to worry about that. It's just to give an idea of what the final product will look like and I'm not going to fuss any more with painting it. 
Next month, we'll be doing the spool blocks. 
Here's the link to the class if you're interested:
  Online Quilting Class

Economy Block: Drafting Quilt Blocks

Ah, finally, I have been able to make a quilt block for my 2013 BOM quilt that has the "wow" factor that the String block has. I love this block! The fabric was a fat quarter bundle, "Tulip Festival" by Benartex, which I purchased on eBay (note that I did not use any fabric from my 40 green fat quarter bundle). Was looking for a big enough block to use these tulips in. This block is 17" (17-1/2" unfinished) and I think it worked very well indeed! In the class video, the instructor used background fabric for those corners, but I like my tulips better. And yes, if you look back at my April 22 post, the Offset Log Cabin blocks include a strip of fabric from this collection - the smallest tulip print.
This is the block for March and is called the Economy Block, for reasons unknown. The skill I was supposed to have learned in creating this block is drafting my own quilt block. However, the instructions also gave the measurements for cutting without having to draft it myself. I figured why bother drafting then, if I didn't have to. I am glad for the info, however, and do intend to use it in the future. One of my posts from a couple of days ago shows the book I ordered that was mentioned by the instructor in this class, "The Quilter's Album of Blocks and Borders." Lots of ideas in there that I can use the drafting skills for.

Partial Seams: Spring Blooms Block

These are the February blocks for the 2013 BOM. And once again, I wasn't especially thrilled with them when I finished them. And I really couldn't figure out why. It wasn't that I didn't think they were pretty blocks, definitely prettier than January's Offset Log Cabin. But for some reason I felt rather unhappy with them. And not just because I got some a little crooked (notice the green block on the lower right...). I was puzzled as to why I just wasn't really happy with these ones, as well as January's blocks. Then it hit me - it's the string block (one of the 2012 BOM blocks for March). I was so thrilled with how that one turned out, that these other blocks seem mediocre in comparison. That string block was a pretty tough act to follow. Perhaps if I had completed the Offset Log Cabin and Spring Blooms blocks before the string block, I would have been happier with them when I completed them. Once more, here's the string block:

And now I'm beginning to wonder if this block has spoiled me for all other quilt blocks. Kind of like falling in love: "I will never love another man." When I was married, in the better days of our marriage, I really never noticed if another man was good-looking. I only had eyes for my husband. Could I be this way about quilt blocks? LOL! I guess that remains to be seen. :-)
A couple of other notes about fabric selection and why this block appeals to me more than the others. I really love the bright tonals set off by the black background. Even when I compare all of the blocks I've done so far for both BOM's, the 2012 ones stand out, not just the string block. I considered the Wonky Pound Sign a rather boring block, but I was still pleased with it because of the colour selection and contrast. I will admit that I might not have been so pleased with it had I done the String, the Broken Spider Web or the Balkan Puzzle first. Another factor is the fact that the fabric selection for the 2012 quilt is more my tastes. All of the fabrics (aside from the background, binding and backing) came in smaller fat quarter bundles. I could view all of the fabric in the bundle in the pictures on eBay, so knew what I was getting. And even the fabric that I wasn't 100% thrilled with still worked in the blocks without shouting "yuk." Look back at my post from April 18, where you'll see the String Block and the Broken Spider Web block. A strip of almost every fabric I purchased for this quilt can be seen in these two blocks. My least favourite fabrics are the brownish ones in the Broken Spider Web block. But, to me it's still a very attractive block. Purchasing a 40 fat quarter bundle (the greens that I'm using for the 2013 BOM), where I didn't get to preview any of the fabric might not have been the best choice. Some of these fabrics are downright ugly and I would say that at least half of them are not fabrics that I would have selected had I been given the choice. And since green is the dominant colour in my 2013 BOM quilt, I'm not sure how it's going to end up working out. Still, $1 per fat quarter is a pretty awesome price! I will mention that I do like most, if not all, of the greens I used in the Spring Blooms blocks and the purples are ones I selected either individually or in small bundles. But I'm still not all that thrilled with these blocks. I guess they're just not the String block. :-) On the plus side, once I started colouring in the colouring sheet for this quilt, which I posted yesterday, I was pleased with the overall effect. 
Now, my comments on the Spring Blooms blocks themselves. In the course, the instructor makes all three blocks identical, but I opted not to. You've probably figured out by now that I like to express my own individuality in how I "interpret" a quilt block. Some of my "classmates" who bought the Craftsy fabric package expressed dismay that Craftsy substituted some fabrics, so they couldn't make their blocks exactly like the instructor's. I just shook my head over that. We're all different, aren't we? Personally, I consider quilting as about creativity and art, which to me does not translate as carbon copies of what someone else is making. Back to the blocks, we sewed 5 strips of fabric together and then cut them into the appropriate size. Because we were sewing these to a centre square, the first and last seams had to be partial seams. Don't ask me to explain that. You'll have to take the course to figure out what I'm talking about, but it worked. And I learned a new skill.
Happy quilting everyone!


 
 

Quilting Book and Colouring Page

I'm verbose tonight... I just wanted to make a correction regarding the quilting book mentioned in the Craftsy 2013 BOM lesson on drafting. It's this one:
  And I've already bought it. Will let you know what I think when I get it. I might still get the other one I linked to a few days ago.
Also wanted to share the colouring page that comes with the course materials for the 2013 BOM. I printed it out with the course materials (which come in PDF format, so can't add to it or change it while still on the computer), then I scanned it back in and saved it as .jpeg. Opening it with Windows Paint, I was able to add colour to it. I haven't finished it yet, but it's kind of a nice tool. Here it is so far:

The Quilter's Album: drafting quilt blocks

Yes, I am also enrolled in the 2013 Block of the Month from Craftsy (more on that later). Was just viewing the video on March's block and the teacher mentioned a book that is a library of quilt blocks, which you can use by applying the drafting skills learned in this month's lesson. I wanted to post it here so I can find the book later when I want to buy it. :-) Here's the book from Amazon:

Half Square Triangles

For February's blocks, we learned half-square triangles. I have to admit that I just love working on these small pieces and then putting them altogether into a block, and then seeing how the whole thing works together. On the left is the Chunky Chevron, on the right is the Balkan Puzzle. If you're not a quilter, it would be too hard for me to describe how these pieces all go together, but it's fun. And it's really not that hard. It's harder, I think, to describe than it is to actually do it. 
Can you guess which one is my favourite? It's the Balkan Puzzle. The Chunky Chevron really doesn't appeal to me for some reason. It's not just the colours, though I definitely love the green in the Balkan Puzzle. I'm still pleased with how it turned out, even though it's not my favourite block. 
I did forget to mention which January block is my favourite in my previous post. It's the asterisk, though the Balkan Puzzle is still my favourite overall. So far that is. There are plenty more to come. This class teaches two blocks a month for 10 months and then you spend the last two months finishing the quilt. It's supposed to be twin-sized. 
Hmm, still puzzling over the best background for taking pictures of quilt blocks. January's blocks were not set off very well by the fabric I set them on. February's blocks were shot on my over-the-door ironing board (which I bought especially for my sewing room). The print on the ironing board cover distracts from the quilt blocks. For next month I will have to find a plain white or cream background. 
Speaking of the ironing board - I have to close the door to use, which does not impress the cats at all. They like being free to come and go as they will. Sometimes they yell or rattle the door while I'm ironing...
Once again, if you'd like to take this course, here's the link:    Online Quilting Class