Nine Patches - Check!

Not much quilting action here over the past week.  I've been working long hours so as to finish projects before I go on vacation.  I did fit in some sewing time on Saturday and finished up the uneven nine-patch blocks.  These blocks are part of my current project, code-named The Freebie, because all of the fabric has come from my stash! 

With the nine-patch blocks done, it is on to flying geese!

Uneven Nine Patch

I started working on the uneven 9-patch blocks needed for my next project.  I have 15 of 63 made.  This part of the contruction will be good for weekday evenings.

The blocks are part of the quilt that appeared on the cover of the latest (April 2011) American Patchwork & Quilting magazine.  As soon as I saw the cover, I knew I had to make it!

So far, it is all from stash.  I had a lot of dark browns left from the layer cake I used for Aging Gracefully and am using them for the center and corner blocks in the uneven 9-patches.  I'll use some dark brown yardage I have from that Moda collection for the sashing and mini-borders and raid my stash for the light background prints.  I think I even have something for the backing so this could be a "free" quilt.

Finished Flimsy From Rural Jardin FQs

On Saturday, I finished the quilt top I've been making with Rural Jardin fat quarters.

The quilt design is a variation on the Irish chain block from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.  The pattern is called Ginger Belle.  There are a lot of pieces, especially in the chain blocks - I calculate 1544 in total in the quilt top.  But it went together quickly for me. 

Turns out I don't have enough fabric for the back so I'm ordering more, then it can go off to be quilted.  I do have the fabric for the binding, plus lots of tiny scraps that I'm saving for I'm not quite sure what!

All I need is a name.  Thelma suggested I use a name that includes Belle and I like that idea.  I need another French word that works with Belle.  Maybe I'll find one on my trip to Paris.

Going Quilting!

On Saturday, I went to a mini-retreat at a quiliting friend's house.  A whole afternoon of quilt-related activity, with chat.

Usually, I take hand work to these events.  They are a great way to get bindings finished, or work on my dresden plate project (the lifetime project, lol).  But this time, I decided to cut out my next quilt top.  I'm so excited by the cover project from the April American Patchwork and Quilting magazine, I just have to move on it!

By the end of the afternoon, I had this cut out.  It's all the pieces for the nine patch blocks and the large triangles for the flying geese blocks.  Just the cream backgrounds left to cut.

Inspiration From Where You Least Expect It

Sometimes, I find inspiration for quilting projects in unexpected places.  Upon my return from Chicago, I had an email greeting from current favorite leather-goods company, Brahmin.  (Brahmin specializes in purses made from mock-croc embossed leather.)

(No, not an ad on my blog, just an illustration for this post.)

I could resist the reduced shipping offer (I'm not going to buy my own Valentine's Day present) but could not resist the heart made up of smaller hearts.  I immediately saw a future applique project!  Wouldn't that look great on a throw pillow?

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Next Quilt Project Found Me

I haven't quite finished my current project, the Ginger Belle quilt I am making with Rural Jardin fabric (it needs a name!), but I already have my next project identified.  I was in Barnes & Noble scanning the magazines when this leapt out at me. 

Here's another view of the quilt top, from a page inside American Patchwork & Quilting, April 2011 edition.

I find the design very appealing.  Moreover, I think I can make it from stash!  I'm going to use colors in the same general color grouping that I used in Saturday Sampler, the quilt below.

But I won't start until I finish my Rural Jardin project.  Help me with a name!

Chain Blocks

I finished the chain blocks I've been making with my Rural Jardin fabric collection. They join with the Ohio Star blocks in the Ginger Belle pattern from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

The chain blocks look like quite a mish-mash on their own, but the design comes together when they are combined with the Ohio Star blocks.  I laid the blocks out and tried not to obsess about placement too much.  My usual concern is to get a pleasing spread of color, without too much of one color clumping up in an area.  With all the blocks being such a mix of the various prints, that was not difficult. 

I sewed the blocks together in rows.  Next step is to join the rows then add the pieced border.   But those steps will have to wait for a few days.  I'm off to Chicago on a business trip!

Quilt Patterns For Big Floral Prints

My LQS, Pennington Quilt Works, has the most gorgeous quilt displayed at the front of the store.  It is a Chippewa Nine Patch made from Maison de Garance from French General.  It looks even better than the cover of this pattern.  The maker used a large red print for the snowball setting blocks and a variety of reds, browns, and beiges for the nine patch blocks.  Stunning! 

I was so taken with it that I bought the pattern to "have on hand."  I frequently see large prints that I like but then wonder what to do with them to preserve their beauty.  Somehow, cutting them up into tiny pieces doesn't seem right.  Chippewa Nine Patch could be the answer. 

This is Tussie Mussie Bouquet, a quilt I made in 2006 from a pattern by Debbie Beaves.   (The pattern doesn't appear to be in print any longer.) 

I had been thinking of re-using this pattern with the Lakehouse Penelope Two fabrics I blogged about last week.  The framed area is six inches square, a good size for showing off a special floral print.  (It could also work for a novelty print.)

However, I decided not to buy the Penelope fabric afterall.  I saw it at the store and though I like it very much, it was not quite as special as I had thought when I saw it online.  And then I remembered all the projects I have in the queue, waiting to be made.  Aster Manor, my Halloween project,...the list goes on and on.  It will feel a lot better to get one or two of them done before I add a new project.  I'm trying to behave!

More Turquoise

I took Splash to my LQS, Pennington Quilt Works, to hand it off to a longarm quilter. 

Of course, while there, I had to have a look around!  I found some fabric for the binding (polka dot on the left) and this very cheery little print from Me and My Sister Designs.  I bought a litte bit to augment my leftovers from Splash.  I have something in mind for them.

I hope to get Splash back soon so I can put a 2011 finish on my blog!

Hibernating

We've had an unusual amount of snow for New Jersey.  Usually, when it snows here, we get a light dusting that melts well before the next snowfall.  Not this winter!  We had a big snowstorm on Dec.26, now referred to as the Boxing Day Blizzard, and most of that snow was still with us when we were hit again last week.  We have a pile (I should say "mountain") at the end of our driveway that may still be with us on Memorial Day!

It is perfect hibernating weather.  Time to stay indoors quilting and reading.  And I've read a few good books, including a trilogy by Linda Holeman.  She's a new-to-me author, and if you like historical fiction or woman-struggles-through-adversity-then-finds-herself novels, I highly recommend The Linnet Bird, The Moonlit Cage, and In A Far Country.


















The books take place in England, India, and Afganistan during the 19th century.  Each is a stand-alone novel but they are linked, with characters reappearing in later books.  I don't want to give any of the plot away so won't say more, except I highly recommend them.  You can find them on Amazon.com and perhaps in your local library.