First Block

I finished the first block of the current projct.  Let me make clear, I have not made all 700 flying geese yet!  I've made in good start on them but needed to get an idea of what the blocks were going to look like, and feel some sense of accomplishment, so I made one block inorder to see how it all comes together.

I put the block on top of the fabric that I am planning to use for the sashing strips.  One of my inspiration pieces for this project is below; it gives you an idea of how the colors come together.

This quilt is rather labor intensive.  There are 81 mostly teensy weensy pieces in each 10" block.  I need to take it at a moderate pace or else things become wonky.  I'm hoping to have 10 blocks finished by the end of Memorial Day weekend. 

700 Flying Geese - YIKES!

I bought Sew Scrappy last fall (I think you can still get it at Barnes & Noble and maybe your LQS); it is a special publication from Better Homes & Gardens, the American Patchwork & Quilting publishers. 

The magazine has several projects I like a lot, not least of which is this quilt called Five-Star Tribute. 

Each block (five stars) finishes at 10" and each sawtooth star is 4" finished.  I knew this from reading the directions but it did not really sink in until I began cutting.  The pieces are tiny!  And there are a lot of them!  700 flying geese, each measuring one inch by two inches, finished size.  A bit of a challenge.  I've begun...

Here are some of the pieces, cut and organinzed on one of my new 15" block boards.  The block boards are coming in very handy - I highly recommend making up a few of your own.  The fabric is from an older Moda line by Blackbird Designs, called Beach House.

Mashup, Or My Latest Project

From Wikipedia:

In Web development, a mashup is a Web page or application that uses and combines data, presentation or functionality from two or more sources to create new services...The main characteristics of the mashup are combination, visualization, and aggregation.

My latest project is a bit of a mashup, drawing inspiration from several sources.

postcard found at a store in Paris

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quilt that appeared in BHG Sew Scrappy special edition

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Beach House fabric line by Blackbird Designs for Moda

I am using the project directions for the sawtooth star quilt from Sew Scrappy and using the Beach House fat quarters plus some additional background yardage to yield a design that will be similar in color to the quilt on the postcard.  Here's a close-up from the postcard:

 I've got it visualized in my head.  I hope the aggregation works out favorably.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival - Summer Romance

Summer Romance, 2009-2010

Making Summer Romance was a big departure for me because it required sewing with abandon.  It was string pieced on paper foundations, using stash fabrics cut in random widths, from 1.25 to 2.5 inches wide.  There was nothing to measure, no fiddly little pieces to match up in each block, no concerns about nipping off points.  Just make the blocks, use a ruler to trim them to size, then sew together.

Here's a little of the process.  I put a strip of solid white down the diagonal center of each bloc for some uniformity. 

More strips added to one side of the center strip.  Use the longest strips first and save small pieces for the corners.

Strips added to both sides of the center.

Trimmed to size with square ruler and rotary cutter.

Four blocks together

The finished top

Quilted, bound, and on the bed!

To see more entries in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival, click on the button below to go to the list of participants on Amy's site.

Quilting Magazines

Saturday afternoon, while waiting for our dog Reggie to be washed and clipped at the dog grooming "salon," I ran into Barnes & Noble to peruse the magazine section.  There was a bonanza of riches waiting for me in the crafts section and I came home with three new magazines for bedtime reading.

100 Blocks is the third in an annual series from Quiltmaker magazine.  I have the prior editions, which are nice references for a quilter's library.  The editorial team has cleverly persuaded 100 quilters (some famous, some not - at least to me) to contribute an original block design to the publication.  It does not include any specific projects made from the blocks, though it does cover some layout ideas for sampler quilts or even quilts made by repeating an individual block.  The only catch is that all of the blocks are 12" square.  I'd like them to try a different size (10" or 9") in a future issue.

I rather like this block called Commencement, designed by Jennifer Chiaverini, the author of the Elm Creek novels.

Quilts and More is a Better Homes and Gardens publication, a sister publication to American Patchwork & Quilting.  My eye was caught by the cover quilt design, a neat way to use a lot of small scraps.  I like the straight line quilting on the cover quilt, which is something I can do on my own sewing machine.  This issue holds several cute small projects, including the ice cream cone pincushion pictured in the lower right hand corner of the cover.

Quilt Sampler is a semi-annual publication, covering ten quilt shops across the US (and sometimes Canada).  While each profiled shop provides a quilt project for the magazine, I buy it more for the eye-candy qualities of the shop photos and descriptions than for the featured projects.  But in this issue, two of the projects grabbed my attention. 

Pave the Way is an easy-to-make quilt using rectangles, with no seams to match.  It looks perfect for some of the larger, colorful prints out now.

Cross and Crown really caught my eye.  It finishes at 47" square (but could be make larger with additional blocks) and looks like a good use for my extensive stash of neutrals and scraps from a few other projects.  It is going on my to-do list. 

Sisterhood - A Quilting Tradition - Book Review

After weeding my shelves of no-longer-wanted quilting books,  there is a bit of space to be filled.  So when I saw the enticing Sisterhood A Quilting Tradition, I felt justifed in poking the Amazon.com buttons. 

And I was far from disappointed when the book arrived.  Author Nancy Lee Murty and members of her family made all the quilts in the book.  For each project, there is at least one alternative colorway shown.  I love this because it helps me as quilter think beyond the fabrics shown in the original sample. 

I like this little applique block, in which the flower petals are in the shape of hearts.  I don't have much use for table runners but maybe I could use the block in something else.

I find myself increasingly drawn to applique, like this little quilt.  But the book includes pieced projects as well, including the standout cover quilt that uses the very easy to do Shoo Fly block.  But for me, a project called Family and Friends is the star of the book.

Prior to now, I did not have any interest in transferring photographs to fabric and using them in a quilt.  I had seen it done but never in a way I wanted to replicate.  But I love this family tree quilt, with the appliqued trees in the center, surrounded by sawtooth stars.  The center square of each star is a photo.  This is going on my long list of future projects.

If you are looking for some quilting inspiration, consider adding Sisterhood A Quilting Tradition to your collection.

Making Pillowcases

Touched by Carol of Brown Quilts account of her friend who has been making and delivering quilts and pillowcases to soldiers in the hospital and rehab centers, I offered to make some pillowcases.  Well, I don't like to procrastinate so Friday evening after dinner I got started.  I sifted through my stash for patriot prints, found some things that were perfect (and in just the right amounts - it was meant to be!) and whipped up two pillowcases in no time. 

And I really mean no time.  We're late diners but I had these two made and was reading in bed by 10 pm.  I'll mail them to Carol later this week.  If you'd like to help, read her story here and let her know by leaving a comment.  She'll get back to you with her mailing address.  There are many tutorials for pillowcases out in blogland, so if you're not sure how to make one, Google pillowcase tutorial and take your pick.

Pillowcases are so quick and easy, I really should make more to match my quilts.