Appalachian Autumn

I completed one block of Bonnie Hunter's Appalachian Autumn quilt.  That's all I'm going to do right now as it will make a nice table topper at 25" square.  I will bind it with the fabric laid out around the perimeter. 

 All the fabric except the binding came out of my scrap bins.  I may well make this quilt at another time full size.

Sewcialites Block 6 and Gingham Picnic

The new Sewcialites block came out today and I got it sewn this afternoon.  This week's block is called Devoted.

And here are my six blocks so far.

While I'm making each new Sewcialite block, I'm using the same fabric for the central star and making two new Gingham Picnic blocks.

And here are my twelve Gingham Picnic blocks so far.

Loving both of these projects!

Dear Jane - 4 More Blocks Made

I made four more Dear Jane blocks today giving me 142 of 169 with only 27 remaining.  I haven't made any triangles recently which means I have 9 of 56 made with 47 remaining.

I  paper pieced the center part of block C13 up to the teeney-tiny triangles and then pieced the rest.

C13 closeup.

I paper pieced the double X and pieced the outside border of D1.

D1 closeup.

I converted block E1 so I could make it using Cathedral Window techniques.

E1 closeup.

I pieced the central triangles of E13 and they ended up larger than expected, but I like that it fills the centre block so I left it that way.

E13 closeup.

So here are all my blocks so far.

Working on Dear Jane every Thursday is really moving this project along and I made 13 blocks this month.  Best of all I am still really having fun making this quilt!

Appalachian Autumn

I tried to resist starting a new project and managed to for about five weeks....but I loved this Appalachian Autumn Quilt by Bonnie Hunter as soon as I saw it and I happen to have quite a few yellow, gold and orange scraps.  I'm not sure if I will make an entire quilt or just a block yet but here are my first two of four maple leaves that make up a block.

Here's another picture which shows the colours better even if it is a little fuzzy.

I'm also thinking it would make a wonderful Quilt of Valour if you added an extra row.

Jelly Snowflake Mystery Quilt Along

Here are blocks one and two of my second and third Jelly Snowflake quilts.  These two are flannel.  The snowflake shows up much better on the red penguin quilt, but I also like the subtle pink polar bear quilt too.

I had to make eight blocks each for this step so the next blocks should go more quickly as I only have to make four for each quilt.

Gingham Picnic Quilt, Ten Blocks

I made two more Gingham Picnic Quilt blocks using the same fabric for the central stars as I used for my Sewcialites block.  I am choosing one set of solid fabrics that blends and one set that has more of a contrast with the central star.

My two newest blocks.

 My ten blocks so far.

I like the blocks set with sashing and corner stones, but I also like them right up against each other.

Sewcialites Quilt Along Block 5

Block 5 of the Sewcialites Quilt Along came out this morning and I got straight to it and sewed it up.

My block 5 Wisdom

 My five blocks so far.

I am loving these blocks and fabrics!

Dear Jane, 3 More Blocks

I made 3 more Dear Jane blocks today, which means I only have 31 left of 169 and row B is completed.

I pieced B13 as it was so simple.

B13 closeup.

I reverse appliqued the circles on B1.

B1 closeup.

C1 was pretty easy as well, but I paper pieced it to keep it accurate.

C1 closeup.

I still haven't figured out why the colour is off in some of my closeups.  Still having fun!

Christmas Sewing

I saw a quilt and was intrigued with the way the trees were made so decided to experiment with it and came up with this quilt block.  I like how the silhouette of the tree is simple but the zigzag gives the tree depth.  I think the spotted fabric makes the tree look like it has been decorated.  I'm going to make three more in different greens but with the same spotted fabric trim and the central red corner stone will act like a tree topper on each of them.  It will make a nice table topper.  Before I can finish it though, I need to find some more white tone on tone snowflake fabric.

I don't know if anyone else has come up with this idea or not, but I repurposed a Keurig coffee pod holder to hold my large spools of thread instead.

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now and it work great!

Gingham Picnic Quilt

I have a Gingham quilt on my bucket list and was planning on making one with fairly large blocks.  I even did a practice run with some 2.5" strips which will either become the front or the back of a comfort quilt.

A couple of days ago I happened upon a quilt pattern called Gingham Picnic Quilt by Amanda of Jedi Craft Girl and I've decided that I have to make this quilt.  And I think I will still make a large scale Gingham which I will use for the backing so it will be a double Gingham Quilt!  I am going to use the same fabric I'm using for Sewcialites for the central stars and I have a bin of solid fabrics that are from a couple of jelly rolls and a fat quarter bundle for the ginghams.

My first block.  I really love how the background colour of the print is the same teal family as the solids.

My second block.  The rose solids bring out the rose colours in the print.

My third block.  There is a tiny bit of blue in the print.

My fourth block.  A variety of purples, violets and pinks.

I couldn't stop, so I now have eight blocks.  Sorry this next picture came out blurry no matter how many times I tried to take it.  Maybe the gingham effect makes it hard to focus?  It gives you an idea of what the quilt will look like though.

I am really loving this!

Sewcialites Quilt Along Block 4

I am sewing along with the Sewcialites Quilt Along which comes out each Friday.

Here is my fourth block called Spirited.

And here are the first four blocks all together.

I'm really liking these blocks and this fabric collection.

Dear Jane, Two More Blocks

Today I made two more blocks which completes row A.  I now have 135 of 169 so only 34 left to go!

Somehow I got the central units for A1 turned around so you will see that my block centre looks a little different from the picture.  I thought it was funny that the name given to the block by the person who wrote the book is "Pinwheel Gone Awry".  Since mine went wonky, should mine be called "Pinwheel Gone Awry Awry"?  It looks fine so I am not ripping it out and changing it.

A1 closeup.

I paper pieced A13 as well, but then the sections had to be joined using "Y" seams, and not with just three seams to make the Y, but three seams each side and one on each corner so 16 seams in all!

A13 closeup.

Still having lots of fun making this quilt!

Jelly Snowflake Mystery Quilt Sew Along

I followed along with the Jelly Snowflake Mystery Quilt Sew Along in July and really liked the resulting throw sized quilt.  There were four blocks and then the finishing instructions.  I had a really nice print fabric of cardinals in tree branches in a snowstorm which I decided to use as my background and a white tone on tone snowflake print which I used for the snowflake itself so in effect I reversed my fabric positions from the instructions.

Block number 1 

Block number 2

Block number 3

Block number 4

And here's how they went together:

There was then a finishing central block which could have been as simple as a background square but I didn't have a big enough piece of fabric left so I made a nine patch.  In fact if you look closely at a lot of the fabric pieces in this quilt, you can see that I had to piece my fabrics together to even make some of the 2.5" squares!

Lucky for me the background fabric was dark enough and had a small print so my piecing did not show much.  Here is some of my creative piecing from the front and back.  The five small pieces at the bottom of the right hand picture are all that was left of the print fabric when I was finished!

Here is the finished flimsy which I am going to quilt with a snowflake pattern - of course!  I was supposed to add a border of background fabric to the quilt but had no fabric left.  I actually discovered some more white snowflake fabric after this picture was taken and added a border with it which I was very happy about.

This quilt went together quickly and easily so I decided I'm going to make a few more out of flannel for some children for Christmas.  Here are the first blocks of two flannel quilts.

I liked the "reverse fabric" result I achieved with my first quilt so I'm making these quilts that way too.