A Group Challenge

I’m always up for a challenge. Stepping out of our comfort zone helps to stretch our creative minds. However… this one stretched me so far I felt like Gumby!

At our September Kaleidoscope meeting we all brought a yard of fabric and then proceeded to rip it into 5 parts. I got lost after the second rip, so I can’t tell you exactly how (or why) we ended up with what we did. This was my pile of “less than desirable” fabric pieces. 

Our challenge was to make something using all 5 fabrics and bring it back in November.

This is the only thing I could come up with without tossing my cookies! Honestly, it is so bad I can hardly look at it.

Sorry Kyle, but I’m not going to “label” this one with my name! I sheepishly slipped it into the hands of a friend who will be delivering kennel pads to the local animal shelter. May the cat or dog who sleeps on it forgive me!

On a fun note, I taught a potholder class last weekend to a really fun group in Yarmouth. I’m always please when I can teach at least one new thing to a class. There are many aspects of the potholder method that are important to master in order to assemble them properly. These gals aced them all!

Noah and Matilda update

My latest Noah and Matilda block. I cheated a bit on this one. I love this fabric with the little medallions so, once again, I let the fabric do all the work!

It’s hard to believe I have only 4 more to go! Seems like this quilt and I have been friends for a long, long time!

I'm linking up with Em's Scrapbag and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts today in an effort to catch up on what everyone has been up to. I haven't spent much time on the Internet this week and I get curious. Enjoy the "party"! 

October Mini - UPDATE

Barbara has posted her mini and it adorable!  Do check it out (here). And Janet has not only finished her October mini, but has changed her Sajou quilt and it is sensational. See them both (here). 

friend Randy (Barrister’sBlock) does wonderful things with wool. While looking at some of her recent creations, I admitted to her that I adore my wool but I rarely use it. She challenged me to a duel – or should I say “dual”. We have chosen a pattern and the only rule is that it has to be done by the end of the year. (Stay tuned!)

So… in the meantime, I figured I’d better practice my wool work skills. I chose 9 of the leaf blocks in the Mary Witherwax (Collector with a Needle pattern) quilt (yet another project that I have been wanting to start) and started “practicing”. 

I love the way it turned out and have appropriately named it “Wooly Witherwax”. I hope Mary would approve. 

I know a few of my cohorts have finished their Humble Quilts "Sajou" project so grab a cup of tea and hop on over to Lori's blog post (here) and see all the wonderful renditions. It never ceases to amaze me how different they can be. What fun! 

Sajou finish!

Humble Quilts, Sajou sew-a-long - The final round! I had made two center blocks, but decided on the blue and yellow due to the orientation of the fabric in the center. This worked well with some of my favorite fabrics. The yellow surrounding the center block and the red in the border triangle are both French fabrics that I bought in St. Barts in 1993 (yes, I do hoard collect fabric!) 

I machine quilted in the ditch and hand quilted in the yellow. Lori will be hosting a link-up soon, so do check out her blog (Humble Quilts) or her Facebook page (Humble Quilts) to see all the wonderful little quilts. 

Thanks for a fun sew-a-long Lori!

Noah and Matilda 5E and "the big reveal"

I love the stripe in the stem on this one. It reminds me of Pippi Longstocking!

Now that I am nearing my Noah and Matilda “finish” I think it is time to reveal my border treatment. Because I am doing this in the potholder method I opted to not to the original “grapes” border. I think it would not have hung well as one straight individual border piece. I did want to keep the “circle” theme so I came up with a circle treatment that seemed to fit well. I had used this once before in a smaller quilt and really liked the results.                                  

 corner blocks

 border blocks 

Because I used the same backing on all the border blocks, I was able to baste them all on one background piece for easy quilting. Then I cut them apart and bound just the straight edges. I am going to do one long binding along the edge when they have been stitched together. This is a first for me so keep your fingers crossed!

The alternate blocks were going to be just plain, but when I laid them out I decided they needed a little extra boost. My blogging friend, Rose (Something Rose Made) had sent me this fabulous neon that fit the bill. Since I am calling this my “Ruby Anniversary Cake”, (we celebrated our 40th in July) these little neon interlocking circles reminded me of wedding rings – what could be more perfect? I used one of my favorite shirtings (designed byPam Buda for Marcus Fabrics) for the background and backing. I designed a simple “fleur de lis” quilting design around the circles. 

 This project has not been without its problems and “do overs”.

As I was trimming one of the corner blocks I did not realize that there were two blocks “under” the one I was trimming – ouch!! I must admit I haven’t done this for a long time, but stuff does happen… I dried my tears and decided I could salvage them by adding a little to the end. I matched it as best I could and called it “another life lesson”.

As I was about to trim and bind one of the alternate blocks, I noticed a small ink stain along the edge. ARGH! Maybe I can use a toothpick and bleach it out (after all it takes about 2 hours to quilt one of these puppies!). Hmmm, must be a very absorbent toothpick! ARGH! So, I made 31 alternate blocks instead of 30. At least I hadn’t bound it before I noticed it! 

These two blocks had to be made twice as well. This one because, well, I think it is self explanatory - ick!  

The Blob that ate Manhattan!

and the redo - much better! 

And this one I had to redo after I noticed the “read through” color of the backing fabric (click to enlarge the photo and you can see what I mean). It was a combination of the strong pink color on the backing fabric and the extra lightweight “antique” cotton shirting I used as a background. Of course, I didn’t notice it until it was completely quilted and bound! – ARGH! 

This pink is really strong!

So, with any luck I will finish the remaining blocks in the next few months and get this think stitched together before 2018 is over!

Pam Buda book review and a new CHALLENGE

Pam Buda’s Vintage Patchwork arrived at my door last week and all I can say is “Oh Boy”! I don’t buy many pattern books because I like to draft my own so it is pretty rare for me to find a book where I want to make every project in it! 

I met Pam (Heartspun Quilts) several years ago when she was teaching at our Maine show. I read her blog and have corresponded with her for some time, but until I read this book, I did not realize just how much we are alike! 

There are 12 different projects in the book and you can make all of them with one 10” precut packet of 40 or more prints. You can buy a precut packet or make your own with forty 10” squares of your favorite fabrics. She has laid out the cutting diagram so that you can make the necessary cuts for every single project all at once. There’s a time saver!

So... I think you can guess the challenge part. Since there are 12 projects in the book, my challenge to myself and anyone who would like to join me, is to do one project  each month beginning in January. This gives you plenty of time to get the book and collect your 40 squares. You can order your copy (here)  and join in the fun! 

I (along with my cohorts) still plan on continuing to make one mini each month in 2019 and would welcome anyone interested in doing the same. You can "pop in" any time throughout the year! 

Humble Quilts - Sajou Sew-a-long

I have participated in Lori (Humble Quilts) mini quilt swaps over the years, but have never joined in on her mystery sew-a-long before. The first step of this one looked pretty simple so I took the plunge. I wanted to pick up the colors of the sweet little French shop so I tried blue and yellow.

I wasn’t really happy with it even though I love the Betsy Chutchian fabric in the center. 

So, I tried cheddar and a more tealy blue. I have always loved this Mary Koval fabric in the center.

Now that step two has been posted, I’m not sure if I like either of my choices. I’ll have to sleep on it (or under it)!