Playing with blocks

What's your FAVORITE step in the quilt making process???

 

Choosing the fabric?

cutting the fabric?  (ugh)

piecing?

Quilting???

Mine is this step:

Laying it ALL OUT!!!

ADMIRING it!!!

oohing and aaahing.....

Taking that nice BIG STACK of blocks.....

and playing!!!!

 

One of these days I'll sew them together.

Today...

I'm just going to PLAY with the BLOCKS.

;)

 

 

Thankful.

Today I'm thankful....

 I'm thankful for a big chunk of time yesterday to get some blocks together.

This quilt was worrying me.

I don't know why I was stressing about this gift...

but I was.

I'm also thankful for leftovers.

Maybe they'll be in the border...???.

I'm thankful they're ALL 2 1/2" wide. ;)

I'm thankful for all the friends that pass on fabric to me.

I thought about THEM as I was piecing yesterday.

I'm thankful I have enough white for sashing this quilt.

I hope I'll remember to use the SAME. exact. white

as I go along.

Have you ever used DIFFERENT whites in a quilt???

I have.

It doesn't work.

;/

I'm thankful I won't need to BUY anything for this quilt!

I have QUITE enough fabric.

I have to keep telling myself that....

Over and over again.

Beginnings

It's a beginning.

I love this part....

Choosing the block....

digging around for fabric....

Finding some little pieces of SCRAPS!!....

Figuring out how to arrange the blocks!

I love beginnings SOooo much...

I feel like BEGINning some more quilts today

WITHOUT

finishing THIS one!

Silly???

I know...

But there are SOoo many quilts swimming around in my HEAD!

I want to get them OUT!!!

Maybe making ONE block for EACH idea will help!????..

Have you ever felt like that?

After ALL....

I have ALL year to finish them.

Right?

Let's Make A QUILT!!!

Have you wondered how you might help Japan?

I Have too.

I want to make a quilt...

AND...

I'd like YOU to help me!!!

Group projects are always MORE FUN!!!

Quilter's Newsletter is partnering with

Patchwork Tsushin.

They are collecting quilts of any size

until April 30th.

I'd love to work together with

YOU

and make a quilt!!!

Let's DO IT!!

Make two of these four patches

using 2 1/2" squares.

Use Two DARKS and Two Light or Mediums

for each four patch!!!

These squares measure 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"when you're done.

Add Two CREAM squares 4 1/2" x 4 1/2".

Your block should measure 8 1/2" x 8 1/2".

Ta DAH!!!

Sign your name with state/country if you like on the front.

Here are some DARK samples I thought would work...

Just to give you an idea of what I was thinking.

Anything goes if it kind of goes with this!!!

It will be a

SCRAPPY.

BEAUTIFUL.

WONDERFUL.

QUILT!!!

Making ONE block is a cinch. Right??

Let me know you'll help.

Leave a comment and I'll send you my address!!

I can't wait to make this quilt and put all this love together!!!

DUE DATE for your block...

TWO WEEKS!!!

April 4, 2011!!!

That probably means you should go make it right now.

:0

Remember: It's National quilting day today!

What a GOOD Day to donate a quilt block!!!

Make sure I can REPLY to your comment with my address!!

Are you a NO REPLY commentor???

Include your email address in your comment

and you can.....

Read this if you're not sure!!!

+++++++++++++++++++++

UPDATE!!!!

I have received an overwhelming response to my request!

I'm a little worried about having

TOO MANY QUILTS TO MAKE

before the deadline

established by Quilter's newsletter.

IF you still want to comment and send blocks you MAY

but....

I want you to know that I may not

be able to get ALL of them in

this time!I plan to keep receiving blocks and use them

for a FUTURE quilting opportunity!!!

An opportunity to

GIVE to others.

If you're o.k. with that...

then go ahead and comment and

I'll send you my address!

I am so impressed with this quilting community!!

I am so happy I live in this neighborhood!!!

I'm feeling the love........and so will JAPAN!!!

You're the best!!!!

one a day.

I have a few quilts going at one time.

Do you??

Well...these three quilts I have going don't have a deadline....

They have little pieces...

and I want them to grow.

Sometimes thinking about the number of blocks overwhelms me.

And often times other projects with deadlines get in the way.

Guess what my little pea brain realized this past weekend??

"If I make ONE block a day...

The blocks will add up...

and I'll someday have enough for a quilt!""

I know.

LIGHTBULB moment. :0

So...

I've been making about one block a day on all three of these quilts.

I love all of them equally.

So I'm giving them all EQUAL time.

These are the quilts I'm making for me.

Just because.

So....I"ll make just one block a day (or a few more).....

when I'm able.

And someday...

I'll have enough for a quilt.

One a day.

What a concept!

;)

more houses!!!

                                                              Houses from Pip.

                                                 

                                                                           From Julia.

                                                                                Diane.

                                                                                Karen

                                                                                  Ruth

                                                                                Sue

  Marjorie

Are you inspired???

Me too!!!

There's still lots of time to make a house block...

12"x12"

Send it to me by Jan 1, 2011

and then cross your fingers!!!

a beginning

Here's the first house block for our friendly neighborhood!

Thanks Ellen!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

I'm looking forward to receiving a whole lot of houses!

Then....even more....

seeing what YOU ALL do with them!!

Here's a reminder about the details:

1. Send me One 12" block

Some have asked if they can send more.

Yes. If you send more blocks, I can divide them

into more winning little neighborhoods.

2. Your block needs to get to me by January 1, 2011.

3. On that day, I will group the houses into winning

9 to 12 house per neighborhood groups and choose some winners.

Did you notice that some of our blog neighbors here

are going to donate the quilt if they win????

Isn't that sweet?

That is the kind of neighborhood we live in!!!!

That's why I'm not moving!!! ;)

Now....

I'm off to clean and

Get that turkey brining.

(I've never brined a turkey...have you?)

Can I sneak some sewing in?

I've got a bunch (17) coming over Thursday.

I really should focus on that!!!

Oooooh! it's hard for me to focus!!!

friendly neighborhood

Who knew

when I bought this prime real estate last summer

it would turn out so nicely?

Quilt Blogland happens to be, in my humble opinion,

the NICEST Neighborhood around!!!

Rent is cheap,

Yard work is nil,

No housekeeping!!!

And....the company I keep here is truly amazing!!

There is never a cross word spoken...

don't you wish real life was like that???

Hey!!

We even rub shoulders with the rich and famous!

We visit them and sometimes they come over to our humble abodes!!!

After spending some quality (HA!) time on the couch yesterday,

I had time to ponder.

How can I celebrate this awesome place???

Have a party??

Sounds a bit difficult.

I know!!

We can build a quilty neighborhood.

Here's my idea.

Let's all make a 12" square house block.

Any kind of house.

A fabric house, of course.

Write your blog address on your house.

If you don't have a blog...no problem. Just your name will do.

I know the non-bloggers love our neighborhood too. Right?

I will collect these houses and some lucky winners

will be able to make a blogland quilt with them!!!

And hopefully share the pictures of the finished quilts with all of us!

Since I'm running the show, I guess I'm out of the running/winning. :(

I will collect houses until Jan. 1.

I will send each winner 9 to 12 house blocks.

The number of winners will obviously depend on

how many of you send in a house. :)

How does that sound??

How many blogland quilts will we create??

I hope you agree with me...

We live in a great community here!

Come on!!

Let's celebrate blogland!!

Aren't we a great bunch??

Yes!!!

Rah! rah! rah! and all that jazz. :)

So...if you're interested....you've got to leave me a comment.

I will then send you my real life, mortgage due dates,

needs cleaning, noisy, kind of address!!!!

There is no deadline. No commitment.

You can tell me you're going to do it...

and then not do it!

The catch:

I need to receive your block by Jan. 1, 2011. ;)

I'll be celebrating the new year with

a bunch of blocks!!

Sooooo....

all you need to do is....

Make a 12x12" house block.

Leave a comment to let me know you want to win!

I'll send you my address!!!

Then of course...you've got to mail the block!

You may be the winner of one quilty neighborhood!!

Easy. Peasy.

One more thing!!!

Tell your friends!!!

The more the merrier.

one little heart

I read here that someone out there in this

BIG WIDE world needs some quilty encouragement.

What could be more fun and

encouraging to ME than to make a

little itty bitty 6 1/2" heart???

It was fun and encouraging...

thinking....

Maybe when she opens that mailbox she'll

get a BIG smile and she'll say....

"Someone out there in this

BIG WIDE world made this for ME!!!!"

I added that little selvage.

I've never done anything with selvages before!!!

gasp!!!!

Since I read about this little project on the

selvage blog...thought it would be appropriate!!

Now go make someone happy!!

It's sure to make YOU happy too. :)

flyfoot block

Frieda from the Nittany block party requested

a 12 1/2" unfinished block....any block.

I found this block pattern in an old

Georgia Bonesteel book.
I figured out how big those half square triangles needed to be...

(my half square triangles are 3 1/2" square)

and then began arranging!!

Isn't this an interesting pattern??

Frieda sent some very nice Christmas fabric.

She's thinking ahead!!!

I kind of liked it...

so....

I made one for me too!!

The beginning of another project!

Then I got busy getting my little travel bag ready.

120 petals...or so....



Cut from some fabric that I hope kind of goes with
the quilt I began last year!
Sometimes quilts take a l-o-n-g time.




I need 49 of these blocks.
UUggghhhh.
really?
Did I know that when I began?
Well....sort of.


I do know it's the perfect project for travel.
And I'm traveling!!!


This corner of blogland will probably be quiet this week.
Unless I figure out how to access computers where I'm going.
I'll miss you while I'm gone.
Thank you for leaving me such sweet comments.
I look forward to every one of them.
You are the best cheering section I know of!


You're all so inspiring and supportive!!!


I do enjoy writing about what I'm up to...
and I'm usually thinking about you as I sew.
Sometimes...even when I'm cooking!
I guess you could say....I'm never lonely.
;)
Well....

I'm off....on an adventure...with my husband....to
far away Israel!!


I wonder how many blocks I'll be able to finish while I'm gone?
Will there be a Joseph's Coat quilt in the year 2010?
Let's not hold our breath!!!

one man's trash

Is another "Man's" treasure...

or so the saying goes.

It came true today for me!!!

Look at those lovely little bits of fabric!

They came locked in a little bag.

Ooooh! They're tiny.

Oooooh! I love a challenge!

I made lots of half square triangles.

sorry.
Didn't count them.
That's not my favorite sport.
Sewing is!!!




Lots of little tails were trimmed.



A little nine patch.

How many nine patches can I get???
That's a good question.

Since I don't count.
:/

This one measures about 4 1/4"

I'm not going to stress about the size, etc.
since they're just scraps.

I'm having soooo much fun!!!
Thank you to the quilt fairy who dropped these
on the give away table...
Instead of dropping them into the
TRASH!!!

Pink and Green

Here's the beginning of a baby quilt.

The block is called Quail's Nest.

I'm using some small pieces of fabric I found

after Digging in my piles.

I love these colors.

This block starts here.

4 half square triangles.

Mine are trimmed to 4".

I started with 2 sets of 4 1/2" squares: white and pink.

I drew a diagonal line down the middle.....

followed along to make two 1/4" seams.

Cut along my line.

Now I have four half square triangles.

Press open to the darker fabric.

Then.

Important step.

Trim the square to 4"

How big do you think that center square is?

yep.

4"x4"

Here are my strip sets.

Can you see the notes I tried to attach to the picture?

I didn't think so.

That's my first attempt at adding type to a picture!!!

Woo Hoo!!

I got it on there...

But it's way too small!!

:)

The strips are as follows...for those of you who

cannot read that tiny, tiny print!

Pink strip is 2"x4"

green strip is 1 1/2"x4"

white strip is 1 1/2"x4"

Here it is!!!

When it's all together the block measures

11"x11"

Now I'm going to go make some more.

My goal:

12 blocks.

My purpose:

Baby quilt.

My dream:

Another quilt.

for a boy.

using blue and red!!!!

plaid happy

My plaid scraps are very happy now.

They've found a home.

I suspect their new home will take them

on some adventures too!!!

I imagine that they will travel

far and wide...

exploring this great big wonderful world!!

This quilt was meant to travel!!!

It will be the kind of quilt that will

get loved to death!!!

I'm so looking forward to all the memories

it will embrace.

I'm calling this a finish...

but you know better.

You all know I still need to quilt it

to say it's really DONE!

I'm folding it up for now.

Maybe I'll gift it to someone during the holidays??

Maybe I'll wait until the spring....

when I'm dreaming about camping....??

Look at what happened while I was creating that

scrappy quilt top!!!

As I was trying to figure out

WHAT to do with all those campers

I made this.....

Thinking....

"Maybe the campers would like to travel

around these blocks....?"

But.....they didn't like it.

So......

I now have the beginning of another project!!!

barely bees.

Two blocks for the modern quilting bee.

These are for Annette who took her inspiration from Jacquie.

Thankfully....I had enough of that white.

I just BARELY made it!!

I don't think I have the SAME white in my stash....

so I was sweating it out at the end there!

I did run out of Annette's printed fabric,

so I added a couple of rows of something I had

that I think matches o.k.

oooh....I wish I would have planned better.

Look!!

I laid it next to that vintage fabric I bought yesterday.

I kind of like the way they look together.

Hmmm...do I see some NEW fabric in my future?

Then I worked on these blocks for Ruth.

I ran out of her pretty fabric too.

:(

Maybe I'm having an OFF day.

:/

Ruth said this might happen.

Oh well.

You win some.

You lose some.

May YOUR quilting fabric NEVER run out.

May you have joy in your stitching...

and

May you find peace as you trim and press!

I'm adding this to sew and tell friday.