Grandmother's Choice Top is Finished!

I finished the top for the Grandmother's Choice a week or so after the final block was posted.  I was so excited to see if my plan would work!  And it did!  Here's the sketch I made about two thirds of the way through the project to which I later added cutting measurements for the sashing/borders.  The numbers in the blocks do not correspond to the weeks, rather were used for me to keep track of which block went where once I had placed them on my design board.

Once I had the setting established, I also decided on a couple of other "rules" for myself.  The groups of three blocks have red in each of those blocks. The center block of each group of nine blocks also has red.  Further, each block horizontally next to the center block in the groups of nine use only blue and white/cream fabrics.  The remainder of the blocks are blue, black and white/cream. I think in the end this helped me distribute the colors evenly.

Once the blocks were done, I had to measure each one because they did not all finish at 8.5"!  (I did get more accurate later in the project.)  For the ones that did not measure up, I added small "frames" or strips around the outside of the block.  (I now understand these are "coping" strips - still learning the terminology of this art form.) These generally measured 1/4" finished.  I wanted the blocks perfectly 8.5" square since my setting required accuracy to pull off the look. I toyed with the ideas of using contrasting fabric for these little frames, but took my friend Suzanne's advice and made them blend into the blocks:

Once the blocks were all 8.5" and the sizes of the sashing and borders was established (another design wall exercise with lots of sample cuts) it was pretty quick to put together.  I finished it by working intently over 3 or 4 days. The quilt finished at 80" square.

I am very pleased with the result of my first Sampler Quilt and I am so very grateful to my quilting colleagues who cheered me on and helped with details from time to time! And listened to my whining from time to time as well.

The finished top:

I tend to jump around with the type of things I enjoy doing, but I think Becky nailed my quilting aesthetic with this comment from the Grandmother's Choice flickr group: "Your color choices give a contemporary spin to very traditional blocks".  Have I found my niche?  Time will tell.

Now I have to figure out how I want it quilted!  And select a binding!  And then finish the darn thing!
 
Yay for quilting!

It's August Already!

I have been incredibly busy this summer including a wonderful trip to a wedding in Cabo San Lucas and a few business trips.

That has not kept me from keeping up with my various projects and starting new ones.  I'll catch up with documenting them at some point!

We have finished the last block for the Grandmother's Choice Block of the Week by Barbara Brackman.  I learned so much about both construction and design on top of all the great stories and history on women and the vote.

Here are my 49 blocks:

They are not quite in order because I redid a couple, an one has been redone yet again. And how about that purple background?  I forgot to change it to black when I made the collage. But you get the gist!

Here is my start at my setting - sashing of a group of 9:

There is more to come but I'm off on a business trip all week.  I am currently deciding how thick I want the sashing to be around that group of 9.  The same size as what separates the blocks or a bit wider. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

I hope to work on this next weekend when I return.  Until then, I'll check in on the Flickr site to see what folks are up to.

Grandmother's Choice: Cats & Mice: Hunger Strikes

In this week 42 of the Grandmother's Choice Block of the Week, Barbara Brackman writes:

In 1909 battles between the London police and the Women's Social and Political Union reached an impasse. The back-and-forth game of  WSPU civil disobedience and routine arrests was escalated when the women began prison hunger strikes. They hoped to disgrace the government led by H.H. Asquith and the Liberal Party.....Initially the government responded to this move by releasing the prisoners. In 1912 the government changed tactics and prison staff began force feeding. Protesters served their four-or six-month terms without voluntary meals as jailers using tubes and brutality kept them minimally nourished.....

The WSPU characterized the tactic as torture and likened it to rape, a campaign effective enough to force the government to introduce a new battle plan in 1913. They jailed the hunger-striking women until their health was in danger, released them in a form of parole to regain their strength, then arrested  them again. The WSPU dubbed the "Temporary Discharge for Ill Health Act" the Cat and Mouse Act, showing their continuing skillful manipulation of the media.

So this week is the Cats and Mice Block.  Some folks have highlighted the star pattern in the block.  I, however, decided to obscure the star a bit by using different black and white fabric for the star points.  Instead, I highlighted the cross effect with black fabric.  All in all, I like the effect:

 

Only seven more weeks to go!

 

Block 41 - Contrary Wife or Incompatible Marriage?

This week's Grandmother's Choice Block of the Week block is called Contrary Wife.  Barbara Brackman's story is about Frances Kemble Butler, who was married to Pierce Butler for a time.  He saw her as contrary because she did not want to and would not be the plantation wife he desired.  She was not a shrinking violet when they met, so who knows why he thought she would change after marriage.  So - he divorced her. 

I am continuing to use fabrics used only once previously and hope I do not make poor decisions as a result.  This week, I went a little psychedelic with a stripe running two ways.  I actually like the result and it works in my planned setting very well.  I put the ovals on the diagonal so that I can lead the eye in that direction in the setting.

This is week 41, we have only 8 more blocks to go!  Then the work of executing my setting vision will start. 

Dixie Diary - Dreams of Home - Strawberries Anyone?

 Traditionally called "Broken Dishes" the May (month 5) block for the Dixie Diary Block of the Month was challenging for me.  I really wanted to use a strawberry embroidered piece since it is June and that is the big month for Strawberries here where I live.  However, the embroidery is around the edge of the dresser scarf and I had to figure out how I could incorporate it into the block.

Middle of the block made wit

Instead of sewing it onto muslin and then into the block, I cut out a plain square from the center of the dresser scarf and sewed it onto the muslin, then made the center part of the block . 

I cut off two corners to use in the block.  To the left in the picture is the cutting line where I cut the square for the half square triangles in the picture above.

Then I overlaid the corner of the piece with the strawberries onto the center block, laid the next piece on top and sewed the seam.  You can see the strawberry piece is just overlayed on the cream portion of the block.

I then finished the block with a cute check that matches the border of the piece.  I considered adding strawberry pieces instead of the check, but decided in this case less embroidery is a better composition. I think it looks like a picnic in a block!

Grandmother's Choice: Art Square: Women in a Box

In week 40, Barbara Brackman talks about the lack of respect and acknowledgment of women in the arts.  I thought it would be quite a challenge to put together because the center square is 6" - pretty large for one fabric in my normal scheme of things.  I remembered a fabric, though, that is in my stack of "use these again" and it is a larger flower that looks like it may have been drawn in chalk or even crayon.  So - it was the perfect center for my block.  I chose to frame it in a bold black and white check:

Now we have only 9 weeks left in this wonderful project.  Here is a collage of my 40 blocks:

I am trying to stick to my plan of using fabrics only used once before....so far, so good!!

Grandmother's Choice - Weeks 36, 37, 38 and 39

It's been a busy few weeks so I've neglected posting my blocks.  My goal from here on out with the Grandmother's Choice block of the week is to use fabrics I have used only once before in previous blocks.  So far, so good - mostly!

This week is Endless Stairs: Rank and Rights, where Barbara Brackman relates the historical viewpoints around how people occupy a rank and are therefore entailed (or not) certain privileges.

I made this one scrappy and used some of the more unique prints that might have been more of a challenge in a different block- 8 different fabrics in total.  I tried to balance scale and darkness of the prints and I quite like this result.

Last week was Nonsense: Anatomy Lessons, where the discussion related myths about what women could not do because it might harm their anatomy -- ride a bike, use a treadle sewing machine, ride a horse.  These examples seem crazy to us now.  I remember that I was not allowed to use the weight room in high school because I was a girl and it was thought it would be damaging to my development.  This seemed ridiculous to me then because we already knew that boys develop in many ways slower than girls, but the boys were allowed to use the weights!  Sheesh!  Each generation smashes another silly assumption.

Here I mixed strong prints with a strong floral to signify we women CAN be strong and athletic and feminine all at the same time!

Week 37 discussed Lucy Stone League where women fought for the right to retain their own name after marriage, promoting "the idea that its women are integers and not halves."

Here, I just had fun with a graphic sense to the block, sorely needed after the previous week's traditional applique.

Week 36 was mentioned in my last post and here is the final version of my Sunbonnet Sue:

I made this one like my Grandma did using her pattern and methods.  I'm pretty sure she would not have used the fabric I used for the sleeve, but hey, I had to get some of myself in there, too!