Snowman Wall Hanging

In another finish for 2013, I completed a wall hanging of a snowman that Kelly Ann's Quilting presented as a Block of the Week. This was my first foray into the world of fusible applique.  I am still undecided how much I like the technique, but it was certainly faster and more accurate for me than needle-turned applique.  And it's really cute!

One of my big projects for the coming year is going to be a large Gerbera daisy wall hanging that will use fusible applique so I'm glad I got to practice on this one.

RBD 2013 BOM Mystery Top Completed

I completed the top for the Riley Blake Designs block of the month mystery.  The series was titled "Things We Love".  The first 8 months for this BOM included three applique blocks.  I did them because I decided to do blocks of the week/month this year so that I would make blocks I would not have otherwise tried.

HOWEVER, I drew the line at the final block they posted for month 9 (September).

Flower Garden by Cindy Guch (from Pinterest)

Flower Garden

The left is what they designed. Umm, I do not LOVE applique, so I opted to substitute a Flower Basket block on the right above.

For the setting, since this was about learning new techniques, I decided to do a Twist n Turn treatment to the blocks as shown by Sharyn Squier Craig.  Then, I used sashing with cornerstones which was also something I have not done before. The top is done!

I will bind it in the orange fabric used for the little cornerstones.

Since this is now three tops I have completed and are ready to go to a longarmer, I guess I better go contact someone.

Dear Jane .... And so it starts ....

I have officially, bona-fide-ily lost my ever-lovin' mind!  I have joined a Dear Jane club at Kelly Ann's Quilting!  I went to an information session this past Saturday and signed up.  Doreen Johnson is presenting her methods for making (and finishing!) a Dear Jane quilt in 13 months.  Well, we shall see if I can keep up with that pace, but it sounds very interesting and very fun.

Besides, what's a girl to do without an intense project on her plate?  I finished the Grandmother's Choice so thought I would try this one next.  We will meet once a month to see techniques demonstrated/taught and there may be a "sew-in" once a month as well if there is enough interest.

The first thing I am doing is deciding on a color scheme.  With the club we have a choice of receiving a packet of reproduction fabrics or bright fabrics each month to incorporate (or not) into our quilt.  Anybody who knows me, knows I selected the bright option - oh yes!

However, I am not sure I want to do a completely scrappy, bright quilt.  I may use the fabric we are given in practice pieces or other projects.  I am just not sure yet.  I have developed a plan to use grays, purple/lavenders, and mustardy-yellows.  I think I will use gray as the background and probably the sashing for the blocks and use the purple and yellow shades in the block patterns.  I will likely mix in a different bright color or two as I go as well.

The club does not start until the second week of October, so I may come up with 10 more designs before I finalize my decision!  I really like this idea, though!

There's still time to sign up if you're in the Northern Virginia and Warrenton areas. There are three sessions you can join, two on Thursdays and one on Saturdays the second week of the month.

Update!  I changed my mind from the lavendar/yellow scheme below.  I am going to use the bright colors provided each month along with embroidery pieces, similar to what I am doing in the Dixie Diary BOM.  I think this will be really cool, and I won't have to buy any more fabric for it.  Except, of course, for the background and sashing.


Here's my tentative plan for use of colors:

I will probably use a purple instead of the black for the center cross. Or a medium gray.  Or not.

Dixie Diary - Month 9 - The Hands of Strangers

This month we read about how difficult it was to know someone else was in your house using your things and knowing you could not do a thing about it and would not get back.  So Barbara Brackman split the center square of the block "to represent the break in the Morgan family life."  It resonates a bit with me because I hate being in my grandparent's home town and not being able to sleep in that house - the one they lived in for 50 years, and I visited for over 40 years.  Sigh.  Time does march on.

I had a little trouble conceiving this block. After a couple of false starts I'm pleased with the end result:

I believe it blends nicely with the set so far:

Three more months to go.  I have planned my setting and have started working on it off and on.  Part of it will entail a bit of work, so I will be working on it from here on out so that I keep momentum to finish it once the final block is completed.

Here's a sneak peak:

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!