November BAMQG

Yesterday was a big quilt day for me. CQFA and BAMQG were both on the same day. All quilts all the time. I didn’t feel like I had much to show, but it turned out that I didn’t have enough time to show everything I brought. I had a good time.

We had a lot of business to do – officers for next year, events for next year, challenges for next year, the Habitat challenge, show and tell, etc.

Eva's Delight
Eva's Delight

For the A-B-C (A-Z) Challenge, this month’s letter was ‘E’. I think I have said that I am really enjoying this challenge and chose a block I found in Around the Block Again. It was also in EQ7, which I used to resize it.

I don’t remember ever seeing this block before, but I liked the vertical lines created by the squares. This block has 37 pieces. I know it is lunacy to make such a small block with so many pieces, but with 26 blocks the size of the quilt will be much more manageable than a quilt with 26 12″ blocks.

Kathleen's A-B-C Challenge Blocks
Kathleen's A-B-C Challenge Blocks

Kathleen brought all of her A-B-C Challenge blocks. As you can see, she is using blacks and whites with a bit of red. I think she has done a lovely job of choosing blocks. The black and white really work well together with the variety of blocks.

Not many people brought their A-B-C blocks this time. I think there were a number of people working on the challenge who couldn’t make the meeting. I am really liking this challenge and the way my blocks are looking together.

There was a big presentation surrounding the Jay McCarroll Habitat Challenge. I did not participate in this challenge. I was, once again, impressed by the talent in this group. There was a lot of frustration surrounding the type and variety of prints, but people came up with wonderful ways to use it. My thought during the entire discussion was that this fabric was a really challenge.

Habitat Challenge Group
Habitat Challenge Group

All of the quilts are so creative. I was pleased to see how much collaboration there was during the meeting on the quilts that weren’t quite finished.

Lynnette’s quilt, ‘Love Beads'(far left, bottom), is one of my favorites.  I thought it was the Chinese Lanterns patterns. It certainly looks like Chinese Lanterns, but the pieces are a slightly different shape – a nice, elongated shape. I also think that the connector between the two is a little different.

Rhonda's Habitat
Rhonda's Habitat

Rhonda’s top from the Habitat Challenge has wonderful vertical lines.

One of the things I noticed was that people said as they cut the pieces of Habitat fabric up, the fabric became easier to work with. I think that some fabric works better in smaller pieces. This thought seems to be adverse to the idea of a Modern Quilt. At least I didn’t think that Modern Quilts used lots of small pieces. I suppose it depends, just like every other type of quilt.

I spent some of the sewing time cutting up another Jane Market tote. Perhaps I’ll make it tomorrow. I had a talk with a longarm quilter who is willing to try and work with me. she seems like she might be a good person to work with and I got the impression that she would try hard. I’ll think about it. I don’t want quilt tops to stack up, but I don’t know how I feel about working with a new quilter.

 

 

A-B-C Challenge Blocks

A-B-C Challenge Blocks
A-B-C Challenge Blocks

These are the blocks I have made so far for the BAMQG A-B-C (A-Z??) Challenge. I remade the Air Castle block (star, upper left) and am much happier with it. I didn’t think this project would be a learning experience, but it is. I think the Zoe Pearns dots need to be surrounded with a color, e.g. not white. I think they blend with the white white too much, especially since they are such small pieces.

I have to do the ‘E’. I thought I had decided on a block, but now I can’t remember what it was and quick look through my Around the Block books didn’t help. Stay tuned!

BAMQG September Meeting

I like having the meetings at the beginning of the month. It always feels like the month starts out on a positive note when I go to the Bay Area Modern Meetings. I stopped in at Starbuck’s to get a drink before going to a meeting and met a college friend. We only see each other on FB, so it was fun to have a minute to catch up. Both of our sons have started high school so we were comparing notes. I enjoyed the interlude, but the BAMQG meeting had started by the time I got there.

Adrianne Quilt for Japan
Adrianne Quilt for Japan

Show and Tell is my favorite part. I love seeing what other people are doing. I love the variety of levels of work and the variety of fabrics. Most of the work is very bright and cheerful, which is great.

Adrianne has been working on this quilt for awhile and is done with the top. It is gorgeous! I really like the way it came out. I have those fabrics and was having some buyers remorse, but this gives me some ideas. I love the way the dots turned out. There is a lot of movement in the various blocks.

We also displayed blocks from the A-B-C Challenge and various other works. There were a lot of new people at the meeting, so there was a wide variety of blocks to show — not just the challenge blocks.

BAMQG Blocks
BAMQG Blocks

As you know, my block is the Cake Stand block. Angela is also working on the A-B-C Challenge and she did a Courthouse Step block (middle top). Adrianne is working on a different project and she did a Ribbon Star (might also be called Odd Fellow’s Cross, Jinny Beyer, The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, pg.64 #4). A new member (or, perhaps, visitor did the X block and the raw edge applique French Roses).

Joy-Lily work
Joy-Lily work

Joy-Lily has a lot of irons in the fire. She is now teaching at a new place on Bayshore called the Sewing and Quilting Collaborative. Apparently, they have longarms they will let people use and the owner buys up stock from quilt stores going out of business and has the stock for discount prices in one part of the place.

Joy-Lily’s blocks are really interesting. The top one, as you can see, is knitting needles and yarn. The yarn looked like it was made from bias tubes. I didn’t get to look at it closely, but the fabric had a slight shimmery look to it. The bottom block/mini quilt was made from fabric printed on fabric sheets, cut up and then sewed together again.

A number of members who usually participate in the block challenge were absent (long weekend and all) so they weren’t as many this time as last. I was helping Adrianne with notetaking, so I didn’t have to hold the quilts, but I also didn’t get photos of any.

Intrepid Thread Fabrics
Intrepid Thread Fabrics

Julie brought my order of a couple of dots, some aqua and the Terrain charm squares. I really like the Terrain. Something about it is very appealing. The colors together aren’t as bright as I normally like, but they aren’t really muted either except for a bit of the green, I think. This pack makes me think of Chinese Coins. I may cut the charms in half and make a Chinese Coins quilt. I need to look through some ideas for quilts using charms. Again, I ask you how many Chubby Charmers does a girl need? 😉

Christmas Bags
Christmas Bags
Christmas Bags #2
Christmas Bags #2

I had no quilts to show this time, so I showed the bags I have been working on. They are all bags for Christmas, except one. Nobody thought I was a lunatic for making the same bag over and over. I passed them all around and was pleased that people commented on the decorative stitches I used around the top of the bag. One of the new women asked about the pattern. It felt good to have people ask for my advice.

I was also thrilled to find out that Angela is saving selvedges for a selvedge quilt. YAY! I have that bag of selvedges I have been saving for something. I am really pleased I can give them to her.

During sewing time, I cut out two more bags – the outside pieces only and cut apart some more t-shirts for The Young Man’s t-shirt quilt. That chore is done except for one sweatshirt and I am not sure how I am going to work that.

ABC Challenge

Two ABC Challenge Blocks
Two ABC Challenge Blocks

I really did want to do the Farmer’s Wife Quilt-a-Long, the Summer Sampler Series and the ABC Challenge at BAMQG, but decided that I can’t do everything. I have other projects to get busy on, too. As much as I would like to just make blocks forever, I have to do other things. The most important group block project right now to me is the guild’s ABC Challenge. The group is doing two 12″ blocks every month. I am doing one 6″ block.I want to support the BAMQG, so, finally, after getting behind by 2 letters, I sewed two blocks on Sunday.

I might do two if I have time and find two block patterns I like, then I will do two. For now my parameters are:

  • 6″x6″ blocks
  • One per month
  • Pat Bravo Pure Elements solids
  • Riley Blake Sweet Nothings by Zoe Pearn dot

I didn’t find any blocks I felt like making in my favorite block book, Around the Block, so I pulled out Around the Block Again and Once More Around the Block and found the two blocks I made in the former. I was shocked to find that some of the directions included ‘T5’ and ‘T42’ rather than a number of how to cut the patch. It turns out that there are templates in the back. I assume the author intends me to cut them out and use them that way. Instead I measured them and realized that she used templates, because the sizes are weird: 1 5/8, 2 7/8, somewhere in between 3 5/8 and 3 3/4, etc. I just cut to the nearest larger size and trimmed as I was making the blocks. Perhaps that is why I haven’t used this book much until now?

Basement Window
Basement Window
Air Castle
Air Castle

 

 

 

Yes, the blocks are bright. I want bright and I want to use some of the new fabric I have purchased recently. I may add other prints. I will use more of the Riley Blake/Zoe Pearn dots. For now, I am still experimenting with how much white works and how the solids I have look with each other. The next block may be different.

Some of the blocks that other members made are below.

BAMQG ABC Challenge Blocks
BAMQG ABC Challenge Blocks
BAMQG ABC Challenge Blocks
BAMQG ABC Challenge Blocks
BAMQG ABC Challenge Blocks
BAMQG ABC Challenge Blocks

I have always enjoyed making blocks. I don’t do it enough. As I have been walking past these blocks all week (they are displayed on my design wall) they are making me feel happy. Perhaps they don’t have as much interest as some blocks with other fabrics would, but they are really cheerful and are making me itch to get back to the sewing machine. I wonder what block is next?