Tag: Blocks

Additional Stars for San Bruno

Bron & Adrianne Stars
Bron & Adrianne Stars

I went to CQFA and the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Meetings today (total quilt extravaganza!) and had a great time. As an added bonus, I increased by Stars for San Bruno collection of blocks by 2! The top two are from Bron. She has upped her contribution to 4. Yay and thanks, Bron!

Adrianne is the owner/author of Little Bluebell. She also contributed 2 (the bottom ones) blocks to the SFSB cause. She came to the end of the meeting just to give me the blocks. I met Adrianne at the first meeting that I attended back in December. She told me about attending Market on a press pass. She also made a Flea Market Bag, which inspired me to make mine. Thanks, Adrianne!

We now have a total of 14 blocks, which is a great start. Do you want to contribute some blocks?

All star blocks are welcome!

Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique)
Block size: 8″ finished or smaller (we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!

Deadline: TBA

Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!

Additional Stars for San Bruno

SherriD's Stars
SherriD's Stars

I received these blocks from SherriD yesterday. Aren’t they great? I love the combinations of goldy-yellows and blues she chose for the blocks. They glow.

Sherri told me that she tried a new technique to make the blocks, which is a great idea. It is nice to not have to commit to an entire quilt if you want to try something new.

If you would like to make blocks, too, here are the parameters:

All blocks are welcome!

Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern)
block size: 8? or less (we will work with any size)
remember to sign your block!

Deadline: TBA

Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!

More Stars for San Bruno

Bron's Stars
Bron's Stars

I mentioned that I went to a party on Sunday. Bron, a CQFAer was kind enough to give me two star blocks for the project. Bron is originally from New Zealand and is the leader of our little band. She keeps us on track at meetings. I was fortunate enough to see some of her work last Sunday. She does beautiful NZ imagery.

If you would like to make a block (or blocks), here are the parameters. All blocks are welcome!

Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern)
block size: 8? or less (we will work with any size)
remember to sign your block!

Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!

Stars for San Bruno

On September 10, 2010 a gas line exploded and leveled a neighborhood near where we live. It was big news at the time, but the world has moved on. In that neighborhood lived our cousin. His house was not destroyed, but was severely damaged. Also, the Young Man’s school friend lived there. His house was destroyed and he and his father ran for their lives.

Barsha's Star
Barsha's Star

My mom put out a call for blocks that we can make into quilts for these families and we received our first block today. One is promised and one is in the mail.

Barsha taught sewing in a local county for years before she retired. She is a gifted seamstress and I go to her when I need new pants. 😉 I first met her through a local guild. She is also a gifted quiltmaker, teacher and wearables artist. She has a wonderful, light studio and knows how to use a serger.

Thanks, Barsha!

Would you like to help? The parameters are:

Block backround: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern)
block size: 8″ or less (we will work with any size)
remember to sign your block!

Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!

Frosted Star Blocks Complete

15 Frosted Stars
15 Frosted Stars

Here are the Frosted Star blocks. After all the drama of this project, I have finally completed a major hurdle.

The next task is to sew the border together. The border is made up of Jelly Roll strips. We’ll see how that goes. I probably need to get a Mary Ellen Best Press refill to get through all of those strips.

The thought of all of those strips makes me think that I am done with Jelly Rolls. Time will tell though. As I love to yell at the baseball players on the radio “it’s not over until it is over!”

Block-a-Long #7: Upside Down 9 Patch Columns

Upside Down 9 Patch Columns
Upside Down 9 Patch Columns

The Upside Down 9 Patch Columns is suitable for 4, 5 or 6 fabrics. It uses the same pieces from last week’s block. I simply turned the middle column upside down before I sewed it together. I love doing things like that, because playing like that can make a completely different block.

Post your link to a completed block in the comments section.

The Block-a-Long will be on hiatus for awhile. Check back for its reappearance.

Frosted Stars Progress

4 Frosted Star Blocks
4 Frosted Star Blocks

Here are four of the blocks I have made for my Frosted Stars project. There are a couple of things I found and a couple of things I decided.

I found that the red is not working. It is too intense for this project, so I am not going to include any other red in the blocks I have made six blocks so far, which is slightly less than half of what I need.

I also decided that I would use the turquoise primarily for the background triangles. I decided that I am going to include a couple of blocks with the silver for the background triangles. I am also going to include a couple of blocks with other blues. Perhaps I will include only one, perhaps more. I haven’t decided.

My next step is to cut a bunch of background squares so I can put more blocks together. I haven’t worked on these blocks since last weekend as I have either not been sewing, pressing and cutting diamonds or have been working on the Zig Zaggy back.

Block-a-Long #5: 9 Patch

9 Patch
9 Patch

Like this 9 Patch? I am pretty happy with the color combination. I love that aqua fabric and wish I had bought more. Oh well. Fortunately there is always more fabric.

As you can see, I have included a large print in this block. This is a demonstration of a large print working in this project.

This block is suitable for 2, 3 or 9 fabrics. Think about the look you are seeking.

Note from the Management: Please comment, letting me know if you would like this project to continue or if you really don’t care. Thanks.

Block-a-Long #3: Four Patch Columns

Four Patch Columns
Four Patch Columns

This is a slight variation of last week’s block, Four Patch Rectangle. It should be very quick to make. Four Patch Columns Instructions is suitable for two fabrics, though you would have to be creative. Four fabrics is better.

These are 6″ finished blocks.

The directions tell you simply how many pieces of which fabric to cut. The instructions use the fabrics I selected, so you will have to adjust if you are using two  fabrics.

Enjoy!

Block-a-Long

Block-a-Long Sneak Peek
Block-a-Long Sneak Peek

I finally decided that I would commit to posting block designs and instructions so we could do a Block-a-Long. What is a Block-a-Long? It is a project to make blocks. Hopefully, they will turn into a quilt, but that is a project for another day.

The blocks pictured are some of the blocks that we will be doing. Each block is 6″ finished. I have designed 40 blocks so far. All of them, so far, are straight line sewing – squares and rectangles. There won’t be any curves in the project, but there may be some triangles.

I don’t plan to give you step by step instructions on how to put a block together, though in the blog post, I may give you some tips and tricks to help you along.

The directions will be from EQ7 and will include a picture of the block, what pieces to cut to make the block and that’s it. Of course, if you have questions, you can leave them in the comment field.

First task: go and choose your fabric. Choose some colors that you enjoy. Select a fat quarter pack you have been saving. Choose a theme such as dots or stripes. Go buy yourself some new fabric (FabricWorm has some great fat quarter and half yard packs that they have put together). Use some color combinations that you have always wanted to try.

I’ll wait about a week for you to gather your fabrics.

I selected my fabric a couple of months ago when TFQ was visiting. I am hoping to use each fabric 3 times in the quilt.

Sorbet Fabric Palette
Sorbet Fabric Palette

Yes, there are a lot of fabrics in my group. I want my quilt to be really scrappy. You don’t need to have this many. You can always add more later.  This is a great project for scraps, so you could just pull fabrics out of your scrap bin. A two color quilt will work well, too, I think, though you may want to use different fabrics of the same colors

I know you have seen the blocks below before. These are some of the first blocks you will be doing. The point is not to make you miserable by posting difficult blocks to struggle through, but to have a little fun and, perhaps, work with color. Have fun!

Sorbet Blocks
Sorbet Blocks

Sunday Work

I felt a bit of freedom in my sewing today. I finished the Blue Janus back yesterday (have to write about that, yes) and didn’t have anything pressing to work on. That left me to see how I felt and work on what I felt like.

Frosted Star Blocks
Frosted Star Blocks

I sewed two more test blocks for the Frosted Star pattern. My pattern is much easier to follow and trimming the segments before sewing the block together works really well. I used a mostly monochromatic color scheme for these latest blocks so I can also donate them to the Rainbow project. I couldn’t resist using a bit of one of my Philip Jacob prints.

I think I need to test the 9″ pattern rather than the 12″, because the 12″ is just too big and the 9″ is what I would use in the quilt. I am thinking that I won’t make this quilt even though I like it a lot.

Merry & Bright Wrap Back
Merry & Bright Wrap Back

I felt compelled to make a back, so now the back for It’s a Merry & Bright Wrap is finished. This back was less arduous than the one for the Blue Janus quilt. Quite simply, it was much smaller. I also made a big effort to use very large pieces of fabric. Rather than days, it was only a few hours in progress. I am happy that it is done, though I don’t have plans to quilt it yet. I’ll have to see about that.

Making the above back gets me farther along in the various finishing tasks I have to do. I still need to make the sleeves for FOTY 2009 and the Chocolate Box as well as the facing for the Chocolate Box.

Half Moon by Moda
Half Moon by Moda
Kaffe Fassett Dot
Kaffe Fassett Dot

I don’t know what is next on the list, but am thinking a tote bag is in order. I have this new black and white fabric that is demanding my attention. Half Moon by Moda will be the bag body with possibly a pink inside.

The Kaffe Fassett dot attracted my attention for handles (I think I may be in a monochromatic phase right now). GAQF only had a fat quarter, but I found a half yard in my fabric closet, which will be enough for the handles. I like the combination of big and small dots.

I am thinking I will use the AMH Multi-tasker tote pattern again even though it isn’t exactly the bag I want. I’ll peruse my other bag patterns first.  I do know how to make the AMH MTT and it is a pretty good bag pattern.