Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
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I was also pleased to receive a block from Carol of a Scot in Tennessee. I bet she has the greatest accent!
Carol is a contributor to the Creative Prompt Project. She also does color exercises on her blog. I am not sure how often, but every time I look at her blog, I see one. Carol’s block is raw edge applique’. I love the simplicity.
Mom the Energizer Quilt Bunny brought two more stars over yesterday. She is amazing! these are definitely for the kid quilt. All those food fabrics scream ‘kid.’ Do you like those potato chips?
We now have over 50 blocks!
Want to help? The background for this project is that one family we know from school and my husband’s cousin were affected by the September 2010 San Bruno fire. We are making 3 quilts: one for our cousin and his wife, one for my son’s friend and one for the parents of my son’s friend.
I am thrilled at how many people are making a block or two. Do you want to contribute some blocks?
All star blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique, eg. embroidery, painting, silkscreen, etc)
Block size: 8? finished (8.5? unfinished) or smaller (we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!
Deadline: Still TBA, but the end is nearing. I am still thinking it will be around the end of March, though I am not sure I will be ready to piece quilts by then. We will see.
Still…
We can’t do it without you! Please contribute some blocks.
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks very much for your generosity!
Mom has been busy making more stars. She is trying different patterns, which means I never know what to expect from her! On another note, I told her to start showing some of her 19 (!!!) works in progress on her blog. I can’t wait to see what she has started.
The paper pieced block in the upper left hand corner was made by Maureen. It is really a perfect combination of colors. I know Maureen from CQFA. She is wonderful dyer and fabric printer. She does a lot of really good work in fabric manipulation with dyes, paints, etc and is an inspiration and teacher to others in the group in this area.
Mrs. K came to a party yesterday. She lives 4-5 hours away from me and prepared these reverse appliqued blocks for the drive down the mountain. The stars are reverse applique’ and then she has tied some French knots in each inset of the stars. You can just see them in the photos. I will have to take out some of the basting and trim the backs, but that is ok. I would rather do it when I am ready to sew than have the edges unravel or fray. I know Mrs. K from an online quilt group and we have gotten together several times. She loves handwork and crazy quilting. She taught hearing impaired students for many years in public schools. I really appreciate her effort on these blocks.
Mrs. K also made me a cookie. Check it out! I think I need to have a cookie baking and decorating session with Mrs. K!
We now have over 50 blocks!
Want to help? The background for this project is that one family we know from school and my husband’s cousin were affected by the September 2010 San Bruno fire. We are making 3 quilts: one for our cousin and his wife, one for my son’s friend and one for the parents of my son’s friend.
I am thrilled at how many people are making a block or two. Do you want to contribute some blocks?
All star blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique, eg. embroidery, painting, silkscreen, etc)
Block size: 8? finished (8.5″ unfinished) or smaller (we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!
Deadline: TBA, probably around the end of March. We can’t do it without you!
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks very much for your generosity!
I received these 9 blocks from my SIL on Thursday. I was so excited. We are now at 41 blocks! I didn’t think we would make 30, but people have been so generous. It warms my heart. Now my goal is 60 blocks: 20 for each of the 3 quilts.
As reminder, one family we know from school and my husband’s cousin were affected by the September 2010 San Bruno fire. We are making 3 quilts: one for our cousin and his wife, one for my son’s friend and one for the parents of my son’s friend.
Want to help? I am thrilled at how many people are making a block or two. Do you want to contribute some blocks?
All star blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique, eg. embroidery, painting, silkscreen, etc)
Block size: 8″ finished or smaller (we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!
Deadline: TBA, probably around the end of March. We can’t do it without you!
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks very much for your generosity!
I went to a quilt retreat this past weekend and was thrilled to receive 8 more blocks!
Bron is a star herself and came through with 3 more blocks. These are her best yet, I think! I am fickle, though, because every time she gives me more blocks I like the new ones best.
I like the fabrics she chose. The stars are really bright and cheerful.
I brought some fabric to the retreat to make it easy for people to make blocks. It turns out that I didn’t have much of the really dark blues, which I was hoping to use in the background. I also brought Around the Block to help with the patterns. I thought about reloading Judy Martin’s Star block add-on to EQ7 on my computer, but I didn’t get around to it before I left for the retreat. It ended up not mattering, because people didn’t use the fabric to make blocks anyway!
Diane also made some pieced and appliqued Friendship Stars. She got up at the crack of dawn yesterday and beavered away on these. I have talked about Diane before. She does wonderful silk painting, but not much piecing beyond borders. I talked about her pear ATCs, which I just love. She said she struggled a bit with the piecing and ended up appliqueing 3 of them. I thought it was very clever! Her blocks are great.
I have been promised some more blocks, so perhaps we are starting to get attention and will have enough to make some nice quilts.
Want to help? I am thrilled at how many people are making a block or two. Do you want to contribute some blocks?
All star blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique, eg. embroidery, painting, silkscreen, etc)
Block size: 8? finished or smaller (we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!
Deadline: TBA, probably around the end of March
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks very much for your generosity!
Just after I wrote the SfSB blog post, Mom arrived with another block (the one on the right). I had forgotten to take a photo of the one she made last week, so here they both are. We are up 26 now!
Want to help? I am thrilled at how many people are making a block or two. Do you want to contribute some blocks?
All star blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique, eg. embroidery, painting, silkscreen, etc)
Block size: 8″ finished or smaller (frankly, we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!
Deadline: TBA, probably around the end of March
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks very much for your generosity!
I have been expecting some blocks from Chris and SherriD. I was gratified to find them in my mailbox today! We are getting quite a little collection. We now have 25 blocks. I think 5 more and I could make the 3 quilts. I would like more blocks, because some of the blocks are small, but I could make the quilts with 30 blocks total.
Chris is the first one to do applique’ and I really like her blocks. They are very friendly looking. I hope I get at least one more applique’ block so each quilt can have one. 7 more would be ideal ;-), then I can put 3 applique’ blocks in each quilt. The background on Chris’ blocks is exactly what I was imagining for this quilt. I met Chris when she came to CQFA and then we met up at the Modern Quilt Guild meeting as well. She has a great blog. She writes very thoughtfully and had some interesting posts about design classes she has taken recently.
SherriD, from the Lazy Quilter blog, has come through with four more blocks. I don’t know why Sherri named her blog the Lazy Quilter, because she doesn’t seem to be lazy to me. Have you seen her U is for Unicorn quilt? WOW! These new blocks mean I can use them as a kind of border on one side of the one of the quilts. This puts Sherri up to a total of 6 blocks (I think). Isn’t she great? I secretly hope she makes more as I think these blocks will look really good in the quilt. 😉
I am planning on bringing my Around the Block book, some dark blue fabric and some yellow fabric so people can make some blocks at an upcoming retreat I am attending. I hope they will take the opportunity to sew.
I am going to get the Young Man to make a block, too. He refuses to sew, but I am thinking he could paint and then I could print the star on fabric. I haven’t done it yet, but it is on my mind. I may assign that task to my mom.
Want to help? I am thrilled at how many people are making a block or two. Do you want to contribute some blocks?
All star blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique, eg. embroidery, painting, silkscreen, etc)
Block size: 8? finished or smaller (we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!
Deadline: TBA, probably around the end of March
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks very much for your generosity!
Virginia and Jeanne came through with two more blocks each for the Stars for San Bruno Project. We now have 18 star blocks. A good many of them are the same pattern as Virginia’s, which is Friendship Star. I think that is a nice message to send to the people who will get these quilts.
Virginia is a wonderful quiltmaker, bagmaker, teacher, helper with the upcoming show and all around good person. She is such an inspiration.
Jeanne is an awesome colorist. She has been making quilts for a long time and loves fabric and color and scraps. Many, many of her quilts are scrap quilts and go to auctions, the babies of her office and other good causes. She works mostly in tiny block sizes so she mentioned that these blocks seemed like behemoths to her. I love the Sawtooth Star in a Sawtooth Star block. I also love the Pinwheel in the Sawtooth Star block.
Want to help? We now have a total of 18 blocks, which is a thrill. Do you want to contribute some blocks?
All star blocks are welcome!
Block background: dark blue
Block design: Yellow star (any pattern, technique, eg. embroidery, painting, silkscreen, etc)
Block size: 8? finished or smaller (we will work with any size)
Remember to sign your block!
Deadline: TBA, probably around the end of March
Contact us through our blogs for mailing instructions. Thanks so much for your generosity!
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I finished the last three pillowcases I had cut out.
I am quite fond of the bottom two. I think they came out well.
I have a lot more Mexican food fabric and a contact at the local hospital, so I will make more even though the Million Pillowcase Challenge is over.
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!
The good thing about being off of work for a few days is that I can post things as they occur rather than waiting until I have a spare minute. Mom made this star for the San Bruno quilt this week and I think it will go very well with the others.
All star 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!
If you would like to contribute the parameters are:
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!
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.
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!
The Child and I worked on and finished his pillowcase. I wanted him to do several, but we won’t be doing that. My original idea was that he work on a project during the summer that was not screen related and would help or benefit someone else.
We started on Thursday of last week. There are 3 pieces in the Twiddletails pattern: the cuff, the trim and the main body of the pillowcase. The pain part of this project is lining up the 3 pieces.
The whole process was a challenge for him. Sewing is not high on the list of interesting activities for a 13 year old. The prospect of helping kids with cancer kept him there, but he had a hard time with the various parts of the process.
It was interesting and a good lesson for me to show him what to do. Everything was so foreign to him. Pinning took forever and it started with me showing him how to stick a pin in the fabric layers to keep them all together. I was surprised that I found it so incomprehensible that he didn’t intuitively know this basic concept. Almost all of the steps of sewing are so ingrained in my being that working with someone who had no experience was an eye opener. It gave me some insight into some of what beginner quilters know and don’t know.
Running the machine was not an attraction for my darling. He sewed carefully and slowly…for awhile. He had a hard time with the concept of not pushing the fabric through the machine, but letting the feed dogs do the work.
He didn’t pay attention and wandered off where the seam line should be. He learned how to rip out his stitches.
He was able to finally finish sewing the burrito. If you can make it through the pinning and sewing with this pattern, the burrito creates the cuff, trim and body of the pillow case as one large piece. The Child had some trouble with the trim, but I didn’t feel like making him rip it out again. It is good enough. I plan to pin a note to this pillowcase saying that a teenager made it and it was his first sewing project.
After he sewed the burrito, I had him sew the first line of the main part of the pillowcase. He sped the machine up a little (I had it set to super slow) and his mind wandered. The seam, which started out a 1/4″ away from the edge of the pillowcase ended up near the middle of the main part of the taco fabric. I didn’t look before I told him to backstitch, which ended up as a square spiral, also in the middle of the pillowcase. More ripping and unsewing. I did half for him and we took a week long break.
Yesterday, we got back to it. I drew a line on the pillowcase that he could follow while sewing. Brilliant! The line was much easier for him to follow.
Yes, his hair has a life of its own, but here is The Child with his finished pillowcase. He left my workroom so fast I was surprised my head didn’t spin. Now I need to think of a new project for the rest of the summer.
I really didn’t know I knew so much about sewing.
