Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I needed to finish this block so I could get the Patchwork Palooza blocks up on the wall.
Mission accomplished.
It doesn’t look anything like it did when I first cut it out. I think it looks better now.
I am really enjoying using the solids I bought for this project and I am glad I took that leap.
I think the bolder colors in the new version really make this much more interesting than the original version.
3 down, 6 to go. I had better get cutting.
Because of the holidays people have two months to make the next two blocks. Month 2 and 3 blocks are due at the January Meeting. I made a set of Checkerboards very quickly right after the meeting. Since I am one of the leaders, I really want to keep ahead of the others as much as possible.
Once things had settled down a little for me, I made another checkerboard block from the book Cyndi lent to me, Use Scraps, Sew Blocks, Make 100 Quilts** by Stuart Hilliard.
I don’t have the wide variety of fabrics that would make this block look like the one in the book, but I am pleased with the way it came out.
I cut up the Philip Jacobs print to make the middle then used the others (added some additions since the start) around the outside. I want to work with this block again at some point. Still, I like the way it came out. I keep looking at it.
Although blocks were not due at this meeting, people brought some, so we put them up to illustrate when we introduced the new block.
It is so fun to see the different designs that appeal to the participants.
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I finished all of the Patchwork Palooza blocks and am now waiting for the finishing instructions. I can definitely finish this without them, but I want to see what they say. I was annoyed not to receive the email last Friday despite receiving other marketing emails. I may just have to make my own instructions for finishing. 🙁
Julie was working on her PP blocks at Sew Day so I was able to see that sashing provided the blocks with a little bit of space. I think it needs the space just by looking at what I have on the design wall.
Some of the blocks look complicated or busy, but that is somewhat because of the fabrics I chose and where I decided to place them. I can also see where making some half alternate blocks might look nice in the border. We’ll see. I’d like to get this finished, so I might not want to make it more complex.
Yes, I started another project! I know it is crazy, but here we are.
As usual Bonnie Hunter has started her winter mystery quilt. This year it is inspired by a trip to Iceland and called Lupine & Laughter. I wasn’t going to make the project this year, considering all the other quilts and bags I have on the go. I changed my mind and started piecing.
Of course, before piecing I had to choose fabric. I thought about using one consistent background. I couldn’t find a white piece large enough so I picked out several whites to use. Still I wasn’t happy with the choices.
I could have certainly used text motifs on white fabric again, but I didn’t want to make the same quilt again.
Each time I go into my fabric closet, I see a bin of dots on black. I decided that I would pull some out and try them. The first black was called Color Dots by Jean Ray Laury. It has been in the fabric closet for a long time and it was a good time to bring it to the light.
I thought it looked good with the purple and pink (again!!!) I chose, so I started cutting.
I realized pretty quickly that I had selected the wrong color for the QSTs required and pivoted to a blue-green (Carousel by Melody Miller). The combo is fantastic, if I do say so myself.
I am still concerned that the black will be too dark, but it feels right compared to the whites I felt ‘meh’ about. I do like the pink and black combination.
So, I am working on QSTs and, of course, am already behind. I am also cutting for Clue 2 and will need to start on Clue 3. I spent the day yesterday piecing, so I won’t get too much farther behind.
I have kept up with the Patchwork Palooza Project while I was away and since I got back. I did have to make two of the most recent blocks at the same time, they are done and here we are with a few blocks to show. I haven’t had a chance to investigate whether there are historic names for these blocks.
Apparently, I have blocks 17, 19 and 20 to show. I also finished the last of the alternate blocks, which all look the same.
Friend Julie posted all of her blocks to date a few days ago, which makes me want to do that as well. Sadly, I don’t think I have the design wall space, but may need to make some so I can see what I have.
I do have a mini version of the layout crammed above my strip donation blocks. Looking at this picture I think I might have to remake #20. I’ll wait until I can look at them all at once. I have others without the white backgrounds, so this might be a skewed view.
I am working on n.21 now.
My donation block making has stalled a bit. I am working feverishly on other projects, some in preparation for the holidays and some just because. Still, I have a few to show.
Guiding Star came out on November 7, while I was away. It reminded me of Come Together, which I posted about earlier. This is the third, I think, Sawtooth Star type block.
Fortunately, I brought my fabrics and was able to get started. I know there are only a few more weeks left of this project, then I can put all of the blocks together. I am looking forward to that.
I really liked the way this block went together. It came out really well in terms of the piecing.
I found the color suggestions to be confusing and more so since I was working without a design wall. I am pretty happy with the way the block came out, however.
I am finding my fabric choices to be an unusual combination. They are good work with because the fabric is high quality. However, I am not sure I would have picked them had I really thought about it.
I was reading Around the Block** and found a block that was similar to this one, Crockett Cabin (pg.47). It has a few fewer HSTs than Starlight Path. In Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns**, there is a section (pg.137) with blocks of the same structure, though with different layouts and numbers of HSTs.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.
One of the blocks that arrived in my inbox while I was in Portland was Safe Harbor, Block 16. It is a kind of Square in a Square block.
I was very interested in the way the corners were added. Instead of a template for the blue pieces, the designer used a flippy corners method. Very clever!
I am behind on posting these.
After a hitch with my email subscription to the Patchwork Palooza blocks, I was able to quickly make Block 15 of the project after receiving the pattern from Friend Julie.
This looks like a Lozenge Plus block to me, though the PLUS in the center looks a little fatter.
In Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns**, this block, #1970, is called the Spool Block and is attributed to Nancy Cabot, c.1938.
In Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, this block is #186-2. It is also called the Spool Block from Nancy Cabot (glad they agree!). Beyer references The Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1938. I should go look that up sometime.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.
I really like making these blocks. They come together quickly and I am using up pieces I, otherwise, probably wouldn’t use or would allow to lay around for a long time.
Surprisingly, I LOVE making these blocks. They go together quickly, they are made using scraps and stacking up quickly.
Patchwork Palooza Block 14 is called Spin Cycle in this project.
I found the block in Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, where this block is called Southern Belle (58-1). It is by Clara Stone from Practical Needlework, ca 1906.
The name could be all about the way the block is colored. I saw it also called Double Pinwheel, but the units may have been turned to enhance the Pinwheel look.
How many times can I say palooza? A lot apparently.
Now that I have finished the last backlog block for this project, and while I waited for the next block to drop, I needed to get busy on the alternate blocks. There are 21 of them and they will all be the same. Don’t worry, I am not going to bore you (even more?) by posting each one I finish.
There is a lot of chain piecing and sewing, then cutting of strips to make the units that make up these blocks, so it took me quite awhile to finish the first block. I did eventually and it isn’t anything special, IMO. It is an Irish Chain type block.
I didn’t find the exact block in my sources, but may yet do so. In Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns**, a very similar block to this one is called Single Irish Chain by Nancy Cabot, 1933. It is similar to Pennsylvania (pg.231-2023).
I put a couple of blocks on the design wall to see what I had. So far, so good.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.
This is the last backlog block. The PP project calls it Keep the Fire, but it is a Bow Tie block. I am not sure why the Patchwork Palooza people are renaming the blocks. I suppose it makes the block fresher.
I found it in Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, where the block is called Necktie (73-1). It is by Ruth Finley, ca 1929.
I have to make this block for another project and I found the instructions to make this one SO easy. I have always dreaded the flippy corners method. No problem on this block. It came out great, especially after the grief with Block 8.
I am almost finished with the backlog of blocks.
I finally finished block 5, Card Trick, or, as the Patchwork Palooza people call it, Go Your Own Way. I don’t like this block. I always have trouble making it, which seems very odd to me. It shouldn’t be a difficult block, but for me, it is. Apparently, it didn’t like me either as there was a lot of ripping involved in finishing it.
In Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns**, this block, #1674, is called Crow’s Nest or Card Trick. Both names are from Beth and Jeff Gutcheon. In the Encyclopedia it is colored very strangely, so you can see the card effect. It looks more like an Ohio Star, but with half QSTs instead of regular QSTs.
In Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, this block is #143 and also called Card Trick, but doesn’t have the QST in the center. It is listed as from The Perfect Patchwork Primer by Beth and Jeff Gutcheon.
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.