An 11th Hour Finish for the 11th Month of A Year of Lovely Finishes

When I fled the house with cats, all their stuff, all my stuff, etc., friends suggested I be sure to take some hand work.

I'm sure I sounded like a whiny baby when I explained that I couldn't stand the physical pain of carrying one more bag or the process of putting together a project to bring to the hotel.

Yesterday, I did manage to trim a quilt, make binding, sew it on, and pack up everything I needed to stitch it down in the hotel last night.  The electric heater that the heating service guy loaned me made it possible ... until I turned on the iron and blew the circuit in the studio ...

I have a bit more stitching until I'm completely done (and I'll finish today for my Slow Stitch Sunday project).  Last night I noticed that the colors of the quilt worked well with the decor of my hotel room and couldn't resist spreading it out over the king-size bed for a photo.

The lighting isn't great, but ... good enough for me to share this Lovely Finish.

I'll have more details to share later, but I couldn't wait to share my November Finish (and the first EVER Block Lotto sampler quilt I've finished in the same year as we made the blocks that are in it.)

Update - here's the finished quilt hanging in my VERY COLD studio.

This one was also long arm quilted by Lynn Horpedahl. 

Life Goes On ...

In the past couple weeks, I've thought to blog about Halloween (and the Day of the Dead), the end of daylight savings time, voting, late fall on the Plaza and the passing of a birthday milestone in my life and whether or not 60 really is the new 40, but none of that has happened  ... yet.  In the meantime, here is my design wall, showing my efforts to catchup with the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along.

I have sewn together the 21-inch modules that are complete ... only three left to go. 

My S-T-R-E-T-C-H Goal for a Lovely Finish in November

I have fallen a couple months behind on the Mod-Mod QAL ... and it's my design and my quilt-along. Life has taken some crazy turns lately (new job, a carbon monoxide leak at my house) and slowed down my creative life, but it's still a little embarrassing.

These are the blocks for January through August for my full/queen-sized quilt.  

My goal for a Lovely Finish in November is to redeem myself and finish ALL the blogs for the year so I can share it on the Block Lotto blog on December 1.

The sad truth is that when I choose a set of block designs each year for the Block Lotto, I always have some sort of design for a sampler quilt using those block patterns and usually start a sampler project ... though most remain in the WIP stage.  I am determined to finish THIS one.

My Mod-Mod Update for July

Over the weekend, I finished making the 14 July blocks I need for the full/queen-size quilt I'm making as part of the mod-mod quilt-along. The blocks are a little catty-wumpass on the design wall ... but you can get the idea and decide if you think they are playing well together.

As I was sewing the 14 spokes blocks, I parked them on the wall, on point ... and decided I like them in that orientation.  I also thought they would be a good block to use in a setting where some are straight set and some are on-point. (I blogged about it yesterday on the Block Lotto site)

I'm joining the party for Design Wall Monday.

Think Snow!

Continued high temperatures have me visualizing snow in my hot, un-airconditioned studio.

Snowflakes have 6-sides, unlike these blocks, which is why I called my pattern for them the more generic term,  Spokes.  You can download my pattern from the free quilt block patterns page, if you're interested.

Whatever you call them, I was thinking of them as snowflakes on my wall today. 

Some of these blocks are for the Block Lotto, some are the red monochrome blocks for the rainbow scraps Mod-Mod throw, the gray-on-white ones are my start on 14 spokes blocks for my large mod-mod quilt and two, with scrappy red backgrounds, I made on a whim.  They've been added to those tomato-red left-overs on the design wall ... 

The scrappy blocks are easy to make–the only tricky part is matching the background fabrics which are added to the diagonal spokes to the squares in the 4-patch background.

Suspending Disbelief

I had ambitious plans for my FNSI last night, but ... a too hot studio and a head still spinning from my work day resulted in limited results.

I did make the six 7-inch spokes blocks that I need for this month in my rainbow scraps challenge version of the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along.

As I made them, I realized I was a little fearful that the red blocks would be over-powering when combined with the rest. Once I suspended disbelief and moved forward, I was pleasantly surprised.

My ideas of what this version of the quilt–with mono-chromatic blocks in colors not of my choosing–continues to change each month, but ... so far, I'm not hating it.

Today I pulled out all the blocks and put them into their relative places on the design wall.

Half-way through the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along

Here's what half-way looks like for the Full/Queen-size Mod-Mod Sampler:

Here's a closer look at the finished June blocks–one of each of the fabric combinations.

After the arcs of the sunrise blocks were paper pieced, I sewed them together into a donut shape, then added a hand-appliquéd circle in the center.  They were set into the background square using the 6-minute circle technique.

I wanted to make sure that the horizon line (seam joining the two halves of the sun's rays) was set square into the background, so I marked the freezer paper template with lines that I could use to line things up.

If you like the looks of my half-finished sampler, it's not too late to jump in and make one of your own.  All the blocks patterns we've made so far can be found on the Free Quilt Block Patterns page on this blog.

The number of blocks you'll need to make for each of the 6 sizes (from 42 inch square small sampler quilt to 105 inch square King-size Bed quilt) and the layouts for each of the 6 quilts can be found on the Block Lotto here:

Here Comes the Sun ... And the Mod-Mod Quilt Along June Update

I'm joining the list for WIP Wednesday on Freshly Pieced.

(Slow) Progress

There's signs of slow progress on my design wall today.

 

I am hoping for one more photo of these Mod-Mod QAL blocks this week when I've finished with those Rising Sun blocks ... then I can move on to quilting (and blogging about) other things.

More Sun-worshipping ... and Auditioning Fabrics

I've started making the 10 Sunrise blocks for my Mod-Mod (queen size) sampler quilt.

I wanted to add some pale yellow into the mix. I pulled out some of the existing blocks to make sure they would all play nicely together.  I like the yellow with white stripe, fussy cut into the background between the sun's rays ...  now I just need to make five more.

The sun will be set into a white background, but I haven't decided yet what color/fabric I'll use for the small circle in the center.   Neither of the centers in the photos feels quite right ...  I am thinking a pale gray or a minimalist sun with a white (background fabric) center is the answer.

My plan for a slow-stitch Sunday evening is to hand-appliqué the centers in place on as many sun blocks as I can piece this afternoon.

Here Comes the Sun

I've been slow to start making scrappy yellow blocks for the Rainbow Scraps Challenge this month, both because yellow fabrics aren't well represented in my stash or scrap bin and because I know that finding "light," "medium," and "dark" yellows with enough contrast is going to be challenging.

I started with my blocks for the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along. This month's lotto block, Sunrise, is a half sun shape.  In the Mod-mod quilt, pairs are combined to form a full sun shape. I decided to combine the halves and sew the block as a paper-pieced donut then add the circle center and outer background using the 6-minute circle technique.

 If you google Dale Fleming 6-Minute Circle you’ll find links to Dale Fleming demonstrating her technique on Simply Quilts (on the HGTV website) and a longer version (with other shapes and examples)  from her onThe Quilt Show (if you are a member).  

The book contains a lot of information on color and design principles and how to use the technique with different shapes. It was published almost 10 years ago, but I noticed that Amazon has it available on Kindle.  

Clicking the book image will take you there. 
When choosing fabrics for the block, I was looking for contrast between the yellow fabrics and something that would play nicely with the existing blocks, so I put some of the blocks from previous months on the design wall to audition fabrics.

So far, so good.  So I made a second full sun block.  In the second block, I hand-appliquéd the circle in the center.

And when it was done, I couldn't resist laying out all the blocks made so far on the wall, placed as they will be in the quilt.

This weekend, I plan to make more Sunrise blocks–I'll need 5 pairs for the larger quilt.

I think I am working my way up to cutting and sewing the nearly 700 yellow triangles I'll need to make the broken dishes blocks for that rainbow scraps project ... because after sewing the sun blocks, I next turned to something easy–the single Oak Leaf block, made from 14 large half-square triangles (HSTs).

This was good practice with working with yellows and contrast. A couple of those HST units are a bit muddy, but I still like this big 10 by 15-inch block ... and it plays nicely with its friends.

This block, the scrappy version of one of last year's block patterns for the Block Lotto, makes me want to fracture more traditional shapes into triangles. I love the twinkle in these blocks.  

I am linking this post with the weekly posts for Angela's ScrapHappy Saturday and Vicki's HSTeria QAL.  Both these lists are rich with great ideas for quilt blocks and quilt design. 

May's Mod-Mod QAL Progress

The update for the Mod-Mod QAL was published on Block Lotto last week, here:

It's a Mod-Mod May Update

You can download all my block patterns for the blocks we've made so far on my Free Quilt Block Patterns Page, as well as all of last year's blocks and the ever-popular Violet block.

I shared the blocks for my Color-Block Mod-Mod throw-size on Saturday. I'm making that one as part of the Rainbow Scraps Challenge, with each month's blocks being made in the designated color.

Here's the queen-size version that I am making, with the blocks arranged in what will be their relative position in the quilt.

A more organized quilter would probably have already made the quilt she's sharing with the world, but I'm finding it fun to be part of the QAL myself, even if I have to share my own missteps and moments of second guessing myself along the way ... 

Each month, you know how many blocks you need to make to make a quilt in one of six sizes (from small 42 inch square sampler to a king-sized 105 inch square quilt) and show you the layout for those quilts.

It's a little silly, but I like to pull out my blocks and put them in position on the design wall to see how the fabrics are playing together so far.

I changed up the orientation of the Bias Bars blocks in this quilt ... but I'm not sure that I won't decide to put it  back the way I originally envisioned it.   Right now, I like it both ways.

You can see what other quilters have on their design wall on Judy's Design Wall Monday post on the Patchwork Times.

The Scrap-Happy Saturday After a Friday Night Sew In

I woke up this morning with an idea to photograph these three projects together before the I-spy quilt has been donated.

If the I-Spy Stars quilt and the Violet sewing machine cover could have a baby quilt ... it would likely look like the pinwheels quilt made from the bonus triangles of those projects.

I finished the sewing machine cover last night during the Friday Night Sew-In.  It came out exactly as I envisioned it and fit perfectly, too–win, win!

It's made from eleven 5-inch violet blocks (made last month for the Rainbow Scraps Challenge), 3 on each side, 1 on each end and 3 on top.  It is constructed from two pieces, a top and a long piece that wraps around the machine. The photo below is taken at an odd angle so you can see how I decided to add a wedge to the violet blocks on the top to make it wider on the right side, to echo the shape of the machine.

I sewed the pieces together with the seams on the outside and then bound them in white.  At the bottom edge, I gave the faux-piped binding another try ... since there are no corners, I figured it would come together pretty easily and it did. Here are detail photos of the binding and the quilting around the embroidery.

Purple 'Nina's cover came together better/faster than expected, so kept sewing ... and this morning, my small design wall looked like this.



The small blocks on the right side are more of the Tula Pink City Sampler blocks I made for the Chicken River Modern Quilt Guild's opportunity quilt. (They really are like candy). My sewing machine table doesn't usually sit there, I wheeled it over temporarily for the photo op at the top of the post.


I pulled out some green scraps and made the eight Diagonal Bars blocks for my Mod-Mod-Made from Rainbow Scraps-Throw.

You can find the latest update for the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along here:

It's a Mod-Mod May Update

Lately, I've been distracted by the I-spy charity quilt and the mini-pinwheels quilt that was a by-product of it and haven't picked up my green scraps until last night.  It felt good to get back to the Rainbow Scraps Challenge, if only in a small way ... so far.

Since I was in photo taking mode this morning, I pulled out the blocks made for the Mod-Mod throw so far and put them on the design wall, in their relative position for the finished quilt.

I am still not sure how it will turn out when Angela is choosing the colors (as part of the RSC) and the position of the monthly blocks is already determined in the design,  but so far I don't hate it ... and I am developing a plan of what to do with it,  if, at the end of the year, I do ;-)

It's a Quilter's Prerogative

A funny thing happened when I made this month's Triangles-in-a-Square blocks for my Mod-Mod Quilt-Along queen-size quilt.

I chose fabrics from my original, inspirational stack of fabrics–won in a blog giveaway at the end of last year.

After deciding that I wanted to use the stripe as the large triangle in the block, I knew I couldn't use my favorite, 4-at-once, no waste, flying geese technique because I wanted to end up with the stripes going the same direction in all the blocks.

I ended up creating a template, starting with the paper foundation piecing pattern included in the block directions as Method #3.

If you're curious, I blogged about making the template and cutting the fabrics on the Block Lotto blog, here:

And Then There Was Method #4

It worked well for me and I quickly made the 9 blocks I needed.

Since these were my original, inspiration fabrics for the color way for my quilt, I was confident that they would work in my quilt and didn't pull out the blocks already made for this project until AFTER I'd made them.

You can guess what happened, right?  Once I put some of them on the design wall,  arranged as they will be in the quilt, I didn't like them so much.

As is my usual, I suspended disbelief and left them on the wall overnight to see how I'd feel in the morning ... when I decided I wanted something with clearer, lighter colors.  Here's how my design wall looks now, with the replacement blocks. Your mileage my differ, but even on an overcast, badly lit day in the studio, I like these better.

I am reminded, once again, of the value (to me) of my design wall.   I'm also struck by how much my idea of the colors I want in this quilt have changed in just a few months.  And how it's a quilter's prerogative to change her mind as work on a project progresses.

I'm joining the list for Design Wall Monday.

This is one of two quilts I'm making as part of the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along.  In the other, a 60-inch square throw sized quilt, I am throwing caution to the wind and making the blocks each month in the designated color for the Rainbow Scraps Challenge.  I am such a control freak when it comes to my quilts that I just have to suspend disbelief and quilt on ... here's how those blocks look so far. 

If you like what you see and want to jump in, you can the individual block directions on my Free Block Patterns page and the Mod-Mod-QAL updates on the Block Lotto here: 

Introduction and January update: It’s a Mod-Mod Quilt-Along

February update – Mod-Mod Quilt-Along

March update – Mod-Mod Quilt-Along

April update – Mod-Mod Quilt-Along

The Mod-Mod-March Update

Since I spilled the beans on the Block Lotto about how the January, February and March blocks combine to form the first module of the Mod-Mod quilt, quite a bit of progress has been made, in advance of the usual mid-month-update ... So I went ahead and published it early, yesterday.

Here's my progress.

For my Queen-size quilt, I added some aqua to the mix with these four Star Chain blocks.

Once I combined these with the Double Chevron and Bead-on-a-String blocks to create the first modules, I couldn't resist arranging them on the design wall in an approximation of quilt layout.  

 

I have already shared my Rainbow Scraps Challenge version of the quilt, which I'm making as a throw-sized quilt made from a total of 9 modules.

There was more playing on the design wall with those, too. I think this will be more fun when there are more blocks than white space ...

 

If you are beginning to like what you see, it's not too late to grab some fabrics and play along.  You can make a quilt in one of 6 sizes, from a small square (42 inches) to a big king-size bed quilt (105 inches square).  Here are some links on the Block Lotto site to get you started: 

Introduction and January update: It's a Mod-Mod Quilt-Along

February update - Mod-Mod Quilt-Along

March update - Mod-Mod Quilt-Along

While you're there, you can also check out some of the other Mod-Mod quilts in progress.   You'll also find all the block patterns there, as well as on my Free Quilt Block Patterns page.

I'm joining the WIP Wednesday lists on Esther's Blog and Freshly Pieced.

Bead (Block) Making in Progress

I've been working on that 6-minute circle technique.  All but three of these were made that way ...  I may now be close to actually being able to make one in 6 minutes :-)

The 7 inch (finished size) Bead-on-a-String block is the February block pattern for the Block Lotto.

You can download my free block pattern here:

Bead on a String Quilt Block Directions

The six yellow-orange-maroon blocks on the left are my blocks for the lotto.  The pink blocks on the right were made for the Rainbow Scraps Challenge (RSC) this month and will be part of a throw-size version of the Mod-Mod Quilt.  Here's how they look with last month's blue Double Chevron blocks.

This diagram shows their actual placement in the throw-size quilt.

The bead blocks are mostly sewn into rows of three and usually are adjacent to the chevron blocks.

It will be interesting to see what happens as blocks with a pre-determined placement in the quilt are made in colors chosen by Angela for the RSC.  I am beginning to see this as a color-block version of the quilt.  Even though I know what blocks are coming, I am looking forward to seeing them in colors not chosen by me.

The rest of the blocks in the middle are for a bed-sized (full/queen) version of my Mod-Mod quilt design.

Here's the diagram showing the block placement for this size and how my January and February blocks look together on the design wall.

You can find the information and layouts for all six sizes of the Mod-Mod quilt on the Block Lotto here:

February Update - Mod-Mod Quilt-Along

Edited to add some additional info about the 6 minute circle technique–if you google Dale Fleming 6-Minute Circle you’ll find links to Dale Fleming demonstrating her technique on Simply Quilts (on HGTV site) and a longer version (with other shapes and examples)  from her on The Quilt Show (if you are a member) and lots of bloggers blogging tutorials about the technique.

I'm joining the lists for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and Esther's Blog.