May block from Moda

These are my blocks from the directions we got at our last meeting of Moda Friendship.  Very simple and straight forward blocks.  Really the only choices were about which fabrics to use, except for the variable star block.  With the variable star, we were given the option of doing a star in a star.  I considered it, but decided against it.  I think it is a really neat idea, and I really like the effect when you use the background of the inner star as the star points for the outer star.  Like this.

But ultimately, I decided to go with the most basic star.  I thought that it would blend better with the other blocks and look better in the quilt as a whole, since they are all basic blocks. Plus, I'm really going for an old-fashioned country look in this quilt.

I would like to try the technique at some point, though.  I think it could make a really cute big block baby quilt.  I may try it if I have time before the next meeting.

Shop sample all finished

When I went down to the quilt shop for the Moda Friendship meeting yesterday, the two shop samples (featured in these posts - Squares for Cyndi and More Squares for Cyndi) for my original Squares for Cyndi pattern were all finished.  Don't they look so cute.  I think that they make adorable little baby quilts.  The pattern is available for sale at The Front Porch Quilt Shoppe in Ozark, and at my shop, Covered with Love on Etsy.

May guild block

This month our block was a simple quilt square (from Sew Big Quilts) done in Christmas fabrics.  I'm not 100% sure that I'm going to leave it "as is".  I'm just not sure how I feel about the bottom corner fabric.  To some degree, I feel like it doesn't really fit with the other fabrics, in terms of style - the colors are fine.  But I feel like, based on the fabrics I have, that my only other option would be to use a smaller piece of the focus fabric, and I'm afraid that might make it look too busy.  I'm just not sure.  But it is made for now, I can always change it later if I want.

Hearts on a Chain

This year I decided that I wanted to finish at least three of my old UFOs.  This is my first, and it is probably over 10 years old, but I can't be sure.  Several years ago, I saw a picture of a quilt that looked very similar to this one in either a magazine or catalog.  I didn't order a pattern or anything, I just looked at the picture and figured it out.  Today I spent a good part of the day trying to find that old picture, so that I could get a better ballpark date on when I started this quilt.  I looked through years and years of Quiltmakers (2000-2007) but couldn't find it.  I also looked through some Quilter's World and Quick and Easy Quilting issues that I had from that time period, but still no luck.  I finally just gave up finding the original inspiration. 

Once I gave up on finding the print picture, I decided to try doing a Google image search.  I have no idea what the original pattern name was, but I searched for "heart Irish chain quilt" and "heart quilt" with no real luck.  I found one quilt that had the same pieced heart, but not the Irish chain setting.  So if anyone knows the name of the original pattern, or where it might have come from, let me know.

So anyway, years ago I saw the pattern and thought it would make a nice seasonal sofa throw for Valentine's Day.  It was super easy to make with nice, big pieces.  I made the top, but never quilted it.  I know that at the time that I made it I didn't have a dedicated sewing room and had difficulty finding the space to set up the quilting frame for larger projects.  Even once we moved to the new house, and I had a sewing room, I never got around to quilting it.  I didn't know how I wanted to quilt it either, so it just sat. 

Finally, this year, I decided that I would have it machine quilted.  I thought that a pantograph of hearts would look nice, so that is what I went with.  The backing fabric that I had bought all those years ago was not big enough to accommodate long-arm quilting, so I purchased some new fabric for it, too.

When I got it back from the quilter, it was past February, so I figured there was no hurry in getting it bound.  I've been working on it at the library, during our sewing time, for several weeks.  I've also worked on it some on car trips, because I like to work on hand sewing in the car.  I finally finished it last Friday on the way home from the Radney Foster concert in Atlanta (well actually Duluth, GA).  So after many years, and many miles, this UFO is finally finished.

Jelly roll race

Today's effort was a variation on the jelly roll race (jelly roll 1600) quilt.  Instead of sewing the strip together with a diagonal seam, I cut two of the strips into 2-1/2 inch squares and cut four 2-1/2 inch squares from a third strip.  I used the 2-1/2 inch squares between each of the strips.  It probably would have been a bit more striking if the squares had all been the same fabric, but this jelly roll didn't have triples of any of the fabric.  The fabric is "First Ladies" from Windham fabrics.

April Guild Block - Appliqued Ornaments

The guild block for April was appliqued ornaments.  It has taken me quite a while to finish it.  First of all, I had trouble deciding what fabric to use as a background.  The directions called for a light colored background, but I wanted to use something darker - something that would read more like a Christmas tree.  Then I couldn't decide what fabric to use for the ornaments.  I wanted to fussy-cut motifs for the ornaments, but the non-round ornaments looked odd to me cut that way.  So I finally decided to put fussy-cut circles (and one oval) inside all the ornaments, and I liked the look of that a lot better.  Unfortunately that meant I had to applique 12 shapes instead of just 6 shapes.  Plus, I hand appliqued it, so it took me quite a while.  But now it is finally done, and I think it looks nice.

SOQS block contest entry

Again this year I decided to order a kit from the Sisters' Outdoor Quilt Show for their block contest.  You send them $10 and they send you 6 small pieces of fabric (one 10 inch square of read as solid, and five 6 inch squares of patterned fabric) that you then have to make a 9-1/2 inch (raw edge to raw edge) square block out of.  All the blocks that are entered are displayed at the quilt show in July.

I know I won't win, because the winning block is basically always appliqued and embellished.  But there needs to be losing blocks too.  The winner gets a monetary prize and some of the losing blocks to make a quilt.  The runners-up also get some of the other losing blocks.  So I think it will make a nice addition to one of the quilts made by the winner or runner up, if they chose to actually make one.  It is just fun to enter and be part of the show.  Even though I won't get to be at the show, at least my block will.