Tag Archives: 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge

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For November, our prompt from Sarah was to create three blocks in shades of red and green, taking a broad view of what is meant by "red" and "green." She explained, "anything from pink to burgundy, seafoam to olive" and shared her fabric postcard as an example of the wide array of colors to include. Our blocks were to be any size and didn't need to be square (though mine all are).

I sure love color and this was a great opportunity to play with color. I enjoyed putting together different combinations, which is part of the reason why I didn't stop at just three blocks!

As a warmup, I made the 6 1/2" four patch.

Then I made my first 12" block, circular steps.

At this point I mixed and matched my remaining reds and greens and decided on three more blocks. A 7 1/2" pinwheel block. (I feel like it's a weird size, but could be trimmed down.)

Another 12" block, hourglass spin.

And an 8 1/2" sawtooth star, a favorite traditional block.

 

 

 

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There's a sentiment about how a first child's experience is different than a second child's. (We could talk about how my 8 year old doesn't have a baby book yet.) Apparently the same goes for niece and nephew. Within a couple months of my nephew's birth, he had a baby quilt. However, my niece just received her "baby" quilt for her 2nd birthday.

I started out with a different plan for her. My nephew's quilt had been inspired by the mural in his room and I wanted to do the same for her. But her African safari wall left me feeling like I "should" do appliqué... and I don't particularly enjoy the process of appliqué. Eventually I pivoted to focusing on the main color of her room, purple, a favorite of mine. I have a lot of purple scraps and I have been building purple scrappy slabs to piece for Jillian's quilt for over two years!

In recent weeks (months?) the quilt top has been my backdrop while I'm on zoom. I love reminiscing about the previous purple projects these scraps have come from. (There's a section in the upper right that's from my Ultra Violet All About Angles quilt.)

I'm really deadline driven. As Gretchen Rubin says, "things that can be done any time are often done at no time." And that really resonates with me for quilts that don't have a deadline. A challenge or quilt show submission deadline is really motivating for me. Quilt alongs and 100 day projects help, too. But "I'm making this for someone" doesn't usually have a deadline. As we approached her 2nd birthday, I decided this needed to be my hard deadline. I could hardly still call this a "baby" quilt, but at least it is sizable enough to be a good cuddle quilt for years to come.

I opted for simple walking foot quilting in organic vertical and horizontal lines. I didn't concern myself with perfection or equal spacing.

Then I added a little free motion elephant as a nod to her room. (Shh. I also have an elephant quilt in progress for her.)

My binding is more scrappy fabric. I usually opt for a bias binding, but this one was straight grain pieces, since I wanted to use scraps. I attached the binding by machine.

One of my favorite features of the quilt is the color blocked backing. I chose these fabrics to emulate the mural on Jillian's wall.

I packaged it up and mailed it in early November. We connected on FaceTime so I could see her open her gift. She was delighted.

After her initial appreciation, she just had to run into her bedroom and spread it out on the floor. I'm glad she's enjoying all the details.

The quilt is approximately 43" x 50".

The label reads:

For Jilly
handmade by Auntie Sarah
October 2020

 

 

Creating a Scrappy Slab is a workshop I currently offer (virtually) to guilds.

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I'm excited to be today's stop on the I Spy Blog Hop! A couple months ago I was enjoying seeing the new blocks that Kimie and Missy were sharing. When they asked for volunteers to help promote their book, I was excited to make a couple blocks to participate. They provided the book to me and I eventually chose the hamburger and the watermelon to make.

The book has one hundred 4" finished foundation paper pieced blocks, in a variety of themes. The cover quilt (shown below at 51" x 51") shows a lovely option for putting them all together into an I Spy quilt, but I can see using these for a variety of items. They would be a great addition to a zipper pouch or drawstring bag, a handful would make a great mini quilt or table runner, and individual blocks could be used for coasters, mug rugs... or the special mini quilts I have in mind for my blocks. Stay tuned for more details on my finishes later this month.

The patterns in the book are ranked 1-3 for difficulty, with instructions suitable for someone new to foundation paper piecing. I happened to pick two blocks that are each one whole pattern (vs. a more difficult block that might have multiple sections to paper piece before piecing the sections together). I still managed to have to seam rip three times on my watermelon block. I was eventually victorious, but as with any foundation paper piecing, check twice that you have your initial fabric layers in the correct order, and make sure that your bottom fabric doesn't get folded over before you start sewing. ;-)

I'm super enamored with the adorable little blocks. I added wide borders of solid white to the blocks, partly to give myself more to hold on to while I quilt since they will each be their own mini quilt. I'll trim down after quilting.

 

The I Spy book is available on Etsy from On Williams Street. Through December 16 you can use the 10% off code: ISPYBLOGHOP.

"I Spy is our own modern take on an I Spy quilt. We have included ideas from lots of different categories to provide a fun and varied quilt that appeals to all! Whether you are using the blocks all together in one quilt, or mixing and matching for all sorts of project opportunities, we are sure you’ll find something for the loved ones on your quilting list!"

Here’s a list of other blog hop participants. Hop over to see what others have made. :-)

November 30: Kimie and Missy of On WIlliams Street
December 1: Audrey Mann of The Cloth Parcel
December 2: Jen Frost of Faith and Fabric
December 3: Bea Lee of Bea a Quilter
December 4: Sarah Goer of Sarah Goer Quilts
December 5: Joanne Harris of Quilts by Joan
December 6: Susan Smith of Stitched by Susan
December 7: Simone Fisher of Simone Quilts
December 8: Lissa LaGreca of Lovingly Lissa
December 9: Catalina Barcelo of Amarar Creacions
December 10: Laura Strickland of Orange Blossom Quilts
December 11: Laura Piland of Slice of Pi Quilts
December 12: Carolina Moore of Always Expect Moore
December 13: Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis
December 14: Kim Niedzwiecki of Go Go Kim

These just have a summer picnic vibe for me!

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