Sunday, September 28, 2014

Big Blocks - A Carpenter's Wheel

Happy Sunday!

I've made some progress on a new quilt to this weekend with my Amy Butler Hapi fabrics. I was originally planning on using these to make an EPP quilt top (I still plan on doing that), but it was very slow going, and I want a new quilt for my bed before 2017. I also really wanted a pattern that would use large pieces, a lot of these prints are large scale, and I wanted to be able to see them!

I started looking at blocks and quilt tops on pinterest, and decided I wanted to do a large traditional block in the center of the quilt (with giant pieces to save time). I got most of my ideas from looking at different barn quilts. In the end, I decided to do a carpenter's wheel. I thought it would work with a mix of fabrics. Luckily, I also found a tutorial on Bloomin Workshop which had cutting instructions for a large block (7" diamonds).

I split my diamonds into 3 groups; green, blue and pink. I used green for the center:

And alternated pink and blue for the second ring of diamonds:
 
 
 
The y-seams were a little tricky, my first time trying them, but the tutorial was very helpful. I haven't worked with many bias seams before, so I also used a lot of starch... I actually ran out! Luckily, there was only one diamond left when I'd run out, so I think I'll manage.
 

Finished Center

 
I'm nearly finished with the star, I've just got to finish piecing the corner units--I hope to finish the wheel today.

 
Linking with Nini and the Sea's Weekly Inspiration Linky Party. 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Modern Maples - October Bee Blocks

Happy Fall to everyone in the northern hemisphere (Happy Wednesday to everyone else).

October is my month to be Queen Bee my New Quilt Bloggers Bee (we all met during Plum and June's New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop).

I love this time of year! Unfortunately, there is no autumn in South Florida. I miss the cooler weather, and seeing the leaves change. It does cool down a bit, but it's just not the same. To make up for the lack of seasons here, I decided I'd like to have a cozy, modern maple quilt.

I asked my bee friends to make some modern maples out of any leafy colored fabrics, with a grey background. Mine were all made from Amy Butler's Hapi line, and a mix of Kona Solids and Essex Yarn Dyed in black. I was glad I had the chance to make something with these fabrics that was larger than a 1" hexie...
 
My green leaf, very fitting for Florida.
 
To make the modern maples I used the tutorial from Modern Handcraft. I made my stems a bit thinner than they were in the tutorial.



I thought it would be fun to play with different sizes, so I gave everyone an option of making 12" blocks (from the tutorial), or a larger 18" block. To make the 18" block, I just resized the units to 6.5." It worked well with this larger scale fabric, and it was nice to end up with such a large block in the same amount of time. I think I'll be making more oversized blocks in the future.


This is my favorite leafy fabric in the bunch.  
I really like how these turned out, and I love the mix of the warm (and green) colors on the grey background. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the group creates next month!

Happy Wednesday!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday and Nini and the Sea's Weekly Inspiration Linky Party.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Bee Block Update

I finally had a chance to make my first churn dash blocks!

I've been wanting to try churn dash blocks since I first started quilting, but haven't had the time or motivation to make an entire quilt out of them.



I was very pleased when Debbie of Quilting Makes My Heart Sing requested churn dash blocks for our September bee blocks for the New Quilt Bloggers Quilting Bee. I love having a chance to try new things without committing to an entire quilt!

Pam of Sewing Wilde was our first Queen Bee back in July. She requested log cabin blocks with a light/white background. She finished her quilt very quickly, and you can see the finished quilt on her blog.





Lin of Lin's Quilts has our Queen Bee for August and she requested nine patch blocks with a white background. You can check out her progress here.



It will be my turn soon, and I think I have my selection narrowed down. I just need to make my practice blocks. I'm thinking of doing a very warm, fall-like quilt...I am ready for fall.

Happy Wednesday!

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Ripple - Finished Quilt

Ripple
It seems this summer has just flown by, I can't believe we're already in the middle of September. I'm in the middle of another hand quilting project, so I haven't had a lot to share.

I did finish my Stitchcraft Challenge entry over two weeks ago, and just uploaded the pictures to my computer today
 

 
I ended up quilting two more spirals, and I named the quilt Ripple. I really like how the spirals came together and overlapped.
 

 
 
I'm also very pleased with how much I was able to transform (disguise) the challenge fabric.
 
I pieced the back with strips of Kona solids and Essex linen.
 
 
I did have a few puckers on the back, but nothing too noticeable.
 
And one final picture, or a very happy quilt holder...
 
 
I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else made later this month!
 
Linking with Nini & The Sea's Weekly Inspiration Linky Party
 
Happy Sunday!