Triangles - ATB

There has been some progress on Possum's triangle themed quilt from the bee Around the Block round 2.  When you ask Possum which block is her favourite she replies with 'all of them', Blue replies with 'the triangle one'.  I am not sure which one he means!

I made three blocks on the bottom row.  Mine are the half square triangles, not the super clever triangle block 3rd from the left.  I think I have about 8 more blocks needed to get it to size but I wanted this off my design wall so I pieced what I had so far.

To see who made each block, click through to Flickr here.

I do like this quilt for a little girls room.

Hurrah, Around The Block 1 finished!

Many moons ago I joined an excellent quilting bee full of clever people. More moons past and I pieced the top and tagged each block with the name of the person who made it.  You would think it would then be a simple matter to finish the quilt off so that the small boy could use it on his bed, but still more moons past.

I did indeed finally finish it, last night in fact.  The small boy seems very happy with it.

I backed it in a grey homespun and used some Kei honeycomb for the binding.  Perhaps I should have used a solid as it is a pretty busy quilt.  Oh well!

I quilted straight lines around each block and then I did a straight line geometric kind of fill in.   It was hard to know what to do given this was a wonky log cabin block so there was not much to line up with.

If you want to see the quilt top in full follow the link above.  It was too sunny here to get a good full shot so I didn't worry with one.

This is also the first WIP I have finished as part of the 12 in 12 challenge!  

Hurrah!!

Around the Block R1 ~ Wonky Log Cabins

In my last post I mentioned that I had been working on the wonky log cabin blocks from Around the Block Round 1.  I was going to wait until the quilt was finished, but that might take awhile yet so I thought I would blog the top as it is.  Also, I was too excited to wait!

Each of these 54 wonky log cabin blocks is 10 inches finished so it is a pretty good size quilt for a small boy and his single bed.  I had to stand back to try to get the whole thing in the frame for a photo and the overcast nature of the afternoon did not help show off each fabric, but the overall effect can still be seen.

I will have to get organised and finish this quilt as Blue keeps pulling it off the sewing table to point out another animal or print.  He seems very taken with the rockets and can be heard saying 'whoosh' a lot as he inspects each block.

Special thanks to Sheridan, Helen, Lara, Susie, Donna, Louise, Bronwyn, MJ, Amy, Lynn, Rita, Kate, Rachel, Jan and Annie who made up the members for this bee and collectively made 31 blocks for this quilt during the course of the bee.

Camp Weekend

I just got back from a weekend away at camp with a group of lovely ladies and good friends I met through knitting.  I packed my sewing machine and a heap of quilting supplies and hit the road.  I thought it was ironic that I packed the iron to take away for the weekend when I don't use it here, but given I didn't use it there either it was more typical than ironic.

The camp was held at Lake Keepit and it is a great spot for such a thing.  It was VERY cold on the Friday and Saturday but thankfully Sunday was a lovely day.

I took my 31 blocks that where made during Round 1 of Around the Block.  I love these wonky log cabins but I had not made any myself until this weekend.  I made another 23 blocks to finish the quilt top to size and got it all pieced, photos of that to come later.  Special Thanks to Ellie who made a couple of these blocks for me over the weekend.

I ate so much great food.  Also so much junk food.  There is a melting moment in the photo above as made by Mandy.  They are perfect, it feels wrong to call it a biscuit as it really is baking at it's best.  I also ate 2 packets of Tim Tams, a large bag of chips, M&M's and plenty of coffee.  Today starts my detox I think!

I also took my 9 patch quilt from the Chaletgirl Block Swap.  That really was AGES ago but I am happy to report that it is now quilted and as of last night the binding has been machine sewn on so a few nights in front of the telly hand stitching should see that done.  HURRAH!!

What a great weekend!  I am already looking forward to next year as I had a great time laughing and got a lot done.  It was wonderful all round.

Around the Block ~ AJ

The last block is now sewn for the Around the Block Round 2 quilting bee. This leaves me happy because I am finished, and sad because it is over. Well, kind of over, because I have the top to piece from Round 1 as well as the newer lot of blocks sitting in a pile from this round too. I could drag this out awhile yet I think!
 

This block was for AJ.  She wrote the tutorial which is really well done making what looks like a complicated centre into a straight forward task.  Thanks AJ, I really enjoyed this block a lot.

AJ's tutorial for the centre block can be found HERE.  AJ also did a tutorial for the Log Cabin portion here if you are interested in looking at that too.

Many thanks to Sheridan who organised this swap.  This is the third swap, or fourth perhaps that I have done with Sheridan now.  I have always enjoyed myself and have learnt a lot.  I have made some pretty great friends too.   Also a big thanks to everyone who took part this round and made it exciting to check the mail when a block came back home.

Around the Block ~ Kate

Another couple of bee blocks for Around the Block.

Kate of Two Little Banshees sent out a variety of fabric and asked for blocks that included crosses.

The two above are 6.5 inches and 10.5 inches.  I really enjoyed piecing these together and I can't wait to see the quilt when it is done.

I only have one more block to go and I am finished this bee.  I have all my blocks back already so maybe then I will have time to piece my top?  Or maybe the top from round 1? Or maybe not ;)

*****************************************************************

In non sewing news, I did add the recipe to the Pastisio Pie post below.  I had meant to do it at the time, but Blogger was playing up and I gave up.  Sorry about that.

Around the Block

I have been sewing a bit this past week.  It feels good to be making progress.

Two blocks for Louise who asked for whirly/star blocks to make a red, blue and white quilt for her son. 

I really like the block in front, so was upset when it ended up too small.  I have sent it back as it is in the hopes Louise can use it somehow, maybe in the back or in a cushion...  Sigh.  I hope this is ok as Louise had said one block would be fine and the block to the back is ok.

I also finished the second block for Kate.  I don't know why I put this off as it was pretty quick and simple to put together.  I just had some strange idea that I should catch up with the other blocks before sewing the second/optional block together.

I now only have two lots of blocks to sew for Around the Block 2 and then I will be finished.

Around the Block ~ Rachel

Two scrappy butterfly blocks for Rachel.

Rachel has blogged the tutorial for this block if you want to give it a try.

I must confess to french knot fail on the antennae ends, and one block will require a scant 1/4 inch seam as it is slightly smaller than it should be.  Other than those two (small?) things I really like these two blocks!

Around the Block ~ Kate

I was a bit behind in my Around the Block sewing, so to avoid Sheridan having to get cross with me I whipped up this Mosaic Block for Kate using this tutorial as requested.

I really like this block and have plans to use it for myself one of these days.  Given it used 5" squares cut in half on the diagonal it would be a great scrappy quilt option to use up the small bits of everything you love.

Quilt Blocks

Playing catch up before the end of the year on the block swaps.

For the swap the local girls started on Ravelry, some half square triangles in a 9 patch block.

For Abbe in Around the Block, who requested stacked rectangles in her green and grey fabrics.

For Sheridan, the bee leader in Around the Block, who requested Mondrian style blocks.  This is very striking and will be wonderful as a quilt top!



Some Sewing!

Some quilt blocks for the Around the Block quilting bee. 

These are for Gillian and are made using this tutorial.

These were a lot more fun than the hemming and mending I have been doing of late :)

A Spiderweb Block

This block was the first completed block for Around the Block Round 2.

It is for Amy over at Badskirt and I am a little bit in love with her block choice and the fabric she sent out.

I had never made a Spiderweb style block before and I really like the end result.

The tutorial by Heather Ala Mode is fantastic and Amy's quilt is going to be wonderful when it is done.

Around The Block Round 1 ~ Wrap Up

 It feels like a very long time ago that I signed on for Chaletgirl's quilting bee Around the Block and yesterday I posted the last of the packages back so round one has finished.

I learnt so much off the girls in this group.  My sewing wasn't always as good as I would have liked but most of the time I did OK.  I loved getting blocks back in the mail during my month and I loved knowing that each month I had a part in creating something great for someone else.

July was Jan's month and she sent out precut borders and asked us to create a centre block for each of them.  This quilt will be for the 'Princess Room' at Sewjourn when it is finished. 

I hope I get to see it one day!

MJ  was last with August.  She asked for Indian Star blocks and wanted us to add in a bit of fabric from our own stash to one point as a reminder of all the girls who took part in the bee.

What a great idea :)

Round 1 is over, and I have already started on Round 2, but will leave that for another post.  It feels like a long time between finished projects these days so had better spread them out!

Around the Block

It was my month for the Around the Block quilting Bee in June and I have all my blocks back and have been having fun playing with them on the fuzzy felt. 

Do I want to sash each block in white?  I may have more playing to do before settling on the end design and starting to sew them together :)

I have enjoyed the quilting bee so much that I signed up for Round 2 which has seen me picking more fabrics and thinking about design ideas again.  I am thinking a quilt for Possum this round in pink and green featuring triangles of some sort. 

Given it has been raining a lot here, I have been glad to stay inside and play with fabric :)

Circle Around

The Around the block quilting bee this month is very exciting. 

Firstly, it is my month too so I have been having so much fun watching Wonky Log Cabin inspired blocks pop up into the group pool, and now back into my mailbox!

Secondly, Annie asked for circle inspired block, yikes!

Once I had calmed down at the thought of sewing a curved line in a quilt block I used this great tutorial to create the block pictured on the left.  Then I was inspired by this raw edge circle block to create the second block for Annie. Talk about being tested, but in the end the circles were fun, even if I am not rushing off to make a whole quilt just yet!

My (Tardy) Creative Space

I can't believe it is Friday morning.  One day I am whinging about it being only Tuesday, then I wake up and the week is gone.  How did that happen?

I missed My Creative Space yesterday but will toss this in as a late entry :)

I spent a day cutting up fabric and tossing it in piles and yesterday I carted all the envelopes off to the Post Office.  June is my month for Around the Block's Quilting Bee.  There are some VERY clever ladies going to be working on this fabric!!  I hope I have included enough fabric, enough variety and that my request for Wonky Log Cabin style or Wonky Square in Square style blocks goes down well with others...

I am nervous excited about it and can't wait to see what starts popping up in the Flickr Pool :)

***********************

While I am chatting about the quilting bee, I should show off these two blocks that I made for Rita at Red Pepper Quilts.  Rita asked for half square triangle blocks in a variety of sizes.  I think these will fit in nicely (I hope...!).

Sewing

I have not had my sewing machine out for an age so I took advantage of the fact that I was spending a quiet Mother's Day at home to dust off the machine.  I desperately needed to catch up with my Around the Block quilting bee blocks for April so that is what I worked on.

Rachel from the Four Wise Monkeys blog is making quilts for her boys.  I loved the fabric she sent out and it was fun to play with in trying to come up with a couple of blocks withiing the style she requested.

Then I worked on a couple of blocks for Susie at Yarnplanner.  More great fabrics to play with!  I love the fabric Susie had printed with her son's name it, pity my month is next, I don't have time to borrow that idea...

Having finished April's blocks (finally) I am back up to date.  Pity May is nearly half gone so I had best get moving on Rita's blocks and then cutting up and packaging my fabric because my turn is next!  I am both nervous and excited about this!!

Swap Stuff

I have been busy working on pincushions for the current swap. These were all made from the Heather Bailey pattern and there were simple and quick to whip up so these get a big thumbs up from me.

I seem to have made a few extra.  I will have to keep myself one and am sure I can put the others to good use too.

I have also been working blocks for Around the Block quilting bee.  These wonky stars are for Bronwyn who sent out a selection of Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  This was bright and cheerful and just what I needed!

The tutorial I used for these blocks can be found here if you want to give some a try.

Life in the Village

Amy is planning a village this month for Around the Block.

I think it will be a fun place to live with new services such as a hospital, barn and a park too.

This is my first attempt at edgestitch applique, I hope people are too busy looking at the wonderful fabrics to notice my stitching!

Tickled Pink

This lot of Quilting Bee blocks goes to Donna who is making a quilt for her daughter's 5th birthday.  Looking at the blocks popping up into the Flickr pool this is going to be a very special birthday gift for a girl who loves the colour pink.

The theme for these blocks was simple shapes using Dear Jane as inspiration. 

 I hope these two fit in well enough, they are certainly simple, and shapes...