Project Quilting 16.5 - Arrow Postcard

This week's Project Quilting challenge needed to include an arrow shape.  I considered making a wall hanging, but I needed this to be a quick project.  After a bit of research I ended up playing with two variations of the Arkansas Traveler block.  I made my own tiny paper-pieced template, picked out some scrap and made some arrows.  

Tried out a couple of new things with this postcard.  I cut a wider binding (1¼ inch) and also sewed the binding closer to the edge (a fat ⅛ inch).  I had to update my notes - don't need the wider binding if I stitch it so close to the edge.  But for once I had too much fabric rather than too little to work with.  I also used fusible web to tack down the back side of the binding - that worked so much better than glue.  Will certainly use that in the future. 

Sharing with:
Persimon Dreams - Project Quilting 16.5
Melva Loves Scraps - Sew & Tell
My Quilt Infatuation - Needle & Thread Thursday
A Quiltery - Put Your Foot Down Thursday
Alycia Quilts - Finished or Not Friday
Nina-Marie - Off the Wall Friday

Project Quilting 16.4 - Birthstone Bowl Cozies

 

This week's Project Quilting challenge allowed me to pick off another backlogged project.  Yay!  

The challenge required using my birthstone color, which is peridot.  I can't tell you how much I hated that color as a kid.  I wish I had been born in any other month than August!  The color grew on me about 20 years ago when I picked out a pair of peridot and amethyst earrings (still one of my favorite pairs).  While researching this project I discovered the stone comes in quite a variety of greens.  I dug through my stash and found a few fabrics that would work (ooh!  pretty!).

Back to Black (and Grey and White)

Back to work on the Midnight Garden quilt.  

Still no complete blocks but I now have a dozen octagons.  The light set is done and I'm working diligently on the darker ones.  I really like the contrast of the black and silver.  Such a pain to press open all the seams, but I'm impressed with how flat the centers are (with eight points all jammed together).  

I spent some time brainstorming the best way to square the block and how/when to add the corners.  Each set will need to be pieced to the corners of specific blocks, so I won't start cutting and working on them until octagons are lined up and ready. 

What really excited me was setting up the design wall - swapping out the small piece of batting for a new king-sized sheet that covers the entire wall.  I had to conscript Rob's help to wrestle it in place.  Its should be just tall enough to hold the whole quilt. 

I Like Thursday: Sewing, Snow and Skiing

Wow - the last time I liked up with I Like Thursday was at Christmas.  I've been busy, I guess!  Yeah, lots of good stuff going on.

The new year means a new season of Project Quilting challenges:  three completed and three to go.  I've been squeezing in the challenges between the Midnight Garden quilt: a week for the PQ challenge, then a week of sewing triangles (and playing with layouts).  I've accomplished a lot in six weeks!

Snow!  Let's see... first was the Snow Ball at the end of January - a 12 hour contra dance event (I made it through most of the first nine hours before I tuckered out).  It was a blast!

Project Quilting 16.3 - Common Block Postcard

This week's Project Quilting challenge was common blocks - block designs that have been around for so long no one knows who "invented" them.  We had to have a finished project with at least three common blocks.

The challenge didn't fit with any of my backlogged projects, so I settled on another postcard.  To keep from getting bogged down with too many blocks I looked at only 4-patch block patterns.  Then I pilfered the pile of black-and-white scrap from my current Midnight Garden project and got to work. 

My original plan was six two-inch blocks in the black and grey.  I fiddled with it and got most of them stitched together... and that's when things went off the rails. 

Grey and Black Triangles

Now that I've finished the 228 black-and-silver triangles it's time to work on the grey-and-black ones!  

You may recall I decided to cut the fabric a little larger (maybe an eighth of an inch) than the pattern called for.  I then made myself a set of plexiglass templates to help cut the stitched together diamonds and larger triangles down to size.  I ended up marking my templates with various guide lines to help ensure I get all the pesky points in the right place.  Seems to be working pretty well so far... but the final test will be when I stitch together the full blocks.

One More Round

Progress!  I've got stacks of 228 dark grey and silver triangles all stitched together and trimmed for the Midnight Garden quilt.  

Ready for a laugh?  I'm still fussing about the layout.  Take a look at the next round of OMG-look-at-all-the-designs-by-just-moving-a-few-pieces.  I created eight extra light grey triangles simply to make design layout less tedious.  I also took the time on the computer visualize the full 56 blocks.  

I collaged a few layouts together so this post isn't photo-heavy, but it can still be a bit overwhelming to look at.  I think they resemble those magic eye pictures.  What do you see?

Project Quilting 16.2 - Ombre Apron

I have a handful of back-burner project just waiting for time or a reason to start them.  This week's Project Quilting Ombre challenge turned out to be an excellent opportunity to make myself an apron. 

Sunday I measured Rob's apron, looked at some patterns and dug through my stash.  I was tempted to go for a black and grey ombre... but I don't DARE touch any of the potential leftovers of my current project.  Not until it's done!  I pulled out some greens, blues, neutrals, reds.  I ended with a set of 15 pinks and reds:  several quilt leftovers, a couple of quilt rejects and a few that simply caught my eye.  

My next thought - why do plain stripes when I could do waves?  I had to laugh at how similar this was last year's second week challenge.  Really, I was going to do something different.  Oh, well.

Done With Dithering

I'm done with the dithering.  Maybe.  I hope.  We'll see.

A couple of weeks ago I decided I liked the lighter version of the Midnight Garden blocks, so I went hunting for a grey to replace the black.  It took a few hours and a couple of stops to find what I wanted, but I found something that would do the trick.

Or so I thought....

Once I laid out the fabrics I wasn't so sure.  They're all good choices.  It would be easier to decide if one was terrible.  The grey lightened up the whole quilt, which was great, but it looked a little washed out.

Fine.  

I decided no matter what, I was going with the Solid Middle layout.  Which means I could move forward with the dark diamonds and the silver background.  I have to say they make for a pretty star all by themselves. 

Project Quilting 16.1 - Djinn Postcard

Woot!  Time for a new season of Project Quilting!  Looking over my posts I realized this is my fifth year of participating.  Wow.  

This year's challenges starts out with Mythical Creatures.  So many possibilities!  I spent some time researching various myths and stories: Celtic, Indian, Norse, Greek, Native American.  I wanted to avoid reaching for a dragon or a unicorn.  Then I started thinking of some books I've read in the last year or so that featured djinn.  Of course then there's the problem of rendering and making it small enough to fit on a post card.  So I settled for wisps of smoke coming from a magic lamp.  

Cute.  Quick.  Fun to make.