The Struggle Was Real

I like to think of myself as someone who works well under pressure, but that didn't seem to be working much for me this past weekend. 

On deadline to produce a 12" block for the Carp Fair's Community Quilt Block Challenge, it was time to get started. I'd been looking at the fabrics every day for a few months but just not getting any inspiration. All of my choices relied on more background fabric than I have and it was proving tough to switch gears. The struggle was real.

But, it was time to make something - anything! - so I landed on a modified Bear Paw. I checked the math to ensure that I could make eight HSTs at a time and made a test just to confirm that my dimensions were correct. Good thing, as I was half an inch too large, so I scaled things back. With the fabric restrictions I just was so leery of making a wrong cut.

I laid everything out very carefully so that my seams would nest nicely all around the block (do I sound paranoid?) and in no time it was ready... 

though I have to say that there was a fair bit of lunch bag letdown when it was.

Despite a little voice in my head (one of several 😉) I used the bees for the large centre squares because I wanted to see the bees, but the dark batik that I used for the claws would have been better there. Should have following my gut. 

Or, I could have switched the placement of the gold dot and the darker of the two creams used in the coordinating HSTs. Not surprisingly, I spent all night dreaming of patterns that would have been better suited.

By the next morning it wasn't looking quite as bad as I had imagined, but still nothing to write home about. Ah well, hopefully it plays well with others. Ironically, I realized that last year I also made a Bear Paw block, but it was much scrappier. I much prefer a four patch in place of those large squares.

Betty's block is very different to mine and very charming: a beautiful little schoolhouse set in the centre of radiating strips, and it's hand pieced. It has a scrappiness that I just love and will be a wonderful addition to the quilt. 

This was her inspiration. You can see how she mapped out the making of her schoolhouse and ultimately, the block. I much prefer the small pieces in her block to the sizes that I used. Apparently her block was not without it's challenges either - she ripped things out a few times and pressed her seams as she went, something she never does when she hand pieces.

It's a real charmer, reminiscent of a farmhouse and the rural community that hosts and attends the fair. Jean was tickled with both of them so that's all that matters....M

Blue Smoke in Every Direction

I was all gung ho to move a couple of quilts along over the weekend but it seems as though the quilting gods and I were out of sync. 

I had pulled a mauve floral for the Diamond Dust border and decided that it was time to see if everything worked together.

So I laid out the blocks in the hopes of getting them sewn together. Not so fast. I am two blocks short! How did that happen??? 

Miffed, I packed them all back into a pile and decided that I would focus on the Yellow Houses instead. 

Guess it just wasn't my day because I was short three blocks for this one! Whaaaat??!

I have made at least six extra white houses and not enough yellow. No combination of layouts was going to get me to where I needed to be without making more yellow houses. The blue smoke in the room got decidedly thicker.

I'm not keen on cutting more but I might have to. I was so steamed that these blocks got packed up again too but I may lay them out one more time to see if, after I add the borders, it will be large enough for a throw. The extra blocks could be made into a baby quilt with an alternating block of some sort, possibly an Irish Chain. 

So, now I'm desperately trying to put on my big girl pants, one leg at a time, to figure out what to do. The easiest is probably to start by making two more Diamond Dust blocks but I'm still not in the mood for that. Hope it doesn't mean that there's a squirrel lurking somewhere....M

Another Housing Development

It seems that I am not the only one building houses these days. Recently I was making arrangements to drop a couple of flimsies off to Roberta to quilt and innocently asked what she had been up to. This beautiful winter quilt showed up in my IN box. Called Winter Village, it is made from a pattern by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts. Unlike some of her patterns, there are no templates for this one.

Roberta has long wanted a peaceful, wintery quilt to hang for the months of January and February and landed on this pattern, which she thinks suits perfectly. Her goal was to make it in a variety of greys with just a touch of colour, but nothing that would overpower the quiet winter feeling that she was looking for. I think she aced it!

Blue was a natural choice for her touch of colour so she made one blue house, blue birds and added a few blue berries. She chose fabrics from two Primitive Gatherings lines, Urban Gatherings and Indigo Gatherings. Says Roberta, "The little prints worked so well for the little houses and, other than stitching around the applique, it came together quite quickly."

The applique was done by machine with a blanket stitch. Apparently stitching around the snowflakes was tedious, but not hard - a test of patience, but worth it in the end. And she used the wonderful Let It Snow panto that she used on Jane's Little Trees quilt to quilt it, adding to its soft, snowy feel.

Her goal was have it ready for January 1 and she was delighted to meet it. (A deadline - now there's an idea! I could learn from this girl 😉).

I think that it would make a great square quilt as well.

Her only regret is that because it hangs on the wall there is no opportunity for Miss Ivy to photo bomb it. Not to be put off, Miss Ivy smartly found herself a warm quilt to cuddle into during these cold months. Smart cookie. Apparently she doesn't yet know how to use the TV remote, but she has staff for that....M

A Growing Neighbourhood

After literally months of absence I finally made it back down to the sewing room to introduce myself to my machine and we had a wonderful time getting reacquainted. Top of the list are my yellow houses.

The negative blocks have been cut for ages so all I had to do was sit in and sew - it's incredible that it took me so long to get there, but seeing the results made up for that somewhat (and spending my time getting Candied Hexagons to the finish line and off the hoop was totally worth it). 

There's a few new prints in this batch which is making it fun to work on. They range from very geometric...

to soft and romantic.

It is quite incredible the difference that it made combining both positive and negative versions of this block, and thanks to all of you who nudged me in this direction - it's got so much more depth and interest, a completely different feel to it.

The plan is to add a few more blocks to the finished pile this weekend and take another look at the inspiration quilt to start figuring out the sawtooth border. Oh, and to come up with a better name than 'the house quilt' 😏....M

Miss Ivy's Figgy Houses

I've got another beautiful quilt to share from Miss Ivy, a.k.a., Roberta - Figgy Houses. (Miss Ivy is proving to be a natural at this, isn't she?) 

Between the quilt name and the fabrics that she used, it's not hard to determine that it's inspired heavily by Fig Tree Quilts.

This quilt is made from two Fig Tree collections, Ella and Ollie and Scarlet and Sage. I always love seeing how Roberta quilts her quilts - she has a terrific eye for what design will work, and executes perfectly.

Roberta made this one in April/May to hang in their entrance for the summer - she has an amazing collection of quilts to greet her clients. Of course, with COVID-19, house quilts took on a whole new meaning!  

Aren't they just the most charming little houses?

The house block is from a Thimble Blossoms pattern called Summerville and the sashing is a favourite of hers from Snow Goose (I shared that quilt with you quite a while ago; mine has yet to be cut. Ahem.). It is a simple 9-patch but it has so much impact! I have used it on Country Charmer and have to admit that it's a fave as well.

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend, it will be a little smaller and a little quieter than usual as we all try and follow coronavirus protocols, but there is still so very much to be thankful for, including the fact that we have the comfort of our own little houses to help keep us save. Happy Thanksgiving!....M

Closing in on a Decision

I've hinted at the speed bump that has crossed my path on my yellow houses and I think it's time to get some feedback. I've put a few blocks up on a small design wall just outside our bedroom and pass it several times a day thinking that the penny will drop, and I think that it's getting there. Slowly.

Let me start by saying that what I thought was my relatively good memory has failed me lately. I found this inspiration quilt online some time ago and loved it, but I only saved the image and totally missed tracking the quilter (if you recognize it, please let me know so that I can give credit where credit is due). I love the mix of yellows and its simplicity.

After having lost and found the image several times, I finally tracked it down for another look at the border. Two things. Notice anything about the blocks? All of the houses aren't yellow - half are white! And, in my mind's eye, the border was made of HSTs...

...as in THIS red and white version from Margaret Mew's Quilt Station blog. Sheesh, was I confused. Talk about partial recall.

So now the question becomes what to do about the blocks and the border. The yellow inspiration quilt is wonderfully graphic because it's all solids but I'm using a variety of yellow prints and the more I look at it, the more I think that if I make the negative version of the blocks in prints as well it just won't have the same impact, it will just become muddled. But take a look at the red version again - it's totally scrappy and works.

The border decision is easier. Once I saw the 'ribbon' border I knew that was going to be it, I just need to figure out the spacing so that the design works at the corners (the inspiration piece almost works, but not quite).

So what do you think? All yellow houses or a combination of positive and negative versions of the block? As I'm writing this I think that the answer is staring me in the face, but let me know what you think....M

p.s. BTW, can I get a round of applause? I think I've finally cracked the code of how to place images in the new Blogger. Yay!

House Arrest

I'm happy to report that all of my Huddle blocks are now complete! Given that, you would expect that I would start sewing them together to make a flimsy, right? Nope. Instead, I have gone the way of the squirrel and started a new project.

This project has been on my list for a few years now and with everyone still under pseudo 'house arrest' in these COVID-19 times it seemed sort of appropriate. To the top of the list it goes.

Besides, Halo is still occupying my design wall so I'd have to lay Huddle out on the floor - that just seemed like more than I wanted to do today.

Not sure if you know about Pandemic Chocolate Days or not so I'll fill you in (consider this a public service announcement...). My good friend Rhonda has been more than thoughtful throughout these days of social distancing. She lives about 5 hours away from me and every now and then a little note arrives in the mail with a cheery hello and an emergency ration of chocolate. Love it!

It is amazing how something so small can have a huge impact on my day; it certainly helped me get through the cutting 😊. Recently, I found little individually wrapped Dairy Milk bars so it's time to return the favour.

It is rainy and cool today after a week of what felt like August, so down to the sewing room I went. I'm enjoying making these blocks more than I had anticipated - loving the dots too!....M

Shipping Out to California

We are in the middle of a serious cold snap here which makes one pine for warmer climes like, say, California. Wouldn't a trip to California be nice right about now? Yes indeedee! Sunny skies and no snow and ice or dangerously frigid temperatures to deal with. But, since that's not in the cards, I'm shipping off a bundle of house blocks to Debbie's Quilt Shop instead.

After my recent post about this project, my sister Anne got in on the fun, making blocks with the pattern suggested by Lori recently at Humble Quilts, and I do mean fun. Her houses are made from bright, sunny prints...

and she has fussy cut her window blocks to include great little characters like this turtle...

and this puppy.

This gal just cracks me up - very Pippi Longstockingish, wouldn't you say?

All told, she made nine blocks, one of which included this little nod to Canada. And, when added to my six, there will be 15 more blocks to help the quilters in Paradise CA in their rebuilding efforts after the devastating fires.

If you are just seeing the info about this initiative for the first time and would like to join in, please do. They are 10" blocks, are easily made from a few scraps, and come together really quickly; Lori included instructions in her post, too. Every block helps.....M

A Helping Hand

Even though we don't live in California, much less the USA, we couldn't help feeling the devastation of the folks impacted by the massive forest fires this fall. To have a town completely wiped off the map is a sobering thought - so many people left with nothing. I have a hard time imagining it and cannot even begin to conceive of what those people are going through.

Lori at Humble Quilts shared a facebook post from Debbie's Quilt Shop in Paradise, CA the other day encouraging quilters to make 10" house blocks for the fire survivors to  help in some small way as they rebuild their lives. She included block instructions from Dianne Knott of Butterfly Threads Quilting - very easy and fun to put together. The block is made with 2.5" squares and strip scraps - easy peasy.

House blocks have been something that I've wanted to play with for some time now so the decision to make a few seemed like a no-brainer; after I watched the Rose Bowl Parade I sat down to make one or two.

That quickly turned in to half a dozen (I told you they were fast and easy).

We're to write something on each block with a permanent marker, which I don't have, so I'll need to dig one up before sending these off. If you are at all inclined to help out I'd encourage you to visit Lori's blog for the instructions. Blocks can be shipped to:

Debbie's Quilt Shop
6287 Fremont Drive
Magalia, CA  95954

Short on time but still want to help? Lynn at Sew'n Wild Oaks is selling tickets on a quilt to raise money for the survivors. She grew up in Paradise so the loss is doubly painful. Selling tickets on a quilt doesn't seem like it would be a big deal but as of December 15 she had raised $13,105 from generous quilters around the world and it just keeps coming! It is even more amazing when you realize that tickets are $5 a piece. See what she's done with the money so far. Make cheques payable to:

Lynn Wilder
PO Box 3236
Arnold, CA 95223-3236

Please write 'Stitch Paradise Back Together' in the memo section of the cheque.

This was a such a great way to start my new year. Happy 2019 everyone!....M