First, I sewed up my December blocks for the Butterfly Threads Seeing Stars Sew Along over at Diane Knott's blog. This month we're doing pinwheels, which were fun. Here are my blocks:
This is the 4th month of the Sew-Along, and I'm really enjoying it. I originally started out with busy backgrounds for my blocks. The more I used them, the more I hated them. So this month I re-did a few previous blocks - the worst offenders - using plain Kona white as a background. Much better. Here are the first three months with busy backgrounds.
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| Before, with too-busy backgrounds |
And here are the four months' worth, having replaced a lot of the square-in-a-square backgrounds with plain white and adding this month's pinwheels:
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| After, with mostly-fixed backgrounds |
Four of those churn dash blocks (two in the bottom row and the two blue ones in rows above them) are likely candidates for some plain white background transplants next month!
This past weekend I also finished my Block of the Month for December for our local quilting shop's (Nuttall's) BOM class. This used a Mini Quick Curve Ruler for the petals, and I really enjoyed making these. The right one was made with the fabrics they gave us, and the left one is made from stash.
These are all four of my BOMs with their fabric so far:
And these are my extra blocks, which will eventually make a kid's quilt for donation. Note that there was no way on earth I was going to do all those little half-square triangles again. I did a giant red nine-patch instead.
I also wanted to show you the quilt that Cousin Kim made for her son-in-law for Christmas. He is a graphic designer by trade and a disc jockey by hobby. This was a pattern from our local Shop Hop from a few years ago. The pattern had a lot of mistakes that Kim had to puzzle out and fix. You can see some spacers she had to add to the center of the two side borders.
I had the pleasure of quilting it: a cross-hatch in the center portion and a basic stipple in the outer border.
My Christmas sewing is mostly complete; I just have to sew up a back for the quilt for Cousin Kim, then baste, quilt and bind it. I'll have a progress report on that this weekend. It's really the only thing left on my Christmas list. How is your Christmas sewing and shopping going?
This week is mostly free of obligations, other than a doctor check-up for Bruce's arm. It's probably too early to get all the stitches out, but at least he may progress out of the monstrous splint he's in.
10 comments:
Cousin Kim really hit it out of the park with this gift!! Perfect pairing of quilt to person. He's going to LOVE it!!!
I have been wondering if I will need to go back and simplify my fabric choices for Diane's Sew-Along, too. I'm going to wait until all the blocks are done and see what it all looks like as I start assembling. I love your Sew-Along fabrics!
I like both versions! But I've never met a quilt that was too 'busy' for me so... as long as you like it, that's all that matters.
And the giant red nine patch made me think...were we separated at birth? I so would have done that too! HAHAHA
I just need to sew the HSTs into pinwheels today to catch up on Seeing Stars. Got waylaid by Bonnie Hunter's Frolic mystery clues. I'm only doing half, but since it's weekly, I can't get behind on them. And sometimes you just have to slow down and catch your breath. You'll be cranking out new quilts in no time. Love the blog header, a varitable rainbow of rainbows. Good vibes being sent to Bruce.
Pat
I like the change to the white background fabric, too - but I think you could leave dome of the others as is to get some variety. They are a pretty combination of blocks! Cousin Kim's quilt is great - definitely perfect for her son-in-law! Hope Bruce has a good check-up!
Hi Cathy! I was wondering about you and how Bruce's surgery went. I hope all went well and that they got that last spot of cancer. Just be done already! I'm hoping that you get a catch to enjoy the season and each other. I'm sorry that you recently lost a good friend. That is so hard; the void is never fully filled. {{Hugs}} a bunch for both of you. I hold you both closely in prayer. Merry Christmas to you and your family. ~smile~ Roseanne
I hear ya on the 'too many triangles' decision. I was on the fence with the Bonnie Hunter mystery this year until I remembered that every year she want 8,000,000 (plus or minus 5) triangles to be made in one week. Nope. I really like that quick curve petaled flower, though. That I could do! Glad you're back in the brain saddle again :)
It's perfectly understandable that your brain went walkabout for a bit - it's had quite enough to cope with recently. I think you made the right decision to reverse sew those block and replace the backgrounds...much as it must have been a royal pain to do. Kim's SIL is going to love that quilt!!
Great progress on all your projects! Assume your hand is feeling better now.
If I could I would borrow (not actually kidnap) your brain because I love he way you think :-) I see what you are saying about busy backgrounds. Of course a solid white provides the best contrast. But low-volume prints can add dimension/depth. If the contrast is discernible from 10 feet, you are good to go. Wishing Bruce a speedy transition out of his monstrous splinter!!! And Happy Holidays to all of you :-)
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