Friday Finale

It took two days, and no small amout of seam ripping.  (I followed the directions and joined all my half square triangles in the same direction when they should have been half one way and half the other.)  But the large Feathered Star block from Just Takes 2's sampler quilt in red and white is finished!  No, you are not suddenly color blind.  I'm making my version in green and white. I just couldn't find the right red.  I was procrastinating on this block because it looks so complex, but it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

I spent my procrastination time making up this little quilt top.  It's from ... hmm, well I jotted down the website to share with you and can't locate it at the moment.  I'll update as soon as I get my desk cleared off.  I think the gold binding will look nice, but I think I'm about 6 inches short.  I'll have to dig around and see if I can come up with a bit more.

This morning I quilted up the Four Patch I made earlier in the week from Shirley's leftover fabric ends.  The cable on the inner border is now a new favorite for me.  It worked quite well.

And, I quilted and put binding on this table runner made from three of Shirley's orphan blocks I showed you earlier too.  I practiced free motion feather quilting in the borders, but it's impossible to see against the print.  Probably a good thing considering my skill level at that! 

I've enjoyed linking up with crazymomquilts to see what everyone else is doing, and I've loved getting your encouraging comments.  I'll miss it since she has said she'll be too busy over the summer to host the linkup.  I'd be willing to try and learn how to add the linkup so we can continue over the summer.  Leave a message if you would participate, and if there is enough interest I'd give it a try.
Happy Weekend!
Jean

Design Wall Monday

This weekend I worked on my Just Takes 2 green and white sampler quilt.  Blocks 15, 16 and 17 are done!   I had to do a bit of improvising on the basket block.  The side background pieces were too narrow, and I removed them to add wider pieces to make the block come out the right size.  I also did a few simpler blocks, so the checkerboard Blocks 28, 31and 32 are also done.  The big Feathered Star needs to be next, but I'm kind of afraid to tackle it.  Perhaps this week I'll take the plunge.  The paper piecing went a little better this weekend.  I think I only had to rip out one or two pieces per block instead of nearly every piece, which happened the previous weekend.

Also on my 'to do' list this week is to finish quilting and put binding on the table runner put together last Thursday from some Orphan blocks which came from Shirley, who was my dear friend's mother.  The pattern is Doe and Darts, and Shirley had made these three blocks.  Some of the pieces are hand pieced, and other parts are machine pieced.  She was probably auditioning colors in different places before making a bed sized quilt of this pattern.  I replaced the center square in one block so that two blocks matched, and put the third block in the center.   I had a bit of darker teal in my stash and cut the binding from that to give the quilt a frame.  It doesn't match anything in my home, but it is fun to see a project finished.

I really enjoy seeing what other quilters are working on by linking up with Judy's Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Two projects on the wall

The week has flown past, but I did quilt awhile on a couple of ongoing projects. First, I've been chipping away at the sampler blocks from Just Takes 2 .  I just couldn't find any red fabric that really called my name for this, but there was a lovely forest green and 5 whites with that same green in mini-prints.  They hopped right into my basket, and so my version will be green and white.  I have finished 13 blocks and this week put some of them together.  Now it feels like I'm accomplishing something! 

But...quite a few of the blocks are paper pieced blocks and I must admit that I have a terrible time with them.  For some reason I just can't think 'upside down and backwards'.  Though I seem to be following all the tips and directions, when I flip over a piece it just doesn't cover the area it's supposed to.  I end up ripping out the majority of the seams and trying again.  and again.  and sometimes again!   I'm quite a bit behind, but am trying to get one or two blocks done each weekend.

Another project this week has been blocks for the April Color Palette Challenge.  In my stash was a this print, which has probably been there 20 years!  I loved the color combinations, but never found anything to use it in.  The print is a bit overpowering.  But it has all the colors in the April challenge, so I'm making myself use it up. 

 

Considering the colors originally came from a pie, Shoo Fly Pie seemed the logical theme for my project.  I've been experimenting with 6 inch (finished) Shoo Fly blocks and colors.  The lighter colors just seem to disappear against the strong print.  The teal and red show up well, and the gold is ok.  I have some moss green and burnt orange scraps that I'll test out next.  Fabrics that 'read' solid give the eyes a place to rest amid the busy print background.   With the fabrics, blocks and colors in mind, the next challenge is a placement design.  That might take some thinking.  Any ideas out there?