A couple of projects

This is going to be a busy week, with a meeting, a pedicure, and the library Fall Festival booksale.  So I probably won't be able to keep up with my almost daily big block making or other projects.  I'll be lucky if I make dinner a few of the days.  Here's the latest big block, a 16" Dresden Plate in burgundies, inspired by Karen's recent block.

I usually hand applique Dresdens onto their backgrounds, but I just didn't feel like it.  So I carefully machine stitched it, including the center using matching thread.   I also did a 12" raffle block in fall colors the same way for the upcoming state quilt guild meeting.  They turned out fine, but I will know they are machine done!

I love the fabric I used in the center.  It's black with burgundy/purple maple leaves, a gift from another Karen in Canada.  The background fabric has teal, green, and burgundy; there's plenty left for a few more projects.

For one of my local guilds, I've volunteered to make a block of the month for the program team I'm on.  The December meeting is the Tuesday before Christmas when people are rushing to finish things.  So I've settled on a wintery theme and have been trying various snowflake blocks.  So far this is the "winner," but I may try a few others.  The block finishes at 11" but I'm going to try to adapt it so that it ends up at 12".  

It goes together fairly easily, log cabin style, but those diagonals may be a problem for beginners.  I'm going to suggest appliqueing them, so I'll give that a try, too.

Finished and unfinished

 I forgot to take a picture of the Christmassy mug rug I made for Leigh in a swap, but, thankfully, she did.  She has a black dog so I used doggy Christmas fabric.  Because she lives in Australia, I didn't want to do anything wintry, either.  I wrapped the mug rug in some more of the doggy fabric which I love.  The dogs are kind of wacky.

The dog was paperpieced, using a free pattern I found online.  Leigh's dog is a cocker spaniel, so I probably should have made shorter legs, but that would make the mug rug a little smaller than my usual 6" x 9" size.  I have fun quilting the ears and making it scrappy.

I've been chipping away at my 16" sampler blocks and made this Drunkard's Path the other day.

I got the idea from a new book, Crumb Quilts, by Emily Bailey.  All of the quilts in the book are made with "crumbs," snippets of leftover fabrics, but my block is just made of scraps.   The designs in her book are really great, especially the diagonally striped drunkard's path bed-sized quilt in many colors.

I got the book because I'm thinking of joining a crumb block swap in 2022, but I must say Bailey's directions for making crumb blocks are a bit too brief for me - only two pages long.  I need a little more guidance because my first three blocks were really bad.  I ended up throwing one away, and the third one has gotten a brief stay of execution.  I'll give it another try soon.

More big blocks

 Each 16" block takes quite a bit of time to cut and put together, but I am enjoying the challenge.  Here are the latest.  First is a giant Dutchman's puzzle variation.

And next is a Courthouse Steps with a little churn dash in the center.

Saying goodbye

A dear friend passed away two weeks ago, and yesterday was her funeral.  I took a chance, covid-wise, and attended because I was looking for a way to say goodbye.  It all happened so suddenly, even though Christine's health was precarious for a long time.  She was a stalwart community volunteer who loved music, reading, and people.  A retired teacher, Christine was the heart beat of our Friends of the Library.  I'm not sure who will replace her at the helm, but we need to carry on to honor her memory.  

I will miss visiting her at her cottage in Maine, which Paul and I did several times over the years.  Once, we went when she wasn't there, but it wasn't as much fun.  She had been going to Wells all her life and knew all the nooks and crannies - the Rachel Carson Nature Preserve, the best places to get lobster, the Hackmatack Theater, a great used book store, and more.   She took us by the Bush family's summer compound,  and St. Ann's Chapel right on the beach, which she and they attended when possible. The photo from the website does not do this sweet place justice.

We introduced Christine to the Maine Trolley Museum where we all enjoyed a ride through the country.  We had great talks into the night there, and Paul and she enjoyed watching the Red Sox together. 

 

Rest in peace, Christine!  Thank you for all the good times, wise advice, and reading suggestions.

New scrappy blocks

 

I've been playing around with scrappy blocks of various sizes lately.  I'll probably put them all in the same quilt, but for now I'm just playing.  Every day I make a new block, usually one I've been thinking about making for a while.  It's fun!

The first block is based on something I saw on Bonnie Hunter's blog (Quiltville.com).  The pattern was "Kira" by Gudrun Erla, and I just figured out dimensions for a 6" block using 2.5" scrap squares for the flip and sew corners.  Four blocks came together nicely.  I might make a few more of these blocks because they go together very quickly.

The next block was Odd Fellows Chain, another 16" block that just looked better in a non-scrappy look.  The turquoise/purple batik came from Soni who was de-stashing.  I need to do a little of that, too!

The blue hat

 "

Finally finished!  This cozy blue hat took a lot longer than it should have because I was knitting it using the "magic loop" method, on circular needles.  I also made cables for the first time in many years (50?).

While it looks small, this hat actually stretches quite a bit and is cozy around the head in washable wool.  I have plenty more yarn left, so I started another hat,  on straight needles, so I'll have to sew it together when finished.  That's OK.  Knitting for me is meant to be relaxing, and there were just too many tense moments with this hat, simple as it was.  I plan to vary the body above the ribbing Gansey style, just for fun.

It's fall

 

This is not a block I remember making, but I made it for a state quilt guild exchange a couple ofyears ago.  I love the soft colors.   I enjoy making leaf blocks in the fall, and this arrangement has always appealed to me.

This is the best time of year for us - cooler nights, crisp mornings, sun and warmth in the daytime, sweaters or fleece, apple pie, chicken pie suppers.  The latter will probably not happen this fall due to COVID - again.  It is fun to go to at least one in the fall, though.  People sit down with strangers, often those just passing through the state, and chat like old friends.  I hear that St. Monica's church will be having a take out chicken pie supper, so I may arrange one of those.  We went out to a restaurant a few weeks ago when the COVID cases were down, but now that they are up again, we carry out again once in a while.  Everyone is wearing masks in most public places again.

I've been working on some bigger blocks using scraps lately.  I saw something similar to this 16" star block at right and had fun digging through my scraps to put it together.  I have boxes of 2.5" squares and half square triangles, so I only had to make a few more HSTs.

I have another appliqued piece from the Piece 'o' Cake The Best Sampler Ever to work on.  I went through various websites and old magazines to find a few more 16" blocks I can make.  I am tired of the grind of blocks of the month, and I will try hard not to work on any more in 2022.  But I will eventually make my four orange pineapple blocks for Sept. and may make more in the coming months.

A variety of blocks

Happy Labor Day!  It is nice to have a holiday to serve as a bridge into a new season.  We are noticing that fall has begun here in central Vermont.  Mornings have been dark but crisp, and the sun sets before 8 pm now.  Leaves are beginning to turn and even fall.  Apples are appearing in the stores.  I'm looking forward to making spiced pear jam again and also an apple cake.

I spent the last few days working on a variety of quilt blocks.  I counted my Harriet's Journey blocks after I made this month's eight.  I now have 56 and am beginning to run out of fabric.  I had started with a variety of whites and a fat quarter bundle of "Moody Blooms" by Moda.  I later bought a few more half yard pieces and just ordered another yard and a half for a border.  I'll wait until October to decide on a layout.  I may stop then and plan to put them all together in late December or January.  Many of Chiaverini's blocks are paper pieced, something I hadn't counted on when figuring out how much fabric to get.  

I signed up for an elephant block swap, so I started making some blocks and ended making all eight that I will need.  These were fun to make in Kaffe Fassett and other bright fabrics.  The pattern I'm using makes a 10.5" block, but mine ended up just a little shy of that size.  So I may make a few more to swap and keep the ones that are too small.

I'm thinking about making a few other animal blocks including birds with long legs and paper pieced dogs and cats.  I may also vary the backgrounds a bit because the solid black, while dramatic, really strains my eyes.   Maybe charcoal gray or even a blackish print might work.   The swap blocks aren't due until January, so they are now resting in a pizza box until I decide what to do.

A little sewing

I have been finishing Louise Penny's latest mystery, The Madness of Crowds, and, while it is a little slow going, it's very thought-provoking.  I ended up liking it a lot although it doesn't have as much "action" as some of her 16 previous books.  Now it's another year's wait until her next offering although I will probably read the book she has co-written with Hillary Clinton when it comes out in October.  I'm curious!

The Options blocks of the month are fairly easy this time, so I made four of them.  Now I'm wondering how I'll set them.  They're 8" square and I probably have at least 27 now.  I'll lay them out one of these days to see how they all look together.

Today, I've been busy making my eight Harriet's Journey blocks for September.  Those are 6" square and more work.  Most are paper pieced which means copying them onto foundation paper.  I've noticed that I use quite a bit more fabric for each block than I had thought I would.  So I'm running low on some, even though I bought a fat quarter bundle and several half yards of the focus fabric.  The background is a mix of whites and I have lots of that.  But maybe it's time to call it finished?