More nine-patches!

A couple of weeks ago, I received my first set of 16 blocks from the Three-by-Three nine-patch swap:


LOVE them!!! So many beautiful combinations here, and I love the variety. A few other swappers had complaints about the sizing of the blocks, but I was fortunate in that only a couple blocks were more than 1/8" off. I don't think I'll have any problems using all of them.

Feeling super-happy after getting my first set of blocks, I went ahead and signed up for another month of the swap. Here are the nine-patches I've made for July:


I think my favorites in this batch are the sienna/tan ones. But I like them all.

As I've been making blocks for the swap, I've kept one of each color-combination for myself (because I thought some of them were so pretty, I had to keep one!). So in the end, I'll have 48 swap blocks plus 12 of my own blocks. I'm not sure exactly how that will work out yet in a quilt, but I figure I won't have all of the blocks until August. So I have some time to figure it out.

Yay, scrappy nine-patches!!!

Jane Stickle Quilt: I-12

Block number/name: I-12 “Fred’s Square Fair”

Date completed: July 7, 2009

Number of pieces: 41

Notes on block: It’s been Stickle-a-rama ‘round here lately! But, I am officially up to date now with my blocks. Woo hoo! It feels really good to be ready for the new block being posted tomorrow on That Quilt.

So I was feeling kind of like my pile o’ green fabric was dwindling. But, thanks to a few great friends, and some recent shopping expeditions, I have lots of fresh, happy greens in the pile. Yay! The green I used for this block was one of the ones I purchased a couple of weeks ago from Pacific Fabrics. They were having a pajama party. If you wore your pajamas, you got a 20% discount! So put on my pj pants and picked up a few greens (and some grey… I’m thinking I’ll use that with my scrappy nine-patches).

Jane Stickle Quilt: L-5 & D-5

Block number/name: L-5 “Chattanooga Charlie”

Date completed: July 6, 2009

Number of pieces: 22

Notes on block: What makes this block special is the fabric. This pretty garden print was gifted to me by my friend Evelyn. Thanks, Evelyn!

While stitching this one up, my husband and I listened to the audio version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We just love the audio versions of the Harry Potter series. The reader, Jim Dale, is just amazing and truly captivating. Unfortunately, we’re nearly done now, and I’m feeling pretty sad. I’m going to miss Harry Potter!

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Block number/name: D-5 “Cathedral Window”

Date completed: July 6, 2009

Number of pieces: 21

Notes on block: I’ve been productive lately! This is the second of two blocks completed last night, and now I’m finally caught up with the group again. Hopefully, now that I’m caught up, I’ll be able to keep up! As for the block… it is simple and pretty. I really like this soft green print, and seemed like a great block in which to showcase it.

Jane Stickle Quilt: E-12 & I-9

Block number/name: E-12 “Mary Ruth’s Corset”

Date completed: July 4, 2009

Number of pieces: 28

Notes on block: When I saw the name of this block, I knew I wanted to use a pretty, feminine-looking fabric. Fortunately, the wonderful Zonnah had just sent a few scraps my way—one of which was just perfect for this block. I love how it turned out! And it really does remind me of a corset.

The weather was amazing on Independence Day this year and so we went and watched our town’s annual parade. Or rather, most of it. When the Seafair pirates appeared and made some BIG booms with their cannon, the boy kind of lost it. The startling noise was just too much. He recovered quickly though, and we visited a local water spray park where he got very wet. Much fun!

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Block number/name: I-9 “Chase a Myth”

Date completed: July 4, 2009

Number of pieces: 41

Notes on block: This is another block where I used some fabulous Zonnah scraps. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but the fabric actually has a subtle print. Very pretty! While stitching this one, my husband and I watched a crazy-cheezy movie called Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus, starring Deborah Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas (if you're feeling extra brave, check out the preview!). Oh, my! I thought it was fun, but my husband finished really questioning why such movies even get made. So we had to purge our systems with a viewing of The Hunt for Red October. Ahhh…. Much better!

July guild meeting

Thursday evening was the July meeting for my quilt guild. Not only did I turn in the completed quilt for Camp Korey, but I also managed to finish a few blocks.


This block is for the block exchange (read more about how the exchange works here). It was kind of a no brainer... not only was all the fabric provided, but the pieces were actually all cut out and ready to sew!


I also finished and turned in two blocks for this month's block lotto. The theme fabric was the patriotic print with red, white, blue, and gold. I saw it and just thought "stars." I'm really happy with how they came out. Hopefully the lucky winner will enjoy them as well! (Unfortunately, I was not the lucky winner.)

The guild meeting was a lot of fun this month. An amazing quilter, Judy Irish, spoke to us about her work, mostly machine quilting but also design. She brought an amazing array of quilts to share with us. It was a really inspiring event. And it also makes me want to do some more machine quilting. Now if I could only finish a project so I can do that!

Frantic finish

At the end of May, I attended a charity sew-in event put on by my guild. I completed a top and promised that I would have it finished up in time for the July meeting. Flash forward to the end of June... aaack! Working frantically, I basted the quilt on Sunday, I quilted it on Monday, and I bound it on Tuesday-- just in time for the July guild meeting yesterday.


I used a kit provided by the guild for the top, but I used fabric from my stash for the backing. It's not a perfect match to the front floral, but it is by the same company (In the Beginning) and has a similar feel to it.


You can see some of the backing peeking out in the photo above.


The quilting isn't anything special (just a simple meander), but it crinkled up very nicely in the wash.

It's definitely a cuddly quilt. And hopefully, it will help brighten up some camper's day.

Snip. Sew. Send. Month 1

June is the first month of the virtual quilt bee I joined, Snip. Sew. Send. This month, Adrienne sent out a lovely batch of vintage sheets (some even hand-dyed):


Mmmm... pretty fabric. How awesome is that orange???

The instructions were to create a Hop, Skip, Jump-inspired block (a la the Denyse Schmidt Quilts Book) 6.5" by 12". This is how I went about it:


First, I drew a 6.5" by 12" rectangle on freezer paper, subdivided it into wonky sections and numbered them.


I cut it all apart.


I ironed the freezer paper pieces to the right side of the fabrics and cut them out with 1/4" seam allowances. (Since she said she wouldn't mind, I also couldn't resist adding a couple of fabrics to the mix she sent).


I used a pin to help hold the pieces together at the top corner (because freezer paper is slippery), and then stitched the seam. I worked left-to-right.


Here it is all stitched together.


And here is the completed block, trimmed and ready to go!

This first month was a lot of fun-- I'm really looking forward to the months ahead!