Disappearing Four Patch Finished

We finally got some sunshine, warm temperatures and low wind speeds, perfect for taking pictures of finished quilts. I’ve been working on this quilt, along with Jannette, since January of 2015. We were doing it as a block swap. Each month we chose 4 large scale floral fabrics, and made 2 disappearing four patch blocks from each fabric. We kept one and swapped one, ending up with 8 different blocks each month. We decided to take the summer months off, so we ended up with 80 blocks. Mine is now quilting and bound and counts as this year’s third finish.  Here’s a closer view of the quilting. I used a new pantograph called Persian Paisley. And as usual, I used a faux piped binding with a diagonally striped fabric for a great machine sewn finish. I found a large scale roses print in my fabric stash which worked great for the backing. I had a few blocks left over, which got pieced into the backing, along with a border stipe that I thought fit with the theme and feel of the quilt. I even wrote a label on one of the leftover four patch blocks. Considering I hardly ever remember to do labels, that’s an accomplishment. Because of this quilt being done with a friend, I’ve named it “Friendship’s Garden”. Thanks Jannette, for a great year of swapping. I can’t believe how fast the year went.
I’m linking up to Lorna’s Let’s Bee Social.

Design Wall Monday, Feb. 29, 2016

I have two ongoing projects up on my wall right now. The first is the sampler quilt for the London Friendship Quilters’ Guild, which I designed as a project for the guild to do as a bi-monthly project. It started in September, and will continue on until December of this year. If you are interested, the information for it can be found here. It starts with the most recent block and then goes back. Scroll to the very beginning to find details, should you be interested.
Next is my Aunt Lucy’s Medallion, with the first two of the Westering Women blocks in it.                      
I think I’m going to rename it "Aunt Lucy Goes West”.












This last is obviously not on my wall, but on the machine. I’m about 2/3rds of the way finished quilting my Friendship’s Garden.                    It seemed appropriate to quilt a floral quilt with flowers.
I’m linking up to Judy’s Design Wall Monday.

Design Wall Monday

I have a finished top up on the wall. And it has a new name. Jannette and I swapped Disappearing Four Patch blocks using large scale floral fabrics for 10 of the months of 2015. We took the summer months off. This quilt is the result of that swap. So, its new name is “Friendship’s Garden”. I finished it this afternoon, but didn’t get it photographed until this evening. And now, just looking at the picture, I’ve noticed that the top right hand square is turned in the wrong direction. RATS! I guess there’s going to be a bit of reverse sewing happening.....

I also have the back finished for this, so I just might be able to get this one loaded onto the machine this weekend or maybe next weekend. And that’s all that’s happening around here. I’m linking up to Judy’s Design Wall Monday, and might just do a bit of blog hopping through the other links while I’m there.

Design Wall Monday

I’ve decided to set Northern Tree Line aside for a bit. I’m running low on my selection of light blues and greys that I’m using, so I need to do a road trip for some more fabric. It’s a long weekend here, so everything is closed. Plus, there’s a freezing drizzle advisory out there, so I’d much rather stay in. The fabric shopping trip might happen tomorrow, or it might wait until Friday. It’s not as if I don’t have anything else to work on. Last year, Jannette and I did a swap of large scale floral Disappearing Four Patches. We started off with the middle cut section the blocks finishing to 3/4 inch. Somewhere along the line I messed up the cutting and they started measuring 1 inch finished instead. And then, I messed up even further and made four blocks that finished 1 1/4 inches. All of that messing up caused a problem with putting all the blocks together. So I played around in EQ7 to see if I could come up with a setting design that would keep all the various sizes sorted out in their own sections. This is what I have so far, I’m quite liking how this is looking. There will be another narrow grey border put on this, and then another round of floral blocks added. I had 33 of the 3/4 inch blocks, so they are in the middle and on the two ends, The sides are the 1 inch blocks. I haven’t counted how many of those I have. I might need to make one or two more. When I get the next row of floral blocks put together, the 1 1/4 inch blocks will be separated out on the outer corners by the narrow grey border. Another day or two should finish this.
I’m linking up with Judy’s Design Wall Monday. Then i think it just might be time to make something for supper.

The quilt that didn’t want to get made

Or at least that’s the way it’s seemed. It should have been a fast and easy one, and maybe that’s been the problem. Because I thought it was fast and easy, I haven’t been giving it my full attention while working on it. When I quit a week or two ago, I’d made the mistake of cutting too big, so four of the Disappearing Four Patches that I made didn’t fit with the rest. So I decided that today I would start to work on this again and get it finished. I started by recutting al the pieces and sewing up all the four patches. So far so good. I did the cuts through the four patches, the correct size this time..... yippee! I laid them all out on the wall, checked to make sure that they were orientated right, and then began to sew. Somewhere along the line, I got the blocks turned the wrong way, not once but twice. This picture is of the second time. The first time I got the blocks going off to the left turned wrong. There’s been a lot of ripping done! Finally all done and all sewn together. Whew, what a marathon! Now I can start on my large scale floral swap blocks for the last two months of the year. Let’s hope they go easier.

Design Wall Tuesday.....

It’s supposed to be on Monday, not Tuesday, but last evening was spent watching the election results come in, rather than writing up a blog post. So I’ll do it today instead. I’ve got a couple of things going on up there. A finish, a start and a work in progress. The finish is a very modern, totally out of my box quilt, from a pattern called Black Tie Affair, found in a Quiltmaker magazine. I can’t remember the exact issue date, and I’m too lazy to go upstairs and get it.This one is going into the waiting-to-be-quilted pile.
The work in progress  I’ve been playing around with is more of the large scale floral Disappearing Four Patch blocks that Jannette and I are doing.
Somewhere along the line I have managed to change the size of the cuts not once, but twice. So there are three different sizes in this quilt. These are the smallest with the cuts finishing at 3/4 inches. These are going into the centre of the quilt. I did some playing around in Electric Quilt to see if I could come up with a design that would separate out all the different sizes, and I’ve shared it with Jannette, since she was also effected by the change in sizes. This is what I’ve come up with. The different sizes are separated out by the dark sashes, which also act as a really neat design element.
The new start is another baby quilt for our grand daughter, expected in January. It is also Disappearing Four Patches, set in a more modern, minimalist way. I originally saw the quilt here, and really liked the layout. These are the colours that Becca has chosen. It’s not going to take long to finish this one.
Earlier today I loaded a new customer quilt and got it about halfway finished. Here’s a look at it. And that’s been my day, full of fun quilty stuff. I’m going to link up with Connie’s Linky Tuesday and the Canadian sharing site the Needles and Thread Network for their Work in progress Wednesday.

Design Wall Monday, June 29, 2015

It's been a while since I've done a design wall post. Nothing much on my wall had changed enough to warrant doing a post. However, that changed a bit today. Jennette and I have been swapping Disappearing four patch blocks for the past six months. I took down part of Texas Chain that's been hogging the wall for months now,   so I could lay them out and see how they look. I really, really like it! However, I discovered an oops that happened somewhere along the line. We started out with doing 1 1/4 inch cuts for the centre crossed ares so that we ended up with 3/4 inch finished crosses. Somewhere along the line, we switched over to 1 1/2 inch cuts, ending up with 1 inch finished crosses in the centres. It's not an absolute disaster, though. It can be put together with some creative sashing.... maybe a narrow border and put the different ones on the outside. We're taking a break for the summer months, and will start up swapping again at the end of September.
After I finished playing with these, I took them off and put Texas Chain back up on the wall. I did a couple of hours worth of sewing and arranging on it, and it is getting much closer to being done. The end is in sight. Just one more row of chains left to do, and the  I can move on to the borders. It's getting late, so I think I'll link up to Judy's Design Wall Monday, and then maybe find something light and fluffy to watch on Netflix. There might be some stitching on La Passacaglia going on, as well. Which means it will be listening to something light and fluffy, rather than watching.

Design Wall Monday, March 23, 2015

I still have the same old project on my wall, Texas Chain, a design by Judy Martin. It's had a little bit more added to it, but not a lot. Now that the weather's improving, I may get up into the studio more often to work on it. I really like it. The other project up on my wall are the Disappearing Four Patch blocks that Jannette and I are swapping each month. We're using Kona Snow, combined with large scale floral prints. I totally and completely love the way they look.
We are doing four prints per month, making two of each print. We keep one of each print for ourselves, and mail the other ones, so we end up with eight different blocks each month. They are easy and fun to do, and don't require a huge time commitment to make. And maybe, just maybe, the weather will co-operate at the beginning of April, so that we can meet for a coffee and swap them in person, rather than through the post. If not, I'm sure Canada Post will oblige us and deliver them for us.
I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday, and then I think I'll browse to see what everyone else is up to. And there just might be a few Disappearing four patch blocks made tonight, too.

Design Wall Monday Feb. 9, 2015

Way back in last September or October, Jannette asked me if I'd like to do a swap with her. I've done swaps before, and really enjoyed them, so I said sure. We decided to do a swap of Disappearing Four Patches, using large scale florals, and Kona Snow as the constant fabric. Life was really crazy at that time, so we decided we'd start the swap in January, with the goal being to have them mailed by the end of the month. We're each doing a total of eight blocks a month, two out of each fabric. We keep one of each, and send off the others. So, these were my first set that I did.

 And here are my first four blocks, combined with Jannette's, up on my small design wall down in the apartment. We're going to do this for ten months. At the end, we'll have 80 blocks, more than enough to make a good sized quilt each. They are so pretty!! I love them. This pattern has been on my 'bucket list" for quite a while.

Such a fun, and gradual way to make a quilt! I really like the large splashes of colours from the large scale florals. It will be fun to see if we and up with any doubles. I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday and also to Monday Making.