For Chen from Kris

While driving back and forth to Philly this weekend, I got Chen's block done.



I loved the fabric! I'd been thinking of doing this design for a while and her fabric seemed like it would work well. I ended up doing the majority of the circles using freezer paper since I was going to actually applique them in the car, but one is done with fusible interfacing. Both methods seemed to work pretty well and I'll probably use them both in the future.



Yup, that's a shot from the car. :) Jon (my boyfriend) thinks this block looks like "mass scattering from the center of the universe"... I thought that summed it up pretty well.

p.s. How great are Chen's return address labels!?

Candy, Candy, Candy

This months block was a fun one. Having open range with such beautiful fabric was a dream come true. The block size was new to me. I am used to five inch square blocks, lol. This felt like I was making a mini quilt. For this block I had something in my head that was a cross between a dresden plate and one of the Dear Jane blocks I recently did. I took out my graph paper and pencil then went to work. Most of the block was pieced together in the method Robin just posted about for her June block. The curved white pieces were not in the original design but when I got to that part there was too much going on and I needed to break it up and so in came some white. The hardest part for this months block was fitting a pattern to the amount of fabric I had. Not total fabric but the individual pieces. For instance the big corner pieces I could not have cut out of the smaller prints if I had wanted to. While talking about the fabric, it was such a good idea to send everyone different fabric. I first saw Nichole's block before I received my fabric and was planning a block based on those fabrics, only to open my envelope and see different prints. I am not complaining for I LOVE the fabric I got. Anyhoo, this was fun and I am excited about next month, my month. Here is a sneak peek of the fabric for August.

How many ways can you make a block?

My name is Robin, and I am a procrastinator. But-- I got Adrienne's block done and sent off on time, so I don't feel too bad about it!

I've been enjoying reading how some others went about making their Hop, Skip, Jump-inspired blocks for Adrienne, and thought it would be fun to share yet another way one can go about it. This is how I did 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! (I just got Chen's fabric for July... oooo...yummy!)

Chocolate Lollipops in July

I happened to have a clean sewing table (I think we all know how rare an occurance that is) and didn't feel like starting another large project so I decided to tackle July's block a little early.

Earlier in the day I started making a giant bento box for a baby playmat or quilt but ran out of white fabric so I had to shelve the project for another day. To make it I doubled the size of the template pieces that came with the pattern and I liked how it showcased the larger prints I was working with in that project.

But I was curious how it would look in the original scale and since July was an anything goes month I decided to make one fourth of a bento box for Chen. I stuck with the original scale of the pattern as well as the original concept of alternating light and dark prints and really like how it came out.

Chocolate Lollipops for July

In my opinion, chocolate is good anytime so why not July. For my month, I have chosen the Chocolate Lollipops line by Anna Maria Horner. I love this line! I have been hoarding this for quite a while and I believe it's time to finally cut into it. I would love for you lovely ladies to help me create a beautiful quilt with it!I am asking each of you to make a block of your choice. The great thing about these quilting bees for me is the creativity that everyone puts in their own blocks. I love looking at a block and seeing someone else's handiwork. I'm constantly amazed at all the talent of others. Some blocks may be simple but their arrangement of the fabric used make the block stand out. And then there are the blocks that are just jaw dropping and I can't imagine ever being talented enough to make a block to equal it. I'm involved in three other quilting bees also ( I know, I have issues with self control!). My months in two of them have passed and I now have two beautiful quilt tops. Since everyone chose and created their own blocks, I can look at a block and know exactly who made it and I love that! Here's a peek of two of the quilt tops:

I'll be sending out my packets in the next couple of days with instructions on the block size. I guess it will be like Christmas in July for me when I start receiving my blocks back :0). I can't wait!!!

***** If you want to take a closer look at the quilts/blocks from my other two bees, they can be found here and here.

For Adrienne From Kris

For snip.sew.send. this month, Adrienne sent vintage sheets she thrifted and some were hand dyed! These were new fabrics for me and it was awesome to work with something different. She requested Denise Schmidt Hop, Skip and Jump style blocks.

Following Zonnah, I figured I would share how I ended up accomplishing the task. If nothing else, it's a reference for me to go back to. This was my first time doing wonky free style blocks, so I followed the suggestion of another member of the bee on how to do it.

I cut all the pieces I was going to be working with a little longer than the height of the finished block (I cut to 7" to allow some leeway for a 6.5" block)

For each piece, I put the new piece on top of the other pieces that were already pieced. Here the orange piece is new and it's already been cut at angle from a previous step.


Then I decided how wonky I wanted the seam to be and cut both pieces at that angle (making sure to leave a little extra for the seam allowance.


Then I lined up the edges (right sides together) and off set them 1/4" so the pieces would still line up more-or-less straight after I sewed the seam.


After I had all my pieces sewn together, I trimmed the height to the appropriate length (here 6.5"), and called it good. Here are the results:


And an extra block that Adrienne said she's going to trim for another part of the quilt.

Method To My Madness

Do you really think wonky is my style? I don't think so :) This block was a big push for me and although I did not follow the path of a true wonkier (is that a word?), I think I did rather well. I like to plan everything in my blocks so I decided I would not do that when choosing which fabrics went where. I literally closed my eyes a just grabbed. The only fabric I kind of planed was the floral because I wanted it in the bigger spots so it would be dominant.

So now for the method:

I decided I would paper piece the block. Here is the telephone book paper.


Then since my paper was not 12 inches long I cut two 6.50 inch squares.


Then I made my pattern on the squares.


Here I am piecing it together.


Right after piecing.


Then I had to sew them together. I know looks crooked but I swear it will come out straight :).


Yeah! It's straight.


And the end result.


My only complaint was the orange fabric did not come up in the pile as much. Oh and don't let the pics deceive you, there was a lot of seams that got ripped out because I am not pro at lining fabric up :P

I had so much fun doing this block and cannot wait till next months block.

Zonnah