Gingham Pinwheels Block

Checking in with the latest Block-a-palooza, Block four, this one designed by Cherry House Quilts.  As I mentioned earlier I'm using the Romanza line, and feeling ambivalent about it!  I'm spending way too much time agonizing over what fabrics to choose for each block.  I have to work on that. 
Be sure to check out the other blocks in the quilt-along on Flickr. 
Talk to you later.

Hello!

It's been a while so I'll attempt to update on what I've been up to which doesn't involve sewing :(. Right before my daughter arrived from England for the holidays I developed problems with my right elbow so I spent all of December and 2 weeks of last month going to physical therapy.  Diagnosis was Tennis Elbow not that I've played tennis any nor done anything repetitive to deserve the ailment. This quilt top was left stranded on my design wall since the end of November.  I finally finished it up a few days ago.  I made it from the leftovers from a Moda Scrap Bag (and charm pack) I worked on earlier.

Here's the fabric I am using for the Blockapalooza.  Oh, it took me quite a while to decide what to use.  I was just dying to buy the Sunkissed line that the designers of the blocks are using.  Most of the fat quarters are from the Romanza  line from In The Beginning (2004).  I guess my tastes have changed as for the life of me I cannot fathom why I bought them!

 

Here's the first block from Quilt Dad,

The second block was designed by Oh,Fransson!.  I wasn't nuts about it so I decided to re-vamp things and came up with another design.  That whole trimming -the-blocks-to-make-it-fit just didn't work for me.  I think what I came up with goes with the others so far,

And finishing up with Block 3,

You can see other participants' pictures at Flickr.  Talk to you not too much later!

New Year, New Project

I stumbled across this new online quilt-a-long on the Quilt Dad blog and I think it sounds like fun.  It so happens to use one of the two new fabric lines that I've been crazy about, Sunkissed, so i think I'm gonna do it!  {Daughter will be back at Oxford University by the time it starts (Jan 24) so I will be needing all the distractions I can get.}  Eighteen quilt bloggers are offering 2 quilt blocks per week plus at the end, a custom setting.  You can check out all the particulars at Quilt Dad.

No-Sew Zone

I just wanted to check in and wish everyone a Merry Christmas!  DD has been home since December 4 so I blame her for contributing to my Sewing Delinquency!  I did manage to get a recently started top finished before she showed up.  My LQS has a Strip Club once a month where they make-up a jelly roll and pair it with an easy pattern.  I found November's colors hard to resist.

I added some fabric from my stash to make it larger including these cuties.

 Segueing along,  I love this new book by Elizabeth Hartman of ohfransson! fame.  The quilts all have a contemporary feel and are mostly quite easy except for one that's appliqued.  It's a great book for the beginner and experienced quilter.  I particularly liked the fact that she made and machine quilted all the quilts herself.  It really comes across as a labor of love.

I've got to run, loads of last minute things to do today.  Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas to you and your family!   

~Happy Thanksgiving~

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy ~ David Steindl-Rast
Enjoy the day!

Part Two

Hi everyone,  I quit my post yesterday as Blogger kept being quite contrary with pictures.  About midway through I couldn't upload any pictures, then that changes, and all the pictures kept showing up three times and oy vey, the troubles I had!  A consult with the resident IT Tech is planned for Christmas break as soon as she returns from Oxford!
I bought a Moda Scrap Bag a few months ago and in keeping with my resolution to actually start sewing up my kits and all, I opened said bag and found all Fall fabrics, mainly Gobble, Gobble and Awesome by Sandy Gervais.  For anyone who doesn't know, the fabric is cut lengthwise and ranges from 2 to 4 inches wide.  All my strips were a little over a yard long. 

It will be roughly twin sized when I sew it together.  I was able to pick up a few fat quarters a few days ago when a LQS had a sale on Fall fabrics.

I also used up some fabric I bought a few years ago that I just couldn't cut into.  You know how that goes.  I just fell in love with this line, Hannah Bella by Robin Pandolph, when it came out.  I really like what Robin designs, it's always so soft and feminine and classic looking to me.

I used this pattern for the first time,

 

and it's the perfect one if you're using fabric you can't bear to cut into.  The pieces are huge!  I used that method called Leaders and Enders while I was sewing.  Essentially if I understand it right, you cut out the pieces for blocks for another quilt and sew them together at the beginning and end rather than using a scrap piece of fabric.  That way you have blocks already started for a second quilt while still working on a prior one.  Hope that makes sense.  I think Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville originated the concept.  I've never been organized enough to try it before.

 It's a brilliant idea!  Has anyone else tried it?

~ Talk to you later~
Thanks so much for stopping by.