August UFO

August was a very full month, so I am very delighted to be able to post my UFO project! This is my version of the Moda Blockheads II. This sampler project started in June 2018 with a bundle of Sweetwater Harmony fabrics.

I attached the flying geese rows to fly in opposite directions on the recommendation of many of my blog readers and I think it was a great idea! I love how it turned out and look forward to quilting it and finishing with a light blue binding.

borders

Here is a close up of the borders which shows the true colours. The top border print is heavily pieced with scraps, and there was just enough to do a 2" border on the top and bottom. 

The quilt top size is 49" x 56.5". 

Linking to One Monthly Goal and Design Wall Monday over at Small Quilts

Design Wall Monday

The August UFO project is on the design wall today. Two rows of flying geese were made to extend the length of the quilt. Should there be a white sashing between the centre blocks and the geese? You can see at the top there is the white strip between and at the bottom there is no strip. Which do you think looks better - the top or the bottom? 

Here is a close up of the flying geese at the top and the border print that I want to use. 

I love this Sweetwater text print. There isn't much of it left and it will need to be pieced together, but I think it will be a good top and bottom border.

Linking up to Small Quilts

August UFO on the design wall

Some progress is being made on my UFO of the month.  The enthusiasm for making more blocks for this Moda Blockheads II project was completely gone, so I decided to just finish this quilt with the blocks I had already made. 

To make the layout work out, I had to remove 2 blocks, so the fish and the windmill were moved to the back of the quilt. Then I played with various layout combinations and decided to sew it together in sections with some white sashing to calm it down a bit.. 

Tada! The blocks are sewn together and I like it! But the size is 45.5" x 44" which is an odd size. I can't decide if this is a wallhanging or a lap quilt... should I make it longer to be more rectangular shaped? Make some pieced borders?

Moda Blockheads II

August UFO

It's hard for me to know when a project has served it's purpose, and it's time to wrap it up and move on. I tend to be a lofty goal setter and have high expectations of myself. 

some Blockheads 2 on the design wall

So when the project in question is Moda Blockheads 2 and it is supposed to have 52 blocks, but I only made 26 of them during the quiltalong, I put pressure on myself to finish those other 26 blocks so it can become a finished quilt.

Here are some of the block designers finished quilts that I was able to find online:
*Coriander Quilts' finished quilt here, 
*Minick and Simpson's red, white and blue version here, and 
*Sherri from A Quilting Life shares her lovely quilt here. 

These awesome quilts make me want to finish my quilt with ALL the blocks. So I let the blocks sit in the UFO closet for a while and hoped my "fantasy quilting self" would magically finish all the blocks and make a great quilt! But we all know what happens in the UFO closet ... nothing!

Blockheads 2 pieces on the design wall

However, I have learned from my blogger friends who easily adapt projects to their own liking, that when they tire of the block making, they finish up the project no matter where they are in the process. They have a lot less UFOs and more finishes. I want that too!

There were lots of reasons why I lost interest in this project, but most importantly was when the pace increased to more than 1 block a week, I couldn't keep up. It was reassuring to me that even the block designers couldn't keep up with the pace! Once I fell behind, there was just no catching up again, even though I loved my Sweetwater fabrics.  

Okay... all of this to say... my UFO goal for August is to finish this quilt top. I have decided to accept it for what it is (the COVID19 life lesson in a nutshell!) and just finish it up with the blocks I have made. 

The next decisions are how to lay out these blocks of varying sizes, to add sashing or not, and of course what to do about borders. Lots of decisions ahead... linking up to One Monthly Goal  and Small Quilts.

Blockheads Update

Some progress has been made on my Blockheads II project.
I skipped ahead from block # 25 to block #45 called Twelve Crowns because it looked like so much fun. 
It wasn't! LOL 
It turned out to be quite a labour intensive 18" block with 136 pieces. I sewed it on Lucy my Singer 301.

I am happy with how the points turned out, but the fabric choices are a wee bit too busy, with not enough contrast for my liking. But I have had this same thought several times in working with this fabric collection. I know I will like the overall quilt, so I push though the temporary stage of intense dislike, with confidence that the love for the project will return :)
Here are all the blocks on the design wall.

Yes... I do love it again! I have bought some white yardage from the Harmony fabric line that I will use for sashing to put these busy blocks together into a quilt. I only have 20 some blocks to sew to catch up to the block pattern postings.
To see more design wall postings, hop over to Small Quilts.

Blockheads II

These are my most recently finished 6" Blockheads:




Block #21 - this block is hand appliqued and is called Circle and Star.





Block #22 - Economy Path was posted here last week and it inspired a new RSC project.




Block #23 - Broken Windows is a fun 6" block with 8 flying geese and 16 scrappy HST blocks that are leftover from previous blocks.




Block #24 - this is my variation of Kaleidoscope. Instead of 4 patches, I used a square of my favourite Harmony text fabric. This is also a 6" block and used up a lot of little triangle scraps. 

Block #25 - Oshkosh star.
That little 2" yellow star is so sweet and was great fun to sew!



Here is an updated photo of all the blocks I've made so far for my Blockheads II. It's a very fresh spring looking sampler quilt and I'm so happy that I like how it's looking.

Blockheads Update

The first Blockhead series started in March 2017 (see my first block here). Because I really enjoyed that series, I eagerly joined in when the second Blockhead series started (without finishing the first one of course!) 

 Blockheads #18 - #22

This second series has not worked out as well for me for a couple of reasons:
1) after a nice start with weekly blocks posted, they started posting 2 per week, with some blocks being large and complex and time consuming (which I usually enjoy)... but I fell behind, which eventually made it too much of an effort to catch up. 
2) the number of featured pattern writers and bloggers were doubled this time, and several of the featured bloggers were also not able to keep up with posting. It was hard to follow all those people and find the information.
Coriander Quilts became my "go to" site for this project because her blocks are posted regularly, and there is usually not a lot of other unrelated stuff to wade through. I can easily find what block I finished last and work on the next one. Also there is a list of blocks and patterns here.
In November I left off at block #17 and block #41 was just posted today. As I said, I am WAY behind. 
So... without further ado, here is my effort at getting a little bit closer to being "caught up":




Block #18 is a 6" block called Mishmash. Simple. Not great fabric choices on my part, but it's done!





Block #19 Rocky Road to California which is a block pattern that I know as "Jacob's Ladder". I love this text fabric from the Harmony fabric line and I worked hard to position it in the right (readable) direction on all units.

Block #20 Go Fish
This was an interesting and different kind of block made from vertical flying geese units. The challenge was getting the directional background "water" fabric oriented in the correct way in each of 12 triangles.




Block #21 Circle and Star is a hand stitching pattern. It's cut out and ready for some hand applique time so look for it on a Slow Sunday Stitching post.

Block #22 is called Economy Path. I have had this one sewn for a long time because it was fun and easy with little pieces. I like this one so much I am tempted to make the pattern become a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project! 

The Blockheads II consists of 52 blocks, so I'm not even half way! I hope to make major progress on this project at my winter quilt retreat in February.
Linking up to Sew Fresh Quilts to see what other quilting friends are sewing today.

Blockheads II

When the Blockheads patterns started being released two each week, I fell way behind. Most of these blocks are tricky and small... which are two things I usually enjoy in quiltmaking. But it was just too much sewing time to fit in to my October schedule. 

Anyway, I am motivated at the moment to try to catch up again. So then... is it best to start at the most recently released pattern (which looks fun!) and work backwards, or go back to where you left off and work forward?

I decided to pick up where I left off.

Fidget Spinner

I left off at block #14 called "Fidget Spinner". 
It was hard to figure out the colours with my fabric, and the seam ripper was used frequently. The way the pattern was written meant I had no idea how any of the pieces were going to look. But eventually it all turned out okay (life lesson??)

When working on all those "sew and flip" triangle corners, I sewed a second seam and that extra step gave me many tiny HST's. 

Kaleidoscope

I looked ahead in the block list and figured out that I could use those bonus HSTs to sew a variation of block #24 called "Kaleidoscope".

Corner Pocket

Block #15 is called "Corner Pocket" and it was like a breath of fresh air after sewing those challenging blocks. (It is also the same pattern pieces as Block #2 Buckeye Beauty with the values moved around.)

Texas Puzzle

Block #16 is called "Texas Puzzle" and I used a scrap of grey from one of the older Sweetwater lines called "Mama said SEW". When I put the block on the design wall I noticed that the grey is noticeably different from the Harmony greys. 
Oh well... I like that fabric, so it stays!

Big Storm

Block #17 "Big Storm" was interesting. I could see this pattern becoming a border on a quilt. 

So after all that effort, I am only 11 blocks away from being caught up! LOL 

Here's the latest Blockheads II design wall photo taken late at night with the 19 blocks I've sewn. Since the time change, most of my sewing is done in the dark, so my photos will won't be great quality. 
Linking up to Sew Fresh Quilts.

Blockheads Update

This project was coming along beautifully until I finished block #13 . Remember the long flower block? It was challenging and fun. 

And then the following week the blocks started being posted 2 at a time, and I fell behind. The more you fall behind, the harder it is to catch up. In the blink of an eye, block #22 was posted this week. Yikes! Suddenly I found myself 9 blocks behind.
I was drawn back into the project with Laurie Simpson's "Economy Path" block #22. There are 28 pieces in this block and it looked easy to make. 

This is a 3" block small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. It's very cute, but truthfully sometimes sewing a miniature block takes longer than a full size block! The seam allowances have to be exact with no room for "fudging".
My blocks are being made from the "Harmony" fabric line by Sweetwater. I was happy to find a scrap from one of their old fabric lines called "Mama Said Sew" and will use it up in some of these small blocks.

Here are all my completed blocks on the design wall. That's one busy quilt so far. I predict that sashing may be necessary to calm it down a bit. I better go and check the Blockheads II blog to see how many blocks I am behind now!

Unusual block size

Block #13 of the Blockheads II project is a patchwork flower designed by Coriander Quilts. The finished size of the block is 6" by 18" which is a bit unusual for regular quilting patterns. There were over 40 pieces to cut out, and I made a couple of changes as I went along. 
This is the flower head which measures 6" finished. I added a little connecting corner on the blue corner blocks to round out the flower petals a little more.

Blockheads II Block #13

Here is my finished flower. I thought the bottom of the block looked a bit bare, so on my block I added another leaf to the stem on the left (the original pattern has 2 leaves).

And I gave myself a challenge by making the background from 2 slightly different directional fabrics. At times I enjoyed the challenge, and at other times (involving the seam ripper) I was not as happy with that great idea!

The photo doesn't show what the block really looks like... I think it looks much nicer (not as busy) in real life. From a distance, the background fabric makes it look like it is raining on the flower.

Sewing this block was a fun brain snack for me this week. It reminded me that sometimes I really enjoy the math and the precision construction aspects of quilt making. 

Blockheads II Update

Jace's Star Block #12

Are you participating in the Blockheads II project this year? Last year's was fun, but this year is even topping that!
I just finished pattern #12 which is called Jace's star by Lisa Bongean. This is a 6" block and was quite a challenge, which my favourite kind of block! 
I think there are 48 pieces in this little block.

Some of the pieces are very small. Just look at these Half Square Triangle (HST) blocks in the palm of my hand. They are tiny! At this size, each piece has to be exactly the right measurement. Some quilters think to themselves "these pieces look so small, I'll just add a wee bit extra to be sure". 
Trust me - resist the urge to make the any pieces bigger. They need to be exactly 1.25" and not one thread more for everything to fit together accurately. The HST's finish at .75" in the block.

Here are all the 6" blocks for this project on my design wall. There are 7 blocks in this size so far. They are so darn cute. The Moda website says the next 13 blocks posted (at 2 a week) will be 6" blocks, so soon I will have quite a collection. 

I am now 3 blocks behind, but will catch up as I always do. Before launching into the 6" blocks I am looking forward to sewing block #13 which is a Patchwork Flower with an odd measurement of 6.5" x 18.5". I pretty sure I've never made a block this size before, so this will be a first for me. Look for this block in the next week or two.

Linking up to Design Wall Monday over at Small Quilts.

Blockheads II

Block #10 Ducks and Ducklings

I am finally (momentarily) caught up with this BOW. This is block #10 by Jo Morton called "Ducks and Ducklings". The 12" pattern had a blank 6" square in the middle, so I put a 9 patch block in there.
This block has a lot of bias edges and triangle points to strive to keep with accurate piecing, so I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Block #11 Direction

Then I sewed 2 of the 6" blocks.

First was this little block by Sherri McConnell called Direction. It was fun to sew and has a partial seam. 

Block #9 With A Plus

And lastly I sewed the With A Plus block by Laurie Simpson. I used 2 of my favourite fabrics from the Harmony fabric collection. I could see a whole quilt made from this block... uh oh... Squirrel!


And here are all 11 blocks on the design wall... it really feels like a great accomplishment to be keeping up with this project!

To see more design wall postings, hop over to the link up at Small Quilts.

More Blockheads II

Alternate block #8 - 6" pieced pineapple 

While I had my Sweetwater Harmony fabric spread all over the sewing table, I continued sewing more blocks to hopefully catch up to the current Blockheads II patterns being posted.
Thanks to Pam and Julie who directed me to the pieced pineapple pattern (instead of the applique version of block #8). The pattern is by Corey Yoder and can be found here. I love how my fabrics worked with this design.

Then I tackled the redrafting of block #5 called "Impact". The original pattern is a 24" block which was way too large for me. This is my version which finishes at 12". Instead of plain squares I added a star block in the centre space, and double 4 patch blocks in the corners. It was quite a challenge, but felt very rewarding when it was done!
Getting so close to being caught up... 3 more to go!

Blockheads II on the Design Wall

Block #6

I am almost caught up with the Blockheads II blocks. This is a 12" block called "Path Through the Woods". The pattern is by designer Betsy Chutchian and can be found here. It was one of the most challenging blocks I've sewn for a while with lots of bias seams. A couple of triangle points are missing, but that's okay because it came out to the perfect size, so I'm quite tickled about that!

Block #7

This is block #7 called Spin Cycle.  It is a 6" block by designer Stacy Iest Hsu. Stacy is using very happy colours for her blocks - you can see them on her blog here. 

I am now a few blocks behind. I am redrafting the enormous 24" block called "Impact" to be half that size. And I'm figuring out how to make a pieced pineapple to replace block #8 which is an appliqued pineapple.

Here are all my blocks on the design wall. I am feeling much happier now with my fabric choices for these blocks. I didn't really like how the contrast worked out for my first block, but I'm okay with it now when I see them all on the design wall. 
To see more design wall postings, hop over to Small Quilts.

And if you want inspiration overwhelm, visit the Blockheads Facebook group. You don't need a facebook account to be able to scroll through the photos, but be prepared to kiss your sewing time goodbye, because there is so much to see!

Blockheads II

Block #2 Buckeye Beauty 6"

Block #3 Pennsylvania

Block #5 has just been released and I am right up to date on this quilt along. I posted block #1 here and wasn't all that keen on how my fabrics were looking together. But I decided just to "press on" (quilter's joke!) and see how the project began to develop. After all, it's just the beginning stage of making blocks for a large quilt.

Blocks #2 and #3 are 6" traditional blocks, easy to cut and piece, and turned out "not terrible". 
But then block #4 arrived and this one I could sink my teeth into... a complex block called Roman Cross. This block has 33 pieces and is pieced on the diagonal with bias edges on all the outside triangles. My value placement is different than the pattern to emphasize the crosses, made with 4 different grey fabrics.

Block #4 Roman Cross

I was in my happy place, or "in the flow" as people like to say now... cutting and sewing, listening to my favourite music on Spotify. Secretly I was wondering how this was all going to work out, but just stayed in the moment and happily placed that bulls eye circle right in the centre of the block. And you know what? It turned out perfectly! An exact 12.5" block with great contrast!

Blocks #1 - #4

Here are blocks #1 - #4 on the design wall, with two 6" blocks and two 12" blocks so far.
But then block #5 called "Impact" was posted this week. 
Ummmm... a 24" block with 8" units?!? NO. I can't have that much blank space. I'll have to use my mad math skills (laughing hysterically!!) to rescale that pattern by at least half.
This is the fun of a mystery quilt along... you never know what's coming next, and you get to opt in or opt out, enjoy the best parts, tolerate the 'hum ho' parts, alter what you don't like, and make it your own!