More Block 12-ishes and a UFO

More blocks, variations on 'palooza block 12, for my planned 9-block top. This pair features back-to-back corner geese units:

I love the blue-yellow combo in these. The resulting star and large diamond really pop.

And for this last pair I placed the "geese" facing out:

The very dark accent fabric is actually a lovely small-print tonal brown.

I've had so much fun making these, and look forward to putting them all together into a top. I have ambitious visions (still somewhat vague) for sashing and bordering these. I will play with ideas as I finish up some other projects on more urgent timeframes. These blocks are about to go into a "works theoretically still in progress but temporarily on the back burner" bin while I quilt the monochrome forest, finish up the OBW borders, and maybe even get this little cutie quilted up:

This is a not-very-large "confetti" wall-hanging I made early last summer to play around with the method and my tiny scraps drawer. I liked it enough to add a border. The border and light blue background both are leftovers from making curtains for our bedroom, so I'm planning to hang it in there. I set it aside at this stage because I did not yet have the extension-table thingie that makes machine quilting so much easier. This morning I sandwiched it up with a backing fabric and got it pinned and ready to go. Best part is it's small enough I was able to do that on the kitchen counter instead of crawling around on the floor. I won't get to this immediately (the monochrome project is a higher priority), but do hope to get it quilted very soon.

Block 14... not feelin' it

Sorry dude, but Block 14 is not inspiring me. It's not a bad block. I can see a few things I'd change to do it my way, and it might be fun to play around with on its own. But in my 'palooza context (which at this point is fairly far off the main track) it's so obviously destined to sit on the sidelines of the design wall that I've decided not to bother with it. (Besides, if you're going to contribute a block to something as public as this quilt-along, lighten up about claiming copyright and just let people have fun with it!)

In the meantime I've been making more of my versions of what was originally Block 12, which of course I did not render exactly as per the instructions, so it's not really "Block 12" anymore. I liked the way my first two turned out so much I decided to expand on the theme and make a separate 9-block top from them. I've been puttering along on this all week, cutting a few new fabrics here, sewing up a few goose units there, shuffled some bits from block to block, and at last have a WIP I'm happy with. Here are a few of the new ones (more to come in another post, later).

This is a sister-block to the first one I made:

I used different fabrics for the on-point squares, the 4-patch, and half the geese, and the purple solid is a slightly different shade, but overall I kept it a fairly close match... but diferent enough to be interesting.

Same approach with this one, which is a fraternal (but not identical) twin to the second one, also here:

This one's a singleton, planned for the center of what will be nine in a grid layout:

For this one I placed the "geese" nose-to-nose, instead of in flight formation or back-to-back.

There are two more pairs to show off, as soon as the stragglers are ready for a public appearance, and I've rephotographed one. My camera is overly fond of yellow, apparently, and reluctant to properly portray blues. Indoors, outdoors, flash, no flash: the blues hardly ever come out looking like they should, even when all the other colors are right.


Block-a-Palooza Block 13 (twice)

Block 13 (from Camp Follower) is a nice one, with tons of potential for color play. Which is kind of funny, because the original is so pale and subtle (qualities rarely used to describe my fabric choices).

I started with this one...

... because I've been wanting to use the red (in the corners) and brown colorways of "Asian Circles" together in something, and the turquoise and orange are so nice together I wanted to use them again, too. I like the detail of the floating nine-patch in the center, but that teeny little 1/8" border around it was something of a pain to produce. I said I wasn't going to do that again.

But I did. This morning I finally emailed all our tax info (there's a lot of it: we own two home-based businesses) off to our accountant, and rewarded myself with some time in the sewing room, producing this version:

I like this one even better. My original thought was to make a smaller nine-patch and frame it with a 1/4" border, but once I got going I figured "1/4", 1/8" might as well do the skinny one as the other." That purple and brown batik is a hibiscus print and one of my favorite fabrics. It sneaks into a lot of things I make. And I've been itching to use that Phillip Jacobs "coral" print in good-sized pieces somewhere. Here it is even better in the corners than I'd hoped.

Did you notice that little snippet of red leafy print in the very center? Yup, it's the other colorway of that "little green leafy" I've been including in each block. I've had the red on reserve for use in sashing/setting in some way when all the blocks are done, but couldn't resist sneaking a tidbit in here.

There are several 'palooza blocks that I like so much I want to make an entire quilt out of them. This is one of them. The temptation to exclude these blocks (and a few others) from the 'palooza quilt (whatever that turns out to be) so I can do something else with them is a strong one.

Block-a-Palooza Block 12, mostly

I made Block 12 twice, because it's nice. As usual, I did not exactly follow the original design (sorry, Jennifer, don't take it personally, it's just how I am.)

For this one, instead of using two geese back-to-back in the center position of each side, I cut large squares from a bold Kaffe Fassett print and set them on point. I also rotated the corner geese squares so they are flying in from the edges. That lovely tonal red/orange print, BTW, is from a piece that has been in my stash since before I moved to Hawaii (in 1999). I am very, very choosy about where I use it (it began as a half-yard, and there is so little left!), and it is just right here.

I had a little bit of a bright green print loitering on the sewing table, left over from piecing a back for the monochrome project. It wanted to romp with Kaffe's "henna" in "duck egg", which has been in the "potential future block use" pile for some time:

I made on-point squares again, and paired them with teal/red/orange. This time I used the back-to-back geese idea from the original layout, and put them in the corners. The four-patch center is from the pile of extra 2.5" bits in the 'palooza fabric bin.

Although I couldn't resist cutting large squares to feature a couple of the many lovely fabrics that want a chance to shine in this project, I also really like the paired goose squares in close tones/values. This block is going to stay up on my design wall for a bit, as I think about what else I might make with back-to-back geese like this.

Today it's back to OBW borders (just as soon as I get enough desk stuff done to earn sewing time). I am very eager to get that top done so I can start quilting. Not that I've figured out how to quilt it yet. I'm weighing options. The monochrome top and back are ready to go, but I have no batting on hand (that stash went into the lap quilts project), so it's on hold until I get to my local quilt shop for supplies.

Randomizing

This is my design wall today:

About 2/3 of the gazillion little 60-degree triangles that will frame a wider border for the Amy Butler OBW quilt. These are mostly sewn into 4-10-piece strips, and there's a pile of paired-up pieces out of frame for filling in any gaps. They're "darks" and "lights" of lots of different shades of mostly purples and greens, with a little pink and blue in the mix. I'm using the design wall to make sure I've adequately randomized the colors as I put the border strips together.

The four long strips are ready for final seaming, and will frame the center of the quilt top. Then there will be a border of the original fabric (width unknown: I have yet to face the quilt math of border length-width options vs. available yardage) and another row of sawtooth along the outside.

The little piles of cut fabric on the sewing machine deck, visible in the lower left corner of the pic above, are ready to be sewn up into 'palooza Block 12. A few blocks ago the task of figuring out what was or was not a "new" solid color to include in each block drove me to make these (with index cards and a gluestick):

In my mind, I'd used a lot of purple in this project, but according to these cards, I've been picking other solids instead, with the exception of a couple lavenders. So Block 12 will feature an intense imperial purple. I do have lots of solids to pick from, thanks to some FQ Kona packs acquired shortly before the 'palooza thing took off. Nevertheless, I'm running out of available favorites for the remaining blocks.

I've got more 'must-do' desk work awaiting attention today (I earned this short blogging break by getting certain items crossed off the task list). As soon as that's done I'll go put Block 12 together. Pics and a post will probably happen tomorrow morning.

Block-a-palooza Block 9

Block 9, from Scott at Blue Nickel Studios, is called "Lemonade Stand" and it's a doozy. I cringed when I saw those tiny geese in the center, but it's worth playing with the teeny pieces:

Rummaging around in the scrap piles (my large scraps used to be in a bin, but are now in heaps all over my sewing room; these blocks keep coming before I can clean up), I found a piece of Heather Bailey print perfect for fussy cutting corners. Once I committed to that, throwing the other HB candy-colored prints in the mix was a must.

The geese got into quite a state at all the excitement and insisted on fleeing the scene, so they are facing out, rather than swirling around the center. I don't blame them. I'm calling this one "explosion at the candy factory."

My inner four-year-old loves these prints, but they are so young and sugary sweet they've never fit in well with the rest of my stash. This block was fun to throw together, but it's making my teeth ache. If I'm going to go over-the-top/off-the-deep-end (as has been known to happen) I prefer a more grown-up goofiness.

Like this:

This is the "by the rules one," planned around using the last of an old Kaffe Fassett charm pack for those corner squares. I'd already trimmed these long ago to 4" for something they never got used for (don't remember what), so reducing them to 3.5 didn't seem like a big deal. I hadn't used the dots in a few blocks, and they were feeling neglected, so they got to join in the fun, too.

I wish now that I'd squared up the 9-patch center unit before adding the sides, as it is clearly not square, but I was tired and hungry and impatient and just wanted to get it done. No chance I'll go back and redo it, so I'm crossing my fingers it will look fine once quilted.

BTW: I made all the geese for these two blocks the "wasteful" way: sewing a diagonal across 1.5" squares on top of a 1.5"x2" rectangle and trimming the extra. Which is way too tiny to make HSTs from, and a few square inches of fabric, total, so hardly a big waste. No way I was going to follow the instructions, which assumed a higher tolerance for lining up and sewing (accurately! without stretching!) little bias edges than I will ever have. The squares were so small I didn't even bother penciling in the seam lines, just eye-balled it.

Block-a-Palooza Block 8

It's in the mosaics, but I forgot to post a bigger pic of my completed 'palooza Block 8, a basket of geese by Angela Yosten (originally, as usual I took some liberties). Mine looks like this:

The center basket is machine appliqued using "wonder-under" fusible to hold everything in place. This was my first time doing machine applique, which just happens to be an item on my "new sewing things to try in 2011" list, so it was fun to get to do that on a 'palooza block.

Angela's block uses bigger "geese" for the handle. I cut mine in half, and used more of them. I also added the little circle at center top, and the little red feet for the basket. I also used a very small zigzag stitch instead of a blanket stitch to nail all the applique bits in place. My machine's blanket stitch, which I have not used before, and tested on a scrap, is a doubled stitch that looks impressively like a (very tidy) stitch hand-sewn with perle cotton. It's a nice effect, and I look forward to using it on a future project someday, but was not the look I wanted here.

The hardest part of this block was peeling the *&$^#%@! paper backing off the fused wonder-under. I have fingernails and know how to use them. Usually I am the person who can coax a stubborn backing off something when all others around me have failed. But not this time.

I followed the Pellon instructions to press the rough side of the fusible onto the backside of the fabric "for 5-8 seconds with a hot, dry iron." My sister, when I moaned about the peel-off hassle to her, said that sounded like way longer than necessary. It's also possible that Pellon had in mind sewists using cheap-o, wimpy irons, not a super-dang-duper high-tech iron, which is what I roll with. Mine gets really hot. Next time I will fuse as briefly as possible, on a lower setting, and hope the paper puts up less of a fight.

I used a total of 4 new prints in this block, and expect they will all make repeat appeances before the 'palooza fun is over.

My Block 7 how-to

Here's a quickie tute for anyone who wants to make their own alternative 'palooza Block 7, like this one:

First, select five fabrics from your stash. You will need:

• 1 MEDIUM PRINT with low contrast for the edge pieces: 4 8.5" x 2.5" pieces
• 2 PRINTS for the "geese"; one DARK, one LIGHT. From each print: 4 2.5" squares; 4 4.5" x 2.5" rectangles
• 2 contrasting SOLIDS for the corners that pick up colors from the prints. From each solid: 4 2-7/8" squares

Pair up the solids and make your corner half-square triangles by drawing a diagonal line (I use a mechanical pencil) and sewing 1/4" on either side:

Cut apart along the pencil line, and press your seams. I always press my seams open (the seams lie flatter than way, and it's much easier to match up points), but if you're a side-presser do it your way. Set your HSTs aside while you prepare the Geese units.

 

Take 2 of your LIGHT print 4.5"x2.5" rectangles and pair up with 4 of the DARK print 2.5" squares. Pair 2 of the DARK print 4.5"x2.5" rectangles with 4 of the LIGHT print 2.5" squares. Make these sets into four Flying Geese units by sewing on the square's diagonal, just as you have for previous blocks.

 

BTW: If you are making little extra HSTs out of the goose trimmings, sew 1/2" away from the first seam (toward the outside corner) and cut between the two seam lines. It's easier to make those little HSTs now than to pair up and sew tiny triangles later. I draw the second seam line at the same time I do the first one, and sew them both then snip apart before doing the other side of the goose.

Finish up your four goose units. The extra four rectangles go together to make the center. Place your 2 LIGHT rectangles face down and measure in 2" from each corner on one side and mark that spot with a pencil. Then draw a diagonal line to the farther corner from each mark. You'll make a little "X" at the center of one side where the seam lines cross:

Pair up your LIGHT and DARK rectangles right sides together and sew ONE corner seam on each pair (sew two right corners or two left ones, doesn't matter, but be sure to sew the SAME corner on each pair). Trim and press. Make two of these:

Now place these units right sides together, matching the seams. (It's a good idea to use pins here, to keep everything nicely lined up. I rarely pin anything, but you might want to.) With your ruler, line up on the light-side pencil line and extend it across the dark end. Sew up that seam, and trim the corners. (Somehow I did not manage a pic of that step, sorry). Press open.You'll end up with a quarter-square triangle unit for the center of the block:

Yes, you could just cut a larger square of each fabric, slice on the diagonal, sew up and trim... but then you wouldn't have more little extra HSTs like the ones you make from the other geese to add to the pile, which is entirely why I did mine this way.

Okay, all the bits are done, now we just have to sew them together. Add a goose unit to each side of the center (light to dark, or dark to light, doesn't matter), and a HST unit to each side of the other two geese units. Line them all up in orderwith an edge piece on either side, and sew the seams:

Sew the other HST units to either end of the other two sides (make sure you get the colors in the right place), and sew up those seams and you're done.

Keep in mind it's easier to get sharp points and neatly aligned corners if you press your seams open. Here I'm adding one of the the side geese to the center unit, using my 1/4" foot. With the seam pressed open I can see exactly where the tip of the goose is, no guessing:

The best thing you can do for your sewing is to invest in a really good iron. Good heat and a lot of steam will help those bulky seam allowances stay open. (And if you prewash all your fabric, as I do, you can press with as much heat and steam as you want or need, without concern that the fabric might shrink.)

  

'Palooza Mid-Way RoundUp & a Sneak Peak

We're halfway through the Block-a-Palooza quilt-along. Here are all the blocks I've made so far. Way more than the requried 8, 'cause I couldn't resist making more than one of some of them:

Half-way-point giveaway chances have been promised to all who post proof they've been diligently sewing along, so I figured it was time to find out how to make these cool photo mosaics. Turns out it's easy-peasy right here. Just link to your Flickr acct and insert your pics.

This is the core group of blocks. They each feature the little green leaf print, a different solid (or two), and at least one print not seen in previous blocks. My original plan was to use these for the "real" 'palooza quilt, and do something else with the others. But anything could happen. I may mix and match when the time comes. Chances that I will follow the prescribed 'palooza layout (as yet unknown) are slim, given that my brain thinks "instructions" are mere suggestions to be modified, embellished, or discarded at will.

In addition to quilt-along fun, I've also been working on a semi-secret project. This is for the Modern Quilt Guild Monochrome Challenge, and I won't be ready to show it off for a while yet, but here's a teeny preview. It started out with a whole lot of this, because I happen to have a lot of greens in the stash:

And now features a lot of this:

The brighter parts are all done. This weekend I'll be getting as much of the darker sections completed as I can. I'm making it up as I go along, so it's hard to say how much more work/time will go into it, but I think I'm on-track to make the March 31 deadline without too much stress.

This may be too "art-quilty" by the time it's done to appeal to a "modern" judge, but I like how it's turning out enough to finish it, regardless of how modern it does or doesn't look, or whether or not making the deadline remains feasible.

My Own 'Palooza Block 7

I'm sure there are Block-a-Palooza participants grateful for Heather's easy, simple Block 7, but it was too easy and simple to interest me. So I used it as the basis to design my own block.

Starting with Heather's concept of a large 9-patch with 4-patches in the corners and center...

I then,
1) removed the center 4-patch:

2) added corner-to-corner diagonals:

3) added flying geese around the center:

4) removed a couple of seams from each side:

Selected fabrics following my rules and voila, a new 'palooza block that's all me. Or as much "all me" as any grid-based block design can be. There are a zillion and one variations on this kind of block, and they've all be done by someone, somewhen. Shouldn't stop you from playing around on your own, though, because it's fun.

If you'd like specific instructions on how to make this block for yourself, let me know in the comments, and I'll share my constructions notes and some pics in a new post.

* * * * * *
UPDATE: Instructions for this block are now available here.

Block-a-Palooza: a new direction

My sewing machine is still at the spa, so unless I undertake handsewing (no thanks, the ongoing hexies project provides enough of that) completion of Block-a-Palooza Block #4 will have to wait. I picked some fabrics for it, though, because a day without fabric fondling is like a day without sunshine:

I'm not sure I'll love the top one, although I''m confident it will be plenty nice enough to use. I want to keep open the option of including one solid and the green/blue little leaf print in each block, so the top row selection will satisfy that criteria, should I decide to stick with it to the end.

But I'm branching out into some wilder combos that are more "me." As much as I love my Block 3, it's brighter and bolder than my Blocks 1 & 2. So I thought maybe I'd make at least one more of those two, in a more muted (for me) fabric range, to fit better with the first two.

It didn't go well. My "more sedate" fabric combos came out like this:

Do those look tame to you?

Clearly my muse has spoken and there's only one thing to do: go back and make bolder versions of Blocks 1 & 2. I'm not especially eager to do that, but if I don't get my machine back soon I'll go ahead and cut some pieces for those just to keep myself entertained until sewing can begin again.

Block-a-Palooza Block #3 is a winner!

Oh, man, I love how this turned out so much I want to make a whole quilt out of it.

Too bad I'm working from stash, as I don't have much left of the chartreuse solid, and only enough of the stripe for a couple, maybe three, more geese blocks for the 'palooza thing.

On the plus side, I recently got more of the Kaffe Fassett "persimmons" print in the center (2 whole yards, squeeeee! although a day will come when I'll wish I'd bought six) because I was down to about a fat eighth and the idea of running out of it entirely was unbearable.

I'm going to have to make at least one more of this block. No way am I done playing with it. Won't be able to sew them up right away, though, as I'm taking my machine in for servicing in about half an hour. Hope they can turn it around fast.

Thanks, Sasikirana Homemade, for this lovely block layout!

One is not enough

One mystery block was not enough, so with Blockapalooza Block #2 live today, I'm still in. But Oh, Fransson, that's a lot of little squares!

My plans to do each block in one go have fallen through. Block #1 from start to done was under :90, but :90 into this one and I'm only this far along:

That's 81 2" squares assembled into 27 3-square strips, which after pressing and more sewing will become 9 9-patch units and one big block. Easy piecing, but not quick when there are so many little pieces. I need to get some desk time in today before coming back to this.

Picking fabric one ate up some time, plus interruptions by the cats.* I stuck with my guidelines to replace the solid in each block and add or replace one fabric. I kept the green and blue prints, replaced the solid purple with a reddish brown, and replaced the purple stripe with the two dotted fabrics. I do plan to use more of the stripe, and have it in reserve for the next block that features "geese."

Yesterday I finally finished sewing all the OBW rows together. Not difficult, but the kind of thing best done in short spurts over a leisurely time period. I haven't trimmed the sides yet, and am still awaiting delivery of more fabric for a border. I put it back up on the design wall the other way up, for a different view while I contemplate border options. No pic of the whole thing yet (will take one when borders are done), as it looks just like the layout but a little tighter now the interior seams are all done. Here's a detail for you :

I don't have a clue yet how I'm going to quilt this. Any ideas?

I am trying very hard not to jump right in on another one of these. Several lengths of fabric in the stash are calling to me. One "One Block Wonder" is definitely not enough!

* yes, that's "cats": plural. One bundle of furry cuteness is not enough, so this past Saturday we headed over to Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary and brought this little darling home:

Her name is Namaste. The first night she was here she claimed this quilting test piece (used to test thread tension, stitching) as hers, so I trimmed the edges and bound it with pink bias tape. She insists we keep her basket on the kitchen table by this sunny window.

Cosmo isn't sure what to think of her, but is more curious than alarmed at the instrusion:

I think they'll get along just fine.

Blockapalooza? A definite maybe.

This could be going nowhere:

My first response to the Blockapalooza thing was "nah, not interested." What, buy a coordinated set of FQs from one designer collection to make a sew-along block-of-the-week quilt? Soooooo not my style! 

For one thing, I'm not much interested in traditional blocks and settings, and have don't particularly like the result of throwing a set of different ones together and calling them a quilt. For another, although coordinated fabric sets are pretty, to my eye they just don't have that pow-factor that comes from mixing up unexpected colors and patterns. You know, the kind of affect you only get by wallowing around in a sizeable and well-aged stash. Add that mystery quilt projects hold little interest (I'd so much rather make up my own thing!), and that "Flying Geese" especially has consistently produced in me one big yawn, and you can see why my first instict was to pass this up. Not to mention that I only have about half a gazillion other projects (both of the sewing and typing variety) going on.

But.... "never say 'never'", right?

Why did I end up throwing this block together last night? Partly because I had a heap of FQs and scraps already on the cutting counter to choose from. And partly because if you throw the "follow along as we make this from Moda's new Sunkissed whatever" out the window (yes it's a pretty line; it's also a great example of the kind of stuff that makes me want to take a nap), this Blockapalooza thing is a great opportunity to move ahead on my 2011 sewing goal of using up a bunch of the scraps and FQs overflowing my stash.

Two blocks a week is a lot, but if I do each in one go, like this one (under 90 minutes, from grabbing some fabric to snapping a pic), I might be able to keep up. Still undecided if I will continue with this, but if so my plan is to:

1) Use a different solid in each block

2) Replace or add one new print for each block

3) Pick fabric for each block quickly, no perfectionism allowed

4) Maintain my usual loose interpretation of recommendations such as "close in tone" or "coordinating."

What I like best about Block #1? I finally used some of that purple stripe FQ that is almost old enough to qualify as "vintage." Overall, I rate it a "meh," but it might look better when a few more are done.