I fell a wee bit behind in the block making department lately. I became enamoured with a Halloween project that I will post about tomorrow. But now I'm back on track and getting organized with the blocks that need to be finished.
I am almost caught up with the Blockhead patterns being posted on the Moda blog.
This is block #31 called "Dot Dash".
This is block #32 called Dutchman's Puzzle which is basically 8 flying geese blocks.
And lastly this is block#33 called "Starz".
Block #34 was just posted this week and it's an adorable house block that I have just started to prep for hand stitching.
Now that I see my 33 blocks together on the design wall I think this blue Starz block stands out too much. There are blue fabrics in other blocks so I don't know why this one bugs me so much! Should I make more blue blocks or remake this one in a different colour?
The mystery sampler quilt from Moda is continuing and it is so much fun! I get up early on Wednesday morning to see the new pattern and visit the designer's blogs. It is inspiring to see so many variations of each block pattern. You really must check out the Blockheads facebook page to see the creativity of the quilting community. It blows my mind to see how each interpretation of the same block can be so different!
Here is my version of block #28 which is a hand appliqued pumpkin designed by Jan Patek. I don't know why my pumpkin leans to the right, but some pumpkins are just like that you know?! I'm wishing I hadn't put the pumpkin on a background fabric with vertical lines which just emphasizes the lean, but that's life.
Block #29 is called "Juneau". I have no idea why the block is called that, but I have a niece who is attending university in Juneau, so first I have to post a photo of her at the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, right? We are so proud of her and are all enjoying her adventure vicariously.
Thankfully, sewing the Juneau block was not a harrowing adventure. The directions were clear, the tiny pieces went together beautifully, the seam ripper did not get used at all, and the block even turned out to be the right size!
Block #30 was just as easy and fun. This is called "Four-Patch Dash". Inspired by Carrie's blocks, I made my version a "double four patch double dash". The tiny 4 patch blocks are 1.75" and adorable. Now I'm thinking of how great a whole quilt would be made of these little blocks.
Here are my 30 sampler blocks on the design wall.
I'm hopping over to Moda now to see the new pattern block #31 posted today!
My Blockheads BOW project is on the design wall today.
There have been 29 patterns posted, and here are my first 27 blocks. I'm still working on the last two blocks, one of which is an appliqued pumpkin so that will take me longer to complete.
To see more design wall posts, hop over to the link up at Small Quilts.
This is block #27 called "union variation" which is the most recently constructed block. I fussy cut a civil war reproduction scrap for the centre square. It tilts significantly to the left for some unknown reason, but like how it looks and I'm leaving it like that!
In other quilty news, I am the speaker at the Halton Hills quilt guild tonight at 7pm, so if you are in the area and able to attend click here to get all the information.
The Blockheads mystery sampler project is moving right along with over half of the blocks posted now.
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| Block #24 |
One of the most challenging (for me) was block #24 called "Corn. No Beans". There are 72 pieces in this 6.5" block and when I sewed it the first time, it was too big. The air was a little blue in the sewing room for a few minutes! Once I calmed down, I took apart the entire block, carefully re-trimmed every HST (some were a few threads too big) and then resewed the block again. Carefully and slowly. And will you look at that... it's perfect now!
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| Block #26 |
This is block #26 called Cat's Cradle. There was no drama with this one... no reversing the lights/darks, no cutting mistakes, and everything came out to just the perfect size. I love it when that happens!
Check out the variety of blocks being posted on the Blockheads Facebook page. You don't have to be a Facebook member to be able to view the postings and it is inspiring to see all the variations on each of the block patterns.
Block #27 was posted today and is called "Union Variation". I'm off to the sewing room... but before I go, here is my block collection so far:
The Blockheads project saw some progress this past week. The bird house from week #22 was a cute little appliqued block. It took me a while to figure out the order in which to stitch the pieces, but I got it figured out and am pretty happy with how it ended up. I added some bird feet since it just looked like he was slipping right off the roof... so now he's firmly grounded!
Block #25 is called "Twice the Friendship". It was easy to sew when you follow the directions. I changed the light and dark pieces in order to feature the brown fabric that my friend Deanna recently sent me. And half way through cutting the block pieces, I forgot that I had made that change! So I have lots of extra pieces already cut for a future block.
Here is my version of the 25 Blockhead patterns posted so far...
I had three blocks to sew to get caught up with the Blockheads project.
Week #20 is called "devil's claws". It would have been easier to sew the blocks from 8 flying geese units, but I followed the directions and it turned out okay.
Week #21 is called "Flying Geese Variation". It was fun and easy with a square in a square centre and 8 flying geese. Those flying geese are versatile units!
Here are the first 20 blocks on the design wall. I'm still missing the flag block from week #16.
Hop over to the Moda blog to see what the next block is.
Are you sewing along with the Blockheads mystery sampler?
This is the block for week 19 called "Night Flight". If you're sewing this block be sure to use the instructions on page 2 if you are doing traditional piecing (page 1 is for "layered patchwork" technique). We haven't had many flying geese in the blocks so far, so it was nice to sew a few of those.
Here are the blocks on the design wall in no particular order. My block collection is missing the #16 flag block since I haven't figured that one out yet.
Hop over to Moda to see what block #20 is.
Sampler quilts are some of my favourite quilts to see, and to make. As opposed to quilts in which all the blocks are the same, a sampler quilt is made from a variety of blocks that are unique. Each block of a sampler quilt uses different layouts, scraps of fabrics, and/or construction techniques. These projects hold my interest WAY longer than quilts where I have to make a bunch of blocks that are exactly the same. My version of Votes For Women (pattern by Barbara Brackman) is my most recently finished sampler quilt, and therefore my current favourite! You can see some of my older sampler quilts here and read about some historical sampler quilts here.
My love of sampler quilts is one of the reasons I love the Moda Blockheads project. Last week we sewed block # 18 called Rocky Mountain Puzzle. It's a bit of an unusual name for this block, and you can learn more about the history of the name here.
Because this is a mystery quilt project, I don't know how the layout will be. But I'm already leaning toward having some of the block be straight set and some on point.
A huge thank you to the Moda pattern designers who are providing this mystery sampler quilt for our enjoyment completely free of charge!
Hop over to Moda to see the pattern for block #19.
If you have Facebook, you can visit the Blockheads page and see all the block variations being sewn.
Linking up to the Oh Scrap! party at Cynthia's.
Are you keeping up with the Blockheads project?
Block #17 was posted last week and is called "Trail of Tears". But there were no tears involved in sewing it! It was an easy block and used up lots of small scraps.
The block pattern the week before is an appliqued flag, and because it's Canada's 150th birthday this year I wanted to make a Canadian flag. So I have to figure out how to make that.
Here are my first 16 blocks.
I wonder if this week is another applique block? Hop over to Moda to see the pattern for block #18.
It was an easy block to sew this week.
This is block #15 called the T Block.
I used 4 different fabrics to emphasize the T shapes. I like how this finished block does not look like it's component parts.
Here are my 15 blocks on the design wall, with the T block put on point.
I am liking the look of some dark red background blocks.
Wonder what we are making this week?
Hop over to the Moda blog to see the block of the week.
This is block #14 and it's a classic "square in a square" block. I have made this block many times using paper piecing, but this might be the first time I've made it without the paper. Don't you think it would be fun to make a whole quilt from this one block pattern??!!
Here are the first 14 (of 48) blocks on the design wall.
I'm getting to know all the designers of the Blockheads project and try to guess what kind of block the designer of the week will chose. This week it's Jan Patek, so I'm guessing we'll be making an applique block? Hop over to the Moda blog to see if I'm right!
Addendum:
I was wrong on both accounts...it's a pieced block by Jo Morton!
This is my version of block #12 called "Puzzled". I challenged myself by using not one, but two, directional prints (always a challenge) and reversing the light/dark in this block. Only one seam had to be restitched in the making of the block and I am pleased with the result.
Here is my block collection so far on the design wall.
To see more variations on these blocks, visit the Blockheads Facebook page.
To see the new block we are sewing this week, visit the Moda blog.
Are you keeping up with the weekly Blockheads pattern release?! I had no idea when I started this project how much fun it was going to be! I have tried some new techniques, enjoyed a few challenges, and practiced making favourite blocks.
This is block #11 called Lisa's Star - click here for the link to the pattern.
This was a particularly rewarding block for me to sew.
I must have muttered "I love this block" 10 times while I was making it.
I'm telling you, I was totally in my happy place! I carefully cut everything and squared down each unit at every step of the construction and it's perfect! Just look at how small these adorable little pieces are!! It's totally ridiculous how happy this makes me... and also a little concerning! LOL
Here are all the blocks together on the design wall. This will be a very interesting sampler quilt!
What will the Moda designers have us sewing this week?
This is block pattern #10 called "Basket and Flower". It was posted last week for the Blockheads sampler project.
I am not an expert appliquer, so first I watched the applique tutorial that Jan Patek posted on her blog. That was really interesting so I tried her techniques on this block. It was a bit of a challenge to figure out the order in which to stitch the pieces down.
From watching the tutorial, I learned not to stitch down the places where another piece should be underneath, such as the stem slipping under the basket.
But I couldn't figure out if the flower should be under the green part or on top. Or if the leaves should be under the stem or on top. Since the "on top" position was much easier to sew, that's what I did!
To see my other blocks for this project, click here.
I'm heading over to the Moda blog to see block #11 which should be posted today... is it applique or piecing this week?!?!
Are you a Blockhead? I totally am and this quilt project is the perfect one for me. The blocks are 6" so the pieces are tiny (FUN!), you can use up all of your smallest scraps (FUN!), there is only one block to make each week (FUN!) and you get to learn new things each week (FUN!).
Here is block #7 which was very interesting to make. I could not follow the instructions at all but have enough quilting experience to figure out how to construct the pieces a different way. Sewing this block reminded me how much I enjoy making circles.
Block #8 used up a lot of small scraps. The brown HSTs in the basket handle were baby triangles from the flying geese units in block #4. And the HSTs in the basket were leftover from Circa 2016.
Block #9 is an Ohio Star variation and is one of those blocks that looks quite different depending on the use of value.
Here are the first 9 blocks on the design wall. I wonder how all these differently oriented blocks are going to fit together in the layout design?
I guess that's part of the fun of a mystery quiltalong!
Hop over the the Blockheads Facebook page to see all the blocks being posted. Block #10 will be posted today over at the Moda blog.
