Paper Piecing Monday continues…

It is week two of my new sampler quilt and I once again went to Julie’s fabulous free Block Rock’n patterns.   The pattern for this week  is called Icky Thump, and with a name like that I had to make it.

Paper pieced block

It is a simple pattern in just four pieces (as opposed to a lot of the stars I have recently made which are 8 pattern pieces).    Just 24 fabric pieces to make this block, but it still looks complex and interesting.  I think a quilt of these blocks would be spectacular, but for now I am settling for adding just one block to my new sampler quilt.

quilt block paper pieces

Now I am off to the post office.  I have packages of scraps to send to Australia and 5 inch charm blocks to head to out for a rainbow charm swap.

Finally a proper finish

Today I am happy to say I finally finished a quilt – quilted, bound and labeled.  It has been two weeks since I finished a quilt and I was feeling a little antsy about it all.   So without further ado, here she is…

square in square modern scrap quilt

If you are a regular to the site you will have seen this quilt in various stages of production, but she is now all finished!

I must admit I have struggled today to get her photographed properly. The lighting conditions have not been at all co-operative, but fourth time is a charm.

quilt detail

I did straight line stitching using a magenta thread.  I really did not know what colour thread to go with – white did not seem right, navy was a little too dark, green too light.  The thread choice is okay but it is not quite what I wanted.  Too late now right!

quilt back

I backed the quilt with some IKEA fabric that I thought went well.  Bright and cheery.

quilt back detail

The quilting is quite effective on the back of the quilt at least!

back and front

I bound in solid navy.  It is my go to binding and just seems to bring everything together nicely.

quilt label

I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts  for Friday finishes.

Have a great weekend!

Gentle blush – wip Wednesday

This week I have been trying to get a few projects finished, but keep getting distracted.  My first distraction was this selection of fabric I pulled from my stash.

fabric for blush block

I have accumulated over the last couple of months a selection of apricot fabric, and I have been trying to find other fabrics to work with them.  I wanted something modern and fun so I chose a blush pink and a pink/purple, and this is what I decided to do….

soft simple quilt block

I love the colours but may re-think the block.  The center where the pieces join is bulky and  just a pain in the “you know what”. 

The other distraction the last week has been hexagons.  I have now made 52 hexie flowers and have been getting quite proficient at the process.   My hexie travel kit has been living in handbag and I pull it out when ever I can.  Geeky I know but it is working.

hexagon flowers modern bright

And the main thing that these activities have been distracting me from is finishing my pink and olive triangle quilt.  It is all cut and waiting sewing.   I have decided that today that is all I am going to do – no distractions, no new projects, no excuses.

work station

Wish me luck…. I think I am going to need it.

Paper Piecing Monday

Well after much thinking and pondering and trawling through my stash I have decided that my next Paper Piecing Monday Sampler quilt is going have a bit more variety in colour, and a bit more variety in patterns.  To start this new sampler off I have chosen a  fabulous FREE pattern from Julie at 627handworks.

bright modern paper pieced block

This is the first of Julie’s series Block Rock’n paper piecing patterns.  It is called Bowie and can be found here.    All the patterns so far have been easy to follow and lots of fun.    Bowie is 56 pieces and despite a couple of mis-steps on my behalf, was quick to make.

paper piecing block pieces

I am now off to enjoy the last of the long weekend with my hubby.  The weather is miserable so a movie may be in order.

 

An almost finished Friday

Last night I finally finished pulling all the paper off my floral crackers quilt.  80 blocks, 79 different floral fabrics and 1/2 a ton of paper later I have this beauty.

modern floral scrap quilt top

There was finally a break in the rain this morning, so I dashed out to take this photo.  Not perfect conditions but I was glad for any sort of respite from the deluge.

Enough about the weather… back to quilting.  The top is made using the traditional cracker quilt block.  I paper piece this top but you can find links to making the pattern on my original post here.

I used as many bright multi-coloured floral fabrics as I could find and only accidentally doubled up on  one fabric.   There is a lot of Kaffe Fassett in this quilt along with Amy Butler and Denyse Schmidt.

quilt detail focused

I used random black and white fabric for the background of the pattern but if I was to make this quilt again I would probably go with a low volume fabric option with more colour in it.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the black and white but I think in hindsight more colour in the background would have made a different type of quilt top.

This quilt already has a home to go to.  I have till the middle of June to get it finished, so it can be presented to a graduating foster kid in the Portland area.  Project Linus every year makes sure kids graduating from the foster system & high school have a quilt to take with them on the next stage of their life.

But for now I am off to clean up the paper mess I have made…. it is the curse of paper piecing!

paper bits

I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for their finished Friday… I think a finished quilt top counts right!