Paper Piecing Monday

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

I am running a little behind today… but I have finally got today’s block done and ready to post.

With this block I am only one block away from finishing up my red/aqua star blocks. I am going to lay out all the blocks this week and see what I am missing, so that the last block is a perfect fit! Now for today’s star…

Another fabulous star from Carol Doak’s “50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars”, this time I used the Maine Star pattern. A simple 56 piece star that has a lot of impact. As I am nearing the end of this project I used more of the scraps I have accumulated over the last couple of months.

Now I am off to enjoy this glorious day. The sun is shinning and the weather is warm. In Portland you have to make the most of these days when they come!

3May2013

An abundancy of turquioise

Posted in Quilts, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

This month there are a couple of resolutions in our house, that may or may not work. Firstly my husband thought it would be a good idea if we did not eat any processed sugar during May. I do not remember agreeing to this at all, but it seems that sugar is off the menu. If the posts get erratic, the colours get to bright or I stop making sense, it is because I am suffering withdrawals.

The second resolution for May was to finish up more of the quilt tops I have floating around. This resolution came about as I finished another two quilt tops this week and the pile of UFOs grew to an embarrassing level. More quilting less piecing. Combine this resolution with the other one and it could be an interesting month!

Anyway the two tops I finished up this week are both from the same pattern…. I blogged them originally here. I used this pattern…

..to make this quilt.

This was a fun scrap quilt to make – lots of turquoise, navy (my favorite colour) and pink/purple. I really like this colour combination, which I stumbled across while playing with my piles of fabric.

The other quilt top I finished was my 1001 Peeps top.

I was battling the wind when I was taking these photos. It is the problem of photographing tops as opposed to full quilts – there is no weight to hold them in place in even a gentle breeze.

It is another reason why I have to quilt these suckers before I post. I see a lot of basting in my near future!

29Apr2013

Paper Piecing Monday Boston Edition

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday, Quilt patterns, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

This week’s paper piecing blocks are in destined for the Quilts for Boston project. Last week the Boston Modern Quilt Guild put out a call for blocks, in the Boston Marathon colours, that will be made into quilts that will be “distributed those who would benefit from a show of support”.

So I grabbed some fabric…..

And went in search of some paper piecing patterns. I eventually decided to use two of the fabulous Lucky Star Block of the Month (BOM) patterns from Elizabeth at Don’t Call me Betsy. I signed up at the beginning of the year for the monthly paper piecing fix and I have been thoroughly enjoying making the patterns each month. I picked two of my favorite stars so far to make this week.

Block 1 is test block that we got in January, when the program started.

The block is made up of 8 triangle sections which give you a lot of options for playing with fabric and colour.

The second block I did was a simpler pattern from the series, but still lots of fun.

This blocks is made up of four sections and was really quick and easy to pull together.

I am hoping to get some more blocks done this week, and I will post as I finish them.

23Apr2013

Cheese & crackers – wip Wednesday

Posted in Quilt patterns, Scrap quilts, WIP Wednesday by wombatquilts

This week I have been playing with a traditional quilt pattern called “crackers”. My first variation is a bright scrappy block, which I think will make a great boys quilt.

The cracker pattern is a simple quilt block made up of patchwork bars with triangles at their ends. I used a paper piecing pattern, but there is some great tutorials on how to piece this block online including at Moda Bake Shop and at Cut to Pieces.

While putting the “cheese” blocks together (this yellow = cheese in my brain for some reason) I had the urge to use the block a little differently. My next approach was again scrappy but not based on colour combinations. The second variation was based on a collection of multicoloured floral fabrics sitting in my stash for ages. I used a some of my collection in the quilt in my blog header and I have been itching to use more. So I made these blocks.

I was not sure at first if this idea would work at all. Tuesday afternoon I tentatively grabbed a fabric, cut it and made a block. Block after block I kept wondering if it would come together. I often make quilt blocks to test out ideas – I do not sketch or play in Photoshop, which would probably be the sensible way to go. It was a relief to finally lay out some of the blocks Tuesday evening and see this.

I think this is going to be a fun quilt when it is finished. I am now looking forward to pulling some more fabrics out of my stash and seeing where it all goes. Wish me luck.

22Apr2013

Paper Piecing Monday

Posted in Paper Piecing Monday by wombatquilts

We are back to paper piecing stars for the next couple of Mondays. I am only a few stars away from finishing the blocks for my quilt and with that in mind I present to you block 18 of my quilt.

A gentler star than some in the previous weeks, the pattern is again from Carol Doak’s “50 Fabulous Paper Piecing Stars“. The Nebraska star is a simple 48 piece block. It would make a fun scrappy star as well, though with this one I went more uniformed.

Now only two more to go. I am excited to get these quilt blocks finished so I can start playing with quilt layout. Do not fear that paper piecing Monday is going anywhere – I already have a couple of ideas for the next round.