Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Back to my one-patch

I've finished piecing the 'back' of my challenge pillow (right side). I almost like it better than the 'front' but it does not have enough of the challenge fabric to qualify. It won't matter when it's finished, I can use it either way.



I know it will be fun to machine quilt this manageable piece, but I set it aside to attack another job I've been avoiding. I finally started work again on my one-patch, which I have ignored for too long. After a few months off I am back to quilting it. I managed to get most of the circles on the blocks done and have only 10 more to finish - they're all on the edge which are much easier than those in the middle.



You can see the next block to quilt with my freezer paper template ready to go. I'm not sure how I'll quilt the border, but I think it will be a circular motif of some kind. I've been doodling some ideas but haven't decided yet. My MIL has recently moved into a nursing home and I hope that this quilt will brighten up her room. I have set myself the goal to finish it this weekend - could be a stretch!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Challenge progress

I have been working on my challenge pillow and have finished piecing the front and am well on my way to finish the back. I decided to use the same pattern but a different combination of the fabrics for the back mainly as an experiment in how a pattern can look so different with a few minor changes.

The finished front looks like this.



Here's an idea of what the back will look like.



WIP summary:

  • Green/blue challenge pillow: Going well. Can't wait to do some FMQ on a manageable scale.
  • Green HST: cut out some more squares (hundreds) and sewed another 100 together but nothing to show for it except lots of piles of squares.
  • Block lotto: made 3 more of August's block - love it and hope to win.
  • Blue snowflake: no progress.
  • One-patch: no progress.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

WIP Wednesday

I was on my own last week while daughter & hubby were skiing. You'd think I would have accomplished heaps but somehow the week got away from me. Typical.

WIP:
  • One-patch: no progress. I just can't get interested again.
  • Green HST: cut out some more squares but nothing to show for it.
  • Block lotto: made a few more of August's block - love it and hope to win.
  • Green/blue challenge pillow: went shopping and have selected two colorways (hoping to make 2 entries). Designed block and completed two (more below).
  • Blue snowflake: no progress.

I did make a total of 6 Block Lotto blocks. I really love these African violets and the colors are great. I really have my fingers crossed this month.



I've been pondering the challenge that I mentioned last week. Finally decided that the fabrics I pulled from my stash were not punchy enough and wanted to incorporate some neutral tones. I've come up with two color combos. One with black and the other with brown.





I've designed a small asterisk block with the one set of fabrics. I'm really pleased with the results. I'm not sure if I'll use sashing between them and if so, if it will be mostly black or mostly white. They are quite small (5 inches) so I should be able to use at least 9 of them on the front of a pillow. I may consider doing both the front and the back - maybe one with white sashing and the other with black.