Just in time for Work In Progress Wednesday!
Where have I been? First, to Reno to see my kids and grandkids. Weather was beautiful - no snow, nice sunny days. I had a great time hanging out with the 2 little boys (4 and 2), watching movies, eating, making messes, eating, watching Sprout, playing outside in the yard, eating, making messes, going to the park - all the usual things that kids like to do and want their MawMaw (that's me!) to do with them. No time for quilting.
Then the very next long weekend was taken up with the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild's First Retreat. It started at 2:00 p.m.on Friday, Feb. 22 at the Los Gatos Lodge and went through Sunday at 3:00 p.m. 23 women showed up to sew and laugh and joke and even dance a little!
The retreat committee did a fabulous job of setting up the room, organizing the retreat, providing demos, good snacks, great music - everything that you could wish for in a retreat.
Deborah and Jennifer weren't messing around! Or they were messing around, one way or the other!
I managed to get 2 blocks completed for my 4x5 Q1 Hive 11 mates, 2 A-B-C blocks for the guild quilt along and 8 scrap Depression blocks finished. That's it! Other people made 2 or 3 quilt tops...I got 12 blocks made! Sheesh - I have to speed things up... So, here are my 4x5 blocks:
And my A-B-C blocks - Ladies' Aid block followed by the Missouri Star block:
And I made 8 of these:
That doesn't seem like much for all the time I was at the retreat. Are you good at getting projects done quickly? If so, what's your secret? Share it with me, I am begging you!!!
Anyway, that's it from the Robertson household.
What have I been working on this last week? I have been working on the Scrapbuster 7 Wonky Bento blocks. I started with these:
Next I cut them up and added them with other cut up blocks to get this:
I do enjoy being a part of certain swaps. I look forward to what I will get back from the other swap participants of this swap. I made 32 blocks which Kari (the swap mama) will trade out with other blocks and then forward in kind to the rest of us
Anyway, that's it from the Robertson Household.
I have been working on two immediate projects. First, trying to sort out what my pillow top will look like for the Pillow Top Swap 7. My partner had 3 colors that she listed: purple, lime green and aqua. I can only assume this is to be found in one block or pillow top. Tough combo for me as I look through my stash.
Then, I notice the Backyard Baby fabric and think: I've got it! So, I worked on some 8" blocks that will be the cornerstones of this pillow top and came up with this:
The color is way off on the Backyard Baby fabric, which is quite green, but I could not get a better photo with the lighting I had.
Annnnnyway, these are my prototype blocks and I'll see what I can do to make them better as I get them ready to become a pillow top.
Next, I have been thinking alot about the block I want to make for my 4x5 Bee, Hive 11 contribution. I made this test block and everyone in the hive likes it, so I think it is a go:
I used some Joel Dewberry Heirloom in my colors (aqua and orange) to test out this block that I saw here: http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/ Faith has a series of star blocks called Solistice Stars. This block is called Whirling Star in that series.
All of the members of my hive have approved this block, so I'm off to make it in each of their colors.
Spring is here in the Bay Area and I hope that, wherever you are, you have enjoyed your Wednesday!
That's it from the Robertson household.
Did you enjoy Superbowl Sunday? Did your team win or like me, did your team lose earlier in the season (the 49ers lost the last round of the playoffs)? I decided to use today to sew rather than going to a Superbowl Party.
I was able to get my blocks created for my Pillow Talk Swap Round 7 so that I can let my partner see what I had in mind. My swap partner asked for lime green, aqua and purple. I spent alot of time planning this pillow top, trying to incorporate the color requests in a fashion that felt cohesive to me. Unfortunately, the color on the photos isn't that great, but I think that the pillow top will be great when I get it pulled together. Here are my 4 8" blocks that will be the cornerstone of my pillow top:
The print fabric is a relatively new line called Backyard Baby by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller. It is actually greener than what it looks in this photo, but it is the best that I could do with my little camera. I'm thinking sashing with some fussy cut "babies" to complete the pillow top. More to come!
But let's turn back to Sampler Quilts: I also have been working on another sampler quilt top that brings my samplers to 3! In addition to the 4x5 blocks that I showed you in my last blog, which will soon be a sampler quilt (hopefully after this next round) and a Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow quilt top, I started an A to Z Quilt Along for the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild last August. The idea was that we would make a block each month from a sequential letter of the alphabet, using traditional block patterns with modern fabrics. Each of us chose our colors, fabric and we each chose our blocks within the confines of getting through the alphabet!
Using Judy Hopkins 501 Rotary Cut Quilt Blocks and the web site "Quilter's Cache" we had access to many traditional blocks that had been reworked for rotary cutting. As the guild grows, the interest in this quilt along is growing - I think we started with me, Jaye and Angela. Now we have 8 people making their blocks. Each month it seems another person or two decide to dive in.
We bring our blocks to the guild meeting each month and hang them up for show and tell. Starting January 2012, we upped the anty to 2 letters of the alphabet each month, so that we can finish the quilt along by October 2012. The test each month is to be able to identify and name each block! Here are my blocks so far:
I chose Bon Vivant by Windham Fabrics as my central fabric line. I have added some Kona black and white, a few different dot fabrics and a black-and-white narrow stripe. I have never made a black and white quilt, so this is quite an experience. I love the graphic nature of the black and white blocks. Maybe I should never have added the red and grey. Just look at the way the black and white blocks pop off the design wall!
I have made it through J and made L this morning (upper right corner Log Cabin). I still need to make K for next month. I have made a few extra blocks because the 26 letters of the alphabet means I need a few more to end up with enough to complete my quilt top - I'm thinking 30 blocks. I currently have two "A", two "B" and two "E" blocks. Some of my favorite blocks still need to be made, so I'll see which duplicate blocks go and which stay.
That wraps up my sewing since last I wrote. Spring seems to be here, with winter deciding to avoid us. My thoughts are turning to getting early vegetables into the garden. Lettuce does so well here early in the year, as does spinach, kale, etc.
So that is it from the Robertson household this Superbowl Sunday.
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