A Spot of Color It was such a gray and gloomy day for south Texas but a good opportunity to try my newly purchased Dye-Na-Flo paints. Practice comes first before making the “real” project. Checking out the colors on a practice scrap of the canvas …
The Rockport quilt guild, Piecemakers by the Bay, held a workday for making “quilts for kids”, one of the many charitable projects they support. It was my first time attending this work day and it was an inspiring event. Over 50 women gathered with sewing …
My first garden had pansies. I got them planted late and my grandmother said they wouldn’t do well because they liked cool weather. I didn’t know details of planting a flower garden. I just liked the bright colors and never mind the details–like watering, weeding and something about dead heading. I didn’t plant pansies again for a long time after that first summer garden. Now we plant them as winter Texans and then take them back to Hannibal and they last all summer. My best luck, however, is with fabric flowers and I love learning new ways to portray them in quilted projects. This pansy was started in a class with Lenore Crawford at Quilt Week Paducah, 2014. It’s not quite done but I am happy with the progress thus far. Full picture when I finish it but the lack of accessibility of thread close by will mean putting it away until later.
Since March is my birthday month I looked for a block that represented birthdays. My first thought was “cake stand” but I also found “Happy Birthday”, “Birthday Cake” and “Birthday Parties”. Spring Daffodil is adapted from “Happy Birthday” as identified in Jinny Beyer’s book, The …
Remembering: Under the Quilt I grew up knowing that when you were going to a “dress up” or public event proper ladies wore nylon hose. I learned about hosiery when playing under the quilt as my grandmother and her friends quilted at the country church. …
I belong to guilds in three states and probably enjoy show and tell as much as anything. Each guild varies in how show and tell is treated and when it appears on the agenda. Regardless of when it comes in the meeting it deserves the respect of all members choosing to view. One guild, in particular, does a good job of capturing the full attention of the membership with minimal sidebar conversations. I wonder if the full attention of that guild is based on the timing of the event. Committee reports have been given, program is coming up and people are settled in–that may be the key–settled in but not ready to go out the door for home or other obligations. Whenever the guild has show and tell I know that I need to be supportive of the quilter and their project so those who have not shared will be encouraged to share. I know there are a lot of quilts made in all of the guilds that I belong to that never get displayed for various reasons. I will be more attentive to those sharing so that I can continue to gain ideas and learn of new viewpoints in the world of quilting. I want to see all kinds of quilts–simple, complex, traditional, artistic and everything in betwee. I pledge to be better at respecting the making of quilts and the maker of quilts as they are shared in my guilds.
Blue Ridge Landscape Internet connections have been frustrating this past week! I’m glad I have a smart phone so that I can use it to get the basics but connection on it is also not the best so I look for excuses to go into …
It’s Finished!! I said that was gong to be my mantra for the first half of 2015 because I have several items to be finished. While most everyone I know that quilts has unfinished projects some of mine are growing into their teen years. Today …
February Block of the Month
You Are My Sunshine
This block was inspired by the month of February—Valentine’s Day, anniversary of my parents marriage and of several of their siblings and probably many others out there. It is named for my parents song, “You Are My Sunshine” as designated by their school yearbook, next to my dad’s picture. The block is known as Bowtie but also as Lover’s Knot. I use the block in the dimensional form with ombre borders and a few prairie points to resemble rays of sunshine. While I mitered my borders I give instructions for a blocked border. It can be made with scraps of different pinks or one fat quarter and same for yellow background. For an ombre border you will need ¾ yard to cut vertically, otherwise 1/3 yard of 42” fabric will work.
Instructions:
Cut three 4 ½” squares from each of four pink fabrics.
Cut eight 4 ½” squares from yellow background fabric.
Cut two 4 ½” x 16 ½” side borders.
Cut two 4 ½” x 24 ½” top and bottom borders.
Prairie Points: Cut seven squares varying from 4 ½” to 3”.
Dimensional lover’s knot: (there are many You tube videos on this method)
Fold one pink square in half and sandwich between a pink and a yellow square with all raw edges even. Stitch a ¼” seam on the right side edge.
Sandwich a yellow and pink square on the left side of the folded square (just opposite of the right side, see photo) and stitch.
I prefer to press the seams open to reduce bulk for the next step of sewing the four patch.
Pin right side yellow to left side pink. Open the folded square to match the center seams and continue to form the four patch. It will a little difficult to get the folded patch open and folded edge out of the ¼” seam allowance.
Dimensional four patch done! Sew four and arrange so “knots” form a ring. Add two side borders and then top and bottom borders.
After quilting, before adding binding, place prairie points along bottom and side borders then bind as usual.
Prairie points are made by folding the squares in half diagonally and then in half again.
Remember these small projects are a wonderful way to practice your quilting skills.
How did you make those branches? On a wall hanging that I posted recently there was a question about how the branches were made dimensional. It is a very simple technique. I cut brown toned batik into bias strips. Length really doesn’t matter …