String Blocks & Cozy Afternoon BOM

String blocks are fun to make and use up scraps. I pulled several purple strips from my scrap bins, along with some white and greens for accent. I made sixteen 5-inch blocks, stitching the strings diagonally across a muslin base. I like to use the muslin, although you can piece the block without it. I like the clean look on the back of the pieced blocks.

I’ve alternated the direction of the blocks to create square designs within the piece. It will measure 18″ X 18″, perfect for a throw pillow; part of a wedding gift for my nephew and his finace.

I plan to participate in the Cozy Afternoon BOM by Jacquelynne Steves.

Her designs are so cheerful. The first two block patterns were released today and I haven’t even picked out my fabric. I plan to create the applique blocks. There’s still time to sign up; just click on the button to the right.

The National Quilting Association quilt show begins soon in Little Rock, AK. I entered the SewBatik Challenge again this year. Although I will not be attending, I am excited to see pictures from the show. I won’t be able to share pictures of my challenge quilt until some time in the future, since I neglected to take pictures before shipping if off to the show. It will travel as an exhibit over the next year, so no chance of seeing it anytime soon.

Now to finish my pillow project. What have you been stitching up lately?

Happy Quilting!

Rose of Sharon Block #1

The first of four Rose of Sharon blocks is complete. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the applique. The preparation of the blocks shapes made the stitching move along quickly.

Completed Rose of Sharon block

I took this photo outside this afternoon with such a sunny day. The sunshine was so glaring that this block in the shade was a much better shot. Still, the colors look dull.

Close-up

Here is a closer look at the block. You can better view the layout of the design and the stitching of the shapes. I haven’t pressed the block yet, and also plan to trim the block down to a 15-inch square. There will be a lot of negative white space to use for free-motion quilting.

My SewBatik Challenge quilt is on to a new venue. Forty-six quilts were on display at the annual NQA quilt show over Memorial week-end. Following the show, 30 of the quilts were sent off to Reno, Nevada to display June 12-14th at an upcoming Sew Original Quilt and Creative Expos quilt show. They will also be displayed in Lincoln, NE – September 11-13th, and Louisville, KY – October 9-11th.

Back to the sewing table to put another Rose of Sharon block together for stitching. What are you stitching up today?

Enjoy!

SewBatik Challenge 2014 – H2O

My SewBatik Challenge quilt is shipping out to the National Quilting Association annual quilt show tomorrow morning. H2O is the name I’ve given the quilt. The theme of the show is Going Green! I chose an ocean waves pattern for the design and stitched together four blocks. I did modify the look by placing white triangles in the outside corners of the blocks. These corner blocks have sayings and statistics written on them about water and the effects of using bottled water.

The FMQ was completed over several weeks. I used two quilting designs from The Free Motion Quilting Project by Leah Day. I chose two different patterns on her blog and incorporated them into the quilt. The first design is pebble ripples and is worked into the center of the quilt. I quilted waves in the blue triangles of the HST (half square triangles), making a curve from one corner of the triangle to another. Lastly, I added underwater rocks in each of the white HST sections.

I used four different blue batiks to make the ocean waves blocks. The lower left batik is the challenge fabric. The center fabric is a paisley design called blue green karachi by Modern Quilt Studio. I purchased a packet of fabrics from their booth at the AQS show in Grand Rapids last August. The colors fit perfectly with my design idea and I was able to match four batiks pulled from my stash. I used Aurifil 50 wt. thread for the piecing and quilting. Here is a closeup of the center.

 

I found a quote about water that I added to the quilt. It speaks to the necessity of water. The remaining corners have statistics written in them culled from online about the cost of and waste from consuming bottled water. Writing on the quilt proved to be challenging. It can be nerve racking thinking about writing on a quilt. One night, I finally took the leap and calculated the spacing for the words. After the first stokes of the pigma pen, I completed each one until finished. My quilting stretched the edges of the quilt, so that some of the letters were lost when stitching on the binding. But, I am still pleased with the results. I’ve never made a perfect quilt and I am my own worst critic.

This quilt will hang at the show in Columbus, Ohio from May 23-25, 2014. It will then travel around the country to various locales as a part of a traveling quilt exhibit. My last entry travelled to seven locations, including Oklahoma, Oregon, Kentucky, Indiana, Nebraska, and Nevada.

If you’re in Columbus for the NQA show, check out the SewBatik Challenge display. I am always amazed at the creative ideas that others come up with to make these 20-inch square quilts. Now, I off to place the quilt in a ziploc bag and place tags on everything for shipping.

Happy Stitching!