This week I have been working on a quilt that was inspired by the Jacaranda tree and in particular the silk screen print my brother-in-law did.  The print has been sitting in my quilting room, waiting to be framed, and this week I thought the colours would work well for a quilt.

I played with the idea of purple with black & white fabrics, but felt I have  been overusing my b/w stash.  Instead I went with greys and choose a pattern that reminded me of a tree (but ended up looking like an arrow!).  The end result of my test run was this collection of blocks.

I think I am going to have fun with this one.  I have made some grey/grey blocks and some purple/purple blocks and can not wait to start playing with some random layouts.  My husband wanted me to put some order into the layout – he is a science geek and loves there to be pattern, even if it is hidden.  Me, I love random when I can get it.  I think that is why I love scrap quilting so much, it allows for random in amongst the pattern.

The pattern is a free paper piecing pattern from Christine Thresh which can be found here.  I just pulled the gif from the site and sized it up in Photoshop.

I also managed this weekend to finish a couple quilt tops that I had lying around.  The first one is the 1001 Peeps top I started a last week.  It was quick, easy and fun to make.  Now all I have to do is quilt it and bind it.

The other top I finished was not so quick and easy… I have been trying to finish it for weeks.  It was a little more fiddly than some of my other patterns but worth the effort.  I still have to pull all the paper off the back but I have trained my husband up to help with this process, so it should be quick.

I am trying to train myself to not start a new project until I have finished one of my old ones.  The question then becomes, does finishing a top count or do I only count quilted and bound projects?

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.

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.

This week I have been playing with another old, traditional quilt block called the Flying Dutchman or Dutchman’s puzzle.  The block is  really a version of Flying Geese.  My first variation on the pattern was inspired, I am embarrassed to say, by our local Shell Petrol/Gas station.

I love the red and yellow combination and had such fun mixing the placement of the blocks up.    The scrap, the random layout and the occasional reversed pattern will make for an interesting quilt I think.

The pattern I used was a free paper piecing block from  Quilt.com.  This is a really simple way to do triangles.

For the other block I did with this pattern, I went a much more traditional route.  First,  I used a selection of fabrics from Aneela Hoey’s new Posy fabric line for Moda.  It is such a pretty collection of fabrics I could not resist.

Then I used the standard Flying Dutchman block layout.

I love the fact these are going to be two very different quilts using the same simple pattern.   There are more layout ideas for this pattern at the Connecting Threads here.

I definitely have to start finishing more quilts.  I have so many in varying stages of the process that my work space is getting over run.  I have too many ideas for quilts and not enough time.  Any suggestion for how to get around this problem?  My husband suggests we invest in a Tardis!

This week I have been working my way through a friend’s copy of  Tula Pink’s “100 Modern Quilt Blocks” .  It has been a lot of fun.

I started by pulling some soft, pretty fabrics. It was the name, Tula Pink that made me want to go with this palette.  I pulled soft pinks, reds and greys including a handful of solids.

Then I  worked my way through some of the patterns I had flagged.  One by one I selected the fabric, cut it, then sewed the block together.  It was a slow, deliberate process and I loved every minute of it.  I definitely do not have as much done as I would pre-cutting my fabric and working with just one pattern but this is a refreshing change of pace.

My work space is little more hectic as well, but I found a great use for my cookbook holder….

At the end of yesterday I had a nice little pile of blocks…

Here are some of my favorite so far, using the books numbering system to name them.

Block 72

Block 79

Block 96

Block 36

Block 12

Block 32

I have about 40 more blocks to go… this is another “on going project” that may take a while!

Well after much thinking and pondering and trawling through my stash I have decided that my next Paper Piecing Monday Sampler quilt is going have a bit more variety in colour, and a bit more variety in patterns.  To start this new sampler off I have chosen a  fabulous FREE pattern from Julie at 627handworks.

This is the first of Julie’s series Block Rock’n paper piecing patterns.  It is called Bowie and can be found here.    All the patterns so far have been easy to follow and lots of fun.    Bowie is 56 pieces and despite a couple of mis-steps on my behalf, was quick to make.

I am now off to enjoy the last of the long weekend with my hubby.  The weather is miserable so a movie may be in order.

This week I have been trying to get a few projects finished, but keep getting distracted.  My first distraction was this selection of fabric I pulled from my stash.

I have accumulated over the last couple of months a selection of apricot fabric, and I have been trying to find other fabrics to work with them.  I wanted something modern and fun so I chose a blush pink and a pink/purple, and this is what I decided to do….

I love the colours but may re-think the block.  The center where the pieces join is bulky and  just a pain in the “you know what”. 

The other distraction the last week has been hexagons.  I have now made 52 hexie flowers and have been getting quite proficient at the process.   My hexie travel kit has been living in handbag and I pull it out when ever I can.  Geeky I know but it is working.

And the main thing that these activities have been distracting me from is finishing my pink and olive triangle quilt.  It is all cut and waiting sewing.   I have decided that today that is all I am going to do – no distractions, no new projects, no excuses.

Wish me luck…. I think I am going to need it.

After a couple of weeks of being able to do nothing but hexies I desperately wanted to start a new quilt.  I do have a large number of quilts to finish but I just had to do something new to blow out the cob webs.

So last week when I was feeling better I started going through my Bloglovin feed and found two projects that I just feel in love with.  First there was Cari at There’s a Thread  fabulous tutorial for making a Palatina Pillow.  Then I found Amy at 13 Spools interview with Faith from Fresh Lemons, which included a photo of a wonderful poinsettia mini quilt (link here).   These two projects inspired me to make my own version.

Using Photoshop, I took different bits and pieces from some blocks I had scanned and played with their layout, shape, position and size.  The end result was this…

Which with fabric sewn on it looks like this…

The block was designed as a  4 x 4 inch block, the size I usually work with,  but for this quilt I blew it up to 7 x 7.   Blowing it up was as easy as selecting “scale to page” on my printer and then trimming the block using my ruler’s 1/4 inch mark rather than the dotted lines.

For me this is the perfect block to be working on at the moment, as you actually have to plan out the quilt  little.  So I have pulled out my colour pencils and have been pre-marking my paper patterns, block by block.  To make this pattern work how I wanted,  you must have blocks that match up, hence the pre-colouring!   As I am still unable to sew for long stretches and this process allows me to take breaks and go slower than usual.

When I put the blocks I have done so far up on the design wall I realised that there was another influence at work… my hexies.

I just can not seem to avoid them at the moment!

Welcome to this weeks installment of Paper Piecing Monday.  This week I add another block to my grey/bright sampler quilt from Julie at 627handworks.   May I present my version of Marley…

Now I am not sure that the scrappy approach worked with this pattern.  I think if I was to do it again I would go with a single fabric for the back ground – just so the colour popped more.

I do love this block.  It is different from my usual stars and I think that this take on flying geese is really quit fun.  You can find the free Marley paper piecing pattern here.  I am really loving Julie’s patterns and so excited to try Garfunkel.

Just for fun I am linking up with “Let’s get Acquainted” which is being hosted this week at Heart of Charnwood.

I can not believe I am already at block 6 of my bright sampler quilt.  This week’s block is called the Morrison…

The pattern is once again from Julie’s Block Rock’n collection.  You can find the free paper piecing pattern here, along with different layouts for the block.  In Julie’s test block she does more with the center of the block which I really like, and which makes for a quite different  pattern.

The Morrison is not to complex a pattern and uses only 40 pieces of fabric… perfect for the scrappy approach.

As I have made it to 6 blocks, I could finally lay out the blocks and see how the quilt is coming together.

I am pleased with what I have so far.  I do love how the colour pops against the neutral grey background.    Six down, quite a few more to go…. so see you back here next week for installment 7.

Another Monday, another paper pieced block.  Yipee.  Today’s block is a little more complex than my last few, but is sooooo fabulous.  May I present Garfunkel…

When Julie at 627Handworks.com posted this block a couple of weeks ago I fell in love.  It took me a week or so to work out how I wanted to approach the block and what colours I wanted to use.  I ended up choosing red/pink combinations, but wanted to use so many more colours.  For the first time I was really really frustrated by this sampler quilt’s limited palette.    The FREE paper piecing pattern can be found here.

66 fabulous pieces to make this hexagon wonder.  I have already started planning how I am going to use this pattern again -  it is so effective and I am a little hexagon obsessed at the moment!

Have a great Monday.

I am so thrilled to have finally finished my star string quilt top… and extra thrilled that it turned out exactly like I pictured it.  So without further ado, here she is in all her scrappy wonderfulness…

I must admit my strong feelings about this quilt maybe effected slightly because I designed the quilt block.  You can find the free paper piecing pattern and details about my  inspirations here on the original post.

I had a lot of fun making this quilt slowly, piece by piece.  Using colour pencils and paper I worked out each square in advance.

The central stars are made from lots of little bits from my scrap pile.  The black and white fabrics were a little bit of scrap pile and a lot of stash cutting.

I wanted bright colours for the stars and mainly worked with red, yellow, orange, blue, green and purple with a smattering of apricot, fuchsia and citron.

The finished quilt top is 62 inches square – five blocks across five blocks down.  This of course meant there was a lot of paper to pull off the back.

I am now off to vacuum up the paper and thread pieces that are littered all over our living room floor, before my husband comes home!

This week I am taking a short break from my grey sampler quilt to share a little Bee crazy with you.  I was super excited to recently joined a do.good. Stitches circle.  I excitedly did the first blocks for my Bee, forgot to photograph them and then sent them to the wrong person.  I was off to a flying start with the group!

Then the August block was posted and I must admit I gasped a little.  This is why – 3 inch flying geese culminating in a 12 inch block with 96 pieces…

The requested blocks were from Liesel Made’s crazy mini patchwork sampler series.  You can find the original post here.  As I read the instructions for making the block I thought there had to be a way to make this which was not going to freak me out.  My answer was of course  PAPER PIECING!  Paper piecing was the only way I personally was going to be able to make those precise little triangles.

So I pulled out my graph paper and made a pattern.

In the end these were fun blocks to make.  I used up lots of little scraps which always makes me happy and messed with the triangle layout a little.  If you want to make this block the paper way, please feel free to use my graph paper pattern – 3 inch flying geese pattern.

Next week it will be back to our regularly scheduled program.

This week I manged to finish my first Urban Chicken quilt top…. I am so excited.   I love this modern easy fun pattern.

The Urban Chicken block was designed for the Portland Modern Quilt Guild meetup by Michelle Freedman.  You can find my original post and tutorial on making the block here.

When laying the quilt top out I had great fun making the chickens run all around… there really is a sense of silly to this quilt block that I love.

It is also a very forgiving block – wonky triangles, lots of scraps and bold bright colours.  You can get away with a few squiffy seams if need be.

This is Urban Chicken number 1 for me.  I have another one following close behind in warmer colours, as I set this pattern for my Do.good.stitches bee this month.  You have been warned!

After last weeks easy (read 18 piece) blocks I decided to up the fabric piece count with this weeks star.

This fabulous star is another free pattern from Quilting on the Squares new bonus compass star patterns.  The Cactus Star Block star is a 64 piece star, with enough complexity in the colouring that I had to resort to coding my pattern…

I must admit more and more orange is creeping into these stars…along with a touch of dark purple here and there.  I just can not seem to limit myself too much colour wise, particularly with these more complex blocks.  They work best, I think,  if you have variety in your colours.

…deep breath…. here goes….I am a messy quilter.  You may not be able to tell from what I have put up on the site but in the last couple of weeks the truth has become harder and harder to ignore.

So what has forced this revelation…. Quilting Bees. Over the last couple of weeks I have been getting quilt blocks from around the country – I was “Queen Bee” for both ScrapBeeLicous Bee and Do.good.stitches Hope Circle.

So here is the evidence, as I see it.  Exhibit A…. a block received for the Do.good.stitches Bee.

Please note the neat seams.  The lack of loose threads. The overall precision and beauty of the back of the block.

Now Exhibit B…. my Icky Thump block for the same quilt.

It is down right embarrassing.    In my defense I taught myself to quilt and never knew that you should carefully cut threads.  Since seeing my fellow quilters blocks I have started taking more care with my threads but I still trim my paper piecing with scissors.

With these startling revelations and confessions, there is only one saving grace…. you really can not tell from the front of the quilts.

When setting this block for the Bee, I did not realise that most of my fellow Hope Circle had not paper pieced.  I believe I drove a couple of them to drink.  It really did not occur to me that there are people out there that have not tried paper piecing -  I wrongly assumed that it was a technique commonly used.

I set this block because it was an easy block to do, but very very effective.  Some of you may recognize the inspiration from a post earlier in the year.

I made this block using Julie at 627handworks free Icky Thump paper piecing pattern.  I loved it so much and was determined to make a full quilt in this colour way.

The quilt  is coming together nicely… I am still awaiting a few more blocks in the post and then I can put the top together.  The finished top will be 4 blocks wide x 5 blocks long…. and fabulous.

After a day full of Thanksgiving turkey yesterday, I thought I would stick with the poultry theme, but shake it up a little.  Somewhere in between baking tons and tons of pies this week I managed to finish my Urban Chicken Quilt.

This block is so fun and so easy to make… I set it as one of my Do.good.Stitches Bee blocks so you will be seeing another version on this site in the next month or so.   My tutorial for making this block can be found here.

I really do love how easy this quilt block is.  I think it will be my new “go to” block when I need to get a kids quilt done quickly.   Though next time I think I will put some more prints into the quilt, not just tone on tones.  I also want to try to make one just using solids.  Oh I have too many ideas and not enough time.

For the quilting on this, I just went with straight lines, running either side of the ditch.  At some point, as my FMQ gets better I would like to quilt one of these with “chickens”, that is triangles, all over it.

To back this quilt I used the last of my IKEA green and blue fabric.  This fabric has been a great way to back my quilts and I am going to keep my eye out for more of it.  The backing is one solid piece, but it looks like I have sewn together a pile of solid fat quarters.

The finishing touch is an electric blue binding… I seem to go through a lot of binding in electric blue for some reason.  It is either that or someone/something is eating my blue binding.

So there she is…my first finished Urban Chicken quilt.  I am now off to make myself a turkey sandwich… got to love Thanksgiving day leftovers.

This week I got a little side tracked by a pile of scraps sitting around my sewing space.  Most of the time I do a good job of keeping my creative urges under control – I usually jot the idea down in my note-book and go back to what I should be doing.  This week the “should be doing” was quilting my sister in laws quilt... instead I took the scraps from that quilt and made some of these…

Yes the scraps from the project I SHOULD have been finishing tempted me into making log cabin blocks.   In my defense I had a whole pile of 2 1/2 inch strips of fabric already cut and lots and lots of scrappy little ends of fabric.  They cried out to be made into a log cabin, and I could not ignore it.  The end result of this diversion is this lovely little top…

This 40 x 40 inch quilt top took me about 4 episodes of “Top of the Lake” to make and came together really easily.  I already knew the colours worked together and all the cutting was done I just had to make log cabins.

I am really beginning to love what you can do with solids.  I struggled with the first quilt with the lack of pattern, but now can not wait to make my next solids quilt.  I have a cunning plan already.

This fun little exercise not only distracted me from my quilting to do list, but also added another UFO to my pile, but it was worth it.  The only hard thing about this quilt so far has been photographing it in the howling wind this morning…

This week I decided to play with turquoise and my all time favorite neutral, navy blue.  There was something about this colour combination and snow that just seemed to work.  First I raided my scraps and then pulled this bundle from my stash…

I had used navy and turquoise together before, but with “radiant orchid” and some electric blues thrown into the mix.

This time I wanted to keep it simple, clean, cool.   I choose an easy block called “World Without End”.  This classic quilt block dates back to the 1900′s  and I found some wonderful old examples when searching on-line, including one from the Spencer Museum of Art.  For my project I used Quilters Cache’s free paper piecing pattern which you can find here.

 This is another quick, fun block that packs a punch, and is perfect for scraps.  I just loved how the strong colour contrast with this pattern.

I was surprised how big my turquoise stash was and it has been great fun cutting into it for this project.  I have added this to my list of “must finish” for 2014… a list that keeps getting bigger.  I  need some sewing fairies pronto!

The last week or so I have been playing with a different kind of colour combination…one that really has not got a lot of “colour” in it.  My inspiration was a very old photo that hangs on our living room wall…

(Please note..I can neither confirm or deny that I am in this photo).

Anyway I have always loved black and white photographs, which really are more grey and white than black and white, and thought why not play with greys in a quilt.  The end result was this block…

I used another fabulous free paper piecing pattern from Quilters Cache called Atlantic Sea.   The block pieces look rather strange and a pattern is not immediately obvious.

But when you put more and more of the blocks together you get this wild, slightly mesmerizing pattern.

I think as this quilts grows more and more patterns and shapes will become visible.  It is really a little trippy but cool.