New Project

Once I got Easy Street off my plate, it was time to turn my attention to one of the projects I wish to do this year.  This is a free block of the month, called The Blogger Girls Block of the Month by Monique Dillard of Open Gate Quilts.  You can find the details here.

If you read many blogs you may have already heard of it and seen many of the talented blogger's versions.  The general idea is that it will run for 6 months.  Each month there will be a pattern for one block, but by varying color/value placement, you can make two distinctly different-looking blocks.  That alteration idea was what drew me into participating.

This pattern uses Monique's brilliantly-designed ruler, the Fit to Be Geese.  I love all her rulers!

I'm just using fabric from my stash.  I have a large piece (okay, most of a bolt) of a great fabric that I got on clearance and have been wanting to use.  It has many colors in it, so I pulled a large variety of fabrics from my stash to coordinate with it. 

 

This is the first version of the pattern

 

 

 

And this is the second.  As you can tell, they look fairly different.



Have a great day!
JoAnne

Easy Street Journey Complete (Except for Borders)

Hi Everyone!

Goodness, I have been a very bad blogger lately.  My parents were here and so we spent time having fun and otherwise "larking about" (or at least bird-watching, ha ha) while they visited.  I very immediately "hit the road" on Easy Street after they left, though.

When I read Bonnie's directions I got a bit uneasy when she said that there may be problems with the seam allowances not going in the right direction to nestle.  That really makes me unhappy, but the great news was that it wasn't that bad.  I had to clip and repress a few here and there, but nothing like I feared.

I arranged both block types on my design wall and analyzed how I wanted to go about constructing them.  Both looked to me like a framed 9-patch, so that was how I made them.  I began by carefully choosing the 9 "patches" for each.  I didn't want any obvious star points or squares to be the same.

Here are my Block A's with the center 9-patches complete.  I didn't want any of the navy triangles, the red squares, or the medium blue squares to be doubled--I wanted as much variety as possible.

Next, I prepared the "framing" pieces:

Next I used the framing pieces and the four-patches in the corners to frame the 9-patch to complete the blocks.

 I repeated the process for the B blocks, but I don't have any photos of them or the setting triangles under construction.  I do have this picture of my design wall, though.

Can I just add a comment here?  What is it about turning blocks 45 degrees (on point) that makes everything so darn confusing??!!!  Ugh!  I did the blocks first and then worked on the setting triangles.  The 4 small ones were easy enough, but the larger ones were more complicated.  No chain-piecing for me--I made all 12 individually so I wouldn't mix anything up.

Are you waiting for the big reveal?  I know I was.  It was about the only thing keeping me focused.  That and the Monday Link-up deadline!

Ta Da!!!  Here it is, sans borders, though, as I don't have anything yet.  I'm not even sure of my border plan.  With this coming out as a square, I am tempted to enlarge it for a king-sized quilt, but still have no idea how to proceed.

 

As you can see, we still don't have any snow here in Virginia.  Can you tell how I "hung" this?

 

We have this "structure" in the back garden.  Laying across the middle are a bunch of lengths of bamboo that my husband trimmed in the summer.  I got the idea that maybe I could attach the quilt to a piece of it and then lay it across the top of the framework for a picture.

 

I used some of my husband's woodworking clamps.  They worked great!  And I carried it outside to the back yard.

After I photographed it, I stood back to admire it.  And then I saw it!!!  Can you find it??  A mistake!

 

Here at the top edge--one measly 4-patch is turned the wrong way.  At least it is at the edge and so easy to fix.  I did toy with the idea of leaving it as a quirk, but then decided not to. 

 

With just a bit of ripping, pressing, and stitching, it was fixed in no time.  And I photographed the quilt again just so it would be correct.

 



Much better!

 
Bonnies Quilt!

I love how mine came out, but I would like to take a minute to discuss fabric choices for a bit--in particular, value.  Early on, Bonnie mentioned that someone asked her about changing the colors and if value would make a difference.  She thought that in a scrap quilt, value wasn't as important.  I tend to agree for the most part.  When I assigned my new colors, I did so by comparing the yardage amounts.  The largest amount of fabric that Bonnie approximated (aside from backgrounds) was the lime green.  So I used red.  The next amount was for the turquoise--I wanted more navy blue than medium blue, so I assigned navy for turquoise and then medium blue for Bonnie's purple.  What I didn't realize or maybe even notice, was that her purples were much darker than the turquoise.  In retrospect, I wish I had switched navy and medium blue.  As you can see in the photos above, my star blocks (the centers of the B block) are MUCH heavier, visually, than Bonnie's.  Also, the A block (which I refer to as the arrow block as it looks to me like crossed arrows or something,) has less distinct arrows in mine.  Over all, I like them both, but I think that Bonnie's has a bit "lacier" feel to it and mine is more "blocky."  I  think mine looks like a wonderful mosaic tile floor or something and again, I love it, but I may have switched my colors if I had realized the difference. 

For now, though, it is done--in one large piece, until I decide how to border it.  I'm so excited for tomorrow's linkup  to see how everyone is progressing!

Have a great day!
JoAnne