January's Schnibble

Hi Everyone,

It is a new year and a new month, so consequently, there is a new Schnibble.  This month's pattern is the one I guessed it might be.  Jersey Girl.

I borrowed this picture from Carrie's website, and if you immediately fell in love with it, as did I, you can find the pattern there, by clicking here.

I really did guess that this would be our Schnibble.  Along about Christmas, I showed my husband the picture and said, "I bet this is going to be the next Schnibble--you mark my words."  As if I really thought my husband would: 1.  pay attention to what I was saying and 2.  Remember the picture of a random quilt.  I was seriously surprised the other night, though, when I had the pattern open on my computer and he said, "That looks like Jersey Girl.  Is it your Schnibble?" (He finally figured out how to pronounce that word after butchering it mercilessly the past few years.)  Well, I tried not to let the surprise show on my face and instead did a triumphant, "Yes it is!  I was right!"  Then I thought I would throw him for another loop and said, "I'm considering making it in Grant Park."  Hah!  That would confuse him again.  He would think Grant was a name or a person or that I was somehow going to make this in a park.  But you could have knocked me over with a feather when he said, "Oh yeah, that fabric you got for the block of the month!"  Okay, I guess he won that round, even though I didn't know there was any competition going on.

Actually, I wasn't really feeling Grant Park for Jersey Girl.  Carrie made it as a two-color quilt.  I figured out right away, that unless you have a two-color fabric line, it was going to require more than the 2 usual charm packs.  I went upstairs and looked through my charm packs, but I wasn't getting inspired.  I briefly considered Indigo Crossing, as it is a 2-color line, but it wasn't making a strong impression.  I love the quilt as is, made with Midwinter Reds, but I wanted to do something "my own" this time.  Besides, I just made Countdown to Christmas, and while it wasn't made with Midwinter Reds, it was made with MR-inspired fabrics from my stash.  That reminds me--I finished the quilting and binding.

 I LOVE this quilt.  Look what I found for the backing:

More red and light--candy canes and peppermint candies.  I love the bit of "Christmas" it adds to the quilt, since there wasn't a single bit on the front.

But back to the Schnibble.  Since I wasn't really "feeling" anything, I decided to read the pattern.  I love to read patterns, but Carrie's are great as she usually talks about how she came up with the name.  This pattern is no exception--I'll let you read the story on your own, but the conclusion is that she named it after her mother, who was from New Jersey.  It was a sweet story, but still no inspiration.

And then she had me!  In her opening paragraph, she said that this block was inspired by a maple leaf block.  I've been wanting a fall-like, hopefully leaf-based Schnibble.  Back when I made the ribbons for the quilt show, I knew I would have fabric left over.  I used some of the Kansas Troubles line, Harvest Moon, because it had a lovely tone-on tone leaf print in a variety of colors.  Anyway, at the same time, I got some charm packs of the line thinking I could make a Schnibbles quilt that would remind me of the quilt show.

I normally keep the name of the Schnibble for my quilt, but in this case, I don't think Jersey Girl is going to work for a fall/leaf quilt.  I don't think of fall foliage when I think of New Jersey.  No, the state that comes to mind for fall color is Maine.  So, what does Maine remind me of?  I've never been there, and I don't really know anyone from there, except my blog friend Regan.  Do you know Regan?  She was one of my very first blog friends and followers.  And as it happens, she is going to be in the area this month and we are going to get a chance to meet and spend some time fabric shopping, etc.  I am really looking forward to it have the day marked out on my calendar--it is going to be quite an event.  Hey!  Event!  Are you thinking what I'm thinking?  The title for this Schnibble is going to be The Maine Event!

Wow, now that I have a pattern, a plan, and a name, I need to go get cutting!

Have a great day!
JoAnne

Blogger Girls Block of the Month for January

Happy New Year!

I can't think of a better way to celebrate a New Year than with a new project, and do I have a great one for you.

Monique Dillard, at Open Gate Quilts, has designed a new version of her Blogger Girls BOM and she asked me to help.  I'm completely excited about this, as you can tell from several past posts. Last year, Monique designed the entire quilt.  This year, she asked us to choose a block and she designed the setting.  If you followed along with last year, you will remember that those block were 12."  This year they are only 6" so it is an absolutely "doable" project.  You can get the list of materials and patterns over at the Blogger Girls Block of the Month II page.

Thanks to the generosity of Moda fabrics, I am using Grant Park for my version.  Remember, though, that last year I made it nearly completely from my stash.  I only bought background, as I didn't have enough of anything in my stash.
The other participating bloggers are:

Sherri from A Quilting Life
Lissa from Moda Lissa
Denise from Quilter's Window
Jodi from Pleasant Home
Monique from Open Gate

You will want to visit them to see what they are up to.

Once you have all of your instructions, you can get started.  Remember that the fun of this BOM is that you are going to make two versions of the same pattern and manipulate the values and fabric to get a totally different looking block!  The first block that I made is this one:

I love that it is a churn dash superimposed on a four patch!

The next version I did was this:

I had a problem though:  I fussy-cut a 2.5" square for the center unit, instead of using a 4-patch as the churn dash version had.  Hmm.  In this case, the blocks are not exactly the same.  Was this going to bother me?  I love the first block, and you know me, I love fussy-cutting.  

So I decided to make a different version of the second block, this time using a 4-patch just to see what I thought.

This was the result, and I have to say that I really like it, too.  So, since this is exactly like the churn dash block, I'm going to use it.

These 6" blocks are quick!  I had them done in no time.  The next step is to add the sashing.  If you add the sashing to each block now, it will be that much easier to put this quilt together.

The churn dash version all sashed.  Are you panicking?  Do you think it looks hard to do?  Don't forget, this is Monique who is designing the quilt--it is really easy.

And here is the second version.

I hope that many of you will play along, as it is really fun and free!  If you do, feel free to share you photos over at the flickr group that you can find here or you can share on Instagram.  Just hashtag your photos #bloggergirlsbom

Have a great day!

JoAnne