New Doorstop

My house has no insulation, so it gets pretty darn hot. I like to leave the front door open (we have a screen door) and open the windows in my bedroom. It circulates the air through the house, and makes sort of a wind tunnel in the hallway. It usually slams the hallway door shut with a loud BANG.

I was using Chris' un-installed car radio as a doorstop, but then he decided to try and install it (a completely different story) so I was left with no doorstop.

Thankfully, not only do I like to collect junk, but I like to collect bookmarks of useful tutorials online. This one was by Elizabeth of Oh Frasson, and who has been featured on Sew Mama Sew several times. Here is the link for the tutorial. You definitely should bookmark the site, it is fantastic. TONS of inspiration. I am planning on using her minky applique tutorial sometime soon.

Lucy was less than pleased that I was not playing with her, although she appreciates the doorstop because she doesn't get locked in the hallway anymore!

Common Threads - Liz's Block

Liz's? Liz'? How about Lady Harvatine's Block? There we go. Sounds good.

No wonkiness here! More can be read about it here.

I am back from Maui, and cannot wait to start sewing again! Hopefully I'll have some more Dear Jane blocks to post soon. I did not do any sewing on vacation, but I did do some knitting on the flights there and back. I am almost done with my koolhaas hat. I have one more repeat, and then the decreases! Woohoo!

F-5 Parcheesi

Ok, so I've never played parcheesi, so I have no idea how this block name came about, but I do like it. I was pretty terrified of doing this block. It was done with a combination of machine piecing and reverse applique. Like most of the blocks I've made, it wasn't too bad to make, especially with Anina, the Dear Baby Jane Quilt Along leader's easy directions and tips.

The fabric is Heather Ross' Matrioshka Dolls Beige from the West Hill line. I love the fabric and I love the dolls!

31-1-0-474

BR-1 Rosemary's Rainbow

My first triangle! This one was a nice easy one, although figuring out how to crop it in my available photo software was a challenge. Good thing I did my minor in photography, I remembered that .png images don't save the background. Woohoo!

The fabric was purchased during Shop Hop 2008, from Judy's Sewing Center. I think it's pretty obvious I have Hawaii on my mind. I'm going to Maui at the end of this week for my college friend's wedding! This block reminds me of lava, and I am SO excited for our horseback ride down into the crater of Haleakala.

30-1-0-457

K-11 Columbine

I knew for this block I wanted a light blue-y purple-y fabric so it would look like the flower. Unfortunately, that is not a color I really have in my stash. Lots of oranges and navy blues, but not so much with the purple. Fortunately, during the 2008 Shop Hop Around the Bay I picked up this fabric from the clearance bin with the intention of someday making it into a dress. I cut out a little piece, and I think it fits this block perfectly.

Whether or not the cut off points were a mistake on Jane's part or not, I love them. I love the blunt ends. Block is paper pieced, with fabric from Back Porch Fabrics.

30-0-0-445

A-1 Pinwheel Gone Awry

This block is very special to me. I remember seeing Dear Jane quilts, and not really being interested in them. Then Purl Bee, Purl Soho's blog posted about Emily's Dear Jane quilt. Emily was learning how to quilt, and decided to make a Dear Jane quilt with modern fabrics. I immediately fell in love with the idea and her gorgeous blocks. The block I loved the most was A-1 Pinwheel Gone Awry. I even tried to find the same fabric, and came close, but couldn't find the same colorway. I see this block as the reason why I started this journey, and I love how both the journey and the blocks are turning out.

The fabric is Heather Ross' Wildflowers in orange from her Lightning Bugs line. Paper pieced.

29-0-0-420

B-11 Melissa's Cross

I am so excited to finish this block. One row, Row B is DONE. How exciting is that? This block is slightly different from Brenda's, but closer to Jane's. I used Anina's technique and it worked out fine.

This block is made with Garden Party Green in the Wee Play line by Sandy Klop. Appliqued, paper pieced, and machine pieced all in one block!

28-0-0-392

C-2 Streak of Lightning

For some reason when I made this block I decided I wanted it to be all yellow. I had picked out a fabric called Botanical Pop - Yellow, which is yellow fabric with white, grey and red flowers on it. I fussy cut the block so only the yellow and white showed. In retrospect, seems unnecessary, and I may use the fabric again to showcase the grey flowers. I do like how this one turned out though.

This is another block I worked on during the opening ceremonies, paper pieced, machine pieced, reverse and regular applique. It's amazing how many skills I have picked up in the 27 blocks I have made so far!

27-0-0-371

B-9 Tinker Toy

This block was my first experience with 90 degree set in seams. It was pretty fun! I bought a disappearing ink marker for this and I have to say, I love disappearing ink markers now! I have only used water soluble ones until now.

The fabric is Heather Ross' Gnomes, and they were spaced just perfectly for this block! Machine pieced and reverse applique for the middle.

I did the applique during the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. WOW. That's really all I have to say.

26-0-0-356

B-8 Water Lily

For some reason this block didn't want to get done. I had the background of the block done, but I just didn't want to applique the melons on. But it's done now, and it's PINK. I like how it pops up. I love water lilies. I think they are so pretty with their pointy petals sitting on the water. They remind me of my visit to Hong Kong and Japan and all the Asian temples with the gorgeous water lilies sitting in the ponds.

This block was machine pieced (with set in points!) and hand appliqued. The fabric is Kaffe Fassett's Pinking Flower Red. I always say I'm not really a pink person, but then I look at my clothes and fabrics in my stash and have to take it back. I guess I'm not an ALL pink person, but I don't mind a bit here and there as a little shock of color.

25-0-0-343

I-8 Pete's Paintbox

This is my favorite block so far. The stripes really add a lot of the block. And it was easy to put together too! I finally went out and bought a disappearing ink marker last night, and it was very helpful in putting this block together. I used it to make sure the triangles were centered before attaching them.

This block is freezer paper-paper pieced, and the fabric is Kaffe Fassett's Kaffe's Red Shirt Stripes. I LOVE this fabric. Although for a shirt, it may be a little much :p

24-0-0-331

H-13 Farm Fields

When I read the name of this block, I knew I wanted a striped fabric. I don't really know much about living on a farm. All I really know is that when you drive by them on the freeway, the rows make this crazy pattern that seem to follow you. I'm always amazed by how straight the rows are, and I always try to figure out what is planted. Oh, I also try to play "Spot the Bull" but that's a different story.

This year I joined the Two Small Farms CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and I have eaten vegetables that I have not even heard of before. I'm also cooking a lot more, but I still have a ways to go before I feel like I'm really using my membership to the fullest. I do have to admit though, the vegetables are much better than what I would get at the grocery store. Everything is just a bit fresher, sweeter, crisper...

This fabric for this block was purchased specifically for this project, and it is Tonal Rulers in Green from the Wee Play line by American Jane (Sandy Klop) for Moda. I really do like this fabric, and even though I didn't do a great job lining up the stripes, it doesn't bother me enough to redo them. This block was freezer paper foundation pieced.

23-0-0-306

H-1 Peek-a-boo

I really needed this. A nice easy paper pieced block. Once again, I used the freezer paper method for paper piecing this one, and this time I left lots of the border and did not cut the pieces down until the entire block was put together. This one was easy peasy!

The fabric is Circles Orange from Sandy Klop's Wee Play line. I really like this line, it includes the ruler fabric and some very cute prints. American Jane (Sandy Klop's company) also has some very cute patterns as well.

Peek-a-boo is the game I always end up playing with babies. As the younger child in the family, I didn't have a baby to grow up with, so admittedly I'm a little awkward around babies. Thank goodness for peek-a-boo.

22-0-0-299

B-7 World Series

Although this block is very similar to A-3 Hunter's Moon, I found this one much harder. Those little diamonds drove me crazy! I need to figure out a better applique method. Currently I am using the freezer paper method, in which I cut the shape out of freezer paper and use my needle to turn under the seam allowance as I get to it. But my points are all fuzzy!

Other than that, I do love this block. The fabric is from the Granary, bought specifically in mind to be a yellow block for my Dear Jane quilt.

Now if the Oakland A's could just start playing better. Unfortunately they probably won't be heading to the World Series this year, but they are still my team! I didn't start enjoying baseball until the summer after I graduated college (2005), but I love going to games now! It's funny, people say "Oh, you're a baseball fan?" I always answer "No, I'm an Oakland A's fan." And it's so true. Ask me about any other team and I probably won't know anything.

21-0-0-279

A-3 Hunter's Moon

\
According to Wikipedia:

"The Hunter's Moon (also known as Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon) is the first full moon after the Harvest moon, which is the full moon nearest the Autumnal equinox.

There is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise, around the time of these full moons. In times past, this feature of these autumn moons was said to help hunters tracking their prey (or, in the case of the Harvest Moon, farmers working in the fields). They could continue tracking their prey (or bringing in their crops) by moonlight even when the sun had gone down. Hence the name Hunter's (or Harvest) Moon."

I really enjoyed making this block. It was during the making of this block that I realized that I much prefer longer needles to do hand applique. It's amazing how much easier this block was with a longer needle. The fabric is Mushrooms by Heather Ross from her Lightning Bugs and Other Mysteries line.

20-0-0-269

A-2 One-Two Buckle My Shoe

I think the name of this block is so cute. According to Anina, the blocks used to be numbered rows 1-13 and columns 1-13. Now it is rows A-M and columns 1-13, much easier to figure out what you're talking about. In any case, this block is row 1, column 2, so 1-2 Buckle My Shoe!

As for the actual block, finished is better than perfect. I am not too happy with this block, and my beloved freezer paper-paper piecing method didn't seem to work well. Because you put freezer paper on the backside, it goes over the seams and ends up being shorter than the row was supposed to be. You can't tell from the photo, but instead of being 5" square, it's much smaller, but it should be able to hide in the seam allowance.

The fabric is from Eddie's Quilting Bee, I got it as part of a door prize during their grand opening celebration.

19-0-0-260