Recreating Klimt - My July 2013 NYC Metro Mod Bee Block

Time to sort out my July NYC Metro Mod Bee Block - Queen Bee Deidre did say there was no hurry but I figure now Joe and Katie are back in England and Flicky's off to Seville to visit Jack, it's time to clear the decks again - crikey that might mean getting up to date with my Skill Builder BOM by the end of the week and we all know how I love to fall a few months behind with that one so don't hold your breath!!!

Before we start - here's the finished block - I read somewhere that it's best to give people a glimpse of the end result at the start of a blog post - hooks them in, makes them read more of the post.  Well the real reason I'm doing this is because Bloglovin (and I guess most feed readers) uses the first image from a post and I don't want that image to be a sheet of paper with a piece of yellow fabric - don't know about you but when I'm skimming down my Bloglovin 'to read' list a picture like that's not going to get me doing the magic click through to the post itself!

Now on to the real post:

This is what Queen Bee Deidre sent me - a piece of yellow and metallic gold fabric and some instructions:

make a block inspired by a section of this painting (see below), any size, style or shape block, try to keep to colours similar to the original, use some of the included fabric somewhere in the block.

Gustav Klimt 'The Kiss'

I chose this section from the man's robes:

Using Photoshop I edited the section using the 'Cut Out' filter - this defined the design and colour sections more.

Using a pen and ruler I divided the section into strips and blocks I could reproduce as part of a quilt block.

I raided my stash and chose colours appropriate for the block - Kona solids (black, yarrow, wheat, corn yellow and curry) and a small piece of Timeless Treasures 'Sketch' to add a little interest and texture.

I labelled the sections with my colour choices and cut into three strips.

I started sewing strips of fabric together, slicing as I went - no measuring just piecing and seeing what happened. 
This is the first strip complete.

I did have to take more care sizing the next two strips to make sure the overall length was the same as the first so all three strips could be joined together.  I still didn't measure, I just did it by eye.

The finished block

And that first photo again!

As always I had a lot of fun making the block.  I like the unexpected challenges being in a Bee brings - fabrics, colours, designs, styles you would never dream of using yourself that involve pushing your own boundaries,  I really enjoy the months we have a more artsy, creative challenge rather than following a pattern, makes you have to think and step outside the box a bit - great stuff :)

You can also check out all the blocks that our Bee make for Deidre on my Quilty - Klimt Pinterest Board - I'll add more pins as each person in the Bee posts photos of their finished blocks and you can see my NYC Mod Guild Post here too.

Click these buttons to see more of my NYC Mod Guild blocks and my tutorials

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

Can You Tell The Difference Between A Dutch Rose And A Swoon? - My June 2013 NYC Metro Mod Bee Block

My NYC Metro Mod Guild June Queen Bee is Kimberly, she shared details of her Dutch Rose block here on our Guild blog  and pointed us to some great instructions for the block by Candace @TheDoubleNickelQuiltChallenge

And this is the fabric package that arrived in the mail.

 I hadn't heard of the Dutch Rose block before though I thought it looked vaguely familiar, in fact remarkably similar to the Swoon blocks that are so popular across the quilternet right now - one of my favourite Swoon quilts is this one by my quilty friend Sam @ACupOfTeaAndASliceOfCake aka UKMUMINUSA.

I did a bit of research and the best explanation I found for the difference between the two blocks was here by Jess @TheElvenGarden.  Jess says that the traditional Dutch Rose block is created using Y seams and 'true' diamonds and the Swoon block is a modern 'easier' HST version of this.

So here's my finished block and a pile of all those extra HST 'bonus' blocks.
 

    It wasn't a difficult block but there's a lot of cutting and then the sewing is very bitty, nothing to really get your teeth in to, you're up and down between the machine, ironing board and cutting mat like a mad person, even if you chain piece.

There's no denying though that it's very pretty once it's done and all the Swoon quilts out there are proof of just how gorgeous this is going to look when it's made up into a quilt.

You can take a look at all the blocks that our Bee have made for Kimberly on my Quilty - Swoon/Dutch Rose Pinterest Board - I'll add more pins as each person in the Bee posts photos of their finished blocks and you can see my NYC Mod Guild Post here too.

And you can click this link to see all of my NYC Mod Quilt Guild Bee Blocks and Challenge Blocks/Quilts.

 

 

How To Make A Modern Sunbonnet Sue - My May 2013 Bee Block

My NYC Mod Quilt Guild  Bee has entered a new year and E gets to be Queen Bee again - you might remember that last year she had us create blocks for her Bible Quilt.

This year E has come up with another wonderful challenge - a modern take on the traditional Sunbonnet Sue/Sam.
Here're the fabric and instructions that she sent out to us

This was a great chance for me to do something a bit more artsy so here's photos I took along the way so you can see a bit of my planning and design and how I created the block

Outline sketch of Sunbonnet Sue on freezer paper.

Fabric detail added to sketch.

12.5" square drawn onto yellow fabric with a blue water erasable marker, if you squint you can just about see the blue lines drawn on the fabric.  Don't cut the block to size yet as the fabric may 'shrink' when you satin stitch the applique onto it.

Sections of sketch cut out and ironed onto fabric (freezer paper adheres to fabric but not permanently).  The fabric is ironed onto the top side of light weight double sided fusible.

Hang on to all the small cut out bits of the sketch that don't need to be ironed onto fabric, you'll need them later to create an outline on the fabric.

Iron the freezer paper sketch outline onto the background fabric in the exact position that you want Sunbonnet Sue to be and draw around the outline as a template - I again used water erasable marker at this stage. 

Remove outline template and place cut out fabric sections of the sketch on background fabric to check placement.

Now I used a fabric pencil to draw over the sections of the outline that I wanted to create with a stitched line on the finished block and then I used water to erase all the blue lines from the fabric

I removed the backing paper from the double-sided fusible and ironed the fabric pieces into their final position on the background fabric and then I removed the sketched freezer paper from the top of each piece.

I used a straight stitch to sew over all the pencil lines on the background fabric and once this was done the pencil lines were no longer visible beneath the stitches.  Next, I used a satin stitch to outline the edge of each fabric piece and to hold it securely in place.  I changed the colour of the thread in different areas to add detail.

I knotted and sewed all the threads through the stitches on the back of the block and then cut the block to size (12.5")

 I'm in love with my finished block - is that okay to say out loud?  I love her so much I'd like to keep her for myself.  I'm very reluctantly going to pop her in the post to E over the weekend and can only hope that she loves her as much as I do. 

I really can't wait to see other blocks for this quilt being posted, it'll be fun to see what everyone else's take is on a modern Sunbonnet Sue/Sam.

You can see my NYC Metro Mod Guild post about the Bee Block here.

Related Posts:

All Done And Here It Is ...

Related Pinterest Boards:

Quilty - Sun Bonnet Sue/Sam

Quilty - My Bee Blocks

Click these buttons to see more of my NYC Mod Guild blocks and my tutorials

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

Proceed With Caution: Highly Contagious Block Alert! - My March Bee Block

 So when my NYC Mod Quilt Guild March Queen Bee Carole asked us to create a Scrappy Trip Around The World block my immediate thought was "On no not that block again, I'm so sick of seeing it on the Quilternet and I can't believe I'm now going to be making and then posting about it!".  

Anyway, Carole must have read my mind because guess what the next sentence in her instructions said ...  
"I hope you aren't too tired of seeing them up all over the blogosphere."

Ooops!!!

So here goes and I do apologise firstly for offending anyone who has already made/posted about this block and secondly to anyone feeling the same way as I do for boring you with 'that block' again - though if you're anything like me you've already jumped out of this post on your Google Reader and on to the next - don't worry there's no hard feelings on my part if you're about to do just that ;)

Then again, if you're interested in making this block for yourself then Carole pointed us at a great instruction link:
Bonnie K Hunter - Quiltville's Quips & Snips - Take A Scrappy Trip Around The World

Carole supplied us with one 16" x 2.5" strip of fabric for the block and we were to use our own stash for the other 5 strips.
Here's the 6 strips - Carole's is the bottom floral which I have placed slightly apart from my 5 choices. 

I've chosen 2 Kona Solids, Joel Dewberry's Cool Stream palette - Modern Meadow Acorn Chain for Free Spirit, Kaffe Fassett Rustic Floral and Kaffe Fassett Spot. 

The block was surprisingly easy to make using the same technique that I used for my Modern Bargello block as part of my Something NEW Sampler Quilt.

!!! READER BEWARE !!!

The finished block was quite shockingly a huge hit in our home, we all agreed that it has turned out great.  There was even a slight murmuring of desire for a whole quilt of it - oh my goodness me, I can't believe I've even typed that let alone expressed that impulse aloud with my daughter in the comfort of our apartment.  Now I understand why there's a glut of this quilt all over Blogland - obviously this must be a commonly experienced side effect for anyone coming into contact with this highly contagious block!!!

And you can click this link to see all of my NYC Mod Quilt Guild Bee Blocks and Challenge Blocks/Quilts.