Free Tute - HST Spinning 9 Inch Block {Scavenger Hunt BOM}

If you're taking part in the IAQ Scavanger Hunt BOM, hi, and yes, you've found your April block.

What do you say we let everyone else in on what's going on?! 

Throughout 2018 the International Association of Quilters (IAQ) are running a Scavenger Hunt BOM.  On the first Wednesday of each month, the Guest Designer for the month releases a 9" (finished) block.

International Association of Quilters

Have you heard of the International Association of Quilters (IAQ)? 

The brainchild of Becky Jorgensen of Patchwork Posse, IAQ has hundreds of members all over the world, it's like joining a Quilt Guild but you do it all from the comfort of your own home.

Blousy Florals & Essex Linen

Another gift set made for Christmas 2013 that I haven't shared before.

This Essex Linen bag is a free online pattern is the Reversible Bag by Novita @VeryPurplePerson...

...made fully reversible with this gorgeous English Rose fabric - don't you just love blousy florals?

A coordinating cosmetic bag...

...and tissue cover.

Fabrics used:

Robert Kaufman Essex Yarn Dyed - Black

English Rose by Philip Jacobs for Westminster Fabrics

Timeless Treasures Sketch Basic - Fun: Candy

Dear Stella Confetti Dots - Purple 

A 2013 Christmas gift for my son's partner Katie.

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

 

Everything Stops For Tea

Oh, the factories may be roaring with a boom-a-lacka, zoom-a-lacka, wee,

But there isn't any roar when the clock strikes four, everything stops for tea

Jack Buchanan, 1935

Time to share a few more project photos from last year that I've found still on the camera.  This time, it's kitchen accessories - oven gloves, tea cosies and trimmed towels - last Christmas was definitely the year of the tea cosy for my kids and Mum - we all loooove our tea.

Earlier that year I made these aprons for everyone and blogged about them here

Guests, Like Fish, Begin To Smell After Three Days

For Christmas I had the idea to make everyone a matching set of kitchen accessories - this is the set I made for my eldest son's partner, Ana.

It was the first set I made and there's lots of pics of the finished pieces.

Fabrics:

"paseo de los muertos", De Leon Design Group for Alexander Henry and Belle Epoch by Kaffe Fassett.

Oops, seems I forgot to take pics of Joe and Katie's sets, though I do have a couple of phone photos that I sent to my daughter, Flicky, to show her what I was making at the time.

The Alexander Henry fireman fabric always makes me giggle.

Fabrics:
"ready for action" Alexander Henry; 'Keep it Sassy! Olive Sandwiches for Moda; and 'Labrinyth - Charcoal', Ikebana by Dear Stella
Lotta Jansdotter glimma 'Marby'; Amy Butler Alchemy 'Queen Ann's Butterflies'; and Dear Stella 'Confetti Dot - Peony'

On the phone, I found this pic of trimmed towels,

and I was surprised to discover more on the main camera too.

There's an extra towel in the pile - it's one I made for my Mum to add to her accessory set that I've already shared with you - how come I remembered to share these here and forget about the others I'd made?!!!

I did find this pic of Mum I haven't shared before, it's a great one of her wearing her apron - love this, she's so happy.   

To wrap up with that 1935 song by Jack Buchanan, I found the original version on YouTube and here it is - how very, very British!

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

 

Wonky Log Cabin Block Tute - NYC Mod Quilt Guild Bee

   

Hi, Chris here, catching up with my NYC Mod Quilt Guild Bee Blocks - this one's for September and our Queen Bee is Andrea Deal of Gotham Quilts.  

If you haven't heard of Gotham Quilts yet then do check out their website - it's a brand new online fabric store owned by my two friends Andrea Deal and Ivete Tecedor, based in Manhattan but shipping internationally.

Not surprisingly Queen Bee Andrea picked some pretty gorgeous new fabrics for her blocks with her whole store to choose from!   

Forest Frivolity, Moonshine in Strawberry by Tula Pink for Free Spirit

Stitch Circle in Candy by Michael Miller

Chicken Coop in Egg Blue by Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit

Mini Confetti Dots in Cantaloupe by Dear Stella

Stampede Lawn, August in Mint by Sarah Watts for Cotton+Steel

Our instructions for the block:

"do a 12.5" wonky log cabin variation like the one pictured... . I have a cool new Tula Pink print for the feature fabric, but don't feel like you have to use it in the center. ... ".

I choose two images from the Tula Pink fabric and fussy cut them - first the tent as the central starting point for the block

and a long strip that included the two pink deer.

Time for the my Wonky Log Cabin Block tute -
click the image below to take you to the tute I wrote for the June 2014 NYC Mod Quilt Guild Bee Block.

I've used exactly the same process to make this latest block.  The only thing I did differently this time that I don't normally pay attention to was keeping the fussy cut central Tula Pink tent section totally horizontal to the finished block.

This was simple to do, I just made the block larger than necessary and then using the grid on my cutting mat and my long quilting ruler made sure this section was horizontal by wiggling the block between the mat and the ruler to line it up perfectly before trimming the block back with my 12.5" square ruler.  Wishing I'd taken a pic of how I did it now :(

Oh dear, yet another block that I wish I didn't have to hand back!  I'm particularly enjoying how I've cut away a lot of the pink round of fabric so you only see a really small section of pink down the right hand side of the block.  The trick is not to worry about cutting away a fair amount of a strip you've just sewn on - it's the best way to get large sections and unusual angles within the block.

I just love making wonky log cabins - anything that doesn't involve measuring and yet looks so precise in the finished piece is okay by me.

Two final questions for you:

1: How do you like your log cabins, wonky or straight?

2: Have you visited the Gotham Quilts online fabric store yet?

As always you can check out all the blocks that our Bee make for Andrea on my Quilty - Wonky Log Cabin 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 Quilt 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.

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A Foundation Paper Pieced K-9 Friend

I've joined a new Bee and the instructions for our first block were to create an alien/sci-fi character block.

The Queen Bee loves dogs so I thought I'd go with a canine theme, the obvious candidate being K-9 from Doctor Who.  A quick internet search and I found a foundation paper pieced 12" finished block version of K-9 by Caroline @Trillium Design.  You can get hold of her pattern here on Craftsy along with several other Doctor Who blocks, and it's currently free.

I've made K-9's body using Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen Grey and 2 grey Kona solidswhile his collar is Kaffe Fassett Jupiter-Red.  The background fabric is Dear Stella Designs 172 - Piper ZigZag (Orange).

Some of the sections were just one piece of fabric or had large areas that weren't sewn in place - so I used a basting stitch and stitched around the edge of each section to hold the cut fabric in place - you can see what I mean in the photos above and below.  

This meant a lot more work once the block was complete to remove the paper and any visible basting stitching but I think he was worth it.  

I ironed the section seams to one side in a way that makes the body and head be higher than the other sections to make him look more 3D.

I'm not a Doctor Who fan - though I've watched it for 50 years and if pushed I'd have to say my preferred Doctors are Jon Pertwee and Christopher Eccleston.  These days I sew while watching it under sufferance with my husband and daughter, can't for the life of me understand what all the fuss is about but 'horses for courses' and all that.  

Jon Pertwee/Christopher Eccleston/K-9 with Tom Baker

I hope the Queen Bee likes him, he is kind of cute in a robotic sort of way.