Thursday, September 20, 2012

Gone Dotty!


I am lucky to be one of the blogs posting on the LAST day of Sew We Quilt's Dots on Dots blog hop. Thanks so much to the fearless leader of this blog hop and many others, Madame Samm, and the cheerleader/hostess, Corrie of QuiltTaffy--it's been so much fun following along and seeing everyone's dotted creations!

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to enter the giveaway!
The giveaway is now closed. Thank you for visiting!

My initial thought was to do bowtie blocks. It seemed a perfect fit for polka dot fabrics! I made this small quilt using dotted fabric from my stash and a white-on-white circle print. I quilted it 1/4" from each horizontal and vertical seam line. I love how this turned out, but since I'd wanted to do a quilt made of small blocks, I really wasn't following the rules about block size for the hop.

So I went back to my stash again and came up with this:
It is very bright and cheery. And hurts the eyes a little bit, I think! 

Log cabins (both wonky and traditional) are my go-to block. They're easy, they're fun, and pretty much any fabric looks great in the pattern. 
Every fabric in the quilt, except for the sashing, is from my stash. And I still have enough dotted fabric left to make two more quilts this size, easily. Scary! :) 

Here's a close-up of one my favorite blocks:


Here you can see my sashing audition. I wanted a black and white dot fabric and could only find this optical illusion print. I bought 1 yard and decided I'd make it work, because the blocks definitely needed something DARK to separate them. A place to rest the eyes between each bright block. 
I decided that I preferred the uniform smaller dot size for the sashing, so I fussy cut sashing rows and reserved the fussy-cut larger dot strips for the outer border. 

Here it is with the outer border, which provides a good frame. 
I won't even try to claim that the outer border offers an opportunity to rest the eyes! :)

After I machine quilt this, I'm going to send it off to Margaret's Hope Chest. I hope it will make someone in need happy and warm!


If you're not going dotty yet, here's one more dotted quilt, a top that I made earlier this summer. 
 Read more about it here.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see my dot-filled projects! Make sure to visit the other blogs showing off projects today:

*The full schedule for the dots on dots blog hop can be found by clicking here.

Oh yes, and the GIVEAWAY!!!

I am giving away my little bowtie mini quilt AND a charm pack of Amy Butler's Spots (seemed appropriate to the theme, right?)


To enter, simply leave me a comment telling me your favorite color. 
*Note: You must be a follower to win, so if you are not yet a follower, 
please join first and then leave a comment.* 
The giveaway is open through Monday, September 24th at 5 pm EST. 
The giveaway is now closed.
I will use random number generator to select a winner that evening 
and post the winner's name by Tuesday morning. Good luck!

p.s. Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addicts "Can I get a whoop whoop" and Quilt Story's "Fabric Tuesday" to share the dotted love! 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Be on the lookout...

...for my missing block!


Seriously. I lost a block in the works last night. I'm participating in the Dots on Dots blog hop over at Sew We Quilt and my day is Friday. I was (gasp!) working ahead, and trying to get my project finished last night, or maybe tonight. I was chain piecing five blocks at a time, and about halfway through, I realized that I was only chain piecing four blocks. One had gone missing. I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in the mess of polka dot fabrics you see, but I cannot for the life of me find it. Did it escape to your sewing room?!?! 
Time to look again by the light of day! 
:)

Stop back on Friday to check out my project(s) and get in on a giveaway!
UPDATED 9/20:  
I found the block! It was in that pile of dotted fabrics, just like I thought. 


Monday, September 17, 2012

Final Color Challenge blocks!

Life got in the way of a lot of sewing in August and my last two color challenge blocks were one of the things that got pushed to the back burner. However, Victoria just started a lights and whites challenge over at 15 Minutes Play, and finishing my color challenge blocks became my personal ticket to joining the new challenge.

Here we go!

Lime Green:
The lime fabric I started with is actually the middle one, which comes out looking very yellow. I liked how it popped with the magenta and pink in the stripe above it.


Made fabric:

Four squares cut from it:

My finished block:
Takeaways:
Lime works with so many different colors. I tried a few other combos out before deciding on this one, and my original idea had been based on the coverlet on our bed while on a beach vacation: coral, lime and salmon. I like it with brighter colors, though, like the orange and magenta, to make it more modern. The dark brown really grounds it as well. Lime can be tricky because it gets BRIGHT really quickly, so I think the challenge for this color is in finding the right hue to work with.

Kelly Green:
Besides the time issue, part of why I had trouble finishing this challenge was that I felt greened out. Which was surprising, because green is one of my favorite colors. I wanted to try something different than the other combos I'd used in this challenge, so I grabbed the purple and the floral and worked off of those.

Made fabric: 

Four squares cut from it:

Finished block:

Takeaways:
I love how bright this turned out! As I mentioned earlier, I do love green, but I usually go for more subtle shades than kelly green. That meant that I was pleasantly surprised with how this block turned out. The pink didn't surprise me, but I was pleasantly surprised with how the yellow and purple accented it.

See my previous blocks here.

So here's where I am right now:
Laying out the blocks was a long process. I'm fairly set on this arrangement, but I want to sleep on it for a few more nights before sewing the blocks together. How do you think I should finish it?

  • No border
  • Beige/khaki border to match the fabric in the blocks
  • Multicolor made fabric border
  • Several borders--multicolor made fabric and beige khaki
  • Something else?
What's your opinion?


p.s. Shades of Gray fabric swap participants, the deadline (September 20) is approaching! 
I still need fabric from 15 or so people. Please get it to me soon so that I can get the squares sorted and mailed back out!


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Blogger is not my friend tonight...

Is anyone else struggling with Blogger? The last few days, every time I start a post/upload photos/etc., a little yellow box pops up (constantly) and says that I have logged out from a different location. I haven't. I can't save anything, I can't get through a whole post, etc. Frustrating!!!
Google searches yielded suggestions to clear cookies and clear the cache, both of which I did, with no luck.
Any suggestions? Advice? Please????

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Hello, Helix!


I met Emily Herrick at Quilt Market in the spring and she gave me a copy of her new book, Geared for Guys.

Then she mentioned that she was looking for bloggers who wanted to remake any of these "guy-friendly" designs in a different look for a blog hop. Needless to say, I volunteered! I chose Helix, shown below. I love all those shades of green, and how they spiral out on a wonky angle. The scenery in her photo isn't too shabby either...

I remade the quilt using a solid teal and Gudrun Erla's "Super" collection from Red Rooster Fabrics. I love how the teal, red, orange, and lime work together! I have a friend who was just diagnosed with cancer, and I think this cheery quilt will be just the thing for her.
What's neat about this pattern is you start piecing straight on, Courthouse Steps style, and then partway through you trim on angles and sew on additional strips.

From a slightly different angle:

A close-up look of the texture. I straight line quilted the teal (lots of pivoting!) and then did a loopier look in the pieced strips. I love the look after a good washing and drying!

Close-up of the center:

Full impact with a flat shot!


This quilt is different than anything I've ever made--neat pattern, Emily!  You can buy her Geared for Guys quilt book, featuring this pattern and 7 others, from her etsy shop, and she has a digital version as well (no shipping!). Follow along for the next 10+ days as ten more quilters (plus Erika, yesterday)  show off their versions of Emily’s patterns in the Geared for Guys Remix tour. Check out their blogs for some additional inspiration!
Sept 4: Erika from Pink Suede Shoe
Sept 5: me, right here!
Sept 6: April  from Making Ends Meet
Sept 7: Vickie from Spun Sugar Quilts
Sept 8: Sinta from Pink Pincushion
Sept 9: Marion from My Quilt Diet
Sept 10: Sherri from A Quilting Life
Sept 11: April from Prairie Grass Patterns
Sept 12: Tricia from Notes of Sincerity
Sept 13: Shannon from It’s Sew Shannon
Sept 14: Shari from Doohikey Design Studio
Sept 15: Michael from Patchwork and Paper
Sept 16: Author and designer Emily Herrick to wrap things up and a giveaway.

And just because I can't resist, two more shots with my helpful assistant. 
(He really does want you to see the backing fabric, you know!)

p.s. Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict's Can I get a whoop whoop? and Quilt Story's Fabric Tuesday because I think this quilt is really something to whoop about! :)

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Tomorrow....

Is my day on the Geared for Guys Remix Book Tour promoting Emily Herrick's book. I'm very excited to be a part of this group--12 different bloggers, each remaking one of Emily's quilts in less "guy-ish" fabric selections.
Last night I bound my quilt, and today I did the photoshoot (thank you, rain, for stopping!). My "assistant" wanted to make sure I had a photo of the back of the quilt. Check back tomorrow for more photos! And yes, that little bundle of red-haired cuteness belongs to me!


And if you can't wait until tomorrow, the blog hop started at Crazy Old Ladies on Saturday and is continuing on at Pink Suede Shoe today.
See you all tomorrow!