49 Blocks

I am a little bit proud of myself.  Just a little bit.  This was a 49 block weekend.  Let me explain...

I started the weekend with only one goal - to finish the Central Park baby quilt I am making for the Operazzi Ball auction.  One of the other ladies knits a sweater, booties and a hat, and I make a quilt.  This time, I decided to use a jelly roll and a recipe I found on Moda Bake Shop.  It is cheerful and fresh, and I really like it.  There was just one little problem  I ended up about 3 inches short  of enough rick rack to finish the inner border.  So, this little project will have to wait until I can go back to JoAnn's and get another couple yards of rick rack, since I don't want to piece it.

The blocks for this quilt went together like a dream.  I guess that is one of the benefits of using a jelly roll.  It was really fun to make.  it is so much fun to sew on luscious fabric that looks beautiful and feels soft and yummy.  This quilt top took 20 blocks.

On another note....I am participating in a First Time Bee, and this is my month to be Queen Bee (reminds me of a Mary Engelbrite drawing!).  While I was contemplating what to do for "my month", we had an email conversation in the Charm Square Swap about quilts we had known and loved.  Ah, nostalgia!  Which made me think about my favorite quilt of all time - probably because it is wrapped around memories from childhood like the warm blanket it is.

When I was little, my family had a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt that my Dad's grandmother had made for him.  I'm not even sure which grandmother, but the quilt was one of only two that my family owned, and the other was sadly abused (but I digress).... It was made of old shirts and dresses and who-knows-what  and was tied together by the loveliest peach-ish border of hexies between the flowers.  And I loved that quilt. Maybe it's the reason I love quilts and love to quilt.  Anyway, I would have gladly slept under it every night, but my mom only let me have it when I was sick.  Fortunately (well, maybe not - my mother certainly didn't think so) I was sick a lot.

After my mom died, the quilt was lost.  I asked my sister when I visited last summer if perhaps she was in possession of this heirloom quilt, but alas, no. 


Anyway,  at some point in the last month or two, I decided I really wanted to make a GMFG quilt of my own.  So approached the other ladies in the bee and suggested a Grandmother's Flower Garden block and they were willing!  I was so excited!  I'm not sure yet if the quilt will be a traditional GMFG quilt (there is a beautiful example here) or something that showcases the blocks made by my bee friends (maybe like this) but either way, I'm sure I'll love it.  So, since Handsome Son was visiting this past week, I spent more time than usual sitting in the den watching things like basketball.  This was a great opportunity to work on my Grandmother's Flower Garden Blocks.  I managed to get two of them put together this weekend.  I always thought they would be difficult and tedious, but I find I really like making them.  The teflon templates make it so easy to get them exactly the right size, and that makes them a breeze to put together.  Hexies are a great way to use my scraps.  I don't know that the volume has diminished appreciably yet, but I have high hopes.

Two more blocks completed this weekend.

I am also participating in A Blockwork Orange block swap.  This swap is based on Oh Fransson's tutorial.   The idea is that you send in however many blocks you want to get back.  The truth is, though, that I like these blocks so much that I'm tempted to keep them all and make my own quilt.  Hmmmm...

One...

Two...

Three...

So, all in all, it was a pretty productive weekend.

Accomplished:  49 quilt blocks.  Not bad!