Everybody's Workin' Toward the Weekend...

So, I was supposed to go see adorable little Abby this weekend, but she and her mommy and daddy are sick =(    (BTW:  Isn't this photo-sketch cool?  I found this ap for the Iphone that does this automatically.  So fun.)

And I want to be healthy when Abby's brother makes his appearance.  So, I have developed a self-awarded consolation prize.

A S*E*W*I*N*G Weekend!!!

(Abby hugs would be better but I'm trying to make the best of it, see?)

First, I finish the PTS Pillow.   It's coming right along.  It's almost ready to be quilted.

Then I do the blocks for my 3x6 bee.  Picking the block is the hardest part, no?

Then I bind the 2 Little Man Quilts.

Then, WH's B-day is coming up, and I've got a plan for that.  Hint:  it involves fabric and....

Then my Movie Mini quilt.  I have SUCH a fun idea.  It involves the most classic movie of all time.  Well, one of them.

Then blocks:  Craftsy BOM blocks. Sew and Bee Happy blocks.  Sew Fun Bee blocks.  MSBBS blocks (wish I knew what that stands for.)

And I have to make a quilt for the auction at the Operazzi Ball.

Then I want to start a Granny Squares quilt and play along with the QAL on Flickr.

That might possibly be enough to keep me busy.  But if not, I've got a longer list around here somewhere.

Hope you have a fun weekend too.

I'm a Blockhead

I'm a "blockhead".

I just realized that  I never posted February's Craftsy Block of the Month Blocks.  February's blocks focused on half square triangles, or HSTs.  I actually made this block for last quarter's 3x6 Bee, although I used a little different approach.  I used a Flying Geese technique whereas this one uses the HSTs.  The blocks look pretty much the same, if you ask me.

Here's the previous one I made.

The block is called Balkan Puzzle.  If you remember, I goofed, and made it more like a pinwheel, but I actually liked it just as well or better.

The second block for February is a zig-zag block.  I really had fun with the fabrics in this one.  I think several blocks together matching the fabrics in the different rows would be way-fun.  This was a block I hadn't tried before, but it was super easy, just consisting of squares and HSTs.

I haven't gotten around to March's blocks yet.  March's blocks are string quilt blocks.  String quilt as in Val's Heroes Quilt and Spider Web blocks.

 So, nothing especially new here either, but it seems like I always manage to pick up a few tips and pointers from the lessons.

If you want to join in, the Craftsy BOM quilt-along is free (which is a good thing).

And one of my goals for the year was to do a QAL and keep up.

So far, so good.  Wanna join me?

Around the Block

I've been working on bee blocks for the last couple of weekends, and I've made some progress.  This block is for Sarah in the Fall Bee. 

It's funny how sometimes, I sit down to sew and everything goes together beautifully and I breeze right along.  Other times, it doesn't go so well and my seam ripper and I get even better acquainted.  Well, this was one of those projects.  Those teeny weeny 1" squares nearly kicked my fanny.  The points just would not match up.  It frustrates me so when that happens.  It is a pretty straightforward block.  Nothing really tricky here, but struggle I did.  There are two versions of this scrapbuster block, and I'm really glad I didn't make the other one.  It has 16 one-inch pieces in the center block, and then two borders of one-inch pieces.  Um...  no thanks.  At least not today.

These blocks were for Dustin in the Sew Fun Bee.  I've made hundreds of log cabin blocks, but none with logs this small.  I had the worst time getting these to work.  It should have been so easy:  cut 1" strips.  Sew together with 1/4" seams.  End result is 1/2" logs.  Well, let's just say some worked better than others.  I really struggled to get these the right size.  They were either too big or too small.  I ended up making 5 blocks instead of 4.  Hopefully, he'll be able to use them.

These colors were also a challenge.  I don't have much brown in the stash, so I really had to dig.  Luckily, I could slice an inch off some fat quarters without creating too much of a problem.

Maybe I should have just sat down and read a book...  I downloaded a bunch of free books from Amazon for my Kindle ap on my i-phone, and I've been having a blast with that.  So far, I've read Pride and Prejudice (again), The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (for the first time if you believe it - hated the ending/epilogue) and am in the middle of The Three Musketeers (first time for this one too).

Anyway, I also made my blocks for the Craftsy BOM.  Luckily those were easy peasy.  A nice change after fighting with the others all day.

And, I nearly have the blocks done for my Little Man quilt.  One of my "goals" for the  year was to make every quilt in Camille Roskelly's book, and I'm one step closer.  You know, it's rare to find a book where you want to make every project, but Camille's book "Simplify" is that kind of book.  Too often, I purchase a book for one project, but this one is just loaded with lovely projects, and I plan to try them all.  Little Men will be #2 (or #4, if  you count the 3 Sugar Rush quilts individually.)  I ran out of Kona Snow, so it's off to JoAnn's after work tomorrow.

So that's it for today.  Thanks for dropping by.

Another Block Party

Monday was MLK day, and for us bankers, that means a day off.  I sometimes joke that I went into banking for 2 reasons - Weekends and Holidays off.

I spent this holiday making quilt blocks. 

 These two blocks were the January BOM from the Free Craftsy class.  The hostess is Amy Gibbons, and the instructions are easy to follow.  The blocks are very easy and fun, and I even learned a little trick about lining up the sections so that they (mostly) match. 

Then I made 10 Bento Blocks.  Have you ever gotten a bunch of blocks put together and realized that the center block was the wrong size - and therefore the entire block is out of whack?  Well, that's what happened to me. Between the computer and the cutting table the center block gained half an inch.  Consequently, the whole durn block was the wrong size.

Being only somewhat OCD, I took all the finished blocks apart and put them back together.  It wasn't until this morning on the way to work that I realized that since they're going to be sliced anyhow, I could have just cut 1/4" off each side and the blocks would have been fine. More importantly, I would have saved about 4 hours.  Oh well...

I also made a replacement block for one of my swap-mates in the 3x6 bee.  I lost her block

and never have been able to find it.  I was worried that although this block matched her color scheme, she had asked for 30s repro squares and this one really didn't fit that model.  I think the replacement block does better.  Nicey Jane seems retro to me.  Maybe someday I'll run across the lost block and turn it into a pillow or something.

Then I made this ticker tape block for Kritta22 in the Sew Fun Bee.  I've been dying to try this technique ever since I saw this block and this one.  The ticker tape was fun, but I found it a little tricky to get the pieces the right size.  I finally ended up cutting with scissors, which I very seldom do.  Instead of straight stitching, I zig-zagged the pieces onto the background.  I hate the idea of the block raveling apart.  Still, that raw edge look is so popular....  I'm not sure if the circles at the top are dark enough, but I was afraid the fabric would come apart from all the stitching.  It actually started to bow up in the center of the circles.  Anyway, I hope she likes it.

This Garden Gate block was super easy and fun.  It was requested by Alisha in the Fall Bee.

And finally, I completed this Stargazing block for Cindy in the Sew and Bee Happy Bee.  The directions said that you could make it super scrappy by having each point of the star a different fabric, but frankly, I just couldn't wrap my mind around all that scrappiness.  It gave me a headache the first time I attempted the block, and I ended up going to bed early.  Once I decided that I just wasn't clever enough to do it that way, I had a lot of fun with it.

Of course, there was lots more that I wanted to do on the weekend that I didn't get to, but all-in-all, I am satisfied with my progress.  This weekend, I plan to sandwich a couple of quilt tops and maybe even try to quilt them, if Penny Pfaff will cooperate. 

And after 20 years, my Pfaff 1475 finally has a name.  Wonder if it will stick.  Somehow, at this moment, it just seems to fit her.