Firefly Quilt With a Fluttering Start (Via Pattern Drop)

Even though improv is my mother tongue, sometimes I crave a little precision piecing. It gets my brain working in a slightly different way. Yay for firing the neurons! (Does this mean I won't get dementia in later life?)

I made a single Firefly block to help my friend Katie launch a Quilt Along through her company, Pattern Drop. It was a pleasant way to spend an hour in the afternoon, digging through the scrap bin of solids. But hmm, that was a really nice way to spend the afternoon. Of course I started another block. Then I ran out of the backing fabric (before the block was finished).

Darn it, I wanted to finish that block and make more! And usually I would just dig through the stash and keep going but I really, really liked the look with the Essex Linen (in the sparkle variety and regular) and didn't want to change that. That meant convincing myself to order some because no local stores had the regular Essex in Indigo like I needed. Then waiting for the order. And now I just need the time!

The original pattern calls for 16 Firefly blocks. Lindsey Neill from Pen and Paper Patterns did a great job of drafting this block. There are some piecing options plus a bee version (I think mine lands somewhere in between bee and firefly). The pattern reads for the whole quilt, with options. I won't lie, read that way it scared me with the cutting instructions. That's because I never cut all at once. I can cut one block at a time and feel good. Less efficient, but suits my time allowed and available brain space. Plus, I have a think a bit more so more neurons fired!

CMYK - Another New Start

Another new quilt start. Smitten from the beginning.

The Mighty Lucky Quilting Club is running again this year. I am signed up for a turn hosting in a couple of months. This year, however, the Club will work together to make an entire quilt. That is, each month plays well with each other and the whole thing is designed to give you a quilt top at the end. Still regular challenges, but with a different end goal in site.

The other difference this year is that the entire thing is about colour. So by the end of it you will have a quilt top and a deeper understanding of colour for all your other work. All without making a colour wheel.

Carolyn Friedlander kicked things off in January with a discussion about creating a palette and translating colour inspiration to picking fabric. I love her piece. I will admit, however, to be to being stuck on what I wanted to do. I've never been stuck for picking a palette before! New territory for me. But I didn't stress. Instead I pet some fabric and lived my life, confident that something would tickle my fancy eventually.

Enter the latest issue of Uppercase Mag. Devoted to CMYK - Cyan, magenta, and yellow. The base colours for printing. As with all issues of the magazines I had to wipe up my drool as I read it. Then I knew exactly what I was going to do for this Mighty Lucky Quilting Club challenge.

So I picked a stack of fabric in these intense, pure colours. Not stressing too much about whether this pink perfectly matched that one. If I went that detailed then there would be no point to piecing! You need a bit of contrast in value, texture, and hue to have some depth to your piecing.

Then I printed off the templates for Carolyn's rows. She is a paper piecing master and it was good to work with her pattern. Pretty straightforward as paper piecing goes. Do not be intimidated at all! It takes me about 45 minutes to make 1 block. A beginner would probably take about an hour or more. Don't stress, just do it one seam, one block at a time.

While I usually like to use freezer paper when I paper piece, this time I used Carol Doak's Foundation Paper for my templates. They print right on my home printer, are thin, and are easy to remove. The print at home factor was big as I didn't want to draw out the templates for 12 blocks. (No affiliation, I just like it.) 

In a week I have 6 blocks done. I will plug away on these then start the next round - it's improv!

To sign up to receive the bimonthly challenges, and the templates for this particular block, check out Mighty Lucky Quilting Club. It is $50 for the annual subscription. 

Broncos Block - Quilts for Broncos

Like most quilters, most creatives, when bad things happen I respond by making. It helps me process my own pain or emotions. It also gets me to start thinking about how I can help others heal. This is, of course, by making and giving a quilt.

So when the horrific news out of Saskatchewan about the Humboldt Broncos bus crash rolled in, I immediately thought of making. I designed a quilt block with my daughters help - I was decorating a cake so I dictated numbers and a sketch to her. Initially, it had 14 HSTs, but it had to be updated when the death toll changed later that day. The design is a simplified, modern version of a horses mane. I was looking at the Broncos logo and thinking about what I might be able to do. This is it.

Making may help heal my emotions. Making or receiving a quilt may or may not do something for the families, the boys and woman still injured, the first responders, and team affected. But I do know that any show of support - when the entire country is behind you - can only help in the long run. So I will make. You can too.

Broncos Block

Cutting Instructions

Feature Fabric:

• 8 squares 4'' x 4''

Background Fabric:

• 8 squares 4'' x 4'' (from one strip cut 4'' x WOF)
• 1 square 3 1/2'' x 3 1/2'' (All cut from one strip 3 1/2'' x WOF)
• 1 rectangle 3 1/2'' x 6 1/2''
• 1 rectangle 3 1/2'' x 9 1/2''
• 1 rectangle 3 1/2'' x 12 1/2''

Assembly Instructions.

1. Draw a line on the back of the background 4'' fabric squares, corner to corner on the diagonal.
2. Pair a background 4'' square with the feature fabric square, right sides together. Line up and sew 1/4'' from the drawn line on both sides.
3. Cut on the drawn line. Press towards the darker fabric.
4. Square up the half square triangles to 3 1/2'' x 3 1/2''. Use the 45 degree line on your ruler (or something like a Bloc Loc ruler) to make sure the seam line is straight from corner to corner.
5. Sew together 5 blocks, end to end, with the feature fabric in the upper right corner for placement. Make a row of 4 blocks, then 3, then 2. Note: You will have one HST leftover.
6. Press the rows in alternate directions.
7. Layout the entire block the following way  and sew the rows together and press the seams open or all in one direction:

• 1 block plus 3 1/2'' x 12 1/2'' background
• 2 blocks plus 3 1/2'' x 6 1/2'' background
• 3 blocks plus 3 1/2'' x 9 1/2'' background
• 4 blocks plus 3 1/2'' x 3 1/2'' background
• 5 blocks

There is an official quilt block/quilt drive hosted by Haus of Stitches, the local quilt store in Humboldt and the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Guild. They are coordinating to make and receive at least 200 quilts to be distributed among survivors, families and billet families, first responders, and the team. The block they've chosen sews together very quickly. Full details here.

I am making blocks like above, plus the Quilts for Broncos blocks as per the official instructions. Everything I make will be donated to the official drive. I am also gathering, for local to Calgary quilters, any work they do and delivering it to Saskatoon. It will then go on to Humboldt from there. 

This tragedy is devastating. I think every parent can imagine their kid on that bus. I have hockey playing nephews, my own kids have played, my daughter does bus travel for her sport. It is an accident, plain and simple, but it hits hard. I know 3 people - with no connection to each other - who had connections to kids on the bus. That's how hockey is in Canada. It's why we are seeing kids wearing Jerseys to school, sticks left out on porches, professional sports teams honouring the team for their own connection to their past, and why quilters are making. We can't heal the deep wounds, we can't make the pain go away, but we can make and show support. No one is alone in this. 

Pattern Drop and My Sewing Machine Quilt

Today is the day my pattern drops on Pattern Drop. 

Like that? It's as if Katie planned it that way. I'm sure she did. She is a lot of fun like that. (Katie from Swim, Bike, Quilt is behind Pattern Drop.)

Pattern Drop is a monthly subscription service where you get one new pattern and loads of inspiration delivered to your inbox. There is no way you could buy all these patterns for the cost of a subscription. And it is so easy for you! 12 amazing designers with 12 unique, bold patterns. Each pattern is tested, too, so no errors to worry about. I am pretty excited to see what else comes as the previous months produced some delicious quilts.

The Sewing Machine Quilt pattern is a perfect escape for us quilters, or the quilters in your life. I, myself, made this and it pulled me out of a huge creative slump. With options for precision piecing and improv blocks there is something for every quilter in this pattern. Not to mention two block sizes (small above, large below) and a wide number of layout options.

I'm thrilled to be working with Katie this month and share my Sewing Machine Quilt with a wider audience. Just look at what she has done in advance of this month!

To sign up for Pattern Drop visit the site and choose either a monthly or annual subscription (which, of course, gives you a better rate). You can get colouring pages, access to tutorials and forums, and meet a community of quilters working on similar projects. Each new pattern drops on the first Wednesday of the month.

Annual Subscriptions are US$6.99/month. (US$83.88) A monthly subscription is US$8.99/month. If you use this special code I am providing you essentially get 2 months free! (US$69.90)

Pattern Drop Coupon Code: CHERYL2FREE

For those of you joining me via Pattern Drop, Welcome! I am so glad to have you here. Grab a cup of tea and look around. 

Full confession: As a Pattern Drop designer I do have an affiliate link if you sign up through me.