The Splendid Sampler - First 10 Blocks

In all honesty, I am shocked that I am here. Ten blocks into a 100 block sampler and I'm actually on track and still making blocks. This is made all the more shocking by three things:

• Embroidery
• Small, precise piecing
• Block styles that are so not my norm

That's the exciting part though. It may be work and a challenge for me, but that is exactly why I am doing it. We all need a push out of the comfort zone sometimes. And there is no improv in this sampler, as far as I can tell, until my block. (And that is only a tiny amount as it is.)

I nearly gave up. If it wasn't the 1'' squares it was the embroidery. So not my world. And I have a lot to learn about both of these skills. Then there is probably someone else in the group incredibly comfortable with these and freaking out over applique or getting precise points. I forged through and so can you.

At the beginning of The Splendid Sampler I know there was a lot of stress about fabrics. I ended up raiding my scraps bins. You need little pieces of everything so it is perfect for scraps. Now that I am this far in I think I will end up in stash for the black and whites. I also think I am going to change colours now. Maybe make a change every 10 blocks. That should help keep my interest up and perhaps make a tiny dent in the scrap bin. Besides, I've never really made a rainbow quilt.

Even 10 blocks in I see so much potential in the designs. So many of these blocks could be made many times over for really interesting quilts. The patterns are worth it for that inspiration alone! If you are following along on Facebook or Instagram it is incredible to see the difference fabric makes in the blocks. Some people are getting a bit creative with their interpretations, but I really like the blocks that allow some personality to seep in while still respecting the original design. 

If you aren't up to speed on The Splendid Sampler, make sure to check out the website. 100 free block patterns over the course of a year! Eventually, the blocks will be put into a book format by our fearless leaders Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson. If I continue to keep up my blocks will eventually make it into a quilt.

The Oldest UFO

Generally, I like to call my unfinished projects WIPS, or Works in Progress, not UFOs.  This is because I actually like having a catalogue of things to pick from when I get the chance to sew. It doesn't stress me out - usually.  But this, this project must definitely be called a UFO.

I've been quilting for 16 years now. This project is 15 years old.

Going again into the Way, Way Back Machine this project started in 1999, when people were all up in arms over Y2K. Quilters, of course, put their positive spin on it and started swaps. Put 25 mini charms in an envelope, repeat that 80 times, and swap them out. Bang, 2000 charms!

These days people call it Scrap Vomit. I call it a bag of envelopes I found buried in my garage.

(To find out what else I found in my garage check out my

Instagram

feed. Oh boy. #thingsifindinmygarage)

The smart people with their Y2K swaps took the charms as they came in and sewed together the 25 into one block. Then they were able to quickly put the quilt top together, and keep things manageable. I, of course, wanted to get all fancy. I have sketches and math on trying to figure out creative ways to put my top together. And that's why they are all still in envelopes.

Now it is time to move this into the WIP stack. But me, being me, I need to catalogue all of this first. Into my sketchbook will go the addresses as I unpack. And then I think this will become my next Leader/Ender project. Let's hope it doesn't take another 15 years to finish this!

Update: I found a book where I wrote down all the people I swapped with! Now to just get these organized in piles.

Did any of you participate in a Y2K swap?

Mountain Meadows Quilt Top

This is Mountain Meadows. A loverly quilt top finally finished. I had to go in the Way, Way Back machine to figure out when I started it. My initial sketch and images were made 3 years ago. And I collected the fabric over 2 years ago to make a few blocks. Then it sat and sat and sat. We had the great fortune of a handful of mountain trips this spring and summer and the original inspiration of the mountain meadows was on my mind.

When

The Modern Quilt Guild

asked me to do a Webinar this quilt popped into my head. Pulling it out and working on it helped me formulate the presentation: Improv With Intention. So I worked hard to get it done in time for the Webinar. It was well worth the effort.

(It measures roughly 55'' x 75''.)

These were my original inspiration images. Hikes in the mountains on sunny days. Meadows filled with small, colourful flowers. Expanses of grass and weeds and plants in varying shades of green. Vistas so beautiful but little tiny bits of life stealing attention. Just how to capture that in a quilt?

In the Webinar I discuss the process of making the quilt - from inspiration to the final top. It isn't as straightforward as one might think. If you are a Modern Quilt Guild Member you can access the Webinar for free now, even if you didn't join me last week. To access it make sure you log in and join the Community site. Then click under Resources and there it is. Not only do you get to see more images and learn about my process, you get to hear my awesome Canadian accent.

It was actually quite appropriate that this quilt was revealed through The Modern Quilt Guild. All of the green fabric in this quilt was generously given to me by quilters, readers of this blog. I knew I wanted green solid scraps and I had absolutely no green solids. To buy them all would have been impossible. So, thanks to the internet I just asked if anyone was willing to share, and boy did you! Packages arrived for weeks and I had a lot of fun sorting through and organizing by value. Some of you sent pieces larger than 1/2 yard cuts! It was so generous and shows exactly how the spirit and kindness of quilters, not to mention the creativity, is fuelled on line. Exactly what comes to mind, for me, when I think of the Modern Quilt Guild.

Thank you to everyone who contributed. I truly appreciate it.

Friday Favourites - Scrappy Fabric Rug

It's awesome when friends just get you. They know what you need, when you need it, or anticipate the joy they can give you. After the last few weeks it was so perfect to have this awesome rug arrive in the mail.

Amanda Jean made it for me. She is such a generous person and I'm really quite lucky to consider her a friend. Now, she may have finally got tired of me talking about how much I wanted one of her scrap rugs. Or maybe each of her showers had their own already? I'm going to go with she was just being her awesome self. It was quite a surprising birthday present.

Right now I'm not sure where to put it. I actually just did some spring cleaning and rearranging in my living/dining room. So it sits in the now dining room, hosting an up cycled table. It sits, rather like its own piece of art, in front of the picture window. Seems like a pretty good spot for now. That way I get to see it every day and think of my dear friend.

Now, I am no expert in knitting or crochet. That means I don't know exactly which technique she used to make this one (I think it is crochet?). But she has provided tutorials for both crochet and knitting one of these rugs. What an amazing use of scraps!