October 2020 Monthly Color Challenge

Welcome to October, the start of quarter four with sponsors and prizes, and my first quilty project in months! Can you imagine admitting that?? Yikes!! Between the garden (thankful and blessed) and work, there truly hasn't been time for much else in my world. 

(Photos from Wikipedia)

Patterns By Jen has brought us a wonderful new block in olive. (Head over to her blog for block instructions, an instructional video, and more!) While her focus this year is all about the birds (Ruby-crowned Kinglet for October seen above), I couldn't help but feel a reminiscence of sorts to all the greenery in my garden - especially as the season turned to autumn recently. I'll discuss other thoughts on the final block and the garden in a bit.

As you are participating in this year's challenge, have you chosen the dark/light color scheme or to use a black or white background? I chose the dark/light color scheme (making all my 2020 blocks with batiks) and to use my trusty grey cotton thread from Gutermann as it typically blends well with all colors. It also happens to run best through my machine. Thank goodness it runs well through the machine as one of my fabrics did not want to play so nice.

Trimming looked all well and fine. Until I got further into the process where I could tell that extra bit of flexing my fabric was doing made a big difference.

Batiks do not have as much give and take, I find, as other cottons. I normally love them for this reason. The light color was a physically thinner fabric from the start. I do also size all my fabrics before cutting into them. This one just wanted to make things interesting. Game only! My years working in a factory with so many types of fabric and needing to find ways to pattern match, make a fabric go the distance, or work your selvage into your seam (it is an absolutely doable thing - quilt police can find something else to nitpick about. Ha!) is helpful for working out those kinks in the process. (Although I do miss having a 5 thread industrial serger to use. You could unravel the thread faster than using Jack. It was glorious!)

I could tell immediately that points would not be lost, however, they would also not touch quite right where it mattered throughout the block. This is something that can be lived with in my book. When looking at the block initially, those details are not prevalent. Mission accomplished! 

Below is a closer view of the block to show the fabrics a bit better. Those fabrics remind me of my garden greenery as much as the star pattern to this block reminds me of the big leaves on our squash, zucchini, and cucumber plants. The colors spectacularly match the changing greens as things dwindle down for the fall. That means I get a break for all things quilty. Yay!

I would personally like to thank Jen for the flying geese in her blocks with the challenges and quilts. It has become one of my favorite units. Thank you!!

Don't forget to head over to the other bloggers sites and see what they created in olive:

Jen - Patterns By Jen

Roseanne - Home Sewn By Us

Stephanie - Steph Jacobson Designs

Sheila - So This Is Kentucky

Alla - rainbows.bunnies.cupcakes

Kathy B. - Kathy's Kwilts and more

Kathy N. - Penny for my thoughts

Joanne - Everyone Deserves a Quilt

And please, Please, PLEASE check out the wonderful sponsors followed by their respective prizes for this quarter:

PDF Pattern and Superior Thread S-Fine 50

3 1/2 yards of assorted fabric

Dream Blend- 70% Cotton 30% Poly - 60"×60"

PDF Pattern 

Fabric bundle of over 60 fat quarters 

PDF Pattern 

Warm and Plush - 45"×60"; 1 package of Lite Steam - A - Seam 2

Next up for me is finishing a special project that I desperately need to get in the mail! Stay tuned for what I created and what I received.

As always, keep on quilting.

Fawn