Monthly Color Challenge Catch-up

 It has been a busy fall at work after a similarly busy summer in the garden. Getting to my sewing machine has proven to be challenging. Having the time to get caught up on my missing months blocks this weekend was so enjoyable.

With three previous blocks to complete - August, September, and November - and being a blogger for the December block and final quilt (cannot wait to share those with everyone), I dove right in to those beautiful batiks tackling August first. 

The original August block called for light and dark pink. I substituted a the light pink for a blended batik that had light pinks swirled about in its design. My favorite part of this particular block is knowing Jen's love of flamingos and that the solid pink portion of my block stands out like flamingo heads walking about in their flocks. Brilliant!

Up next was the beautiful cinnamon colors for September. Like the August block, this was easy to assemble. The dark reddish-brown contrasting with the light in this block in such a wonderful way that I am eager to see the multitude of colors in the full quilt come together.

Last was tackling the current November block. Working with colors is much easier for me than working with neutrals. November's block is light and dark buff based on the buff-breasted sandpiper, which are neutrals through and through. Finding the fabric for this block was a struggle as I needed to make sure the colors stayed buff without going brown, yet you could have enough contrast to tell light from dark. I looked up pictures of the sandpiper to take shopping on my search for suitable fabrics. My dark fabric appears brown from a distance, but when you get up close, the darker shade of buff can be seen mixed with a light shade of brown. 

All I had left to do was lay out all the blocks thus far to see them all together. 

Those colors are are absolutely beautiful together. The block patterns Jen has chosen showcase the colors perfectly. One more block, then it's on to the sashing, background, and finishing this beauty. I had all intentions of donating this quilt, but seeing these fabrics together is making it harder to say this one will ever leave my house. Ha! 

Are you participating in the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge? How are your blocks coming along? Do you have a favorite? I find myself enjoying finding appropriate fabrics to help make the entire quilt have coherence, and trying new sewing techniques.

As always, keep on quilting.

Fawn

 

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

A Special Baby Quilt and more!

This weekend I get to work on a special quilt for a new arrival in our family. Our newest granddaughter is due to be born any time now. It is an exciting time for all! 

Now, in all fairness, I had the top for this quilt assembled for months. The inspiration? Well, you know those random mailings for quilt magazines that will include free patterns? This quilt comes from one of those patterns. It was so easy to customize to the fabrics I had picked. Very rarely will I not make a scrappy quilt, and this was no exception.

I had laid this top out multiple times before this morning. It was not until this morning that I noticed a rather obvious mistake - technically two mistakes!

For the green block and one directly above it, I assembled backwards likely due to hurrying in an abundance of over confidence. Do you ever do that? Get comfortable with what you are doing which forms a confidence that leaves you not double checking your work? This left me with deciding to break out Jack or leave it be. I asked my daughter her opinion, and she suggested leaving it be as she hadn't noticed until I pointed it out. This was not the first time she has seen the top. It continued to bother me, so I decided to rip it apart after getting some things taken care of in the garden.

After an afternoon in the sweltering heat, here is the final haul from the garden this round.

Over 2 gallons of beans, half a gallon of peas, plenty of lettuce, first cucumber, and wonderful zucchini - so much more as this is still the beginning.

Also after an afternoon in the sweltering heat, I came to my senses. Those blocks are staying put. It keeps the quilt unique. Anyone who is bothered by it, well, it's their problem. No quilt police here! On to getting it sandwiched, quilted, and bound hopefully before baby arrives. 

Oh! This is what my morning started with:

Cutting fabric for masks. Thirty-two masks to be exact. Some are for a couple people near and dear. Considering we do not know what this coming school year will bring, and the county next to us has already implemented mandatory masks, I am planning ahead for my family. We have been using disposable masks because we already had them. It was time to change that to something a bit more sustainable.

I will be taking on a project for work. Our infant/toddler playground needs more shade. Watch for my blog post on that adventure!

For now, keep quilting, creating, and living!

Fawn

***Edit***
I do believe in giving full credit to designers for their work. My studio has been a mess lately as we have also been purging the rest of the house. It became a resting place for "items that need deciding on later". The pattern was temporarily lost in that mix. Having located it this morning, I can give credit and show you a photo of the mailing I received with the pattern.

This pattern was created by mother/daughter designers Bonnie Olaveson of Cotton Way and Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms called Modern Vintage. I was lucky enough to get it in a mailer, but the pattern is also in Bonnie's book - Cotton Way Classics - and the August 2015 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. I think I might need to find a copy of the book! This was an easy and fun quilt to customize. As for my "mistake blocks", I might just make another quilt based on those blocks. Always inspired!

July 2020 Monthly Color Challenge

American Robin - Rust

That is the bird and color inspiration for July's block from Patterns by Jen in her 2020 Monthly Color Challenge. 

Growing up, I heard the robin referred to as

"robin red breast". While looking for a stock photo to share, I found that European robins are called this. One could assume that the elderly portion of the population where I grew up used that same name for American robins?? Possibly the two were mistaken for each other. I might have to do some more reading on this. Curious minds want to know. Here is what a European robin looks like:

They do both have the red breast. That "red breast" is truly a rust color. 

My personal conundrum for the challenge months? I have defined "oranges" already used or designated for other months. July made me get out my thinking cap when applying color use to my batik stash.

In my stash were some Island Batik 5"×5" stacks waiting for a purpose. There were not enough of any two colors for this block to follow the exact directions. It is also a block for July - one of the hottest months of the year. Taking the feel of the block a bit exotic seemed just the right thing to do. 

I picked four fabrics that would lend to the color of the month, compliment one another, and have enough fabric for me to make the block. Then cutting commenced.

This block has HSTs, so I break out my Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmer to get the best results with those units.

I will always chain piece to keep the momentum going and not waste thread.

This was the original layout, but....

When it came down to it, that look just didn't feel right. Here is the finished block.

This feels like a block that could easily be put with repeats to make a quilt. I love the look, the textures in the prints, and that I was able to meet the color requirements in a fun roundabout way. 

Masks - take two!

I got to finish some masks that were overdue in their delivery. My son's girlfriend put in a request that needed to be put on hold while we got the bulk of the garden planted. I already made some masks for others near and dear, but that pattern was quite vague on some key areas making for a rather unpleasant experience. I swore off mask making for a while. Then this request came, and many more pattern options had become available. 

One (called "Taco Tuesday" on JoAnn.com) caught my eye with easy to follow directions for assembly plus an easy pattern for cutting. The recipient for these masks is not a fan of reds/pinks, so picking fabrics from my stash was simple and fun. I broke out some fun Tula Pink fat quarters just waiting for a purpose and got to work!

Cutting came first. No need for keeping anything "directional" as they are just masks.

Assembly was so easy.

Trickiest steps of assembly were tacking down the seam allowance on the curve. It required a teensy bit of extra patience. 

I took the clear plate out from around my machine to make working with the material easier and assembly in those first steps so much faster.

Then I remembered I still needed to cut ties. Masks I made prior had ties made like binding. A bit tedious and not a process I wanted to repeat. T-shirt material was up for a try. So simple! 

When I went to put the clear tray back in my table I discovered so many areas that need some TLC. Yikes! Don't forget to clean around your machine if it sits in a table/cabinet like mine does. Much of this excess can get into your machine.

One done. Three to go. The fit was great! Might have to make a couple for the people in my house.

This was a pleasant mask making experience. I know some have taken on making them to donate or sell by the droves. That is not a desire of mine. Making a few here or there is enough for me around the rest of life.

Time to check on the garden!

Fawn

June 2020 Monthly Color Challenge!

Yay! My first 2020 Monthly Color Challenge from Patterns By Jen blog month is finally here!!  You can get the block with instructions that includes a video tutorial on Jen's blog. 

June's 2020 Monthly Color Challenge inspiration is the bluebird. I secretly love that this is the first month I am a blogger for the challenge because my mother's birthday is in June AND blue happens to be her favorite color. She is also responsible for initially getting me into quilting. Thanks, Mom!

Where I live, we are visited by the Eastern bluebird throughout spring, summer, and fall. They are quite beautiful in color and eased the fabric selection for this month. 

The male and female display dark and light blue colors for us nicely. I got to work sizing my fabric. For me, this step is essential in keeping my fabrics in check throughout the construction process. I do not have a preferred brand of sizing product (what is in my spray bottle is not what is on the label). Try a few yourself and use what you feel works best. 

I soon had all my fabric cut and marked for assembly under the close supervision of one of my four-legged shadows. One or both of our cats is always keeping a close eye on my quilting progress - waiting for dropped scraps or loose threads to play with. 

The machine I currently use always stops in a needle up position. (An older machine I started on would stop wherever releasing pressure from the foot pedal.) While this is helpful when completing a project, I find it to be a hindrance when doing almost all other sewing. Stopping with your needle down can help control where your fabrics are at for pattern matching, chain piecing, just lining things up for a straight stitch down a long seam, and a variety of other reasons. 

The photos above show where I stopped with needle down for piecing and straight stitching, but also show the reminder to myself that the bobbin case is not the only part of my machine in need of some cleaning. I have a few other projects to finish before sending it in for some much needed TLC. 

As you can see in my finished block, I followed the lead of the birds for color inspiration. Perfect match, if I do say so myself.

Every quarter of 2020 that you complete and link up your block on Patterns By Jen link-up specific post you have a chance at great prizes from wonderful sponsors. This quarter's sponsors are:

Quilters Chic - PDF pattern

For the Love of Geese - PDF pattern

Said With Love - PDF pattern

Quilters Dream Batting - Dream Poly 60"×60"

Island Batik - Garden Party Fat Quarter Bundle

Cherrywoods Fabrics - (2) $40 Gift Certificates

Warm Company - 100 Warm - 100% Natural Cotton 55"×60"

Patterns By Jen  - Superior Thread S-Fine 50;  PDF Pattern

After you check out our generous sponsors, hop on over to each of this month's bloggers posts for their creative take on the block. 

Jen - Patterns By Jen

Kate - Katie Mae Quilts

Terri - Purple Moose Designs

Joanne - Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Kathleen - Kathleen McMusing

Don't forget to link up your block at the end of each month when Jen posts the link-up post for a chance at those prizes. The specifics for the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge can be found on her blog.

I will be blogging for next month's block. Come back to see a fun twist on my interpretation and the reasoning behind the "why". July will also start a new quarter for prizes, sponsors, and new month of bloggers!

Please join me on my blog for some personal quilting projects I have in the works. Plus, with summer upon us, it is a great time to expand on my other page. Gardening sneak peeks, fails and triumphs will be shared as we put in 6 (yes, 6!) raised vegetable beds with more work to do for planting in the ground. It has been a few years since we had gardens, so taking this on is quite satisfying. 

As always, keep quilting!