It is a finish

I am so impressed with myself for keeping up with this BOM project. I must have a lot on my mind because I did have to do some more reverse sewing on the final border. It didn't help that this green looks similar on the back as on the front.

But the dark blocks are back in the right order. That definitely bothered me so absolutely was worth all the hassel of redoing.

I don't care for symmetrical layouts so I did offset the blocks. Then I needed a bit of the periwinkle to pop things. I used a log cabin method to add the borders which really worked against me for taking apart the top to fix the mistake I made. I had to finally remove every sashing piece.

I also wanted 2 greens in the final border. I had thought about making one wider than the other and that could still happen but for now I'm pleased with how things look. The photo looks like the top is wider than it is long but the measurements are showing it really is square.

oops, except that the bottom left hand block is very light and might benefit from a motif to be appliqued to it. I did add a bit of something to one of the earlier pictures so the difference can be seen.

Okay, something is crossed off that everlasting to-do list. What is next? Right! Under all the stuff on the table are some pink baby quilt blocks that needs connecting. And 2 more babies have left the hospital!!! But the sun is also shining today and I have an old shed to empty and a newer one to fill so we can remodel the old one. CHARGE!

Setting BOM Jewels

I'm taking a break from the more physical stuff and I'm setting the BOM jewels in their setting. They really are bright, glowing and multifaceted.

I can't find the setting I had in mind. Darn files; what good are they if you can't find your bright ideas. So I drew out a rough plan and began to cut and sew.

I thought squares of the very dark secondary theme fabric would be perky.

But after a few are in place I'm not liking them beside some of the blocks. I auditioned a few sashing possibilities with yellow a strong desire but I'm thinking green. The final choice really is a new one and not in the blocks.

Now I'm not liking the fact that some blocks will butt directly to the thin enclosing border.

I am also NOT a fan of those solid chunks of fabric for a final border so I am resisting that theme fabric on the outside. I'd hoped for dark of night or at the least some some early morning inspiration. There doesn't seem to be any forthcoming so it looks like another play day today.

Breathing Deeply

It is very beneficial to spend a few days looking at a pile of possibles.

The conglomeration of decorating items had me diddling with paint chips first thing in the morning. I found the colours I had in mind for the wooden stuff in the kids section of all the various paint sample cards I've collected. Hmm. The veranda is mostly used in the heat of summer. Golden yellows will not make me think of a day at the beach! So, golden yellows will not play a large part in the basic wooden pieces but the 10 coordinating colours on the sample can give oodles of variety thru all the seasons. I'm still thinking but I'm almost sure the door will be eggplant! 8) Poor hubby is rolling his eyes and hoping for another aha moment. lol We'll see!

• Block of the Month - Last one I'm thinking and it is so cute. My favorite. I did up the intensity/contrast a bit but I was afraid it would be too light for the previous blocks. I was right. I just may have to make more of these for another small quilt as I do have more theme fabric. I could hang this in the veranda as well, I suppose. I will be trying various layouts for the 9 blocks. I started pressing some of the seams open and liked that much better but some of those early blocks are a bit smaller so I'll need sashing. I tried a couple of options. ???






• Technique of the month was great fun. I bought some Neoart water-soluble wax pastels. You can draw on fabrics, spray with water and then watch the fun. I don't think I can easily find silk so I found some white cotton velvet at a discount store. It looked pretty rough but washed up beautifully. I want to experiment with using it in my fibre art projects. I luv texture. So this has lots of possibilities. I luv the 3-D effect that happened when the water started moving the colour.
  

After the initial spraying I decided to add some streaks of the lighter green to blur the white.

I'm off to do grandmotherly duties, check out thrift shop accessories and pick up paint for the trim. And to think about a purple door! 8)

Yellow is the colour of...

Daffy's and the less desirable dandelions.

It is also the colour of bad lighting.

The 8th Block of the Month is really nice. It has a nice shadow effect. I fussy cut my two theme fabrics and that took a while. Then I stood back and said, where is my shadow? hmmm. Not the right values so I took away the lighter yellow fabric and replaced it with a medium green. I should have took a picture of the 'not so good'. Sorry. I also finished the block late last night and the photo was ugly with the yellow light. So before I head off to tackle our reforestation project I wanted to post these great colours. There are some really great examples of this block over on 3CS that were more successful with this block. I also learned to press seams open and it worked wonderfully.

The sunshine room will post at coffee break!

Out of the ashes???

Well, since I'm not burning anything except maybe some rubber off my sneakers, out of the dust shall rise a new beginning. From the ground up, so to speak!

Vacuuming puts me right into a ZONE! Good bye world, hello thoughts.

Can my muse, A Musing come out to play? I am so ready.

Great trip to the city. I stayed focused. I went back for the 2 pairs of C U T E shoes I left behind after I bought the gold ones. Actually, they're probably something A Musing would wear but I shall silence the inner critic that says, What if ya fall, get bunions, laughed at, etc. and STRUT! So I'll be looking cool from the ankles down and I'm trusting A Musing to come up with some serious creative solutions for the ankles and up. I am following some sewing blogs. I used to sew before quilting took over my life. hmm, I also used to quilt before art quilting and mixed media led me on a parallel path.

I forgot the BOM deadline so I need to get that next block done. I do enjoy making them. I'll be needing a creative setting for that set of blocks as we are approaching finish.

With a clean work surface I shall hug myself and pick up my biggest brush and turn to page 16, Plunge In! I'm using Diana Trout's book, Journal Spilling. It seems okay to spill so what else could I fear? I had also stuck to the list and got the recommended brushes, sorta on sale. 10% doesn't really impress me. I mean it hardly covers the tax! But forget the budget, I need to decide whether to use a journal or the recommended paper.

WIP for Wednesday will see me fiddling with these very cute Drunkard's Path blocks. 3 inches is as small as I'd go because they'd take more pinning in the smaller size and I try not to do pins. Three pins work and the trick is to have the arc on top of the lower corner when sewing. Seriously, not hard. So, that's all my what if's and if I want to actually get to them the dust needs to start flying.

AHHH Chooo!

VBSigh A Musing, that was not amusing.

Monday-quilting

I have been working on some of my deadlines. The BOM is first on the list. I am really liking these. I am also considering changing the way I would construct these were I to start again. Like most new quilters I followed the rules. I do 1/4" seam allowance and press to the dark side. I did learn to press the centre of 8 point stars so the seams spread around a bit. But if I am going to do a larger quilt... I really don't like all those bumps.

What if... you always pressed seams open? Are they still easy to butt up together and match?

BOM is Marching On

I am obviously going to have to work faster. The rain and the sun have deleted the snow and it is only March! For sure winter is fading fast and March is on the move.

This is block 6.

This is an alternate block. I was so tempted to pull in some of that mauve but I stuck to the main theme. This block is different already because it has more yellow and has less brights. A resting place for the eye, no doubt. I have 2 blocks with a solid yellow and I must be sure to incorporate some more of it in the next blocks.

The BOM has been completed. I now have 7 blocks and no idea what I'll be doing with them. But I really do like them. My dearie has even commented that they are 'better' than usual. Ah, spoken like the good Ukrainian he is! lol

focus, fiddle, FINISH

Not the whole project, but I did finish right up to the current block. This mayn't seem like much but I am very prone to doing all but the last step so doing all the blocks while I had everything out was so good.

Block two leaves some of my drafting skills suspect but I'll leave it stand for now and review it when I put them together. I redid enough of the pieces to start a good pile for my 'parts department'!

Block five is so cool. I really liked some of the examples that were posted. I considered red and navy instead of the green. It would have been great but I needed to have some more green happening.

Now to continue with the piecing plan. I'm thinking the Puzzle challenge with breaks for cranberry blocks when the brain stalls!

I'll also be rearranging the Wind and Water wip as I got a few what if's to consider.

hum, hum, hummmm

BOM's

I think I've found the real ME. Jane Sassaman fabric and then vibrant colour but with subtle patterning. These blocks are for the BOM at Three Creative Studios. I joined late. These are BOM 1 and 3. Two is cut out and 5 is due.

The fussy cutting is a pain. One green was too light so I used my handy dandy green water colour crayon to darken it. The dark green is dark but not as bad as this photo shows. I'm not sure I'd be up to bleaching.

These blocks are exciting to me. I'm sure I'm going to need help to come up with something special for a setting. I started this with what if... I did something out of my comfort zone, so I can't wimp out on the setting.

Looking Ugly in the Face

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but every once in a while I deviate from nice to a more quirky option when I'm buying fabric. When I get it home I question my motives. I then talk to myself like a Dutch uncle. They aren't all supposed to be matchy, matchy nor all prima donnas. But then they languish. How virtuous I feel when one of my "what was I thinking of" fabric choices actually saves the day. 8^)

I like Jane Sassaman and particularly enjoyed a class with her. So the 2 large quirky florals from her collection I like but I have never quite figured what to do with them. The green polka dot is new and says BUSY to me. But I'm calming myself because I'm leaving the old style behind which was 'calm' as well as predictable. This yellow/white leaf print was very much just plain intuition as the yellow is kinda green. But it has been SO useful that I wish I had more. So what if I actually, purposefully started to use these...

The momentum of the new year has me wanting to Do it All. I smacked my fingers a few times for inching towards the enter key so I could join many of the great bees. I have way too many ufo's to do too much new. Those oldies but goodies are pretty much old style and still interesting to me. But when I saw the Three Creative Studios BOM I didn't slap fast enough! lol I said "go quirky", so this will also push me out of my comfort zone. I'm not sure where they will fit in the deco plan. I don't care. They'll be a treat when the mundane begins to bear down. This is block #4 and I've had my coloured pencils out figuring tentative plans for the first 3 blocks that I missed. I'm liking what I see!