Category Archives: curved piecing

Fans and Smarties

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The brown for the quarter circle on the fan blocks I showed yesterday wasn’t dark enough.  Wednesday I replaced it with a black fabric on the two I had already done and then went on and stitched two more blocks.  These are addictive to stitch, very quick to stitch and just plain fun.  I think it will be a small quilt and set with plain alternate squares.  I’ll probably make another dozen or so of the blocks and then start playing with the layout.

Karen at Journey of a Quilter has, over the past while, showed a little quilt she made which she calls Confetti.  I was so taken with it that I couldn’t resist making one, which I’m calling Smarties.  I’m using 1″ squares and 1″ 60-degree diamonds.  I only needed to print the 1″ diamonds as there’s a little box full of 1″ squares.  Sometimes when I’m printing fabric for some project or another, I will cut a small piece of that fabric on which to print a few 1″ squares.  Those squares then go into the little box and are there, ready to use, when I get an idea that incorporates 1″ squares.  Up until starting Smarties, I was slowly making 9-patch squares when the mood struck. Eventually I do hope to have a good-sized 9-patch quilt, but it’s my easy stitching project that I turn to when I want to stitch something super simple and so there’s no deadline.

The plan is to make Smarties large enough for a teddy bear quilt, although it’s such fun to stitch that I can imagine making a lap quilt for us.  Smarties presses like a dream.  The back:

It seems that Comcast is blocking e-mails I send.  I’ve contacted our ISP to try to resolve this and a friend who has Comcast as her ISP has contacted Comcast.  Both our ISP and Comcast are saying it’s the other’s problem.  How and when this will get resolved is anyone’s guess.  But in the meantime, replies to comments I’ve sent to those who are on Comcast are probably floating around somewhere never to be seen again.   I’ve figured out a work-around and, as the bounced replies come back, am using it to send out replies.  It’s frustrating trying to deal with something like this, particularly when the providers are doing nothing other than pointing fingers at one another.

Smudge has been playing with his favourite kitty toy, Cappy, a fair bit the past few days.  Wednesday night he was holding on to it while he had a snooze.

Fan Blocks and Here’s Hugo

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Years ago I had cut 3 x 5 inch rectangles of all sorts of Asian prints.  Looking at them now I have no idea what I had in mind when I cut them and, up until a few days ago, really didn’t know quite what to do with them.  Over the past few days an idea kept coming to mind and I finally gave in Tuesday  night.  The rectangles were large enough to get 3 Dresden Plate blades printed on each.  Once that was done, it was no contest — I had to make a couple of test blocks.

I used one of the many blades in the Inklingo Dresden Plate Fancy Pieced collection, the same collection I used to make the Ferris Wheel top.  The blocks went together in next to no time, pressed like a dream and were fun to make.  They finish at 4.5″.  I have no idea how many of these I’ll make but I do know that it will be at least enough for a large wall hanging.

I might change out the quarter circle as I’m thinking that it may need to be a darker fabric, perhaps a black, rather than the brown I’ve used.  I’ll decide that today when I can see the blocks in natural light.

The back of a block:

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We’ve known for a while that Hugo was on his way here.  Tuesday afternoon Harry, our house hippo, was looking out the window wondering, “Where, oh where is Hugo? Will he ever get here?”

And finally, after a long trek from Florida and crossing the border, Hugo arrived late Tuesday afternoon. Harry was thrilled to see another hippo!

We have some fun plans for Hugo’s stay with us and are hoping the rain will stop so that he can have an adventure out on the roof garden.

Hugo was last at Life at LeeHaven, where he was seen in the scrap bin and wearing a fabric hat and had fun.  You can read more about Hugo at House of Cats as well.

Smudge was very, very interested in Hugo.  We were trying hard not to laugh out loud at him sniffing and sniffing Hugo.  Then they settled and Smudge looked like he was ready to have a nap with our little visitor.

A Red and White Beginning

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The beginning, that is, of the largest of the red and white quilts I’m planning.  At least, so far it’s the largest of the ones I’m planning.  I couldn’t resist adding a sunflower to a feathered star and have the entire quilt planned out, including sashing and borders.  Curved piecing and continuous piecing — what more could I want?  It’s completely hand pieced and took about 3 evenings of stitching, on and off, while working on a few other things as well.

It presses like a dream and lays flat as can be.

Would I have attempted this block without Inklingo?  Not a chance!  With Inklingo, it’s not daunting at all as perfect stitching lines and matching points make a block like this easily achievable.

This quilt is demanding to be made quickly, I think, so there may be a lot of red and white seen on my blog over the next few weeks.  I can’t wait to get the blocks done so I can start with the pieced sashing and border.

I had a migraine on Tuesday that pretty much kept me off the computer as I was finding it difficult to focus on anything.  Hopefully I’ll get caught up on comments and replies to comments over the next couple of days.  I’m working as a registrar today and tomorrow so my computer time will be limited.

It was a grey overcast day on Tuesday.  Smudge found a cozy spot to have a cat nap.

Red and White Again

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One more of the red and white blocks was finished late last week for a grand total of four so far.  I was going to set them with plain white 6″ squares in between, but now that I see them side by side I rather like the effect.  A lot more blocks need to be made before I make that decision.

I couldn’t resist making a red and white 6″ sunflower block.  This is definitely a favourite block to make for me.  Putting the ring of diamonds and triangles together takes no time thanks to continuous stitching.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll end up with sunflowers as the alternate block for the other blocks.

The back of the little sunflower.

A close-up of Smudge relaxing on the couch Wednesday evening.

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Rouenneries Drunkard’s Path

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Over the past week or so, I’ve been stitching the Drunkard’s Path units together into 4-unit blocks.  Last night I decided to lay out some of them.  There are more that are already put together and yet more to be stitched together so it will finish at a decent size for a lap quilt, exactly as I hoped.   An idea for a border for the quilt is starting to form in my mind but until I get all the blocks put together and laid out I’m not making a decision.

The baby quilt top is stitched together.  I didn’t get it basted on Tuesday, so am slightly behind but I do have a little wiggle room in that I can work on it all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday and, if need be, wash and dry it Sunday morning.

Smudge was just waking up from a nap on the couch when we got this photo of him.

Spectacular Sunflower, Day 3

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My first sunflower block turned out as wonderfully as I had hoped.  I used shapes from both the 6-inch and 12-inch collections so that I could make the double sunflower.

While I was stitching, I was taking pictures of the continuous stitching sequence that I’m using but unfortunately none of them turned out well enough to post.   I’m going to make a second block and Mr. Q.O. will take over the photography duties so that the photos are clear.  I will post them either on the weekend or on Monday.

It presses like a dream and the block lies wonderfully flat.

The block finishes at 12″.  I’m going to make one more block using these fabrics and then play around with some border ideas using shapes from the collections.  And then?  Well, then I’m going to make a sunflower variation using perhaps some batiks or maybe I’ll make a red and white quilt.  The possibilities are endless.  I’m glad I decided to make these blocks first as it has made it easier to sort out think about the design I’ll use for a larger quilt.

Two kitty close-ups .  First Lester.

Then Smudge.

Spectacular Sunflower, Day 2

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While I had hoped to get the first sunflower completed Wednesday night, we were out for a while at a friend’s and there just wasn’t enough time.  Stitching these shapes is an absolute delight!  They go together quite easily, without any issues.  Normally, I’d join the two rounds of diamonds and triangles together before adding them to the fussy cut centre.  The second round of diamonds and triangles is started, as shown.  I can’t wait to see it finished.  The fabric I’m using for the background is going to, I think, really frame the sunflower rather fabulously.

This is how the centre looks with just the one row of diamonds and triangles added.  If I were going to make a 6″ block, all I’d be adding now would be background.  However, I’m adding the further round of triangles and diamonds and my block will finish at 12″.

The back, after pressing.

Lester was looking at something I was holding just above the camera while Mr. Q.O. took the photo.

Smudge had been at the water bowl shortly before this shot was taken.  As usual, he was putting his whole head into the water bowl and then catching the water as it dripped down his face. I think if you click on the picture to enlarge it you can still see some water droplets on his fur.

Spectacular Sunflowers

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Two new collections were released yesterday for Sunflower — a 6 and a 12-inch version.  With the permission of Linda Franz, the inventor of Inklingo, I grabbed the above shot, which can be seen at the  Sunflower Gallery of Quilts — it’s just one of many options shown on that gallery and they’re well worth looking at.  These shapes really are exciting to me as the design possibilities with them are seemingly endless. I know I’ll be making more than one quilt using these shapes.

As soon as the collections were released and I had a few minutes to review the Sunflower Design Book , which is absolutely fabulous, I had my fabrics picked out and had printed the shapes for two blocks.  The design book is, for now, free and is well worth downloading as it’s absolutely stuffed full of great tips about techniques to stitch a sunflower.  If you click on the above picture to enlarge it, you can see the printed stitching and cutting lines and the matching points.

I started making the first of the two circles of diamonds and triangles and can’t wait to play with the design possibilities with other fabrics.  The diamonds in this circle are .74″.   Lots and lots of continuous stitching possibilities and, of course, curved piecing.  I couldn’t ask for anything more. The ideas are just flying through my mind!

It presses like a dream too — the back of what I’ve done so far.  It’s going to be so exciting to put the first block together that I can’t wait to finish it.

Smudge was not so impressed until I sat down on the couch and he could drape himself over my legs while I started to stitch.  Then he was happy.

Lester looks as though he was studying the design, watching as I stitched.

Rouenneries Drunkard’s Path Blocks

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All the little Drunkard’s Path units were made by Sunday and I started putting them into blocks of 4.  So far I have about 18 or 20 of the blocks done, so it won’t take too long to get them finished.   I’m really looking forward to seeing this one together, and am planning the border for it already.

The weekend was one of extremes.  Extremely cold temperatures – wind chills of -15 seemed rather outrageous for late March.  Extremely different outcomes from quilt-related endeavours on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday I started to make a large stitching book and realized that one of the applique blocks I was planning to use hadn’t even been finished.  There were still a couple of pieces that had been back basted, but never actually appliqued on.  The block had been sitting for at least 5 or 6 years.  There were other blocks, so that wasn’t a huge issue.  Cut the backing for the stitching book and cut it too small.   Pressed the backing for the Ferris Wheel quilt, started to lay it out to baste and realized I had washed and ironed the wrong piece that wasn’t the right size.  Then I got out the other piece of the backing, washed it and decided quit at that point before something else went wrong.

Sunday was a totally different story.  Stitching book put together and basted, just needs to be quilted.   Binding for the stitching book made and ready.  Ferris Wheel basted and ready to quilt.  Sorted all the little drunkard’s path units and have stacks of the 4 units needed for each block all ready to stitch.

I’ve been avoiding the computer as much as possible since Thursday.  I seem to have a pinched nerve that makes using the keyboard for any length of time uncomfortable. I owe responses to a few comments from last week still — and will try to get through them slowly.   I’m thankful that this isn’t making stitching difficult.

Smudge, sound asleep.

Lester in his newest favourite spot, under my desk.

Quilters’ Candy

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These little blocks are so quick and fun to stitch that they really do seem like candy. Over the past few evenings, while talking to friends on the phone, I’ve pieced these 50 little Drunkard’s Path units.  I’m always amazed at how quickly they go together.

These are all that’s left to piece from the large stack I had two weeks ago.  I haven’t counted them, but think there’s only another 40 or 50 left to stitch.  Once they’re done, I’ll start putting them together in blocks of four units.  Then the real fun will start when it’s time to lay them out so that I don’t get the same print beside itself.

It was another cold day on Thursday but thankfully no more snow fell.  The cats found cozy spots to curl up.  First Lester at one end of the couch.

And then Smudge at the other end.