Design Wall Monday

Today I'm a quilter, a house builder and a tree farmer! 

One of groups to which I belong is having a block exchange. Every month, one person brings fabric and information on what type and size block she wants us to make. We then have one month to create something for her. 

Last month Paula wanted stars, any kind of stars. They were to be 12 1/2" unfinished and she had a dark blue batik as her background fabric and a variety of orange, yellow, light blues, etc. for her stars. I made her a wonky star. I love making wonky star blocks! You can find the tutorial HERE. I liked how the block I made turned out, but of course I forgot to take pictures.

This month, Linda wants houses and trees. She wants the blocks to finish 6" and she provided the white background fabric and a bunch of small scraps of other wonderful fabrics for the houses and tress. This was FUN!

Below are the houses I built and the trees I grew. Keeping scrolling down for close ups on all the blocks and a bit of information about each block. (Of course I had a reason/purpose for how I built each house!) I think Linda's neighborhood is going to be a cool place to visit and I can't wait to see her finished quilt.

Here's the first house I built. I call this the Dottie House and it reflects the feeling that I sometimes have that no matter what I do, I just seem to go around and around in circles and never accomplish anything. I've kind of been into orange lately and I'm glad there was orange fabric for me to use.

No, this is not a mistake. It's a glass house!

Don't we all feel like we live in a glass house at times? Setting aside the negative thoughts on glass houses (everyone can see and will know EVERYTHING you do), a glass house, in the right setting is awesome. Imaging this house high on a hill, surrounded by trees and overlooking a beautiful lake. (Ok, I want to start looking for some land on which to build this house.)

Of course you can shield yourself from the outside world a bit. A window shade or door can help with that, but it should still be fun. 

I think I may add some color to the side seams (walls) of the house so it stands out better, but I don't want to lose the effect of the glass. Perhaps a very small piece of rick rack or ribbon. Mmmmm, I have to think about this. Of course I give this to Linda tomorrow night so I don't have much time. What are your thoughts?

And finally, every neighborhood needs trees so here are mine. We've had some heavy duty winds recently, hence the leaning tree and the "top ripped off" tree. :-) You may recall THESE PICTURES of some wind damage we had here last year.

These blocks were fun to make and I'm sketching out a few for myself. I think I have to create my own neighborhood! 

I'm pretty sure you won't see me in a cardigan talking to puppets like in Mr. Rogers', Neighborhood, but you can bet there'll be some quilting going on.

What's on your design wall? 

Grab a drink, sit back and take a gander of the wonderful creations on other quilters' design walls today. 

Go to Judy L's Patchwork Times.