Thursday, January 24, 2019

More Black and White Quilts

It's the final day of the Black and White Blog Hop. 


Here are today's participants!


There have been some really fun projects created and I've even added a few to my "To Do" list.  :-)

Yesterday, for a chance to win two charm packs, I asked what color you'd to see me add to my next black and white quilt. It's been fun reading all the answers and quite honestly, I don't think I could go wrong adding any color. There's still time to answer the question and grab a chance at winning. Click HERE to read the post and comment. 

I spent a little time going back through some pictures of my black and white quilts, and I'm kind of surprised at how many I've made. I kind of forgot about a couple of these. That's mostly because they've been given away.  :-) 

Just for fun, here are some pictures of those quilts/projects. 

This is the only one, besides the one I made for this hop that is just black and white. This is a variation of the Crazy 8 pattern and I made it way back in 2008.


This one was fun! It's my version of Mad as a Hatter. I love the little blue frames! I bound this in solid black because I thought adding more blue would be too much. For some reason, I don't have a picture of this finished. I have to correct that. This was made in 2016.


Here are a couple of blocks I made for an block swap a few years ago (2015). These were fun to make and the recipient was quite happy with them.



You can add just a little or a lot of color to a black and white quilt and it always seems to look good. I called this quilt 4 Patch Deception because of the way it was constructions. Hint: I didn't make four patches and sash them with yellow fabric. Can you see Lynn's toes sticking our from under the quilt? I should have had her paint her nails bright yellow or black. :-) 


There is a lot of green in the Diamond quilt, but I love it! I made this in 2011, but I'm looking for the right green fabric to make another one for my son-in-law. He's a tall guy, so I'll be making this much larger. 


Way back in 2010, I made a variation of the Weaver Fever quilt that is predominately black and white. I love the purple and lime green in this. Like the Mad as a Hatter quilt, I don't have a picture of the finished quilt. I still have this quilt and will get a picture when the weather is better. I added a flange type binding that was lime green and black. 


There are a few other black and white quilts that I've made but the pictures are pretty bad. Nevertheless, it seems pretty apparent to me that I love this color combination and I'm sure that I'll be making more.
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Black and White Blog Hop and a Giveaway

It's my day for the Black and White Blog Hop! 


Thanks Carla (Creatin' in the Sticks) for organizing this hop and keeping us all on schedule. Be sure to check out her blog to see about her awesome giveaway! 

In case you've missed a day, here's the entire schedule for the hop. Be sure to check out all the wonderful projects by some very talented people.



So, why did I decide to join this hop? Perhaps this picture will answer that question.


Yes, I have a black and white fabric stash! 

When I took a look at my stash and saw all this black and white fabric, I knew right away that I needed to make a scrappy quilt and that I was going to try to work exclusively from stash and not buy anything. I was successful and even had fabric for the backing. (It's a grey instead of black and white, but I like it.)

So what did I make? A lap size (60" x 72"), scrappy quilt that reminds me of barbed wire.


The wind made getting a good picture virtually impossible.


Of course the sub-zero temperatures didn't make it very fun either. 


These pictures aren't great, so I'm going to share one when this was just a flimsy on my design wall.


While I am not going to provide a tutorial for the entire quilt, I will tell you that the key to making this quilt work, is to be careful when sewing the half square triangles so you don't lose the points. Here are a couple of close up pictures to show you how I do that.

As you approach a point, know where you need to sew in order to keep it sharp. Make slight adjustments to the seam allowance as needed.. (Don't sew over your pins!)  


I pressed my seams open, which makes it very easy to see where the needle needs to hit to be perfect. (You don't have to press seams open. You should be able to see a similar point with a seam pressed to one side.)


Nice crisp point!


When sewing the rows together, it's natural to simply want to fold the top row down on top of the two previously-sewn rows.  


If you do that, you can't see the HST point for which you need to aim to get perfect points. 


Simply flip the entire set over so the single row is on the bottom and the two previously-sewn rows on are top. Now, you can see the point! 


I pin carefully to ensure that there is no movement and that the seams meet exactly. 


This was a fun quilt and I figure that I have enough fabric to make another one. I decided to go with a simple black binding for this quilt, but perhaps with the next one I'll incorporate a little color. 

Remember when I did this black and white quilt and added a simple punch of color in the flange binding?



I mentioned a giveaway earlier, didn't I? 


For your change to win these two charm packs of black and white fabrics (each pack contains 42 - 5" squares), comment below and tell me what color you'd like to see me add for the flange binding on the next black and white quilt I do. 

The winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, January 27th. That should give everyone plenty of time to check out all the posts. Be sure that I have a way to contact you. The easiest way to do that is to leave your e-mail address in your comment.
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Monday, January 21, 2019

Design Wall and a Blog Hop

Gee, it really helps to schedule a blog post instead of simply save it as a draft. DUHHHHH! This should have posted early this morning, but when I wrote it, I hit save instead of schedule. Oh well....

 I've been away from blogging for a couple of weeks so I can get caught up on a few things around home and get ready for upcoming classes. I've also been doing a little secret sewing and when that is happening, I can only give sneak peeks. 

 This is on the wall today.
  
I fell in love with the I Heart You Quilt by Then Came June, and jumped at the change to join her Instagram quilt along.

 I have all the blocks constructed and need to add the sashing and borders.

Knowing I wanted to use stash fabric for this quilt, I spent some quality time going through my tubs and stumbled upon a handful of Autumn Elegance by Jennifer Brinley for Studio e fabrics. Here's the entire collection, but I only had four of them. 


Packed nicely along these four fabrics was some Peppered Cottons that I thought would work nicely (saffron, begonia leaf, and paprika). I had no idea how I was going to use these fabrics when I bought them, but I knew that it had to be something special or fun.   

Like everyone else in the quilting world, I've been trying to cut back on my hoarding buying and use my stash; but I just had to have this fabric. I have no idea how long ago I bought this, but I'm thrilled to be using it now. 

I think I have enough fabric to add some extra borders, but I'll have to play with that later. 

I mentioned a Blog Hop earlier. Today starts the Black and White Blog Hop and I'm thrilled to be participating. 


I'll post my project Wednesday, so stay tuned for that. I'll be having a give away too. Yay!!  Here are today's bloggers. Be sure to check them out and their awesome projects.

Monday, January 21st
Just Let Me Quilt
Needled Mom
Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Life in Scrapatch
QuiltFabrication
Scrapdash
Bumbleberry Stitches
keepsake moments
Vroomans Quilts

  What are you working on today?

Check out other Quilter's Eye Candy at

Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

and 

Beth's Monday Making
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Thursday, January 3, 2019

Secret Sewing Sneak Peek

I really enjoy pattern testing! I find it thrilling to be a part of a new design and quilt pattern; and I learn to be a better pattern writer myself with each pattern I test. I am thrilled to be working with Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis  She has some really fun, bold, and unique projects. Take a gander at her shop. I think you'll like what you see.  :-) 

I can't show you the project just yet, but I can show you my fabrics. Actually, my husband picked these fabrics and as usual, I like what he picked. 


The yellow is the feature fabric and the others are the backgrounds, which are supposed to graduate in value. As usual, he had a plan and it didn't take him long to make his choices. Just to make the cutting easier, I quickly labelled each piece so I didn't mess up the order. That would not be good!


 This quilt works up pretty quickly. The cutting is done and so is all the block construction. I'm very happy with the results so far, and so is Jack. 

I'm looking forward to when I can share the whole quilt with you!
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Tuesday, January 1, 2019

January - 2019 Color Challenge

It's the first month of the 2019 Color Challenge. 
To play along, go to Jen's blog for the block pattern and instructions. 
You won't be disappointed!

January - Belles of Ireland - Green

We usually don't have much green here in Ohio during January, so it's nice to play with green fabric and dream about the beautiful grass and trees that are buried under snow and ice.

Here are my fabrics - a solid light green from my stash and a fat quarter of green Starlet from Blank Quilting. (I plan to use fat quarters from the Starlet line for each month.) 






I love to see all the units of a block sewn together and ready to be laid out and sewn together to create a finished block. It motivates me to sew. :-) 




The completed block! I love how the Starlet fabric sparkles. 


I decided that since this is a challenge, I'd create another challenge for myself. Each month, I'll sew the original block, but I'll use the same fabrics and create a second block that has the opposite or different fabric placement. 


It never ceases to amaze me how different a block or quilt looks when you change the fabric. 


Check out these other bloggers who made blocks this month and be sure to come back to see what we create next month! 

Patterns By Jen

Two Maker Chicks

The Quilted Diary


Cinzia White

Quiltfox Design
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