Blogger BOM - It's My Month!

Welcome to my date in the Blogger Block of the Month organized by Dhia Peach Patch Quilts! I'll be sharing a tutorial for a block of my own design, which I call Through the Window.

Fabrics required for a 9½" unfinished (9" finished) block:

Fabric A (white in example):
2 @ 1½" x 4"
2 @ 1½" x 6"
1 @ 1½" x 9"
1 @ 1½" x 9½"

Fabric B (yellow in example):
2 @ 2" x 6"
2 @ 2" x 9"

Fabric C (blue floral in example):
1 @ 4" x 4"

Note: seam allowances are ¼".

1. Starting with the 4" x 4" square, stitch one 1½" x 4" strip to the top and bottom. Press toward the darker fabric.

2. Attach a 1½" x 6" strip to opposite sides. Press toward the darker fabric.

3. Attach the 2" x 6" strips to the sides of the unit with the two seams (so not the same side where you added the last strip). Press toward the strips you just added.

4. Attach the 2" x 9" strips to the opposite side. Press toward strips you just added. 

 5. You've just made a simple log cabin block. Press it well and square it up to 9" if you want.

6. Slice the log cabin in half down the centre.

7. Insert the 1½" x 9" strip by stitching each half of the block to either side of the strip. Press toward the strip.

8. Slice the block in half again, perpendicular to the strip you just added. Insert the 1½" x 9½" strip by stitching each half of the unit to either side. Press.

10. You're done!

This block can be made with a lot of different fabric combos. When I used it in my Madrona Road challenge quilt, I used the same fabric for B and C, and I tried to achieve high contrast between the A and B/C fabrics:

Here it is on point, using lovely fabrics that Dhia sent along, and in a scrappier layout with two different fabrics for the A and B pieces. I will be donating this block to Margaret's Hope Chest:

Be sure to visit the other bloggers participating in the Blogger BOM:

Date	Name	Blog
Sep 15th2012	Carin & Carol	Margaret's Hope Chest
Oct 15th2012	Jenny	Sew Kind of Wonderful
Nov 15th2012	Jennifer M	Ellison Lane
Dec 15th2012	Natalie	Craftin' Mechanic
Jan 15th2013	Stefanie	Little Lady Patchwork
Feb 1st2013	Jennifer I	Knotted Thread
Feb 15th2013	Sandra	Sharp Quilts
Mar 15th2013	Nicole K	Patchwork Duck Designs
Apr 1st2013	Bree	Distant Pickles
Apr 15th2013	Tracey	Itching 2 B Stitching
May 15th2013	Felicity	Felicity Quilts
Jun 15th2013	Erin	Billy Button Design
July 15th2013	Nicole N	Mama Love Quilts
Aug 15th2013	Dhia	The Peach Patch

Thank you, Dhia, for inviting me to participate in this BOM series!

I'm Featured!

My lovely friend Cindy Live a Colorful Life is featuring me today in her ongoing series The Name Game, where she interviews bloggers about the names they've chosen for their blogs.

I'm thrilled to be joining the ranks of many interestingly-named blogs that she's highlighted. Come on over to find out the story behind my blog's name (I'm sure you'll never, ever guess how I chose it, hahaha). Thank you, Cindy!

Staking my Claim

Apparenty, I need to officially "claim" my blog on bloglovin': Follow my blog with Bloglovin.

There. One less thing to do today! :)

Friday Felicities

My felicity for today is the incredible outpouring of support my lovely guild - the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild - is getting for our To Boston With Love initiative. It's a "collaborative effort of makers to bring peace and love from far and wide." All the details can be found on the VMQG blog, and so far there are 30 (!) guilds who've pledged to send peace flags. And you don't have to belong to a guild to contribute - all the shipping information and details are on the blog. We'd really love it if you contributed too!

 

And the Boston MQG is also undertaking a project -  Quilts For Boston. All the details can be found on their blog here. Please consider contributing a block!

Friday Felicities

Oof! Lots of balls in the air these days, and I'm fumbling a bit. Kindly accept my apologies for the sporadic nature of Friday Felicities linkies!

My felicity today is that G has been trying her hand at making up jokes, mostly of the knock-knock variety. Absolutely none of them make sense ("Knock, knock! Who's there? Frog. Frog who? THE FROG HOPS IN THE POND HAHAHAHAHA"). Her track record changed this week, however. Are you ready? Here is her joke:

Why did everyone want to be friends with the toad?

Because he's toad-ally awesome!

Not bad, eh?

Unintended Consequences

I am not sure if I mentioned this, and you may have noticed anyway, but I have sworn off all bees and most swaps this year in order to concentrate on projects for *me*.

The unintended consequence of this decision, however, is that I fell like I have less to share on the blog! Bigger projects take longer and the same project photos are really boring.

But having said that, I am happy to report that I did some quick sewing of some blocks for the VMQG block lotto/challenge.

This month, we're doing Japanese X Plus blocks (tutorial here). For every one you make, you get a ticket to win all of the submitted blocks.

Here are my three:

I started cutting the blocks out intending to use the same fabric for all four parts of the X, but then switched it up to make the blocks a bit scrappier. Hopefully when I win all the blocks (ha ha not really that much of a joke because admittedly I have excellent luck when it comes to VMQG door prize and block lotto draws), the fact that the same fabrics appear in all three blocks won't be as noticeable.

Have a happy Monday - I sure am because it's my day off work. And it's sunny (sorry, Winnipeg).

Q2 FAL: Official Goal List

In my Q1 Finish A Long wrap up, I identified some UFOs that I wanted to finish in Q2 but I need a new official Goal List to link for the next quarter, so here we go!

By June 30, I will be finished:

1. Dad's placemats. I've made some progress since my last photo but here it is again:

Thimbleberries!

2. Easy Going Modern: The Pattern. There has been progress, but it's a bit hard to show! How about this:

3. The New Wave quilt. I'm too embarrassed to include that photo again.

4. The "It's a Hoot" project. Status: blocks pieced, and (since this photo was taken) arranged on my design wall at home.

That'll definitely keep me busy, especially since I'm also doing the Zakka Along 2.0 where we'll be stitching through Patchwork, Please by Ayumi Takahashi (Pink Penguin). The original Zakka Along looked like so much fun that I really didn't want to miss out on round 2. It's being hosted by Debbie A Quilter's Table and Lindsay LR Stitched and it starts in June. You've got lots of time to order the book and get your supplies together - wanna join in the fun? There are prizes!!

Go here for information on the Finish A Long - you can join in for any quarter you like!

Friday Felicities

I didn't plan to, but I ended up taking a Spring Break hiatus from Friday Felicities! I was really busy with my staycation those two weeks. While G was in day camp, Kevin and I got a whole bunch of great stuff accomplished:

• we rearranged the furniture in our main living space, and now it feels so open and pleasant that I no longer want to stroke out with frustration when I'm in it;
• we culled our "stuff" and listed a whole bunch of it on Craig's List (are you local and in need of a really nice china cabinet, coffee table, mirrors or silverplated salt and pepper set with bonus salt cellar? email me!);
• we donated G's outgrown clothes and toys to the appropriate places;
• we organized G's room so that there is a place for everything (it's made a world of difference - she tidies up now!);
• we browsed at Home Depot in peace;
• we were able to have uninterrupted adult conversation lasting longer than 30 seconds - sometimes even over lunch with an Adult Beverage!

...all while little Miss G had her fill of activity and friend time. I suppose that is my Spring Break felicity. My felicity today is that I will have an opportunity to share my passion for quilting and sewing with some newbies. It's a secret project whose recipient sometimes reads here so I won't go into too many details. But we'll be using these fabrics

to make a version of Easy Going Modern (I *swear* a pattern is on its way). Have a wonderful weekend!

Q1 Finish-A-Long Report

I readily admit that I gave myself an easy target for this first quarter. But I'm proud of that fact, actually - I'm getting a lot better at predicting what I will have time for, and just saying "no" when I need to. It's a skill many of us perfectionists need to work on!

Let's recap, shall we? I presented my Q1 2013 Finishing Goals as follows:

1. Niece's baby quilt. YES, my great-nephew's quilt was completed ahead of schedule, even!

As an aside, can I just say that I feel a wee bit young to be a "great" anything? Oh, well. Moving right along...

2. Appliance cover #2 for my friend C. YES!

3. Donation quilt. It wasn't the Wonderland quilt (that is still awaiting my quilting inspiration), but it was the Strippy Rainbow Quilt (with bonus tutorial - woot!). This quilt was made for a co-worker's ringette team fundraiser, and it was bought by another co-worker for his daughter! I love it when things all come together like that!

And that's it - my goals were indeed modest but I did start and finish a couple of non-UFO projects this quarter: my Madrona Road challenge quilt, which I'm very proud of, and a 241 tote.

Okay, so for this quarter, I will be finishing:

1. Placemats for my Dad. I've begun them, and I'm trying a new-to-me technique that I made up and it *seems* to be working more or less, but oh my goodness. The fabrics I'm using are scraps from another long-ago project that really aren't "me" anymore and it's amazing how that can sap your sew-jo. But I'm persevering - if he can beat prostate cancer, I can certainly cope with some Thimbleberries that will match his muted and manly décor.

Oh boy.

2. My Easy Going Modern pattern. I've put this on the back burner for far too long - time to get cracking and just finish it, already! I'm teaching it as a workshop for the Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild next month, so the time to refine the pattern has come.

Me and one version of Easy Going Modern

3. New Wave quilt for niece. I'll be seeing her at my brother's wedding in July, so it would make sense to aim to get this one completed, finally. Here's the same dumb photo of it that I've been sharing since, like, 2011 (literally).

I've got a couple of other projects for Q2 that aren't UFOs, so they don't count. Unfortunately. But they, along with my three goals here, should keep me out of trouble for the next 3 months.

Need some motivation to get cracking on your UFOs? Join the Finish-A-Long - there are prizes!!

NB: post edited to add photo of me and Easy Going Modern - it's courtesy of Carol Browne from the FVMQG.

RIP: Google Reader

Do you use a reader to read all the blogs you follow? It's a very efficient way to see all new posts from your favourite blogs - I highly recommend it.

I currently use - and like - Google Reader, but it's going away in July, and taking the iGoogle homepage with it in November, unfortunately. The good news is that there are other options out there. I'm trying Bloglovin' right now and it seems like it will do the trick - it was super easy to import all of my Google Reader subscriptions, which I consider a big tick in the plus column! Speaking of Bloglovin', if you want to follow me, click this button. It's also in my sidebar.

Have a lovely day - it was raining hard this morning but the sun's out now. I'm off to do some sewing so it's all good 'round these parts!