Modern Building Blocks, Blocks #18-28

Ooops - the sun is a bit bright here!  Had to wait a bit until the light softened....

I'm on the final stretch now; I have ten of the 6" blocks done - just 20 more to go!  Some are really intricate, and some are quite simple.  It's still fun!  But I have to admit, this is about the time in a quilt project that I stall out, eager to start something new.  This time I'm determined to keep going and finish this up, mainly because the larger blocks will need to remain on my design wall until this baby is stitched together because they are simply too big to stack on a WIP pile.  And, because I'd really like to finish it in time for the big Etown fair in August.

Enjoy a few more pictures!

How is it that....

Since I swept and mopped the kitchen floor to baste a customer's quilt, I decided I may as well baste one of mine too.

I will always love 30's prints!

They are so sweet and cheery.

But, how is it that with over 300 different fabrics in this quilt, and the benefit of a design wall, that I didn't catch these two identical prints right next to each other??!

And, only after I had my backing fabric pieced and prepped (fabric on the right), did I come across the fun yellow print on clearance at JoAnn's for only $2.50 a yard.

It would have been so much more fun as the backing for this quilt!  Oh well, I guess it's destined for another quilt yet to be made!

:)

Delicious Gardenvale

Oooh, oooh, oooh - I bought this luscious fat quarter bundle of Jen Kingswell's "Gardenvale" today at Web Fabrics, a fabulous quilt shop in Purcellville, VA.  I've been eyeing this fabric online, certain I would love it, and certain it would be perfect for Jen's Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt pattern, yet every time I viewed the fabric on my computer screen, it didn't look as appealing as I had hoped.  But, when I walked around the corner of bolts in the shop today, I was smitten!  It's fabulous!!  I was happy to purchase this complete set of her line, which also included a few extra fat quarters of the yardage prints which run selvage to selvage.  The icing on the cake was this free tote, and a $5.00 coupon for a future purchase.  :)

Photo courtesy of amitie.com

I had purchased the Green Tea and Sweet Beans pattern booklet almost two years ago, and it has been my bedtime reading ever since!   I absolutely love the pattern, and am so fascinated and intrigued by the choice of fabrics Jen Kingwell used in the quilt - vintage, quirky, and bit funky - very typical of  the fabrics used by those talented Australian quilters.  Simply amazing....  I didn't see how I could pull off the fabric selection on my own.  So, this fat quarter bundle will be the lovely answer!  I'm not sure yet whether I'll hand piece the entire quilt, but an number of the blocks are quite intricate (what to you think?!) and do require hand piecing.  It will be so fun to start another long-term project!

I plan to add some 30's prints and Denyse Schmidt fabrics from my stash.  I've been studying the fabrics - every single print in Gardenvale has a bit of off white in it, so I'll keep that in mind when selecting additional fabrics.  I plan to use a lot of text prints for the background fabrics, so they will need to be in that off white/vintage range as well.

You can purchase Gardenvale from Web Fabrics, Westwood Acres (where I've been eyeing it ever since they announced it was coming!), or the Fat Quarter Shop.  All three shops carry the pattern as well.

Also, you can check out my Green Tea and Sweet Beans Pinterest Board for more inspiration!

Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Stitching Samples

I've found that it's really helpful to keep a stippling sample in easy view next to my  machine when I'm stippling a quilt, especially if the size of the stipple is not my norm.  It's easy to lose perspective and fall into your natural stippling size without realizing it.  I think everyone has their own unique stipple size that feels right to them.

I had stitched out some samples in a variety of densities a while back.  They are also helpful for showing customers vs. simply telling them you're planning to do a "large" stipple or a "dense" stipple.

Still, it's a challenge to end up with the same size stipple the whole way through a quilt!

Modern Building Blocks, Blocks #13, 14, 15, 16, and 17

Trying to stay on track!

:)

Modern Building Blocks, Blocks #10, 11, and 12

I love the mindlessness of this project....  I normally stall out on a quilt because I second guess just about everything - the pattern, the fabrics, the colors, the shade of Kona, should I have used Kona Solids vs. Bella Solids, the layout, the quilting design, and on and on it goes until I am almost debilitated.  But, this project has been liberating - everything has been decided for me, and all I need to do is follow the directions, in the order recommended (even though I do plan to make a few minor changes on several of the blocks).  

Maybe that's how I should live my life vs trying to figure everything out???

And, it makes me wonder if I would have been just as happy being a factory worker??!!

:)

Modern Building Blocks, Block #7, 8 and 9

Oh dear, my blocks aren't all coming out to be the exact size they should be, but I'm trusting it will all work out in the end?

I'm finished with the 18" blocks; now it's on to the 12" ones!