Update on post #1000

Hello Everyone,

 

I told you a few days ago that I would post a picture of the Marcus Fabrics when they arrived for my contest posted HERE.  I made this cute little bundle yesterday which contain 14 fat quarters of first quality Marcus Fabrics.  The contest closes at 12pm PST on Saturday, December 13, 2014.

 

Pati from Marcus Fabrics, was very generous with the amount of fabric she sent to me.  I had enough to make four, fat quarter bundles.  I'll be giving two away for my contest, and I'll save two as door prizes for my guild lectures.  Pati also sent me some wool and Primo Plaids that I'll be saving for another giveaway in the near future.

To sweeten the giveaway pot, Melissa and Leslie from In Between Stitches are adding a $40 Gift Certificate to use at the shop!  There will be a total of three winners.  This is perfect planning, just in time for a Christmas present for YOU!

As I get time, I spend a few stolen minutes in my sewing room making more blocks for Lil' Orphan Scrappy.  I love this block.  The combination of pink and brown really floats my boat.  Speaking of boats, we could have used one yesterday with the amount of rain that we had.  I'm not complaining, the rain was wonderful!

This quilt only contains Marcus Fabrics.  It has been so easy, and so much fun combining older fabrics with new fabrics from many of the Marcus lines.  I love the combination of the subtle colors in combination with the stronger star points.  It would be fun to count the number of different fabrics I've used.  It works.  Don't be afraid to make a scrappy quilt.  Get out those scraps, (I know you have them)  and put them to work in a beautiful quilt.

Every year about this time, I get the urge to organize.  I had my fabrics for this quilt, spread out on a table.

 

Barbara, one of my Tuesday Ladies, introduced the class to Comic Book Boards to organize our stashes.  These little pieces of white cardboard are wonderful to organize all of my half yards cuts.

 



That messy table is now organized into this!  I just folded the fabric selvage to selvage, folded in again fold to selvage, then folded it around the cardboard, pinned it, and put it upright in a bin. It takes up much less space. Perfect.  This was a great little job to accomplish while listening to the rain and Christmas music.

I'm tickled that so many of you have entered the contest already.  I'm still answering personal emails and logging all of the names in a spreadsheet.  Mazey is going to have a difficult time picking a winner tomorrow, so you still have time to enter the contest.  Just leave a comment and don't forget to include your email!   I'll post the winner on Sunday.

Soon,
Lynn

Country Corners Month #7

Hello Everyone,

 

As promised, I'm finally posting the directions for block #7 for Country Corners.  I wanted you to see Barbara's blocks that she made during class over the past few months.  They look beautiful together! The blocks will all be put together with sashing the next time you see them. 



 

 

Barbara made three blocks a month from her little packet of fabric.  Each of her variations look so unique.  Same fabric, different placement and different arrangement.

 



 

Here is my block.  It is sewn together now, but I didn't have a picture of it.....don't ask me why.

 



Here are the components that you will need to make for this block.

 

The directions for construction are available in my Patchwork Math book which is available HERE.

Square in a square in a square – Make (4) Directions on Page #12

Fussy Cut (1) Squares 2-5/8” x 2-5/8” for center

Cut (2) Squares 2-3/8” x 2-3/8” for corners

Trim to 3-1/2” X 3-1/2”

Tall Triangles – Make (4) Directions on Page #15

Cut (4) Squares 3-7/8” x 3-7/8” dark fabric

Cut (4) Rectangles 2-3/8” x 4-1/4” light fabric

Trim to 3-1/2” X 3-1/2”

Four Patches – Make (4) Directions on Page #14

Cut (8) Square 2” x 2”  light fabric

Cut (8) squares 2” x 2” medium or dark fabric

Trim to 3-1/2” X 3-1/2”

Doris is making the blocks from her stash.  Isn't this one a beauty! 

 

The monster storm is arriving in earnest here in California.  Time to sign off and get Mazey out for a walk before the rain arrives.  Right now it is just incredibly windy and the storm clouds are rolling in. Be cozy today.

Soon,
Lynn

Pick Four Special Offer

Hello Everyone,

The 12 Days of Christmas continues at In Between Stitches and the special of the day is PICK FOUR by Sue Abrey.  Today, and today only you can hop on the Internet and purchase this book HERE at In Between Stitches for only $17.47 TODAY ONLY.

Sue came to the United States in 2013 and stayed at my house.  Our bond was instantaneous and we email each other several times a week.  Sue was an absolute delight, and there wasn't a dry eye in the car when we took her to the airport to fly back to England. I know we will see each other again....hopefully soon.

My sister Gail took Sue's class at Quilting in the Garden and here is her beautiful quilt.

Here are snippets from my book review that I wrote in Aug. 2011. Literally a blast from the past.

England gave us the FAB FOUR, and now England has given us PICK FOUR by Sue Abrey.  Let’s all get A Ticket to Ride and hop on the double-decker bus and drive down Pennie Lane and review PICK FOUR by Sue Abrey.

Do You Want to Know a Secret?  Once you get a copy of this book, you are going to want to quilt Eight Days a Week!  First of all, I read the book like a novel.  Sue’s very matter of fact way and essence of being a quilting Paperback Writer, makes you feel that she is right in the room with you, coaching, encouraging and sharing her knowledge, love of quilting along with her sense of humour. (That spelling is for you Sue.)  She figuratively Holds Your Hand through the process of quilt making from beginning to end.

Those of you that follow my blog know my quilting style.  I’m a scrappy quilt maker for a couple of reasons.  I love the complexity of a scrappy quilt.  I love the challenge of combining all different colors, styles and scales of fabric together.  I have hundreds of fat quarters all begging to be selected for the perfect placement in a quilt.  When I first sat down with my cup of coffee and Sue’s book I thought, “I’m in trouble now!”  How can I decide on only four fabrics in a quilt, when I’ve been known to use over four dozen fabrics at one time? 

So here was my challenge…..PICK FOUR fabrics Lynn…..only FOUR and Let It Be. Rein in your thinking. Think outside the box while staying in the box. Remember, the fewer the fabric choices, the more important those choices become. I achieved this by applying Sue’s technique for choosing fabrics which is fun and not the least intimidating. She’s a Woman who understands that it isn’t always easy to select fabrics for a quilt. I followed her technique as I selected the fabrics for the two projects I made from the book. Four interesting fabrics equal one interesting quilt. 

In no time at all, thanks to Sue's clear, concise directions and illustrations, I had a table topper ready for quilting.  (Sue's book has full size quilt designs, for the sake of time, I made smaller versions.)

 

I didn't want to stop at just one project!  I selected another grouping of four fabrics and started making Lis's Midnight Flower Garden. (I feel a song coming on Dizzy Miss Lizzy, and I know it's a stretch, but you have to work with me people.)  I'm thinking to myself that I'm really getting into this Pick Four!

 

 

 

The book is broken down into four sections.  Sue will take you full circle from fabric selection, quilt making techniques, to choosing a quilting design. Then comes the fun part, the projects, for beginning to advanced quilters.  I’ve Got a Feeling you are going to make more than one of Sue’s wonderful designs.  This is where I had another problem, Because I couldn’t decide which project I wanted to make first!  There are 12 beautifully designed quilts in PICK FOUR. 

Sue is a master at creating a secondary design when the blocks are sewn All Together Now. She also addresses searching out the secondary designs when you start thinking about how to quilt your quilt and gives you so much Help. One section of the book is a detailed set of questions that walk you through making your quilting decisions. Every design in the book includes a section on color alternatives and quilting options. There is none of this Quilt as Desired business!

I learned so much from Sue’s book.  I was intrigued by the way she illustrated how to make a large block, cut it apart, and before you can say, “Bob’s Your Uncle”,  there is a whole new design before your eyes!  She experiments with different layouts and encourages you to do the same.

I will be using PICK FOUR as a resource long past When I’m Sixty-Four. 

Soon,
Lynn

P.S. I'll be posting the directions for the final block of Country Corner tomorrow.....if I have an Internet connection.  A huge storm is headed my way.  In fact it's the largest storm California has seen since 1998!!  We are going to hunker down and ride this one out in front of the fireplace.  We've gone from the worst drought in 1,200 years, to epic amounts of rain. Now about that global warming.......