Saturday, December 1, 2012

Couldn't make a two color quilt


Hi Gals!  I love your red and green triangles, but I couldn't make a two-color quilt. 

This is what became of most of them.  I've still got some for a future project.  

Thanks so much!  It's been fun playing with you all.

Friday, October 5, 2012

I'm Late, I'm Late for a Very Important Date

Hello Everyone,

I am finally done with these lovely blocks for Stephanie.  Right now they are winging their way back to her.

My sincerest apologies for being soooooooooo late with them.



Pop over to my blog, by clicking here to read my thoughts on these blocks.

I hope you enjoy them Stephanie, your quilt will be gorgeous!


Until Next Time....



Tuesday, August 7, 2012

For Andrea

Hello Everyone,

Well, I am hanging my head in shame!  I am late, but...


I made Andrea's Peppermint Stick and sent it off in the mail today!! 

Yay!! 

So sorry, it was late Andrea, but I hope you like?

Until Next time...

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Snowballs in Hell



What can a person do when it is 90 degrees and 99% humidity?  Why, make a quilt, of course!  Here are all your lovely blocks with a few more of mine all assembled and ready to sandwich.  I have some backing and binding fabric from my stash, so I won't have to buy anything for this quilt except the batting.  Want to use wool batting for this quilt, as I plan to use it for my naps next winter....ahhh...that gives me hope to carry on.   Does anyone have a brand to recommend?

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Raspberry and Lime HSTs

I sent my Raspberry and Lime blocks to Nifty a long time ago, but I have neglected to blog them.  I wish I could say I had forgotten, but really, I have just not had the time!  These were so fun to make, and I think they are going to make an awesome quilt!

 Here is a close up of one of the blocks.  I put in one little green triangle of what little bit of this silk/cotton blend I have that was hand dyed by a friend.  I thought it would add a little oomph for her.

Also, I knew this one fabric was a little "off" in terms of color, but it looks more "off" in the photos.  At first, I was worried about it.  But in the end, I decided I really liked that little punch of a different red in there.  I hope you liked them, Nifty!  Can't wait to see your finished quilt!  I might have to do one of these myself.  This was addicting to me.

Stephanie (AKA Mama Pea)

Peppermint Stick for Andrea

I finished my Peppermint Stick and signature blocks for Andrea while I was on retreat at Gruber's with my prized blogging friends.  Not as fun as Amanda Jean's...But I didn't have that many bright, clear reds, surprisingly.  I found that I have a tendency more toward the brick reds.  So, I found these two great reds at Gruber's (I love gingham, and you might not be able to tell from the photo, but the more solid red is quilter's linen...it has a little visual texture).  I just alternated the two reds.  I thought that was kind of fun for a Peppermint Stick.  I hope you like these, Andrea!  They are on their way to you!

I know everyone else thought these were easy, but I tell you, I unsewed several of the seams.  I had the hardest time with those stupid angles!  LOL.  But that's just me.  Your tutorial was awesome.  Once I got the hang of it, I was okay.

Can't wait to see your finished quilt with these!  How fun!

Thank you, Andrea, for coordinating this bee.  I had so much fun, and I appreciate how gentle everyone was with me on my first bee.  I am sad to see it come to an end.  I look forward to seeing everyone's finished quilts!

Stephanie (AKA Mama Pea)

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Peppermint Stick for the Fourth of July

I just finished Andrea's Peppermint Stick in the time for the Fourth of July:


I too had fun with this block (?) choosing just the right reds.
It went in the mail today.
It will be so fun to see your finished quilt Andrea.

This was a great bee - I learned a lot and met (?) some great new quilters.
Thanks Andrea!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Laurel Leaves Under the Wire

I took Shelly at her word when she said we had until the end of the bee to finish her blocks....and now my laurel leaf block is winging its way to her!


Hope you like it!  This quilt is going to be stunning Shelly!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Peppermint Stick



A peppermint stick for Andrea.  This is going to be one fun holiday quilt.  
Thank you so much for organizing this bee!




Here's the progress so far on "Kiwi and Strawberry."  I think it's looking good!

Thank you all!  It's been a great year.  I've learned so much and had a lot of fun.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Merry Christmas, Andrea!



What fun this was!  It could very well be the start of a Christmas table runner.....or a Christmas necktie.
Enjoy your Peppermints, Andrea...and thanks for a wonderful year!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Another Strip of HSTs!

Two's Company Bee: Nifty

Sorry for the delay, Nifty! I went with a single lime green and changed the orientation of the stripes, and a couple of magenta-ish reds (swear that looks much less purple in real life). Hope it works for your quilt!

Secret Garden, Finally!

Two's Company Bee: Stephanie

Playing catch up! These were so much fun, always love a little handwork. Really interested in seeing how they all go together in the finished quilt. Good luck piecing it all, Stephanie!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Lime and Peppermint

I'm all caught up!

I made lime and red HSTs for Nifty. Since I used my normal method of making them (sew two squares together and cut them apart) it made 2 of each alike. So . . . I only sewed half of them into a strip, and I sent the other half "loose", so you can scatter them around in your quilt in other places as you see fit, Lee Ann.

 Then I made a peppermint stick for Andrea. I wanted to call it a Barbershop Pole about halfway through. Add in some blue, and you'd have one! This was fun and quick and easy, and I've already put all of this in the mail to you guys!

Now that we've all had our turn, what's next? Is the Bee over (sadly)?

I do intend to come back and show my finished quilt one of these days. I've decided on a setting and border, but my applique has slowed down considerably lately . . . too many irons in the fire!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

andrea's peppermint

A fun block for Andrea! I can see the possibilities are endless (and so fun) with this design.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Lime Green HST

Here are your HSTs LeeAnn!  They were certainly fun to make.  Great colors!


I tried making them a little wonky like you said we could.  (Don't worry, it does lay straight regardless of how it appears in the photo!)  I agree with Tara...it was a little odd to not trim down.  I think the wonkiness will show up more when this is sewn to other strips and some of those points disappear into seam allowance.  Hope it gives some fun variety!

Enjoy!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Working backwards--part 2

 

So, these went together rather quickly as well! I LOVE this color combo and HSTs! It was odd not to trim my blocks, but made the process way faster! Two down, two to go! Woot!

 

Working backwards

I'm very behind on my bee blocks. For all three of the bees I'm in. So I decided to start at the end today in hopes that at least someone gets their block on time! By far the quickest bee block of this bee! I'm off to make some 1/2 square triangles and cathedral windows and appliqué leaves! Wish me luck!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Peppermint Sticks for Andrea

At the tail end of the bee, I'm happy to be wrapping things up with this easy block.

Inspired by the fantastic variety of fabrics everyone contributed from their stash over the course of the bee and these two quilts...




...I decided I want "Peppermint Stick" strip blocks in white and red.  Here's the strip I made.



A full tutorial is on my blog here.  For this block, please use:
  • True whites (nothing to creamy).  White-on-white or red-on-white fabrics are great.
  • Really red reds....cherry red, candy apple red, convertible red, Christmas red, peppermint red!  I especially love tonal prints (red-on-red) and white-on-red prints.  Nothing too orangey or purply or with other colors in the print.  
  • Measurements of your own choice...strip should be between 35"-45" in length and 3"-6" in width (unfinished).  The rest is up to you.  
  • Clean lines and even spacing.  I love me some wonky....but not for this quilt.  Please have the stipes be evenly spaced and of the same width.
If you have fabric in your stash that will fit the bill, hooray!  Please use that.  If you need me to send anything, let me know.   I'm also requesting your signature on fabric to go on the back on a little block like this.  :)  Details for that are also on my blog.



If you have any questions, please let me know.   Can't wait to sew this up in July.  It'll be my "Christmas in July" project!

Thanks so much ladies!  Sweet sewing!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

May Blocks for LeeAnn

Thank you LeeAnn!
I've been wondering for a while why I had these greens in my stash - now I know!!!
So I could make your blocks for this swap.

 
They are really lime green, not Christmas green that they look in this post.
I think this quilt is going to be amazing.
Can't wait to see this one proceed.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

HST's in Raspberry & Lime

These were so fun  and delicious to make!   This is a new color combination for me, and I really love it.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

HSTs for Nifty

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday, I plowed through my scraps to make some HSTs for Nifty!

I must say I am really loving them and am reconsidering sending them... well okay... I will send this bunch.  But I may have to make my own.



I made 12 in this strip.


This is a close up of six.  I used my tutorial on HSTs, you can find it here.  Also, if you go to my blog, you can see the post that I did too.

I hope you like them Nifty, they will be on their way to you on Monday!

Until Next Time...

Friday, May 11, 2012

Secret Garden Blocks for Stephanie

Here are your secret garden blocks, Stephanie.  I had so much fun choosing different reds.  Glad you said pink too, because that wavy stripe is my favorite!  



I love the secondary circle pattern that shows up!  That four-petal flower shape is one of my favorite designs ever!  

They are winging their way to you now.  Enjoy!!!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Blocks for Stephanie

Thanks, Stephanie.  These were fun.  Your quilt is going to be a masterpiece!

Monday, April 30, 2012

May Block

The May block is inspired by this quilt in Collaborate Again by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran.

I'd like 10-12 half-square triangles, about 3-1/2 square.  They can be straight or wonky, cut exactly 
to size or a little off.  Sew them into a long strip.





The colors are like the quilt in the book--lime green and red, prints or solids, no white. 



If you don't have these colors in your stash, I'll be happy to supply you with fabric.

Thank you!!





Thursday, April 26, 2012

running behind


One blue and white bear paw block...check! I loved piecing this traditional block. Popped it in the mail yesterday. Hope you get it soon, Mary! Can't wait to see your quilt!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

A Good Start

Hand sewing stage now.....This is going to be a beautiful quilt!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Progress

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to show you the progress on my Which Way Is North? quilt!



I really love how it is turning out.  Waiting on a few more blocks to arrive, but I am almost there!  Thank you everyone for your fabulous contributions!

Until Next Time...

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Stephanie's Secret Garden

I was excited about making these from the get-go.



But I had more trouble with it than I thought I would.

After the first one, I got better at it, though. And I'm glad I got the chance to try it. I've done regular Cathedral Window blocks, but had never tried them in this fashion.

By the time I'd finished the fourth one, I was doing OK. And then I was done!

I think when these are all put together, it's going to be one gorgeous quilt, and I can't wait to see it!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Secret Garden blocks for Stephanie

Here are your Secret Garden blocks Stephanie:

These were all new to me as I had never made a cathedral window block either.  I emailed Stephanie to make sure it was okay to go through the back of the block.  I had started trying to avoid going through and then wondered how it would hold together.  Stephanie said she goes through every 2 or 3 stitches on the curve.
 Hope these work for you Stephanie!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

More Paws for Mary B

I have to say, this was an incredibly satisfying block to make.  Was it the paws?  (I do like a bear paw block!)  Was it the blue and white?  Was it getting to use my snake skin blue fabric?  Don't know, but I think this was one of my favorites so far.  While LeeAnn had to exercise discipline to not put a red center, it took a significant measure of self control on my part to not chop up the rest of Mary's background fabric and make a second block for me just like it!  But fear not Mary, I resisted the temptation!  Block and remaining background fabric are in the mail.    

Friday, March 30, 2012

Paws For Mary

Hello Everyone,

I had fun with this one even though I don't have a lot of blue in my stash.


The HSTs read almost black here, but rest assured they are dark blue.


Thanks Mary for such a great block!  You actually should already have it by now, hope you like it!!

Until Next Time...

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Polka Dot Paws for Mary



This was a lot of fun to make.  Believe it or not, these were the only two pieces of dark blue in my stash!  It took a lot of discipline to NOT put a red square in the middle.

April Block--Secret Garden Block

Hi Everybody! Are you ready for your April block? This month, we are going to work on a Secret Garden block. Have you heard of these before? I hadn't until recently. I'm super excited to have you try this block.

I have been infatuated with Cathedral Window blocks for a while now, so I bought the book Cathedral Window Quilts by Lynne Edwards (click the book title to go to Amazon and see it). Wonderful book. Highly recommended. So, originally, I wanted you to help me with a Cathedral Window block, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work, since one needs to assemble four blocks at a time to make it. Then, I saw the Secret Garden block in the book and thought, "That's it! We can do that one! And I'll still get a little of the Cathedral Window experience!"


And "Secret Garden" seemed very apropos for April! How many of you loved the book, The Secret Garden (click the book title if you can't remember), when you were a kid? I did! I loved fantasizing about having a really cool old key that opened some secret gate to a beautiful garden. And I thought the message of healing and regeneration was pretty awesome.

When I get your blocks back, I'll butt them up against each other like this and blind stitch them together to make a quilt. :-) (I think. Who knows. Maybe I'll change my mind by then.)

Your packets will go out in tomorrow's mail. I'm sending each of you four 8" squares of white fabric that you'll sew, fold, and press to make the foundation blocks on the left. (You can do that step on the machine.) Then, I'd like you to contribute four 3 3/4" squares of red fabric that you'll tuck inside and then do the hand sewing to make the Secret Garden. (I sometimes find it helpful to cut mine just a little smaller than 3 3/4". They seem to fit in there better.) The block finishes at 3 3/4" square.

I know some of you can't or don't like to do hand sewing. In that case, if you would at least make the white foundations for me and send them back to me with four 3 3/4" squares of red fabrics, I will do the hand sewing. I enjoy that part, but I find making the white foundation tedious.

If you can hand sew, I'd love it if you'd at least give one of these a try. If you don't want to finish the rest, please just send the completed foundations back to me with your red squares, and I'll finish them up. If you want to sew all four, that would be terrific. But I don't want to ask too much!

Also, these blocks don't get any batting. The finished block is the front and back. So, the back of the block shows. You have to work fairly neatly on the back.

Don't worry. I'm sending detailed instructions with your fabrics. I'm really excited to see what you send back to me. Go wild with your reds. Pinks, reds, dark reds, orangey reds, peachy reds...the more the merrier! Currently, my blocks are boring, because all the reds are the same value. I need some variety here, ladies!

(Click here to head on over to my blog, if you want. I did a blog post about traveling with these babies. This is a GREAT travel project! Very compact. I love it!)

Thanks everyone! I hope you enjoy the block!

Stephanie (AKA Mama Pea)