It's in the Mail

Victoria, I had fun making this block for you! Thanks for asking us to do something a little different!

I put it in the mail today!

Carla

Parisville Trolls–February Update

Hi all!

Just wanted to give you a quick update on my February quilt blocks.  I have almost everyone’s blocks – Michele’s & Toni’s are missing.  But here’s what it looks like so far:

There’s one block not in the photo, I need to find more floor space to take a photo.

I’m super excited, this looks so crazy and fun!  I think this is definitely a “Michelle” quilt!

Victoria’s Hex Block

Victoria’s hexagon block hexed my brain a bit – warning, don’t attempt paper piecing at 10pm on a Saturday night (I know, I’m such a wild young chick!).

I was trimming one of the greens, and accidentally trimmed the whole piece off, but left the seam allowance.  So had to fix that.  Then I sewed a couple in the wrong order…it took me a solid 5 minutes to figure out what I did wrong and how to fix it.  Needless to say, I was ready for bed when I was done with this block, lol!

It will be in the mail on Monday.

Victoria's Block and a Star For April!

Really loved the challenge of this block, Victoria! I love to paper-piece, but I had never done a triangle before. I absolutely love learning new quilting skills. Can't wait to see this festive quilt come together!

{And this is our April block!}

I'm using my month to make a quilt for my daughter. She's 13 and really good at it. She is one of the most creative, intelligent and talented people I know and right now she is full of self-doubt and teenage angst. I love the idea of all of you making her quilt along with me! All of you creating these blocks with your hands, with your hearts, with your creativity - well, it's a sentiment that I hope will translate into a great, big hug for my sweet girl.

I let her pick the fabrics and the block. She picked almost all Jennifer Paganelli fabrics which made me incredibly giddy since Jennifer is one of my favorite fabric designers!

I'm waiting on the white linen I ordered to get here. As soon as it does, I'll get it cut and get your packages to you! I'll post the block tutorial  in a week or so.

~Andie~

Lurv V's March block!

Can't WAIT to see this quilt! Really fun. I even enjoyed reading the NYC phone book listings. I left the papers on. I thought it might make it nice and crispy for mailing. Well, as crispy as phone book pages can be. This will go out in the mail tomorrow.

Two Months Catch-up

You'll feel sorry for me when I tell you that I wasn't able to make Michelle's February block, nor Victoria's March block because I didn't have a sewing machine for more than a month. I was in a Florida beachside condo for a couple weeks, and then in Tampa spending time with a ten month-old grandson. Poor me, huh?

But as soon as I got home, I got to sewing! Michelle, your block was especially challenging to make because the strips were in short supply! I had to piece three strips to get the lengths needed for string-piecing. Here's a picture of the wee pile of scraps I had left over. The largest piece was the 2" X 4" print on the far left. 

This is a big block at 18-1/2" X 18-1/2" unfinished. I hope the seams aren't too noticeable.

Decorative stitches on my 830 Bernina Record are limited, but I think this one looks nice.

I was merrily decorative-stitching away when the sewing machine dramatically slowed speed. I couldn't figure out why until I opened the top of the machine to see that a cone of thread I had set aside got caught in the fly wheel! Lots of snipping and "arghs" later I was able to finish the decorative stitching.

Michelle, this is your block and leftover bits that were mailed to you today.

Victoria, thanks for the fun of picking green print scraps from my stash. You'll notice that I was sure to include a palm tree print (see at top right) that's sort of my trademark. With a blog name of "Flourishing Palms," I take every opportunity to work in palm trees.

Two additional tips when making this block:

1. If you have a Sara Nephew Clearview 60-degree Triangle, it's great for trimming the six triangle units before sewing them together. 
2. It's helpful to put a piece of lightweight paper beneath the center circle, before appliqueing it down. The paper adds nice stability. My old Bernina doesn't have a blanket stitch, but the number two utility stitch looks nice.

It will be so fun to see these blocks made into quilts! Michele, Michelle or Victoria... whose quilt top will we see first?

Linda in Iowa

Victoria's Block

I hope you like this addition to your Christmas quilt. This was so easy to make. I was able to get some bright greens. When I auditioned the greens I had they were too dark and did not look right.

Cool Block Victoria

I don't have a lot of experience making paper-pieced quilt blocks, other than string blocks, so this block through me for a loop. I just couldn't wrap my head around which color fabric to lay down first. But I got the hang of it.

Here's a couple things I learned when making this Christmas Flower:

-trust your first instincts.

-don't tear the paper off until you have cut out the block.

-afternoon coffee helps me focus.

-go outside your comfort zone - you might learn something cool!

I hope you like my contribution to your Christmas quilt, Victoria, cuz this is a cool block!

Terri