WIP and Some Gorgeous Guys

My Quilt group has decided to do several different projects for the rest of this year.  The first one is a stay-at-home-round-robin that we are calling Borders, Borders, Borders.  The rules to this are as follows: 

1.  make/have a center block

2.  draw from the sack a border detail

3.  add that border before the next meeting

4.  bring block to the next meeting to show and tell

5.  draw from the sack the next border detail

6. repeat steps 3 - 5

 

It's like a round robin, except you are the only one working on your quilt.  We are hoping this will allow the newbies to increase their confidence and skills without making them too nervous by working on someone else's quilt. 

 

We have put the following into a paper sack - triangles, squares, rectangles, curves, on-point, anything goes.  We are only going to have 4 rounds, so we have no idea what will be pulled next.   If the "on point" doesn't come up in the next turn, we may pull it from the sack since the quilt will almost triple in size if it's for the last round.  (or even the third round)  So, for the August meeting I had to have a block.  Hmmm.  I had a few orphan blocks that I could use and took them to the meeting with me.  I also had some fabric that I pulled and put together and thought it would make a fun quilt and block.  Lots of reds, pinks, oranges and yellows with a little lime greens and a couple of blacks.  Then for the background a white with black and gray words and a white with gray bicycles and a touch of pink and yellow.  Now, what to do with it.  I didn't know, but I knew I needed to have a block soon so off to the meeting I went.  Since we always have workday/meetings I knew I had some time to make a block before the lunch meeting, I just didn't have a plan.  I thought I might do something really off the wall and modern with these fabrics until I was scrolling through Facebook that morning looking for a picture someone posted to show a friend and saw a block on Quiltmaker Magazine's posting - August 17th.  I liked the block and quickly decided to make it.  There were no instructions, sizes or anything, but I was going to make my version of this block.  I knew that whatever size the 4 patch turned out to be would determine the size of the 1/2 square triangle blocks.  Not a problem.  Sew some strips and squares together, make my 4 patches, measure and make the 1/2 squares.  Now to determine what size to make the crossing middle section.  Do I make it the same size?  The same width? narrower?  What do I want to do?  It was all up to me.  Then I decided to put in the black with the gray dots instead of another warm color or the green.  LOVE!!!  I can't wait to do some more on this block.

 

 



From the sack we drew out triangles.  Great!  All this round has to contain is one triangle.  I know I want to add more black in to this quilt, but I also want to add more green.  I make a couple of green 1/2 squares and am not pleased when I put them up on the wall.  It looks okay, but that is just it.  It looks okay.  I make a couple of  1/2 squares with the black fabric and decide to use them all the way around in a sawtooth pattern. 

 



 

The quilt top is starting to hum along now.  I do know that whatever we pull from the sack in September, I want to add in more color and possibly a different background - probably still in the black in white family or gray and white, but I most likely won't add anymore black just yet.  This block currently measures 21" square.  As usual I am allowing the quilt to let me know the size it is meant to become.  Just letting it grow naturally. 

 

I am also working on my first project from Camille Roskelley's book, Simply Retro.  This is the first project in the book titled, Swell.  I am using scrap 2 1/2" strips from my box along with muslin.  This is what I have so far.

 

There are two blocks up on the wall that have a pear and white print that are really fading out and I may want to go back and replace them before sewing it all together.  I have a lot more to go before this one is finished.  I know there is a group on-line that is working their way through this book, but I am so far behind them that I am not even going to try and keep up, but I do want to make every quilt in this book.  They are all so wonderful.  Speaking of wonderful quilts, I should be getting my quilts back from the quilter any day now.  I can't wait to see them.  Since I haven't put any binding on any of the quilts I got back from her in June, I will have my hands full with binding pretty quickly.  I know I cut the binding for two of the quilts I sent previously, but can not for the life of me find it anywhere.  I keep looking in the same places, because I thought I had it all done, but it isn't there.  I don't know anywhere else to look right now so will have to come up with an alternate binding for those two batik quilts.  bummer. 

 

On a brighter note, my sister and her three boys went to Florida for an end of summer trip and she took some awesome pictures of the boys that I want to share with you.  Here are three of my handsome nephews:

 

 

Aren't they all gorgeous? I love these pictures.  Usually they either don't want to have their picture made or are making silly faces in them.  These are perfect and natural.  Now, maybe my other 4 nephews will take some great pictures and I can post them here for everyone to enjoy, also.  I only have one recent picture of them.  They all have their tongues sticking out after eating snow cones!  I won't post it.  Nobody else needs to see blue, green and bright red tongues.