For September I have a big goal that makes me nervous and excited. Most of August was spent messing around with this block, trying out samples and deciding what looked best. This is the first time I’ve designed a block, let alone a paper pieced block.
In September I want to finish 30 of these blocks for the Michael Miller Glitz challenge for the Modern Quilt Guild. 30 blocks should give me a nice baby quilt size since this is an 8.5″ block finished.
I spent hours picking just the right colors of fabric to make my vision come to life. My friends had to think I was crazy as I was texting them to see what they thought of color combinations.
Someone did get a sneak peek of all my fabrics and her response was, “OOOOOH, so good!” Why thank you.
These are not the fabrics I’m using. No more peeks until I have the top pieced later this month.
Success for July. This has been a chaotic month full of projects and deadlines. For the most part everything was completed and checked off the to do list.
Black, whites, and brights Baby Jacks quilt was hand delivered on Sunday to our cousins. She was so happy and surprised. I love this quilt and how it turned out.
The gray quilting was the right touch along with the yellow binding. Sad to use the last fat quarter of that yellow fabric, it’s been with me since the start of my quilting journey.
For backing I chose a simple black and white print. Perfect quilt for a gender neutral gift.
The new baby will be here very soon. Momma was thrilled it’s a quilt to be used. I want my quilts out in the world and being used.
Off to spend the weekend with friends and probably see a number of my quilts I have made for their kids.
This summer is flying by and it’s about to get even busier for our household. We are traveling for two weeks to NY to spend time with family and friends. Beyond excited for P to spend two weeks with Gramma. She’s going to be one exhausted Gramma with a toddler running around. You’re warned Gail!
My July goal of quilting the Black, White and Brights quilt probably won’t happen until we get there. Of course I’m taking my sewing machine.
I’m thinking quilt in light gray and bind in a gray print. Thoughts?
I have loved the feedback on Instagram for this quilt, especially from Amy of 13 Spools who designed the pattern. “WOW this scrappy version is crazy awesome, and nothing I ever pictured!!!” – Thanks Amy!
If you’re interested in purchasing her book, which is a wonderful addition to your book stash, pop over to her Web site. She even offers a signed copy too. I love that personal touch to a book.
Done with a little over 12 hours to spare. I finished pressing this top around 10 a.m. today. Whew! Clicke HERE to read my about my June Goal. This month has been a whirlwind. Let me fill you in.
Baby Jacks Paper Pieced Quilt top – Done
There are so many goodies from my scraps, stash, and the scrap bin finds that are in this quilt. Variety is good. Lots of repeats, but everything is spaced out pretty well. I’m loving the black, white and brights combination. Last week I pieced the first three blocks, put them together, and then wondered if I should stop.
I considered floating these blocks in black strips on each side. After a few texts with a friend, I decided to go all in. Bright, loud, and sticking to the pattern. What you can’t see in the black pieces are the little circles in a blackish/grayish color.
Luckily you can’t see all of the errors in this quilt top either. There are tiny things that will drive me crazy, but can be fixed with quilting and binding.
Growler Girls survived our show on June 13th. It was a scorcher in Indianapolis and pretty sure I lost 10 pounds being outside all day. To top off the the show we got a big custom order that has taken up a good chunk of creative time for the last couple of weeks.
The Tour de Cure was the next weekend and it was amazing. Porter got to meet two racecar drivers, drive a truck around the track (Indianapolis Motor Speedway), and play in a giant puddle. Pretty sure it was the best weekend ever for him.
Not the best picture, but the best of the bunch with an active toddler. Juan Pablo Montoya was very nice!Happiest kid in the world.
Look mom, so much water!
He seriously rode in the truck for over an hour and played in the puddle for a half hour. The joy on his face was worth every repetitive thing we did that day. A bike ride went on too and my husband put on another wonderful event.
We move into July with even more on our to do list as a family. Can’t wait to share our adventures for the month.
Linking up with A Lovely Year of Finishes for June.
Yes that says goals, not just singular. This June is busy busy at our house. Hubby has an out of town work event this weekend, Growler Girls has a show June 13th, and then hubby has his big event the following weekend. The Nagel family calendar is full. No matter how full the calendar may seem, there is always room to sew.
BAGS
Lots of growler bags. We started using Wonder Clips and it has helped my process so much. Very little bunching or movement. Getting through 7 layers with a straight pin was AWFUL. They are expensive and that expense is completely worth it. I don’t use them for binding or most of my quilts, but are must for bags.
Paper Pieced Baby Quilt
Black, whites, and brights for a gender neutral baby quilt. These are all scraps from a local quilt store where they let you fill a bag, as long as it closes, for a set amount. It’s fun to dig through and see what you can create out of someone else’s scraps. These black and white prints were stuffed in my bag as well.
For June I want to get the top pieced.
Look for a post later this month discussing the pattern selection and project.
So much color in my sewing this month. It’s a wonderful boost when you are you creating on a deadline.
I’m linking this post up to the A Lovely Year of Finishes June Goals. What are you working on this month?
It feels amazing to be able to say this quilt is finished. Over the last five years it has sat in my WIP pile of bags. What a waste.
Pretty sure I have figured out what caused some of my rows to be way off and the quilt to be a bit wonky. At a IMQG meeting someone noted that pinning my strips would have helped too. Whoops! I’m going to say the wonkiness is an artistic touch. When you fold it in half, it’s straight. Took 40 some cuts but it’s straight!! Around 5 inches was lobbed off the bottom in an effort to make it more straight. Cutting it off to be a baby size would have made all the extra piecing I did irrelevant.
Notice the brown mulch under the quilt? We spent some time this weekend sprucing up the yard. As we listened to the Indy 500, we mulched, pulled weeds, and put out our new patio furniture. Still not exactly how we want it, but a needed improvement.
For the quilting I did a modified free motion quilting in squares and rectangles. It’s still straight lines and mimics the rectangles and square quilt blocks. This pattern is pretty easy, doesn’t take too long, and works well with my machine.
All stash fabrics and nothing new added in this quilt. Even the backing and binding. The batting is even pieced scraps.
Now this retro inspired color palette will be heading to a new home. I can’t reveal the new owner just yet but they will appreciate it. A few personalized touches need to be added to complete this gift. With the scraps I’m going to whip up a pillow to coordinate with the quilt.
The best name I can come up with is Rectangles and Squares. Do you have any good names for this quilt? Leave your suggestions in the comments.
