WIP: Paper Pieced Fussy Square Blocks

My friend, Amanda, and What the Bobbin? tempted me with a block swap.  Like I need another project!  But looking at the Flickr pool made me cave.  They are too stinking cute!  I'm not sure what I'll do with all these little guys, but I'm positive it will be magical.  I made my first block with some Heather Ross pink gnomes and then I remembered that I have a great sampler pack of Japanese kawaii prints courtesy of Angela from Bunny's Designs.  This is going to be so much fun!    

4.5" block. Hello Mr. Gnome :)

June Ima Bee Block

June's Ima Bee block from my Flickr group is going all the way to Singapore!  Exciting - I'm an international quilter ;)  Queen Bee asked for a simple black cross on a crisp, white background.  This block is huge finishing at 21".  

I wanted to be a little fancy this time and I've been crushing on Jacquie Gering's improv piecing.  I also had a pile of scraps left over from paper piecing these Circle of Geese blocks, so I decided to just start sewing and see what I come up with.  I think the result is lovely!  Since the fabrics are all black and white, you have to look closely to see that it's pieced, but I think the effect is good and I'm excited to try this again in the future. 

Have you ever tried improv piecing before?  How do you like it?  Any tips or suggestions for newbies?

Close up so you can see the crazy piecing - and the teeny kitty cat :)

Here's the whole block

2013 Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop - My Turn!

These past 2 months have really flown by!  I learned about Beth's New Blogger Blog Hop and couldn't wait to participate and my turn has finally come!  

I've been sewing since I was about 8 years old when my mom taught me on her Bernina 1080 Special.  I was in 4-H and wanted to make clothes!  Mostly Barbie clothes, but my mom made sure I finished my clothing projects just in the nick of time.  

My favorite project is quilting on my very own Bernina 440 and I love hanging out with the Austin Modern Quilt Guild ladies.  I just became the VP of Communication, so I'm in charge of our blog, Facebook page, and our charity projects!  I'm also in a couple of Flickr bees and fabric swaps.  All this keeps me pretty busy, but I still have time for my wonderful boyfriend and 2 furball cats.  

Since I live in Austin, I was lucky enough to attend QuiltCon in February.  I met so many wonderful quilters and found it very inspirational!  Houston is only a few hours away, and I'm planning to go to my first International Quilt Festival with my mom in October.  

I wrote this post awhile back about some of my favorite quilting tips and tricks.  Thanks for stopping by!  Here's a mosaic of some of my work before you leave.  You can also find me on Flickr, Instagram, Bloglovin, and the Modern Quilt Guild Community :)

Vicki @ A Quilter's Mission

RobinSue @ RobinSue Quilts

Elisa Lea @ Lovelea Designs

Elizabeth @ In The Boon Docks

Jenny @ A Note To Follow Sew

Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts

Sonia @ Fabric & Flowers

Emily @ Sew E.T.
Em @ Sewing by Moonlight

    

More Ima Bee July Blocks

Here are two more Circle of Geese paper pieced blocks for my Flickr Bee.   The first one here was a totally scrappy, messed up version that I tried first before realizing it wasn't supposed to be scrappy.  Brilliant me said, self, make two at the same time to make it easier on yourself.  Hence the mostly warm colors with one quadrant of cool colors.  I'm sending it because why not?  Maybe she'll hide use it on the back :P  The next one is my favorite.  I really gravitate towards cool colors personally, and I love the black background fabric!

This hurts my eyes!

Much more soothing :)

Ok Scrappy Trip Along, You Finally Got Me...

I've finally fallen for Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt!  I purchased most of this fabric at a yard sale a couple weeks ago for $1.25.  I did add some strips from my stash that I acquired when I just couldn't help myself and had to order a 12 lb grab bag/box (or 2 - sheepish grin) from Fat Quarter Shop.  

Only 6 more blocks and then this will be ready to stitch together.  I'm hopefully going to have this finished by the August meeting of the Austin Modern Quilt Guild so I can show it off and donate to the guild's charity quilt drive.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Fabric Stash Sunday #5

This week for Stash Share, Alyssa chose a lovely color scheme including light gray, dark gray, black, hot pink, and mustard yellow.  I love the challenge to pull fabrics from my stash to coordinate with hers.  I never would have put these colors together otherwise but I think they turned out quite nicely!  

What would you make with this fabric bundle?  A zippered pouch sounds good to me!  For more fabric inspiration, check out Sunday Stash being guest hosted by Kristy at Quiet Play.

Fabrics included here, starting at noon and going clockwise:

• Black batik by Robert Kaufman
• Joel Dewberry Pink Herringbone
• Michael Miller Cotton Couture solid pink
• Flea Market Fancy Legacy
• P&B Textiles Yellow leaf print
• Definitions design 3221 by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics
• Michael Miller Backyard Baby 

2013 Finish Along Q3 Goals

I've decided it's time to set goals for finishing some of the projects that are piling up around here!  What better way than to join the 2013 Finish Along with She Can Quilt?  For July through the end of September, here are my goals. I'll be adding pictures later.


Sew Cherry Quilt
Scrappy Trip Along Quilt for charity
Stars & Stripes From Hexa Go Go
Neptune Quilt
Echino Buck Louis XIV Chair re-upholstery project

Those should keep me busy for the next several months!

Fabric Stash Sunday #4

Alyssa at Pile o' Fabric started a really fun feature on her blog called Stash Share.  It's similar to Finding Fifth's Sunday Stash, but Alyssa is challenging herself to pull fabrics from her stash in specific color combos.  I think this is so fun and I definitely plan to play along!  This week Alyssa picked green and purples.  Here's my bundle.

Fabrics are:
Green (top to bottom)
Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt
JoAnn
Hello Pilgrim by Lizzy House
Green Solid from Robert Kaufman

Purple (top to bottom)
Birds and the Bees by Tula Pink
Urban Garden by Erin McMorris
Pearl Bracelets in Grape by Lizzy House
Jewels by Lizzy House
Ombre Solid from Simply Color by Vanessa Christenson 

July Ima Bee Block #1

For this month's Ima Bee, the Queen Bee wanted a paper pieced Circle of Geese block using black for the outer background and light grey or white for the center, and bright colors for the geese.  Here's my first version, 12 1/2" square.  The black is a Robert Kaufman print, the center is Cloud9 for JoAnn, and the geese are Valorie Wells Nest (orange), Moda Oliver and S (pink), and Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet (yellow).  For my next version, I'm going to use a lighter center background to really make the geese pop!

Heather Ross Greek Cross Quilt Block #2

I just posted my finished Greek Cross quilt block using my favorite Heather Ross print - those funky pink gnomes - as the center.  My Flickr friend Wendy and I swapped some Heather Ross and Munki Munki prints a couple weeks ago and she sent me way too many goodies!  I was lucky enough to receive a little piece of the purple matroyska dolls.  Last night I decided they'd make a perfect center for my next Greek Cross block.  I pulled a few fabrics to cut into tonight.  The swirly grey will be the background. The purples will be the arms of the cross and the blue will be the corners.  Which fabrics do you think I should use?  

Greek Cross in a Square Quilt Block

July is my month to be Queen Bee for my Munki in the Middle Flickr Bee.  We're using Heather Ross prints, especially those from her pajama line Munki Munki, to make each other lovely quilt blocks.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I bought new pajamas to cut them up to make a quilt :)  Sometimes the pajamas are the only way to find certain Heather Ross prints.  

After pouring over tons of quilt blocks on Flickr, Pinterest and lots of books, I settled on the Greek Cross in a Square block from 1000 Any Size Quilt Blocks by Linda Causee and Rita Weiss.  I was so excited, I thought I'd write up a tutorial for it.  I took photos every step of the way, edited them, and lastly did a Google search to see if anyone else had written a tutorial for this block.  Doh!  Don't wait until that step for last.  Save yourself some work and do it first.  Faith from Fresh Lemons Quilts has this great tutorial posted as part of the Summer Sampler Series.  Don't worry, I'll find other blocks to write tutorials for since I'm planning on doing a series of them here on Sew E.T.