Evergreen State BOM: Top Complete!

First of all.... one of these things is not like the other!


funny thing, you may already be able to figure out what the answer is to get the chevrons to go the correct way. Not me! It took me until after I gave up and put the block in the quilt, and laying awake in bed at 11:30 before I figured out the simple fix! Simply make the current centers of the chevrons the outside. So I got up and ripped out 8 seams to fix the block, and now I am happy. I kind of prefer the way the wrong way chevrons look overall, but of course that doesn't flow with the airplanes.



All fixed up!

After I put together the center of the top, I decided that I would give the wheat border a whirl. I made sure I used a ton of Best Press though. I've said it so many times, but it's worth mentioning again--this quilt is made nearly entirely of blocks with bias fabric. I got a chuckle at reading the last section of instructions regarding wavey borders (or edges). I think it would have helped if not only recommending the measurement from the center but also using starch throughout the entire quilt as you construct. Though many of the blocks look pretty basic, this was not a beginner quilt at all.


My wheat was a little "off", but it measured 3" unfinished. (it's also clipped on one edge for the photo, so it's pulling a bit, but you can see in the wheat stalk center that it's a bit off).

The top is so large now that I have to clip it up sideways on my wall for a picture.  I am going to have to check my yardage stash and see what I have to work with for a backing.  I'm overall pleased, and I am just about out of all the fabrics that I purchased for it.  This was an expensive quilt for the way I bought fabrics and bits for it :)

Fixed....

Not one who can leave things alone... or, after much thought...
Before:


After:


I decided that I needed to attempt to turn the Mariner's compass so it was going the right way.  I very carefully ripped out the center and then realigned where the seams needed to be.  The block is starched enough it could probably stand on its own :)  But it's together.  Not perfect, but it's turned the correct way now.

As for the Seahawks "feathers"... Those will just be left.  Kevin called them "gun sights".  Sigh....

Progress on Evergreen State BOM

I am down to just needing one more block to have the majority of this top completed!  Yah!  There is another pieced border that is a part of the pattern, but because this top has so many bias pieces (I think nearly every block), I am going to skip that and just do some strips.   I am glad to see the light at the end of this quilt because I am out of some of the fabrics... I was searching through my scrap pile a couple of times to see if I had pieces that would work!


My poor Mariner's compass is turned so the wrong points are at the top (oh well), and the feather things next to it lost 1/4" in size because of trying to figure out a different solution than the instructions (again, oh well).

I think my two favorites are the ferry and coffee cup blocks. The windows in that ferry block are teeny!  The block itself is 12" finished, and the windows are probably 1/4" for the top and middle rows.

Pacific Fabrics 2015 BOM and Splendid Sampler

This week and today I have been getting my sewing mojo back again... sort of :)  At least it's more than the previous three weeks.  I don't think I posted updated blocks from the Pacific Fabrics BOM... I love the coffee cup.  If I did it again, I would change it a little but I really do like how it turned out.  Today I also finished up the apples in the top corner and started on the Mariner's compass.  That one has feathers or something (forget what they called them) that are along the side.  I am trying to figure out how to make them in a different way vs the way in the directions.  After putting the outside part on the mariner's compass on incorrectly, I decided to just put it aside for now and pick it back up again tomorrow.


My salmon row look more like swimming sharks :)  I'm ok with that.  If I had used fusible instead of needle turn, maybe the details would have been more crisp... but I really don't like quilting over fusible.  This hasn't always my preference, but after quilting through an older UFO with a lot of fused pieces, I decided I realllllly disliked it.

The long row on the left was fun to do.  There are the four panel pieces, but in between are "sound waves".  I have never tried to do curved piecing like that before, but I have seen it in patterns.  It was very easy to do and I will definitely incorporate that in other designs down the road.

My Splendid Sampler catch-up from this week:
25 and 26: These two were fun to do


27 and 28: I love how all these look together.  I had some issues lining up pieces for #28, but I really like the design and I plan to make a small quilt with various dress prints.


29: and today's finished Scrappy Happy Heart.  Quick and easy to finish.


So now I am all caught up with my Splendid Sampler blocks, including finishing the embroidery on the measuring tape one.  My plan is to work on the Evergreen State BOM and see if I can't get that into a top soon.  I need to get something off my design wall and I'm not ready to remove the sampler blocks just yet.

Here's to a new week!

Evergreen State BOM

Uffda.

This block nearly kicked me in the rear. It measures in total about 26"x16.5" (I think, trying to remember the height), and the bias seams are all over the place.  I had to add more of the sky fabric at the top (which should be hidden in the seam allowance).  Sigh.  Trimming up the mountains was not easy.

The one thing I liked that I didn't plan (and if I had, it would have never happened!) is that the texture of the fabrics make a rounded visual for the tulip rows.



This block (which is actually two different months put together) was one of the reasons that I really wanted to do this quilt. Now that this one is out of the way, maybe the rest will be a little easier? :) The ferry block may be challenging as well. The one thing that really disappointed me about this block was the waste left behind from the mountains. I am not really sure what to do with it (I guess I can make a few crumb blocks) but I think another method would have been more economical. The flash on my camera really emphasizes the grey... which had I known where it would end up, I wouldn't have used it. Looking at our mountains when they are out in their full glory do have flashes of greys and blues though, so I am ok with it overall. Because I didn't get in on the BOM when it started, I am pulling from my stash and using fabrics that came in a "boo boo" package... so it's a guess right now as to what to use. I did go back and buy some yardage pieces from Pacific Fabrics for fabrics that I know I will be needing more of (no purchase pledge was broken shortly after making it!)

I love seeing the blocks and panel pieces together


I tried to google and find if anyone has been blogging and creating this quilt, but I haven't been able to find any postings on it.  I only remember seeing one friend making this quilt, and from her I only saw the dragonfly block.  I'll have to check in and see how she is doing with it.

I think I am going to move on to the coffee cup block as my next one.

Splendid Sampler and Evergreen State

Time for some slow stitching.  I worked on my Splendid Sampler blocks this weekend: Friends Around the Square and Local Quilt Shop.  I'm pleased with how they both came out.  I cropped the quilt shop to a "finished" size because I like that look better with house-type blocks :)


Friends around the square turned out much better than what I expected.  I really wasn't sure how the fabrics would come together, but they did.


Nine together:


I am also working on Pacific Fabric's block of the month from last year.  I have some fabrics that went with the quilt, but I don't have all that I need so I will be pulling from my stash.  I was so happy to find that they are selling it now!  When I inquired last spring, all the spots were taken.  I went to the Quilters Anonymous show in Monroe, WA this past Friday and there it was in Pacific Fabric's booth!  Yahoo!


I finished the dragonfly block last night, and then I trimmed the panels to the needed size and added the borders to the large state panel.  Right now I am working on the mountain range that's behind the tulip field.  I was getting very confused on the various colors, but I think I have it now.  I am going to wait to sew tomorrow when my brain is fresh again.  The cutting for it is like bargello.  I have the three sections all prepped, but cutting should be interesting.


Poof.... that was what I had written yesterday afternoon!

And then in the middle of my blog post that I was writing, the power went out!  It was out for about 21 hours, not too bad but bad enough that our generator kept having issues and we went out and bought a new one this morning.  We will get whatever needs to be fixed on the old one and see if one of our friends would be interested in it.  But last night I did some hexagon sewing.  I have 1/3 of row three complete and all the grey pieces sewn together.


I really like my new camera! I had my headlamp on and no flash used. You can see the dog laying down by the lego quilt, and smudge of a head of the cat by my feet :) It was an exciting night, but it got cold! I'm glad we have our gas fireplace, but the heat just doesn't move around like with our new furnace.

Happy Monday!