Lucky Stars BOM progress...

Yeah me! I've kept on top of my Lucky Stars BOM patterns and the June block is done!

One of my problems with these year long projects is that I'm so flighty when it comes to color and fabric choices. I can't even remember the palette I started with ~ I've been foolishly adding and subtracting as I go.

So I thought it might be a good idea to look at my first six blocks together and see how things are developing. Goodness, the purply-pink was supposed to be an accent color and the green has almost disappeared. I've been pretty consistent with the navy ~ that's good. Looks like we need a bit more of that yellowy-green.

Stay tuned to see what happens next month!



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Triangles and Geese and Swans...

July is my month in the Redbird Bee! This year we're focusing on different techniques and mine is triangles. I wanted to do Flying Geese and when I saw this quilt from QuiltCon on my friend Casey's blog, I knew I had it! And the challenge of figuring out *how* to put it together ~ well, that's right up my alley!

You can see the quilt on Flickr here.

The quilt was designed and made by Lotje who blogs here, with more details on the quilt and a link to instructions here.

So I went about trying to find an easy way to re-create the design. I'm sharing my method here for the Bee gals and for any of you who might want to try it!

This is the block they're making...

I have all the pieces cut and we're using the rectangle and folded square method of making the Flying Geese. They're are lots of ways to make Flying Geese and I think this is one of the easiest. There's a great tutorial of this method and 3 other ways to sew Flying Geese on this post of Martingale's blog.

For this block, you'll make a total of 10 Flying Geese (mine are 2 1/2" x 5" finished). Sew six of them together in 3 rows of two and sew the rows together for half of the block.

To make the Flying Geese that look like they're sitting behind a big one, sew a rectangle that's the same size as the Flying Goose (in this case 3" x 5 1/2") along the long edge of the triangle. Press the seam open.

Place this unit on a 5 1/2" x 10 1/2" rectangle with the point of the goose facing to the center. Draw a line from corner to corner. Sew on the line, flip, press and trim.

Here's the result...

Repeat with a second Flying Goose/Rectangle unit on the opposite side. Again make sure the goose is pointing in to the center.

Sew the 2 remaining Flying Geese together and add them along the top to complete the second half of the block. Sew the two halves together.

 I'll be making some additional blocks with the small triangles (lower right) to add to the final quilt. Mine will have 35 blocks and finish at 50" x 52 1/2".

I'm hoping it turns out as pretty as Lotje's!!!

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Ohio Star blocks...

My house has gone quiet. After four weeks of visitors big and small, my husband and I are appreciating  the quiet. But we sure do miss the patter-patter of little feet, the "hey, Nana"s, and the expressions of unconditional love.

I Love You Nana A Lot (with 100s of smiles and zero frowns)

Seems the perfect time to start a new project. My St Louis Modern Quilt Guild has issued this years' challenge ~ make a modern quilt using the traditional block Ohio Star.

I came up with a plan, pulled out my collection of Washi fabric and started cutting triangles.

So here's a start ~ one cute little 6" Ohio Star block...

And another...

I'm up to eight out of the seventeen that I need. Oh, and lots of other blocks too!

You won't see the rest of this one until the final reveal in September. Hope it turns out as well as it looks in my head!

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Tsuru Sampler

First up, if you're in a Reader, take a moment and click on over to the blog. I've got a new design and I'd love to know what you think! Thanks to Beth Bradford for not only coming up with a design that really fits my style, but doing all the technical work to make it appear!

I'm excited to now have links to all my social media sites. With a click you'll find me on Flickr, Instagram, and Pinterest. Google Reader is disappearing soon, so you'll also find a link to my feed on Bloglovin'. And finally a quick link to email me!

Next up, I'm excited to share my Tsuru Sampler. My very first quilt was a sampler and I always think of them as a good learning quilt. This one was no exception. Having signed up for the Quilt Design tool on Threadbias and needing a project to play around with and learn the program, I started designing several different blocks. Tsuru was sitting on my cutting table at the time and I just started playing - stitching up each block as I drew.

I had fun sewing up some blocks I had never tried before...

And challenged by some of the graphic prints in the line...

This turned out to be one of my favorite blocks...

Perfect block for this sampler ~ Birds in the Air...

And I love how these cross blocks sneak into the border...

I even tried some custom quilting designs that were definitely new to me!

One of the things I love about quilting is that there's always something new to try and something different to learn! Well, that and all the gorgeous fabric :)

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Steam Punk Quilt and some updates!

So June is turning out to be a crazy, fun, busy month. Both my kids are in the process of moving this month. My son is off to a great new job in Toledo, Ohio. Can any of you Buckeyes recommend some quilt shops to see when we go and visit?

And we're enjoying hanging with this guy and his 2 sisters for the next few weeks until their new house in the DC area is ready.

My husband asked me a few weeks ago if I knew what Steampunk was. My answer was - yes, it's the name of the quilt I'm working on. "No" - he says. It's a genre, culture, style. I had no clue, so I started doing a little online research and found out the quilt pattern definitely fits the name!

My quilt is a bit less "Steampunky", but I finished the top this week and couldn't be happier with it!

I used a lot of my favorite "funky" fabrics, very few florals and a lot of geometric patterns. The sashing is Moda Bella Zen Gray and the setting triangles are a piece from "Washi", Rashida Coleman Hale's earlier line.

I thought of showing you some close-ups of my favorite blocks, but there are too many! Here are a few...

The pattern suggested a rogue block (using different fabrics for the blades and/or backgrounds). This is about as rogue as I get :)

Some Geekly Chic...

Some Glimma...

More Geekly Chic...

I also got my May Redbird Bee block completed. Linda chose this adorable appliqué design and gave us free reign as to the placement of the bird and leaves.

And finally, we Redbirds stick together. Last Friday night tornados ripped through the St Louis area. My friend and Bee buddy, Kyndra had some major damage to her home. Luckily she and her family were not injured, but her house is uninhabitable. She did save her sewing machine and fabric though! She blogs at Sewlio and has been working on her first pattern designs. She used my Sunburst pattern as inspiration for this quilt and took it in a whole new direction! I know she'd appreciate an encouraging comment from some fellow quilters!

And finally, if you've clicked over from your reader, you may have noticed that my header has disappeared. I'm not really sure why that happened, but I have Beth Bradford working on a whole new design for me! Stay tuned!!

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