One Piece at a Time

Happy Birthday to Me GIVE-AWAY

I’m turning 49 today. Ooops, did I say that? I meant 39.Wink Wink

Seriously, I have no problem with getting older. It beats the alternative.

To celebrate, I’m going to one of my favorite quilt shops. They have a birthday discount that is HALF your age. I’m going to pick up some fun stuff and make a goody bag for my very AWESOME blog readers. To enter the drawing, just post your funniest birthday memory in the comments section. Monday I will choose a winner with my handy dandy random number generator.

Here’s my funniest memory. When I was a student three separate sets of friends threw surprise birthday parties for me. It was really great. Every party had a cake… a CARROT Cake. Now I like carrot cake as much as the next guy and I was very grateful but I started wondering… is there something about me that just screams CARROT CAKE ? When I shared this with one of my friends he promptly went home and baked me another cake. When I got to his house his wife showed it to me. It was a HUGE GOOEY Chocolate cake. She told me that it just LOOKED like a chocolate cake but it was made of raw carrots. She was MESSING with me. It was chocolate.

So, have fun, tell me your stories and have a piece of cake for me

Some thoughts on Color

As I was working on my Block 2 I thought I would document a little of my process of deciding what colors to use. I have no formal art training and I mostly work from an intuitive point of view. What do I mean by that? Well, when I’m putting a project together I audition several fabrics and colors and when I see the right combination something inside me goes “Yep, that’s it”. I wish I could be more scientific than that but I can’t. Also, sometimes I think something works but it will bug me a little. If it continues to bug me I will change it. Here’s an example.

This was what I started with for Block 2.

The more I looked at it on the background the “flatter” it looked. So I tried this.

I liked that better so I made four of them.

I really liked this but it was still bugging me so I tried this.( I was also feeling the need for a little of this blue to go with my center block)

I liked it so I made all four.

Yep, I like that.

Here is the finished block.

Another important point is that NOTHING is set in stone until you are done with your quilt top. The order of the blocks might change. One block might really bug you because it’s too light or too dark or feels out of place. That’s OK. It’s your quilt and you are making to please yourself. My general rule of thumb is that if it bugs me I change it. I have learned to trust my gut on this and you can too. I know when it looks right because when I look at it, IT MAKES ME HAPPY.

Be sure to visit tomorrow for a GIVE-AWAY.

Florabunda Block 2: The Specifics

I'm back from taking my son on a high school trip. There were 2200 kids participating in a DECA (something to do with marketing and business) event at a fancy hotel in Colorado Springs. I almost never saw anyone over 18 years old. They were all dressed better than me as well. Luckily for me Colorado Springs has AWESOME quilt shops so I was good.

Here is a little tutorial to help us with Block 2.

First of all, Block 2 is full of points so we will all get some practice here.

When I make my point I first starch and press around the whole shape. Then I use my fingers to fold the point in like this.

Then I dab it with a little starch.

Then I press.

For more on this see “Appliqué Lessons” under “Categories” on the left.

After all my flower pieces are done I pre-assemble my flowers using Roxanne’s Glue Baste.

To avoid having a big glob of stems in the center I glue one stem on in one piece. The other stem I glue in halves. First lay out and glue both sides of the stem like this.

Then cut the stem so it just fits under the whole stem.

Tuck under and glue like this.

My last little tip for those of you using dark backgrounds is to use a light box or window to mark the pattern onto the background fabric. Use these traced lines to glue baste your shapes into place.

Hope that helps.

Why doesn't this happen at my grocery store ?

Probably because kids don't learn music anymore...don't get me started

For all you Moms, Aunts and Grandma's out there

Hi Everyone,

I'm away for the next few days on a school trip with my son. Look for a Tutorial specifically on Block 2 later this week.

Here is a sweet video by Katherine Center for your enjoyment

Hugs,

Erin

 

Parking in Boulder

For my second "Only in Boulder" post.

For those of you new to my blog, I sometimes post funny things about living in Boulder Colorado. You can check the "Only in Boulder" tab for these. I don't want to be mean or snotty or anything but I just LOVE irony.

Like this

Only in Boulder would you find a parking spot for alternative fuel vehicles...that's empty... that's surrounded by SUV's.

Oh My

My oldest now has a learner's permit...has had it for 2 weeks now...I can hardly talk about it

See the hand?

I can't really tell if that's a wave or my husband grabbing for the dashboard.

Florabunda Block 2

As promised here is Florabunda Block 2.The pattern has two formats. The first is a full size pattern (12” square you can download here) that you can save to a USB drive and take to a copy place to have printed. The other is a ¼ size drawing (download here) that should print on a regular printer. You can make 4 copies of this one and tape it together for a full size pattern.

For all you who like to share pictures you can join our FLICKR group at

http://www.flickr.com/groups/florabuddies

Have Fun and

Happy Friday

Ooops...I almost forgot, here is Block 2 in the other color way

How I Started Quilting and My Life Right Now

Last week when I did my 100^th Blog Post Give-Away I asked you guys to share how you started quilting. Boy were those comments fun to read. So, in keeping with this “assignment” I thought I would share with you how I started this crazy habit (oops I meant hobby) of mine.

Back in 1988 my husband and I were students and living in a small town. Everyday I either rode my bike or drove past this little tiny house that had been converted to a quilt shop. I was fascinated but too intimidated to go in. I had managed to pick up a Quilt-in-a-Day book called “A Trio of Treasured Quilts” which completely fascinated me. I finally got enough nerve up to go into the store and buy enough fabric to make one block. I was a student so money was a little scarce. Well, I was hooked. I ended up making a whole quilt using that same block. I then proceeded to make a baby quilt for my niece. I ended up making that same baby quilt five more times as friends started having babies. I have never looked back and I still LOVE doing this. Thank you all for sharing this part of the journey with me.

Now, here is a glimpse of what I’m doing today. This is what my sewing room looks like at the moment as I get Florabunda Block 2 ready (as well as some other things)

recognize these?

It's a petal party

Look for Block 2 tomorrow.

Feathered Star Lesson 6: Bias Strip Piecing

One really great way to piece all your feathers for this block is what Marsha McCloskey calls Bias Strip Piecing. This is a very handy because you press all the seams open before you cut your feathers so there are no burnt fingers. Her ruler is very handy as well. You can find it here.

To make the feathers for the 18 ½” feathered star you will need to cut two 13 ½” square of fabric. Cut one from your feather fabric and one from your background fabric. Place these squares on top of each other right sides together as shown.

Using a rotary cutter and long ruler cut along the diagonal of both squares. From this cut measure and cut strips 2” wide in both directions as shown.

These strips are then sewn together along the long side of the cut as shown.

The seams are pressed open.

Sew the strips together as shown, pressing the seams open as you go. Start by sewing the long strip sets together, then the medium and then the short.

To cut the feathers turn the strips right side up. Line the ruler up with the diagonal line as shown and cut out a 1 ½” x 1 ½” square.

To trim the other side, turn feather around and cut as shown.

Cut all the points along the lower edge. After you have cut off the bottom row of feathers you can cut the next row as shown.

Trim these as shown.

When you are done you will have all the feathers you need, already pressed. Hopefully no BURNT FINGERS.

Note: when cutting the bias strips you will end up with two corners. Sew along the diagonal of these squares and press the seams open. These can be cut in a similar fashion to make more feathers if needed.