Pink Curves Ahead

Well, it's in! Whoo hoo!
Actually it was in a week ago but I just didn't have time to drive out to the quilt shop to pick it up.   What is it that has me so excited?  My new ruler. 

Now I know it doesn't look like much but you can do so many things with it.  When you buy the ruler you get a free pattern and if you go to their website Jenny Pedigo and Helen Robinson have additional free patterns and about 28 others you can purchase or you can just play with the ruler and come up with your own.  There are also three videos that show how to use the ruler to create blocks on their blog www.sewkindofwonderful.blogspot.com.  The instruction is very easy to follow.  As suggested I  played with scrap fabric before beginning an actual project.  Here is my pink play with my new ruler. 

This is the oval cut.   I saw a quilt,  Beads on a String, made up something like this and played with a way of joining the blocks to create the look.  I'm not happy with the proportion but it might look different if I had a few more in a line.  These blocks are great if you want to make a modern looking quilt and I'm sure would look great done up scrappy.  They also demonstrate a crescent cut.  My free pattern is for a table runner using the crescent block. Here's one I made for practice.  I'll have to be more careful when trimming; I didn't mind the 1/4 inch carefully enough and the corners don't meet in the centre as they should.  They're close but not dead on.

 

I looked at the layout for the RSC blocks and I figured I would need the same number of pink and blue 2.5" squares and background squares for the alternate blocks so got the blue and the pink put together.  (When I added the link below I noticed that Angela had the instructions for the pink alternate blocks posted.  I figured it right.)

 

 That's a wrap for pink for February.  Check in with Angela  to see what colour she has in store for March.

In the Pink of Things

It was my sister's birthday last week and I just had to share the cutest little flower arrangement she got for the dining room table.  It is just the right size so it doesn't obscure sight lines and conversation is easy around the table.  The arrangement is now five days old but still looks great.  Oops I meant to move that African violet out of the way before the photo was taken.

Now on to quilty things.  This year I've been making Boxy Stars (posted last week), the RSC blocks, and two string blocks. I'm using most of the bright pinks but a few pale ones got into the mix.

 

The first block Angela posted for pink was Marley.  I worked hard to get all the little points on the triangles in properly. It's not quite perfect but close enough.  Next up was Lady of the Lake. 

I pulled all the strings from among the pink scraps and put together the first string block. 

I love the bits of animal stripes in among the pink.

 

I made the next two blocks in blue last month after watching a Jenny Doan Missouri Company You Tube demonstration.  They are so much fun to make but a challenge to keep the bias edges in check on the outer edges of each block.  I think in March I'll really spray the initial blocks well before cutting. 

 

 

 

 

 

I think these blocks work best when all of the strips are the same width but working with scrappy strips didn't give me that luxury so the blocks are what they are and will make an interesting scrappy quilt in the end.   I just love the little kitten faces that crop up from time to time.

 

 

 

I'm linking up with soscrappy and checking to see what everyone else has been up to this past week.

 



 

Happy Valentine's Day

I lost a week in February some how.  I pulled the pinks and organized the blue scraps  but somehow didn't get any pink work done until this past week.  Temecula Quilt Company posted a mini Valentine quilt this week.  What a great way for me to get started on pink this month.

Pink kisses, red hugs and a little bit of chocolate.  Notice the little flowers in the binding - this little mini has it all!  It was a fun project to do and created just the right atmosphere when I hosted a group of fellow quilters on Friday morning. 

I also finished the boxy star block for the month.  I started making these last year and decided to continue in 2015 so I'd have 24 blocks for a good sized quilt.  I'm playing with the placement of the fabrics again this month.  There are only four pinks instead of the eight in last year's pink block. 

Don't you just love the hotness of the pink.  We sure need the warmth of the pink this month.  We set a new low temperature record on Friday, minus 28.9 Celsius, breaking the 1899 record.  Brr! It was chilly Friday morning.

The December pattern offered by my guild was for "One Stick at a Time" and I finally finished the flimsy.  It has a peachy pink in it so I thought I'd share the finish with you.



I'm hoping to have a little more time to quilt next week.  Marley and Bear Paw are first on my list, then some fun with strings.  Check in with soscrappy to see what others have finished this week.

Whine and Wine

Last month I wrote about being stuck in a quilting project and talked about a looming deadline.  That deadline is tomorrow and the project is finished with help from a friend. 
Mary sent me an email asking how the project was going and did I need help.  I didn't reply for a day or two thinking I'd get it done but the more I looked at it the more I realized I really didn't know where to go next with the project.  I had the bones but needed to add a little spark to it.  I didn't know how to do that.  We had a major snowstorm Sunday night and after digging out for the first time yesterday I called and asked Mary if she needed rescuing from writing silly emails.  She laughed knowing it was I who needed rescuing.  We agreed to meet after digging out the plough's dump at the end of the driveway. 
Did I tell you Mary is a good listener?  We sipped wine and she listened to me whine about the stupid project.  Then she asked to see this disaster.  (I had posted it in an earlier  post.)  Well she talked me down by pointing out all the good things - nice colour, good composition, good fabric choices and said so what's holding you back?  I had to admit I didn't know what to do to get the plants in.  I had snipped bits of green but didn't like that and had no idea what to do.  I needed help.   Mary dashed back home, returned with an embroidery hoop and showed me how she created foliage for her landscape quilts.  Well that was what I needed - so we finished the wine and I figured I was good to go.   After supper I sat down and created foliage, hinges, a latch and light and got things stitched into place.  Today I made the quilt envelope and I have a finished piece.   The deadline is met.  Whew!

The finished piece.  Ready to be incorporated into a group quilt for our upcoming quilt show.