Block Drive

Hey All! I'm popping in real quick to share with you some blocks I made for a block drive that is going on right now. Leanne at Devoted Quilter put out the call, and she requested a super simple block to make scrappy quilts of yum for a group of seniors displaced from their home by a massive fire. Thankfully, all twenty-one residents were evacuated without problem, but they've lost everything. Leanne thought it would be a super sweet to make a quilt for each person, which is a totally awesome and totally MASSIVE undertaking, and I give her mad props for making it happen.

At this point, she has received enough offers for blocks--woohoo!--but she could still use some batting and backing donations if you're feeling like you'd like to help too.

I hope y'all have the most lovely Monday! I'm hoping to cut into some yummy fabric this afternoon, but we'll see if I can make that happen!

Knit Geranium Dress

It is spring here. What this means is that I am spending every available moment outside with my kiddos because I remember last summer and how evil the humidity and heat were, and I want to soak up all of the lovely 65 degree weather while it's around. Family walk on a slightly breezy, overcast day? Yes, please!

I did take a break from outdoors-ing to sew up this Geranium Dress, pattern from Made by Rae. I love this pattern oh-so much, and I knew I wanted to sew up a version for my friend's daughter, my baby BFF. (YES, she is five now, but she'll always be my baby BFF.) But when chatting with my friend about fabric options, we settled on the fact that a knit dress would be way more practical than a woven dress. I was sad because I really wanted to sew up another Geranium, and then, the idea struck. Just how difficult would it be to sew up a version in knits? Could it be done? (Apparel sewists, forgive my ignorance. I am still quite a newbie when it comes to this stuff!)

A quick google search revealed it could be done and better yet, HAD been done. Thank you, Monica of Adirondack Inspired! You gave me the confidence to get this one done. Of course, I could only remember that I had seen a post where it had been done and not the specific details of what that dress entailed. It wasn't until I wrote this blog post that I thought to try and find that post again!

I followed the Geranium pattern and did line the bodice of mine, choosing to finish it off with snaps. Next time, I'll most likely follow Monica's example and neglect the back opening. (Because yes, you better believe there will be a next time!)

This is my first finish from my Q2 FAL list, but I am so excited about it. I went with a super short (for me) list, and knowing that I'm 25% of the way there is really thrilling!

I hope y'all are having a most lovely weekend!

Q2 2017 FAL List

I managed to finish five items from my Q1 list, but all the same, there's still much to be done. (But isn't that always the way it is? And secretly, I LOVE it!)

1. Quilt for Baby P
DONE
I started with a pattern from Quilt with Tula and Angela, but it made a left turn and went off in its own direction. I'm cool with it. Need to build on this center and finish off this quilt pronto.

2. Dress for E
DONE

Geranium Dress pattern - pulled fabric; I'm going to be attempting a knit version.

3. Dress for ME
DONE

I'll be attending a handful of events this summer/fall, and I'd like a new dress for them! I'm using the Felicity Dress pattern with a C+S cotton lawn.

4. 241 Tote for Kim
DONE
I'll be making a canvas version of the 241 tote in C+S' Tokyo Train Ride.

Friends,  I usually make a ridiculously long list and enjoy it! But this time, I think I'm going to try something new and go with a really short list! I really need to finish all four of these items this quarter, so I better get to it!

And I'm linking up! Join me?

Stripey Stripe Block Tutorial

Hello Glitterati Royalty! Thanks for joining me for this next stop on the Honey Pot Bee Tour. I'm so excited to share my block with you--the Stripey Stripe Block.

If we haven't met before, my name is Audrey, and I've been quilting for about five years. I'm a homeschooling mama of four kiddos, including a four-month-old baby. As you can probably guess, I am totally in love with hot pink! Because of the aforementioned four kidlets, posting around these parts has been sparse of late, but I'm on instagram a whole bunch!

On to the tutorial!

Materials

Fabric A (3) 1.75" x 16" strips

Fabric B (3) 1.75" x 16" strips

Makes (1) 10.5" block.

Step 1
Sew your A and B strips together to form AB pairs.

Step 2
Sew the three AB strips into one panel. This will measure 8" x 16".

I don't use a lot of starch in my sewing adventures, but in this case, I starched my finished panel before moving on to step 3. We're about to slice and dice it and sew up some bias edges, and I found the starch kept everything crisp and neat.

Step 3
Using a rotary cutter, cut the 8" x 16" panel in half to form (2) 8" blocks.

I'm not gonna lie, at this point in the process, I considered just stopping here as I think these blocks are super fun on their own. But this tutorial would've lacked some serious spice, so I pressed on.

Step 4
Take an 8" block and cut a diagonal line down the center. You can use your ruler and rotary cutter and line it up yourself, or you can line up the corners of your block on the oblique line on your cutting mat and use that as your guide.

This will net you two triangles. Repeat with the other block, but make sure to cut them in the same fashion! In the end, you'll have four triangles.

Step 5
Flip your triangles around until your block takes shape, then sew it up! Each 8" block from step 3 will give you a triangle with a long fabric A strip and a long fabric B strip, so be sure to sew them up alternating A and B.

Step 6
Trim to 10.5".

Other Stripey Stripe Versions

Now, there are probably a kajillion ways you could customize this block and call it your own if the style above doesn't suit. My first rendition of this block was a scrappy explosion of color using leftover strips from my Gypsy Wife quilt. Those 1.5" strips were perfect for this.

I sewed and sewed until I had a scrappy panel, then followed the above steps. I found the use of starch particularly helpful with this version.

Some other options would be to use bigger or smaller strips, strips of different sizes, more or less strips. You could use three or six different colored strips. Go wild! Just remember that the width of your block needs to measure half of the length of your block.

That's it! I can't wait to see what y'all crazy talented people come up with!