Citrine as Color Inspiration
When I saw this illustration on Design Sponge, my first thought was that it would make an interesting quilt block … then I noticed that the colors are the same as those we are using for our Bead-on-a-String Blocks this month (minus the black and white).
(The yellow-orange-maroon combination works pretty well with cream/tan, too, doesn’t it?)
Heart Blocks
Here is a quilt top that I finally got around to making with the heart blocks I won years ago! I can’t wait to get it on the long arm and do some free motion quilting!
I have a few hearts left over and I am not sure if they will go on the back or into a baby quilt. At least one of them will serve as my label, I think. If you recognize your block, I would love to hear from you. I wish I had thought to have you all sign them before you sent them. I think that should be one of the options for the winners to decide on-if they want them signed or not.
I will probably be watching the Olympics tonight rather than loading a quilt though! I do have lots of binding work ready for hand stitching while I watch though.
Thanks,
Andra
More Tips for Making this Month’s Bead Block
Have you noticed all the great tips everyone has shared in their process of making the Bead-on-a-String block? I thought I’d pull them together in this post for anyone who is looking for more information (and visual aids) for making this block.
Andrew shared a link to a very detailed YouTube video which walks through the appliqué method that I call faced appliqué, How to Do Almost Invisible Appliqué by Machine. You might want to make yourself a coffee or cup of tea before you begin, it’s almost 21 minutes, but chock full of good information.
You can find an abbreviated summary of the technique on my blog, here: Faced Machine Appliqué. I used a fusible (on one side only) interfacing so that once the appliqué was prepared, it could be fused into place on the background fabric.
Ellen linked to a post on her bog where she showed how she uses glue stick to hold the prepared appliqué in place on the background.
Blog post on Perfect Circles
Dena hasn’t posted her blocks here yet, but I noticed that she shared a video and photos of how she prepared the circle for appliqué using kitchen foil and no running stitches on her Living Water Quilter tumblr yesterday.
See her WIP Block Lotto Bead Block entry to see How to Make Perfect Circle Appliqué Circles with Karen Fielke and how it worked for Dena.
When I went looking for an image to share, I realized I used to own one of these … I’m so glad I forgot to ask about it when I was in a quilt shop on Monday. I am not sure where mine is, but, I will likely hunt it down and try a few this way.
Jude’s post reminded me of another technique for piecing circular and other shapes and Dale Fleming’s 6-minute Circle.
Last night I made three more blocks using her method, for which you make a template from two sheets of freezer paper ironed together and glue stick.
Here’s the book I used and the template I made–it’s an 8 inch square with 5 inch circle hole in center–to make three more Bead-on-a-String blocks using the 6-Minute Circle technique to piece the circles into the background.
If you google Dale Fleming 6-Minute Circle you’ll find links to Dale Fleming demonstrating her technique on Simply Quilts (on HGTV site) and a longer version (with other shapes and examples) from her on The Quilt Show (if you are a member) and lots of bloggers blogging tutorials about the technique.
Clicking the book image will take you there.
If you shared a tip for making our bead block and I didn’t include it, let me know and I’ll update this post.
Camera malfunction
I made 6 more Feb. blocks but my camera isn’t talking to the computer this evening. Worked fine this afternoon. I’ll post pictures when I get it figured out.
Tic-Tac-Toe Giveaway
In the way that one thing can lead to another, Kristin was inspired by the giveaway of Elizabeth’s hand dyed fabrics to offer up something for another giveaway on the Block Lotto.
In January 2010 we made 280 Tic-Tac-Toe Blocks. Kristin won 40 blocks and is offering them for the giveaway.
Here’s how you can earn chances to win.
Earn ONE chance by leaving a comment telling us what you would do with these blocks if you won.
Kristin started adding white sashing to these blocks, but if you win, you don’t have to follow her plan. For inspiration, check out these: Tic-Tac-Toe quilts in the gallery–most of these were made with lotto blocks, but a couple were made from blocks made by the quilt maker for their quilts:
Julie W’s Finished Lotto Quilt
Krista’s Tic-Tac-Toe Quilts (2 more)
Andra’s Quilt for her son (cute pic!)
Andra’s Pink and Blue Baby quilt
If I missed your quilt or any of these are attributed to the wrong quilter, please let me know. (They were some of the auto-imported posts when we moved to this domain/site.)
Earn TWO chances by joining the linky party this month
This month, I am asking you to Blog About Color and add the link to your blog post.
Earn TWO chances by entering blocks in this month’s Block Lotto.
Last, you can earn two more chance by making and entering this month’s Bead-on-a-String block
The Giveaway is open until Friday, February 14 at midnight (in Santa Fe–Mountain Time zone).
Julie P. is famous!
Julie Post of Titonka, IA had a quilt, Captain A-Moo-rica, in the AQS Phoenix show as part of a cow quilt exhibit. Jean-Sophie & I saw this quilt at the IQA Houston show and it’s grand & funny & moo-velous! You can see see it on page 18 of American Quilter magazine from the American Quilters Society. It’s the March 2014 issue and just arrived today. Moo-ray for Julie!
work in progress – love birds mini quilt
The Dallas quilt guild will be having its annual Quilt Show in early March, and we have a mini quilt auction to benefit a charity. This year it is the Children’s Craniofacial Foundation, which provides medical care and support for children and their families who were born with facial and head abnormalities.
I had some extra hearts left over from my “row” quilt, and everyone liked the tall birds, so I thought this would be a fun mini-quilt. I’m calling it “Love Birds.” (the flimsy is resting on a white pillow).
I need to decide what quilting to put in the white spaces (I will stitch in the ditch around all the hearts and birds. I’ve thought about some musical notes in some of the space or maybe some little hearts? I’d welcome suggestions.
Also I think the binding will be either the hot pink or the pink/aqua print that is on the bird on the left.
The size is about 17 x 22.
Maroon Fabric
Just wanted to let you all know that I have all the maroon fabric! I don’t know why. I don’t really remember using it but I seem to have many pieces. Never ask me for gold or anything like gold as I really don’t like it at all. Not for quilting or anything else.
Setting Idea for Bead Blocks
It always happens. I think I’ve created some new block … and then I see it in a quilt on someone’s blog. And that happened recently with the Bead on the String … though I did’t save it and am having problems finding it again … I’ll keep looking.
The good news is those are happy coincidences because they usual lead to some new idea about how to use the blocks in a quilt design.
Our block is similar–though constructed in a completely different way–to one in Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr’s book, The Modern Quilt Workshop, which they call Love Bead. Look closely and you can see that in their quilt, the bead blocks (with no string) are alternated with string blocks.
This illustration from their book shows different color options and how the bead blocks could be used in a quilt design with lots of negative space.
