What?!

Last fall Electric Quilt organized a design challenge in conjunction with AccuCut, Martingale Publishing and Nine Patch Media.  The challenge was to design a Rose of Sharon block in the EQ software using the AccuCut shapes: a simple rose shape in 8 sizes, a simple leaf shape in 8 sizes and a small palette of batik fabrics.  I submitted a dozen designs, all non-traditional.  It was fun coming up with the designs but I hit "send" and forgot about it.

At Spring Market they displayed the six winning designs made up into a beautiful quilt.  The grand prize was an embroidery software package, but since I don't have an embroidery machine I wasn't having prize envy.

I have received an email from Sharon Pederson, who is writing a book for Martingale and doing a DVD for Nine Patch Media about this challenge.  One or more of my blocks are being included in her book and the DVD.  She only had room for 84 blocks in the book.  There were 850 entries.  I am speechless!

I will be interested to see the book when it is released in August.  At this point I can only guess which block made it in, but I hope it was "Sharon's in Love."  It was my favorite.

Rainy Day ~ Revised

After looking at the "Rainy Day" block on my design wall for the last two days, I have decided that the strong circle design fabric is too overpowering for the umbrella design.  I have sewn the block again, using a solid pink and I think I like it better.

The pink patches will show up as pinwheels more than the circles did, and I think the pink solid is not as distracting.

I love the circle design in the first block (left) but when I stand back and look at it from five or six feet away, the umbrellas disappear and all I see are the circles.  The block on the left would look great if I put the pink solid in place of the umbrellas, but I want the umbrellas!

I have to admit that I frequently get "frozen" at this point in the design game.  What if I am making the wrong decision?  What if I spend hours and hours making the blocks with the solid pink and I end up with something I don't like?  Aggghh!  Maybe I should put them aside and make something else!  I defeat myself before I even get started.  Well, today I am making the decision to forge ahead with the pink solid.  But I really, really like the circles.....oh, dear.

Japanese Cottons

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are on a four-month sabbatical in Sendai, Japan. My brother-in-law is a professor at Texas A&M and is collaborating with some colleagues on a special project there. My sister-in-law knows I love to quilt and offered to do a little shopping for me. I asked for some cottons and told her to pick some that she really liked. In the mail came these:

A fun selvage for the person in my round robin bee who wants selvages in her block ;)

The cutting slip from the Daiei Department Store in Sendai.

I have never seen a fabric quite like this.  My sister-in-law said it is very traditional Japanese cotton.  It is slightly heavier than a good grade quilt shop fabric, but it is very soft.  It is cotton, but it has a nubby texture like raw silk.  The colors are bright but in a subtle way.  Lovely.  Good job, Kate!

Now the pressure is on to find a pattern to showcase these beautiful prints.

  (Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I am making it for Kate).

Rainy Day Block

It is a cold, rainy day today so this has been an appropriate project!  I have been thinking about a block pattern that I can use for my cute umbrella fabric and I have come up with this modified pin wheel block.  It will make a nice secondary design when it is sewn together on point.  I think the circles may be a little too much visual weight.  I might try a soft pink solid the color of the background in the umbrellas and then use the circles in the border.  Hmmmm....what do you think?

Block Seven ~ Do Over!

After looking at the block I made yesterday for the Jelly Roll sampler, I decided I didn't like it.  It doesn't have enough contrast so....do over!  This is better.  It will look much nicer with the other blocks and has a little more personality.  I will save the other one and sew it into the back of the quilt. 

Block Seven ~ Quilt Along

This is block seven for the Moose on the Porch Quilt Along.  I am not sure I like the light squares in the center, but since this quilt is for my daughter and it's all about the shoes, I wanted to put the stilettos in.  I may make another one using the four square with a darker fabric, just in case this one is too light when I ultimately put the quilt together.  I am using 2 1/2 inch precut strips so I had a hard time fussy cutting the shoes.  I almost cut off the toes on the two on the right, but I don't think she will mind.  Can't let perfectionism get in the way of the fun!

Rainy Days

Yesterday I stopped in to my local quilt shop to look at some Superior Thread after reading a number of comments about it on our flickr group for the Journey Quilting Bee. While I was there, I saw this adorable new fabric. It is called Rainy Days and Monday by Riley Blake Designs.

I love the umbrella fabric.

It said, "Take me home!  Take me home!"  So, I did.  That is one reason I have to stay out of pet shops and animal shelters.  Or zoos, for that matter.  On more than one occasion I have come home with something unexpected.  At least this doesn't eat, doesn't need to be groomed or demands to be walked.  The print is so lively and modern.  It makes me smile just looking at it.  Now time to think of a pattern to use it in!