Craftsy Block of the Month

I'm doing the Craftsy Block of the Month. I was trying to get this logo on my sidebar, but as you can see, I haven't figured out exactly how to do that yet. So, until I figure it out, it will stay in this post, I guess. (It also seems to be changing my font, but I can live with that!)

These are the January blocks. The first one is the Asterisk Block and the second one is the Wonky Pound Sign Block.

The idea is that all the blocks for the year will fit together to make a scrappy modern sampler quilt. I wasn't so sure that I liked the idea of a scrappy sampler quilt, so I have decided I will do each of the monthly blocks in a combination of colors that I like and turn them into smaller quilts that I can use to practice some free motion quilting with.

The Wonky Pound Sign was supposed to have narrower strips, but I made them the same 2 inch (1 1/2 inch finished) size as the Asterisk, just because I thought they looked better a little wider. Since this is my interpretation of the Craftsy Block of the Month, I will feel free to modify wherever I want.

Now, I did enjoy making the Asterisk Block, so I made it in all the color combinations below. I will put this together into a single quilt that I can practice my free motion quilting on. I'm not sure if this will be the layout, but it will be something similar and I am thinking of putting 1 inch sashing between the blocks, likely in black.

I was feeling pretty good about my progress on this, as I am a master of unfinished projects. However, I just checked the calendar page and it is already January 29th. Yikes! In three more days the tutorial will be posted for the February blocks!

I made a preemie quilt!

After our quilt guild meeting today we had a work party to make community quilts.

Kits were provided for us to make "preemie quilts." These little quilts, measuring about 2 feet by 2 1/2 feet, go home with the baby after he/she "graduates" from their stay in the hospital.

The kit I chose seemed to be boy-oriented with sports balls and the blue backing. I went with just a random "scrappy" layout and didn't realize until I was working on the final row that I was a block short. I found a piece of fabric similar to the yellow... it's got a little more brown in it. Can you see it?

It's at the lower bottom corner. I guess because the printed fabrics are so busy, the mis-matched fabric doesn't draw the eye. The fabrics are all flannels, so it is a cozy little blanket.

It was a perfect little project for the time we spent there. It's nice when you can complete a project in one sitting, and it's nice to not have to remember to get it done before the next meeting!

We have a dedicated group of volunteers who store, sort and cut the fabric and put them together into kits. Who could resist making something like this now and then?

Bombs in the Hood!

Our nice quiet neighborhood has been bombed!!! Yarn bombed, that is... or yarn stormed, if you prefer.

No, I was not the perp. I suspect it was crafty Barb, but I will have to wait until I see her again to get the full story.

I think they are quite lovely, though.

Here are some photos of the trees and some close ups of each so you can see the detail.

Though I love the turquoise color scheme of the first example, I must say that I am quite taken by the creative use of granny squares in this second example.
And I'm thinking that the gold, orange and avocado yarn looks real familiar. I may have used some like that in an afghan in the 70's.

I must say it's rather interesting to see a bit of color in the trees this time of year. Maybe the two in my front yard need some bombing!

The Endless Knot

Here is the quilt that I am submitting to the Asheville School Quilt Show, "Threads that Hold Communities Together." It measures 36 inches square and it is shown lying on my living room floor here, not hung on a wall. So the beige berber is my carpet, not part of the quilt!

As I understand it, a teacher at Asheville School, which is a local private school, is sharing her interest in quilting with her teen aged students. I guess I was taken by the concept that likely she is not only imparting some quilting skills, but is also guiding her students to stage an exhibit and to evaluate quilted entries based on the theme of the show. It just seemed like something a career educator should support.

I found the theme a little vague. This seems to commonly be the case. So I did a little "googling" about community and community images and didn't come up with a whole lot. Somewhere in this internet wandering I came across the endless or eternal knot. It looks Celtic to me, but actually it's a traditional Tibetan Buddhist symbol that can be interpreted in a variety of ways. One of the interpretations mentioned "interdependence," which is a wonderful word that to me is the essence of community. The knot retains it's integrity because each piece is in the proper place.

I think that it really should be displayed "on point," like the picture below:
But I needed to attach a sleeve on one side so that it could be displayed for the show. The quilt itself was foundation paper pieced, however I ended up doing that all wrong, backwards actually. So it is far from perfect, but I am happy with the overall result. It was a learning experience!

Here is a detail of one of the corners. I hoped the quilting would show up, but it really doesn't. I think you can see the fabrics better though.

The show runs from January 19th through March 2nd in the Art Gallery of Asheville School. I hope this venture is a success.

Quilts on display could be offered for sale, but I think that my daughter Nora may like to have this quilt, so I am not going to attempt to sell it. :-)