BH3 - Pennies From Heaven block

Edit: The true name of the block is Lucky Penny; it's # 23 of the 52 to be released.

One of the knocks against quilting is that we basically do a really ridiculous thing - we cut fabric into itty, bitty pieces, and then sew them back together again.

We really take it to an entirely new level of ridiculousness when we end up with small blocks. The block I just finished is a case in point.

This particular block calls for 64 of these small squares, and for my 6.5" block, they were to be cut at 7/8ths of an inch. Yeah. Sixty-four squares cut less than an inch. Is there any wonder why I dragged my feet on making this block?? I wish I'd thought to lay a dime down in this picture to show the true size of these squares; trust me, they are 7/8ths inch blocks. And I used 64 of them! *aacckkk*

So, each colored square is cut at 2" and the tiny neutral pieces were applied to each corner. I had an audio book going, took my time, and pinned to get as much lined up as possible. I am satisfied with this, even though some points miss their marks; no biggie.

This one 6.5-inch block has 80 pieces of fabric sewn together. Boggles one's mind, honestly. But I still love doing it. *grin*

And just like that, I now have 11 blocks done. Still a long way to go, but I don't have any super-pressing projects on the horizon, so I will try to stay on these steadily. I might just get 'em all caught up one of these days.

Hope you are having a fantastic Tuesday!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Returning To BH3

If you know what BH3 is in the title, then you may be gasping in disbelief. I am actually getting back into making the blocks for this online sew-along.

Block Heads 3 (BH3) is the sew-along sponsored by the fabric company Moda, and includes many of their top fabric designers. This is the third one they've done, and each is bigger that the last. This one will go on for 52 weeks, one block released each week.

The end result will be enough blocks for a sampler quilt (samplers have many different blocks rather than a few repeated blocks). When the new week's block is released, sewists will be given directions in varying sizes - 4", 6", 8", 12"  - and participants are free to make the blocks in their desired sizes.

Out of the 28 weeks of pattern releases, I have made 9 blocks, all in the 6" size. Clicking back here and here will fill in some gaps on my efforts in the early weeks of the sew-along - details like fabrics and such.

Why did I take such a long hiatus from this project, you ask?

Well, I have a two-fold answer. First, I did not have nearly enough fabric in the original pack to make 52 blocks; I solved that problem by shopping for suitable additional fabrics to stretch the collection.

Second, the designers began releasing blocks that just were not my style. I have always preferred traditional blocks, and some of these were quite modern. My solution: skip the ones that I don't want to include, and make up for the "gap" by increasing to 12" blocks for a few blocks. This will probably work out fine.

I know that 28 weeks down the road when the final block is released, I will have a few notions on how to proceed. It's the process, after all.

So, up top you see the block for week 28 - Broken Dishes. I saw several of these shared on FB and IG, and OMG!! They were gorgeous! It is definitely a traditional block, and since my fabric has a nostalgic, historic feel, I knew it would be a pretty block.

So off I went to the sewing machine; in no time I had 'er done. A perfect marriage of pattern and fabric.

I then decided to go back and make one of the blocks I had skipped. Get myself on a roll, maybe?

I landed on Block 10, Windmills It was super-simple; I made it yesterday afternoon while Sharon was here sewing.

I thought for a very brief moment about re-cutting those plaid rectangles to get the lines straight, but look at the next photo and note that in the whole scheme of the blocks, that will be imperceptible. I'm not touching it. *wink*

Well, I guess I am back in the game. I can get myself caught up in no time.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Blockheads 3 totally rocked the Valentine's Day option for me with this week's block. I felt compelled to make the block in the 12" size, and use typical red/white-ish colors; here's what I ended up with.

It has been years since I last did foundation paper-piecing, so I did this as a refresher for the process. I admit to ripping out a few bits. It may become a pillow, or perhaps a mini quilt. I just don't rightly know what to do with it, but it was fun to make, and now I am ready to make the 6" block in the fabrics I'm using in the sew-along.

My sweetie and I are going for Mexican tonight (no surprise; we do that every Friday!), but we are bringing along our friends John and Dorothy. That will be fun. And we will play cards afterwards.

Hope all you Valentines have a great day!