Ohio Star Block Exchange

You've read here on many occasions about the incredible enjoyment I take in the group activities of the Frankfort Girls. In addition to our every other week meeting for coffee and stitching around the kitchen table, we often have additional sewing days, take occasional shopping trips and do fun block exchanges and sew-alongs.

We just completed a block exchange, perhaps our most ambitious one to date. We started with 9-patches, then advanced to Churn Dashes, and this time we did Ohio Stars. We try to keep the rules of the exchanges as simple as possible, naturally, and this time we had 3 basic guidelines: 1) dark background, neutral star; 2) 9-inch block; 3) generally reproduction-oriented fabrics.

I took my stack of blocks and spread them out on my cutting table to photograph the variety. They will make a gorgeous quilt, don't you think?

 

You may recall the post from a few weeks ago in which I detailed our gifting one finished Ohio Star quilt to Frankfort Girl Sharon. You can click back here. You'll also see her quilt. I plan to finish mine very similarly to hers. I think most of us are following suit. It's just so darn pretty in its straightforward simplicity.

I doubt I get to this before Christmas, and perhaps not even before the new year. If that's the case, you can be sure it will appear on the goals list for 2022.

Have a wonderful Monday! 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Our Scrappy Exchange

The Frankfort Girls did something fun a few weeks ago that I have been remiss in sharing with you all. We are a group that does enjoy our little projects; the type of quilting-related activity that is fun, and easy, and also useful. We have done UFO Challenges, Block Exchanges, Sew Alongs (we all make the same pattern), and such. This most recent project was an exchange of 2.5-inch scraps.

We came up with the idea back in the late summer, and decided on a date in October when we would all be together for exchanging. The only rule was to cut scraps into 2.5-inch squares, stuff a gallon-sized freezer bag with them and VOILA! Ready for exchanging!

Now you know I have been very focused on cutting scraps lately, so this appealed to be from the get-go. I had nearly enough 2.5-inch squares already cut and had plenty more scraps to add, if necessary.

Above are pictures of the bag I came home with. This neatly packed bag of goodness was Becky's contribution to the exchange. She is a lover of reproduction fabrics, so I know I have many wonderful gems in here!

Just after we had our exchange, I decided to make that pillow which I shared last week. It was the first project for which I used the exchange blocks, and that was hugely successful! Here's the pillow panel during construction.

 And here's a couple of shots of my selection process from from Becky's donation bag. Diving into her over-stuffed bag was akin to a kid on Christmas morning!

We will continue to come up with fun little projects for our group as we move forward. We are tossing around the possibility of devoting 2022 to working on UFOs again. We did that back in 2016 and 2017. Believe it or not, as caught up as I was then, I have accumulated more UFOs these last 4 years. How does that happen?

Do you sew/quilt with a group? I highly recommend it. We love each other dearly, and we keep ourselves fresh and engaged with these occasional special projects. They are never meant to be burdensome; rather they are meant to be fun. Opting out is always an option; it is never a "requirement." Here are a few links to previous fun extra activities our group has enjoyed. There have been more!

Churn Dash Block Exchange

Ohio Star Block Exchange

9-Patch Block Exchange 

Sampler Block Sew Along

Harvest Pumpkin Quilt Sew Along

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Ohio Star Block Exchange

 Finally! I finished off the Ohio Stars while I was away at a mini quilt retreat this week!!

To have something done so far in advance is so NOT like me, but gosh, it sure does feel good. I was not dreading making these, but for some reason I had created a daunting giant job in my mind. Tackling it seemed like climbing a mountain. 

But, just like I've told beginning quilters, break the job down into manageable steps and it seems so much less overwhelming. 

 

I had done all the cutting last week. I'd also drawn all my diagonal lines and matched up the lights and darks. Two or three steps done. 

Getting to retreat, I began sewing my hourglass units. And I sewed, and I sewed, and I sewed. I needed 42 stars and there are 4 hourglass units per star, so that adds up. Then they all needed to be trimmed. Time consuming, but made loads more enjoyable when surrounded by quilting friends who encourage and inspire.

Typical for me, I have a couple of stars constructed so that I can see how my finishes will look. The precariously stacked star parts are all cut apart and trimmed and ready to be pressed for the next step.

The photo above shows another stack - all the hourglass units are made and stacked with the correct center squares and corner squares. The next step: chain piecing. 

I am happy to report that most of my stars turned out great with points coming together as they should and final measurements consistently coming to 9.5 inches. Blocks that look a bit wonky will not be too noticeable, and I made a few extra stars just in case a block or two ends up being too poorly sewn to be exchanged.

By the final morning of our 3-day retreat, I was pressing my stars. I spent Monday making the hourglass units. Tuesday, I sewed the stars, and Wednesday, pressed them all. DONE. 

We Frankfort girls have done block exchanges for a couple of years, now. We started with 9-patch blocks. Then we did Churn Dash blocks. Now Ohio Stars. I believe everyone is ready for a break from block exchanges for awhile. We did agree to a different sort of exchange, though - scraps! I will share more on that another day.

Click here to see how I set together my exchange 9-patches. 

Click here to see how I set together my exchange Churn Dashes.

I do have an idea for my Ohio Stars, but I will save that until after we have exchanged, which is scheduled for our Christmas gathering.

Hope you are all keeping cool in this heat wave we are having here in the midwest. Gracious!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Ohio Star Block Exchange

We Frankfort Girls have had a lot of fun in the last year or two with block exchanges. Our current exchange is to make 9" Ohio Stars. We try to set as few rules as possible, but we did agree that the fabrics should be in the reproduction fabric range and the stars are to be neutral while the background is dark.

My first four blocks are done and I have 45 to go. Whee! I will be going into chain-piecing mode soon, but I just have to see a few blocks completed as I begin a project. It seems to be a requirement for me; I do it all the time.

These four blocks are dark navy and dark green; I believe the camera phone fails to accurately read the true colors. Our final quilts will be quite dark, most likely, but very pretty for sure.

The rest of my fabrics are pulled, stacked up and waiting in the wings. Part of the reason I didn't go straight to cutting all of it was for the purpose of avoiding unnecessary waste. I started by cutting two darks and two lights for the stars I have finished. You can see from the next picture that I cut way too many larger squares; I ran out of small squares for corner blocks. After some math to correct that (*scowling and frowning*), I will go into chain-piecing mode. 

I cut those first stars in rather a willy-nilly fashion, and have been left with way too many squares for making pieced parts and not enough squares for the corners. The large squares are 4.5" and they end up making the star points which are simply hourglass blocks. The small squares are 3.5" for the corners and center.

This excess will not go to waste. I will put them aside, proceed with cutting the rest of my fabric with numbers firmed up. All leftover parts will be mixed together and I will make stars with mismatched parts. I am confident they will play nicely with their more orderly neighbors. They might even add some spice to my eventual quilt.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

First Flimsy for 2021

 I have been missing in action so far this new year, so let's officially welcome in 2021, shall we?

So, I entered the new year dealing with a sinus infection that just would not stop. I feel as though I have totally lost the last week. We have been good quarantine-minders, and stayed away from everyone (sniff!). We found a 1000-piece puzzle to work on while watching various bowl games. We were happy to see our Buckeyes win on Friday night, and the Browns win on Sunday.

Even though I wasn't up to doing much sewing, I did have a bright idea somewhere along the line, and I had blocks ready to stitch when the sinus headache finally relented. The block exchange we did in the Frankfort Girls group resulted in this beauty being finished off yesterday.

I had the idea that I would use an easy HST block that resulted in a light/dark secondary design. I dug in the stash for a suitable HST combination and pulled the two ancient pieces you see above. I couldn't even begin to date those two pieces; they have been in the stash for a very long time. 

My resulting quilt top measures 68" square. I am undecided at the moment about adding borders. I will take a few days to decide. Here are some close-up shots of the flimsy.

The idea for this design came from some pictures I'd saved on Pinterest. I am glad I took the time to consider a variety of options because I am very pleased with how this turned out. It did require making a few extra churn dashes to complete the design. I also had to do some mathematics (!) to figure out the 8 setting squares where the light/dark design turned the corner. Totally worth it.

And just to document that we did it, here's the puzzle we worked; begun on New Year's Eve and finished on January 2.

 Happy Quilting, Friends!

I'm Still Making Churn Dash Blocks

Some of you regular readers will know that I have been making quite a lot of projects with churn dash blocks. Since back in late August/early September, my predominant block at the sewing machine has been this classic block.

This week, I have made the blocks needed for an exchange we Frankfort girls have planned for later this month. These blocks are made at 6.5 inches. With 7 in our group, everyone will bring 42 blocks, and we will walk away with 42 blocks made by all our friends. It will be fun to see all the variety we will bring to the exchange.

 

Just to be on the safe side, I have made about a dozen extra. Perhaps I will use them when I make the eventual quilt that will come from these blocks. And even though I've made so any of these blocks this fall, I am still loving them, so it hasn't been a chore to make a few extras.

To see the earlier churn dash blocks and quilts I have worked on this fall, click here. These have all been a joy to make and I do love the end results on each one.

Hope you are having a happy Sunday! It's on the chilly side, here, but we are gonna layer up and head off for a long walk on the bike path. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Cranking Out the Churn Dashes

For many, 2020 will forever be remembered as the year of coronavirus. I have one additional thing by which to remember the year: the year of the churn dash.

 Yes, I am still cranking out churn dash blocks like a crazy lady. This time, the measurement is 6.5" unfinished. And they are looking pretty darn cute, I must say. Have I ever met a churn dash I didn't like? I think not!

 The Frankfort Girls are doing an exchange of these blocks next month, so I need to make 42 of these little sweeties to contribute to the fun. I shared the fabrics I'd pulled a couple weeks ago. I'll rerun the picture here.

I spent a good portion of Tuesday cutting out all 42 blocks. I will begin chain-piecing this weekend, but I always seem to want to see what one will look like, so I make one (or 4!) all the way through to get a visual. I love how they look!

A year ago, we did a similar exchange using 9-patch blocks. That was loads of fun, and I am so eager to see the variety of finishes that we will come up with.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Block Exchange Update

Several months ago, the group I fondly refer to as The Frankfort Girls, agreed to do a block exchange project after seeing the book The 4" x 5" Block Anthology. Read about our swap here. Some of the girls have their blocks finished, so I decided that since all my commissions are caught up I should go ahead and finish mine while I have the time.

Listening to the others, I learned a few tricks and tips. Most importantly, several recommended that all the little parts be drenched in starch, left to dry overnight, and then pressed.

As orderly as possible, I spread out the parts of the blocks on a towel and saturated all with starch. When dry, I pressed and stacked in neat piles ready to take to the sewing machine.

Each of us selected two blocks to make for the swap. My blocks are both stars. If you clicked that link above, you saw that my fabrics combine to make what I hope results in a muted, almost dusty-looking quilt. 

My Block 1

My Block 2

I have discovered that I cut a few blocks incorrectly. Some blocks are missing the correct number of pieces, while others are the wrong size. I am not the only one who has had to re-cut; we are bringing our fabrics with us to our meetings so that re-cutting can be done.

Above are the Block 1s that are correct. I need a few pieces to make Sheryll's and Sharon's.

And these are the Block 2s. The ones on the left are completed correctly. On the right are two blocks that need some additional work. Becky's block is missing 2 pieces, and Jan's block needs 4 parts to be re-cut. Do you see what I mean by cutting things the wrong size? I placed my boo-boos there to show how I messed up.

I hope the girls are forgiving in the shape of the blocks I give them. I surely do have some wonky sides and missing points.

Happy Quilting, Friends!