boo

I've been hiding.

But here are a couple of blocks to share.





I've been practicing my wonky stars for a couple of block swaps. The first is a black and white star for the last month of the solid bee challenge. (Just a couple months late...)

The next one is a fun little rainbow block for our next Modern Quilt Guild swap.

Next month we are having a block lottery. Bring a block and one lucky person will win them all. Enough to get started on a very fun quilt.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Last night was the big reveal for TWO challenges at the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild meeting. We accidentally received Kona Solid charm packs and Jay McCarrol Habitat fat quarters at the same time, so people got to pick their challenge. The results were stunning - you can see them here.

My project wasn't a quilt, but it got me out of my creative rut - I invented another bag.



Based on a travel bag I already owned, the main body was pretty simple.



Then I added a side pouch with a fold out organizer for brushes and other skinny things.



It was a fun project - I really want to play along with the solid quilt fun, so I may pick up my own Kona pack and make one for the next meeting.

challenge accepted

I wanted to post this as soon as I finished it on Saturday, but then remembered to keep it a surprise for our meeting this Thursday.

So here are a couple of sneak peeks:

log cabin love

Annik, one of the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild members has started a quilt block drive to make quilts for the disaster relief in Japan. Log Cabins for Japan is a request for 10 1/2" log cabin blocks. She has a super easy tutorial here, but you can make any sort of log cabin block you please. Wonky, color blocked, symmetrical...it's all up to you.

I'm hoping to break out my machine again this weekend and crank out a few. Sewtropolis in Minneapolis is accepting blocks through the mail or dropped off through April 8th and then members of the local Twin Cities quilting community will be working to assemble blocks into finished quilts.

Send your blocks to:
Sewtropolis

Attn: Log Cabins for Japan

5 West Diamond Lake Road

Minneapolis, MN  55419

Read more about the effort on Annik's blog.

So, make one block or 12 and spread the word - together we can send some love to Japan.

pillow swap

Remember this pillow that I made for our Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild scrap swap?

Well brilliant minds think alike, because my partner whipped up these two darlings with my scraps!

I wasn't really thinking about it too much, but I had a lot of blues, browns and golds in my scrap pile, so I pulled them together. Now, I have a brand new blue room that needs some color, so they will live on this couch for a bit. They might go somewhere else eventually (I've re-arranged the living room twice since landing on the last scheme), but I think they look pretty sharp on this white couch (Another inherited piece - didn't our grandmothers have great style?). Thanks Tracy!

pillow talk

(sorry about the blurry pics lately - I've been chasing daylight a bit...say 'hi' to doris the dcuk in the background!)

Remember this? It was actually a scrap challenge from the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild. We exchanged bags of scraps in December and were told to make something for the other person. (I'm totally ruining the surprise, but I can't make it to our meeting tomorrow, so surprise!!) I made the top, but didn't know what to do with it - options included table topper or wall hanging, but I wasn't really feeling them.

But then, I was inspired by sewmamasew's pillow month and turned the top into a pillow! A quick tutorial was all I needed (I've never made a pillow that wasn't sewn shut). We were allowed to add one fabric and I actually followed the rules, thanks to Tracy's generous 'scraps' - the stripey purple was mine and two panels make up the back. Pillows for someone else are a bit of a gamble...what if her house is decorated with RED?...but I figure it can still be used as topper if she likes.

february challenge

If you are in the Twin Cities metro and love quilting - this one is for you!

The Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild is just about 1 year old (we should have a party!) and this year, we are really focused on reaching out to members to get more involvement. We have quite a large group in the online community, but our meetings are still pretty small.

Since everyone LOVEs new projects...there is another swap/challenge taking place this month!! I will not be able to make the February 17th meeting, but the best part of this swap is that Elise is accepting the fabric in the mail. The information (including Elise's mailing address) has been posted on our BigTent forum. If you aren't a member yet, the basic directions are also on our Flickr group page.

And it sounds like a really great challenge. Everyone brings at least 10 strips (2 patterns - 5 strips of each)of black, white or gray patterned fabric. Then (if you choose to follow rules), you add one solid fabric and MAKE SOMETHING!! I participated in a polka-dot challenge last summer and it was amazing how different everyone's projects turned out even though we all used the same fabrics.

This was my project - placemats. 

So - check out the upcoming challenge and maybe a meeting. We would love to see you there!

Also - Badlands Quilts, Sewtropolis and MIniMushrooms will be joining in the fun too!

once a cheater...

I'm a cheater. We've documented my inability to follow patterns in-depth previously, but I would also like to discuss my inability to follow rules.

A few months ago, our modern quilt guild had a challenge: each person shares a 2.5" strip of a poka-dot print and we use them to make whatever we wish. We could add one fabric excluding the backing and binding. I cut all my strips into squares and used Oh Fransons! method for quick piecing small squares. I'm not sure I will use this method again - the piecing was a snap, but the cutting and ironing really tripped me up. I'm not much of an iron-er anyway, but separating each seam and pressing open nearly sent me over the edge. Keeping with the poka-dot theme, I used red Momo Wonderland (just love those giant dots).

Sorry - this is getting long. On to the cheating part...

Originally, I didn't mean to use the Wonderland as a border. I was always going to use a green stripe. But then I laid out my tiny squares and the one red fabric was ruining the bunch. And clashing with the pink. So, I pulled out the giant circles and fussy-cut a few to sneak in with the squares.

I love both looks. The center blocks and the backing/binding really tie them together. I never thought I would be able to make it work - so many clashing pokas/colors! The group's projects were outstanding - everyone made something so creative and different! You can see them here. And I was the only cheater (but I'm ok with that).