This month's Threads of Time Block is called Free Trade. It is another fun block. I love just about all blocks with stars. It was fairly easy to put together.
I used Deb Tucker's "Wing Clipper." I cut a 5 1/2" square plus four 3" squares and was able to make four flying geese blocks. I cut one light and dark 3" squares made the half square triangles for the middle plus two 2 1/2" square to make the center. Add four 2 1/2" blocks for the corners. This block is very simple because of the "Wing Clipper" Ruler. If you are not aware of this ruler go to Deb Tucker's website. Watch her videos, they are fabulous!
I just signed up for the American Summer Block of the Month by Penny Rose Fabrics. It begins in July at my local quilt shop. It looks beautiful in blue, red and beige colors. If you are interested in piecing this beautiful quilt and your local quilt shop is not participating, you can call my local quilt shop: Fabric Garden in Sacramento. I am sure they can send you all of the fabric each month and charge a nominal fee for postage. Just Google them, give them call or email and I am sure that they can help you out.
I also found out at my local quilt shop that Penny Rose is a part of Riley Blake Fabrics. I love Riley Blake Fabrics. Their fabrics are beautiful, colorful and innovative. I can't wait for this BOM to start! Isn't it beautiful?!
This is the final month of the Moda Modern Building Blocks by Fig Tree Fabrics. I am excited that we are finally finished with the quilt. I have decided to make one large quilt. Joanna included an alternative to the one large quilt and that was to make two smaller quilts: 54" x 72" and a 54" x 60". I already ordered the backing and binding and received them at the same time as the final fabrics. I am ready to put all the blocks together. It will be huge, 84" x 96".
Here is a photo of the final blocks:
I will probably not be able to sew the blocks together for a couple of months. My oldest daughter is getting married in May. I have ten uncomplicated, small quilts to make to cover bales of hay. Her wedding colors are blues, aqua and yellows.... really colors of the sea. Her fiance is a weekend sailor so those are the colors that I am working with BUT with the release of the Boat house by Sweetwater and Daysail by Bonnie and Camille, I don't have to think about what fabrics to use!
The border corner blocks are the next to the last month of this BOM. They were fairly easy to put together. I finished them in an hour and a half. Most of the hour and a half was spent cutting the fabrics. It is a very pretty block. Obviously, there are four of them and they are large so it was a cinch to put them altogether.
I will have to select the backing and binding when I pick-up the borders at the beginning of next month.
I have admired Quiltworx Patterns by Judy Niemeyer for years. I have even purchased about ten of them but I have always read the instructions and decided that they were too complicated for me to attempt. Fortunately at our last quilt show here in Sacramento (I belong to the River City Quilter's Guild) I discovered a Quiltworx Certified Instructor, Cindy Myers at our show! I have been the past chair of the vendors for the previous two years and always visit each booth to see if they are comfortable and like their location at our show. Alas, I was asked to be the Country Store co-chair this past year but I still had to go to each booth to see how they were doing. To make a long story short, I think I went to her booth just about every time I had a couple of moments to spare. At any rate, I saw the pattern (below) that looked simple (in my humble opinion) and inquired about it.
Cindy said that it was fairly easy but I had to carefully read the pattern instructions and just try it. I did and last week I started it.
I read the pattern instructions several times so that I would know exactly what was required. I finished it last night. It needs a bit of ironing but I am intimidated by the fact that there are quite a bit of bias all over the piece and I don't want to stretch it so much that it will not fit to the other half of the leaf. I am going to attempt to sew the half this afternoon.
The paper is still on the back. I am hoping that I will be able to iron the wrinkles out once I get it all together. I have looked the piece that I finished. It doesn't look as wrinkled as the photo above. I believe that the flash on the camera reflects off of the highs and lows of the fabric. I hope it does look better after I have sewn it together.
