Quilts for Boston & Upcoming Giveaway

I finally got a chance to sit down at my sewing machine earlier this week and whipped up a few quilt blocks for the Quilts for Boston project sponsored by the Boston Modern Quilt Guild.

The BMQG is planning on making quilts for those affected by the bombings. Go here for more info. I hope that you take some time out of your day to make a quilt block or two to donate to help those affected by the bombings in Boston.

In other news, Sew Mama Sew is hosting their giveaway day starting on Monday, May 6. Basically this is where a bunch of people all over the blogosphere celebrate their love for sewing/crafting and host giveaways. You can find out more about it here. I am super super excited for what I am giving away so be sure to check back Monday for all the details!

April Bee Blocks: Flowers with solids

This month for the do good stitches bee, the lovely Evelyn requested some simple half-framed blocks. She wanted us to each start with a modern floral print and then choose some coordinating solids to go with it. 

For my first block, I used some of my coveted AMH fabric, which I was sad to part with, but I knew it was going to a good cause. I paired it with some cheerful solids from my stash.

For the second block I decided to stick with more cool colors and picked this lovely DS floral fabric I had in my stash from when I made my fall fan bag last year. 

These blocks were super easy and took no time to make (which is good for me since I've been so swamped with school recently I haven't had time to blog...or sew as much as I want to...bad!)

Sadly this is the only sewing I think I will get done this month since I have 2 final papers due on the 28th. Although if I finish them before the due date (I am the worst procrastinator) perhaps a trip to the fabric store and some quality time with my sewing machine will be in order...

Lone Star Blocks...or how long it takes to paper piece 8 blocks

It takes about 3 days of sewing, in case you were wondering.

So during the time of my sewing hiatus, I put off a lot of my sewing obligations. So this past week I've been super busy finishing up some bee blocks from last month for the do.good stitches bee. Luckily Holly was super understanding about me being a bit late on my blocks. Anyway, she asked for everyone to make these awesome lone star blocks (pattern from Anna at Six White Horses). When I saw these blocks, I fell in love and decided to make them for my hive of the 3x6 bee.

I hadn't actually tried making one when I decided this. The first block took me longer than I'm willing to admit. I think it is because there are something like 58 pieces per block. But anyway, I persevered. And then with the help of my lovely husband settled on an assembly line piecing method, which either gave the illusion of speed or helped me not go crazy paper piecing.

I actually caught up on my tv watching while I was sewing so yay for that...what shows do you watch while quilting?

3x6 Bee Hive 2 Paper Pieced blocks

Do.good.stitches blocks

Quilts for Cancer: Octagonal Orb Block

I may or may not have over booked myself quilting wise this month. Does anyone else ever have this problem?

Anyway, during a few free moments this week I decided to work on my first ever block for the Quilts for Cancer Bee I'm a part of. I love the idea of making quilts for people affected by cancer...sadly it's such a widespread disease in the world, that almost everyone knows someone who is fighting (or fought) a battle with cancer.

Marta (who just started up her own blog by the way -- From Marta with Love -- be sure to go leave her some love!)  kicked the bee off with an excellent choice -- Elizabeth Hartmen's octagonal orb block. I've been itching to try this block out, so to say I was excited might be an understatement.

I've noticed that people sure are loving the spring green/aqua/gray color combo these days (we all know how I feel about gray!) and Marta is no exception. I especially like how she wanted to use quilter's linen in place of a traditional solid. I think linen adds so much texture to a quilt, and am planning on using it extensively in a future project.

Elizabeth's instructions were easy to understand (as always), and I love that it made such a large block - finished at 16.75 inches by 16.75 inches. The blocks were a bit time consuming to make but are an excellent use of scraps and I imagine an entire quilt with these might be in my somewhat distant future.  If you want to make your own Octagonal Orb (and you know you do) check out the instructions here.

Charity catch up

While I have a lot of quilts to work on, I found myself wanting to finish up a few projects I was in the middle of when the power went out. First up were my blocks for Sarah's quilts for foster kids:

Next up were my blocks for Caroline's cancer charity quilt. I made these in memory of my grandmother who died from lung cancer when I was a junior in high school. 

Finally I had sketched out a million ideas for my block for the 3x6 Bee I'm participating in via Flickr. After much sketching and thinking, I think I finally decided on a block. What do you think?

Summer Sampler Quilt

Well I decided to join in the summer sampler quilt along fun. I don't know how I managed to resist this long after looking at Faith's blog and seeing all the great blocks she had planned along with Kate and Lee. Anyway, I started a few days ago and have so far completed five blocks. It is a lot more time consuming than I had originally anticipated, but I am learning a ton! The seam ripper and I have become "friends" quite a few times but I have managed to conquer my fear of paper piecing so it's all worth it. Here are my blocks thus far! If you are looking for a new quilting project you should check it out -- it's not too late to start!