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Sunday, May 14, 2006

Mother's Day....




I've had a very relaxing mother's day......especially since neither of my sons are home! Jeff spent the weekend with a friend who was moving to the next town...he helped them move, and just stayed there helping with boxes, etc..until later tonight. He did call a couple times.

I worked this afternoon on an idea floating in my head. I have 2 cram packed bins of 2.5" strips. I wanted a block that would use the strips, but something really easy in construction.

Thanks to the use of my easy angle ruler (Oh, I LOVE THIS RULER!) all I had to do was pair a light and a dark 2.5" X 18" strip with right sides together, cut 9 triangle pairs, feed them through the machine one after the other already matched up, and then after pressing....assemble the block like a simple 9 patch. It is working so slick, and I have made 14 blocks in just a few hours. Not sure how I'm going to set them, I'm thinking of a solid color for setting fabric, and I am more prone to putting them on point than setting them straight with an alternate block. I think this is called "hovering hawks"...or maybe that's just my mind putting ideas in my head.

You can see one really scrappy block in there...that's because I could actually get 10 triangle pairs out of a pair of 18" strips, so I cut 10 pairs and set the spares aside. When I'd done more than 9 blocks, I decided to see what one block made with all the leftovers would look like. I think they will add a spark of "fun to look at" when all the other blocks are only in two fabrics. I might do some other blocks with alternate fabrics or backgrounds added too, like if a strip is too short to cut all the same background, use extra triangles of another background to fill in. Substitution. I think that's the technical word for it.

The brick thing....thanks for all the comments. I'm still not sure what I want to do with it, but I do know that I don't want to do a monochromatic thing, nor do I want to separate anything with mortar, because that is going to give a more MODERN look and I'm looking for a more muddy old utility quilt look, with a chaos of fabrics that don't go together, kind of like a mishmash from the 1940's. It's still on the back burner. I might keep going the way it's going and just finish it. The blocks are done. I'm not taking anything apart, and I'm not starting over. This just might end up being a beach blanket, you know? Sometimes you just gotta try things even if they don't turn out the way you thought.

Bonnie

15 comments:

  1. Hey Bonnie those blocks are looking really great. I can't believe how quickly it all came together. When you're on a roll...

    I'll be very interested to see what colour setting material you use and if you're game to use a patterned fabric!

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  2. Happy Mother's Day Bonnie.

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  3. Looking good but I see no blocks inspired by the new Black and Blue !

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  4. You have done more sewing on mothersday as I did. I waste my time with doing NOTHING!! The whole day I really did nothing. Oké oké I drove two times to Benito, the italian icecream maker :c)
    I Love the blocks and I am anxious to see them set !

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  5. Anonymous2:28 AM EDT

    Glad you're feeling better after your fall! Wow - love those blocks (especially the bits and bobs one) and you've given me a great idea to use with my new ruler too!

    Great to have a mother's day to enjoy and remember. I read some more of one of the Harry Potter books in the afternoon - a really easy and relaxing day :-)

    We were late for church because I was opening presents and having breakfast in bed LOL.

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  6. Bonnie, I love the new blocks you are working on and agree that on point is the way to go. Back to your bricks-how about a tea dye or some sort of overdye to give it a more utility/muddy look. Hope you are recovering quickly and will soon be a less 'colorful' character.

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  7. I like the "odd" block; it adds a lot of character.

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  8. Bonnie, they look wonderful - but I've always loved that block - And I love the colors/fabrics you used!

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  9. It's looking great Bonnie..*VBS* I like the really scrappy in there, feels "right" for the look of the others. It's so much fun to take a block pattern, and see what you can come up with while using it.

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  10. What a terrific use for scraps. I love it.

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  11. AS soon as I saw them "birds in the air" jumped into my head. Then I stopped and said wait...the bottom isn't a solid triangle! They remind me of those, but better!

    On point is definately the way to go and I like the "extra" block with the mismatched block!

    I also have that easy angle ruler and LOVE it. If I have to cut the strips from larger fabric instead of using up strips I use a Wonder Cut ruler....another great ruler too!

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  12. Looking good, Bonnie! I also like the look of the scrappy ones in there! Can't wait to see the finished top. Hope you're feeling better after your fall.

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  13. Yup, that little mismatched block really livens up the quilt. Looks great, as always. Hope you are feeling better.

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  14. The more fabrics the better! I like this block, very turn of the century!
    Sio

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  15. Happy Belated Mother's Day! The block looks great!

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