More Star Blocks

I think I have made almost enough 8 inch Civil War blocks for my quilt, now I need to make about ten 12 inch blocks to go with them.  Here are two I made this week.

 This is a flying geese variation inspired (totally copied) from this block.  Please ignore the waves where I tried to ease in too much fabric.  :)  I love these fabrics together.

I first saw this churn dash star here and then when I saw em1097's block I knew for sure I had to make one.  I was planning to use solid brown between the star points but cut out the brown and orange flowers by mistake.  Instead of cutting more fabric, I figured it would be ok.  Surely there would still be enough contrast.  And there is...kinda...  Note to self:  if you don't think the fabrics will work - Cut New Ones!  I still really like it.   I have to find another block to use the butterflies in.  I think they are to die for.

I have been surfing flickr and the Quilter's Cache trying to find more 12 inch star and pinwheel blocks that I like.  Then today I just realized that lots of the blocks in the Summer Sampler Series (another quilt along) were star and pinwheel inspired.  So I think I will be quilting along with them.  I already have a Virginia Star made up in these colors, so I will wait until next week to see what block comes next.

Going Strong - More Civil War Blocks

I made up some more Civil War blocks this week!  I am so happy with the way they turned out.  I think I am finally getting the hang of the precise piecing and fabric choice for these 8 inch blocks.

This block was intended to be the Ladies Aid Album, but I didn't look at the piecing directions and totally messed it up.  So I salvaged the center piece and put some "liberated" points on it to make a star.  Unfortunately, they aren't quite wonky enough to look wonky, just kind of sloppy.  Oh well, I still really like it.  I think the scrappy greens and red really work well together.

 Missouri Star -  I put this off until the very end, because I was scared of those little triangles.  Silly me.  It wasn't bad at all.  The only snag was when I realized that the white triangles I had cut out would blend into the background - I don't know what I was thinking when I was cutting.  So I replaced them with the dotted pink.  Luckily I hadn't started sewing when I realized my mistake.

Modified Louisiana -  I think this block is so cute.  I am planning to make a 12 inch version of it in different fabrics next week.  (The modification is using a white triangle instead of green on the outer edge of the pink.)

 New England block - I love this one.  I think everything works really well together.

And here they are all together.  I am officially caught up on the blocks I am planning to make from Civil War Quilts!   Well, except for that one I have to redo.  :)  I hope to have some 12 inch star and pinwheel inspired blocks to show you next week.

Back on the Wagon - More Civil War Blocks

I have been so tempted to join in the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along, but there is no way I can start another project right now without going loopy.  I also realized that I already had a project like the FWQA, my totally neglected Civil War Blocks.  

Barbara Brackman posts a block of the week, complete with a historical Civil War story every Saturday at http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/.  I don't think I had made any since March!  So I went back through the old posts and jotted down instructions for the star/pinwheel inspired blocks.  (Here is my plan for the blocks.)  I got four (!!!!!) made on Saturday and cut out 2 more today.  I love sewing!  Here are the completed blocks:

The Barbara Frietchie Star - named after a heroic if not historically real woman.  I liked how this one turned out -nice colors and contrast.  It reminds me of the curtains in The Sound of Music.  :)

Illinois Road - This block was suppose to be made with a stripe, but since I didn't have a stripe, I free pieced the strips with small scraps.  It's not bad, but not my favorite.  It isn't quite as wonky looking in real life.

Calico Puzzle - I was sure as I was cutting and sewing that this would be my favorite block ever.  It had the awesome fussy cut flower and my favorite strawberry fabric, but something just isn't right...  What is it?  Should I have used pink for the triangles?  But that might have made the yellow print look odd....  So hard to know without making and remaking the blocks.  I'm not saying it is a disaster, it still looks good, just not as good as I had imagined.

White House Block - A lot like Illinois Road, but with a pinwheel in the middle.

There you go.  I am back on the Civil War QA wagon!  Hopefully, you will be seeing more of these blocks soon.  And if I hurry and finish the quilt maybe I can join in the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along.  :)

Dear Barbara,

I thought of writing you this letter while piecing the last two Civil War blocks. You know I LOVE your blog and I am grateful for the work you have put into your new Civil War blog, right? Amazing stories, great blocks!

So, I hate to sound whiny and ungrateful, but why? Why Barbara, did you choose 8 inch instead of 12 inch blocks? The teeny-tiny pieces are killing me! The sometimes kooky measurements strain my eyesight and cutting skills. I know, I know...it is making me a better piecer and I will thank you later, and yes, I will eat my greens and exercise... :)

All joking aside though, I really have noticed improvement in my skills already. Take a look at the Kansas Troubles block. No really, look hard at those 1 inch finished HST!

Most of the points are perfect! Not all, but not bad considering the size.

The block size is also killing me because it makes it hard to choose fabrics. That is really my own fault though. I wanted to use my bright happy Meadowsweet fabrics for the project and the scale of the prints is really too big for the blocks. You can hardly see the flowers in the Kansas Troubles block, but I think I am getting the hang of finding prints and solids that will work in the blocks.

In my not so humble opinion, I think the color selection of the Richmond block turned out quite well. Instead of doing a four patch in the middle/outer sections I did a ... well, I don't know what it is, but not a four patch, and I rather like the pattern it makes.

So Barbara, I will probably still mumble under my breath as I make teeny tiny triangles this year, but the growth and the feelings of pride when I see the finished blocks totally make up for any frustration I feel in the process. This is going to be an amazing quilt and an amazing year.

Thanks again,

Leila

WIP Wednesday

Hi there! Progress has been made this week, projects started and finished even. Here we go...

1. Ticker-tape Quilt - Aleah wanted to make a quilt for her 100th day of school project. We followed the instructions from the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along. It was a fun project to do together.

2. Colleen's Skirt - I bought this fabric at JoAnn's in September. I liked it because it has a bunch of colors and should go with almost any of her shirts. She was not cooperating so this is as good of a picture as you are going to get. :)

Good Progress

3. Civil War Quilt - I am caught up and finished making block #4 - Texas Tears

4. Grandmother's Flower Garden - I'm getting hexagons based and ready to take on my trip next week!

5. Crazy Quilt Blocks - I made 6 more blocks!

6. Pink and Yellow Diamond Quilt - This quilt for my niece-to-be has been laid out on my living room rug for almost a week, but half of it is sewn together now. I think it is coming together well. I love pink and yellow!

Stalled

7. Big Tree Quilt - needs to be quilted

8. Cousin Sacks

Stats

Started - 2

Finished - 2

In Progress -6

Civil War Blocks Enter the 21st Century

One of my favorite blogs is Barbara Brackman's Material Culture. Barbara is a quilt historian and fabric designer who shares regular posts about quilts, quilt dating and fabric. Some of my favorite posts are ones where she shows pictures of quilts gone wrong (Sunbonnet Sue, Lone Stars and More)

Do you ever feel a little out of whack?

Because 2011 is the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, Barbara started a new blog: Civil War Quilts. Each Saturday, she will share pictures and stories from people who lived during the Civil War (she has an amazing collection of antique pictures) and a pattern for an 8 inch quilt block.

I LOVE history and antique stuff (one of my dreams is to work at a living history center) but don't have any Civil War reproduction prints and I don't really know if I want to buy any. (Although I must say there are some pretty coral pinks, reds and browns out there). But I still want to participate in Barbara's quilt along, so this is what I have decided to do:

• I will make a goodly number of the blocks out of my stash of Meadowsweet.

From Sandi Henderson's webpage.

• Add a two inch sashing in white to make them 12 inch blocks.
• When my month comes around in A Twist on Tradition Bee I will ask for 12 inch star themed blocks.
• Put the Bee blocks on point and alternate with my Civil War blocks.

I think I am in love with the quilt already! Now I just have to get sewing!