At the Fair BOM - October Blocks

Hi, I just wanted to share the October blocks for the At the Fair BOM with you.  On the left a flower block from Kossuth County and on the right a block designed by Sioux County (I love this one!).  These are the last of the large blocks in the quilt, finishing at 16" square.  I have really had a lot of fun making these large blocks, but from here on out it is all 12" and 8" blocks.  Which is actually a good thing.  I am starting to run out of some of the fabric colors.  Making 36" - 16" blocks eats up a lot of fabric!

In other news, I bought a new sewing machine!  I am still figuring it out, but I am loving it.  It was a splurge investment (that is what I keep telling myself) but should serve me well for some time to come.  I'll let you know the details after I have figured it all out.  You know, it is really sad/weird/funny when you look forward to reading an instruction manual.  :)

At the Fair Mystery Quilt Blocks: January-May

I thought I would share the blocks we have been making in the At the Fair Mystery Block of the Month.  The quilt blocks are based on the tiled quilt block mosaic which wraps around the Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds.  We are making 36 blocks - two a month - until June 2016 when we will put them together into an epic 96" x 92" quilt.
 

May's blocks were from Iowa and Audubon county and are 24 and 8 inches square.  I have to say it is really fun to make the bigger blocks.  They are so striking.  But then it is rather a relief to make the second smaller block.  :)    When I first saw the picture of the small Iowa county block I thought it would be a pain to cut and piece, but it came together very easily with some foundation paper piecing.

Two counties, Guthrie and Ida, submitted the same block to the fair.  I am calling it Starburst because there are stars bursting out - and because it is made with Starburst candy colors.  :)  It is 24" square.  The second block for April was from Adair county.  It is a simple little blocks but, like so many of the other blocks, I think a whole quilt of these would be great.

In March I almost froze my fingers off taking pictures of these blocks.  I am so glad winter is over!  The one on the left is 32" square and is from Decatur county.  The one on the right is 24" square and was submitted by Black Hawk county.

February's blocks were fairly simple because everyone in my house had taken turns being sick over and over.  The one on the left is from Dubuque county and measures 12" square.  The other is one of my favorite blocks.  It was submitted by Clinton county and measures 8" square.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  both of these would look great repeated in a quilt.

We started out the year with a bang in January.  The largest block - and my favorite so far - is a 36" beauty from Osceola county.  This "block" would make a great baby quilt.  But after making it, I thought we needed a break, so the second block is a simple 8" bow-tie block.

So...are you tempted to join us?  You can sign up here and on the 1st of every month through June 2016 you will receive instructions for 2 quilt blocks.  After signing up, a pdf with the first 10 block patterns will be emailed to you.  Need more info?  This post gives more details about the At the Fair Mystery Block of the Month.  I hope you will join us.  It has been fun seeing people's blocks pop up in our Flicker group and I know some people are sharing their blocks on Instagram with the hashtag #atthefairmysteryquilt.  We would love for you to join us!

February Blocks for the At the Fair Block of the Month

Well, it is snowing here in Iowa and I have to say everything is much prettier covered in snow.  Before it started snowing yesterday, I went out and took these pictures of the February blocks for the At the Fair Mystery Block of the Month.  I had a lot of fun making them.  They came together fast and stress free, which was what I needed after dealing with the flu and a broken sewing machine earlier in the week.

 This is the block from Debuque County.  It is called State House.  Wouldn't it look great repeated for a whole quilt?  It measures 12 1/2".

This 8 1/2" block is one of my favorites ever.  It is so simple, yet it is still interesting and has great movement.  It was submitted by Clinton County and is called Balkan Puzzle.

I was able to track down the names for both of the block designs in Barbra Brackman's Block Base program.

You can find more information on the At the Fair Block of the Month Program here.  You can sign up at anytime and receive all of the earlier block patterns.  Sign up here.

You can see some of the January blocks people have made here on Flickr.  They are Amazing!

A bit of business:  gfpaloney, please contact me.  I need a new email address for you.

At the Fair Mystery Block of the Month 2015

It is no mystery that I love going to the Iowa State Fair every summer.  Love it!  The first time I went I was taken by the tiled quilt block frieze that runs around the exterior of the Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center.  I fell in love with it and decided that some day I would reproduce some of the quilt blocks in fabric.  That day is today and you can join me too!  It is going to be epic!

The At the Fair Mystery Quilt Block of the Month is based on the 36 of the tile quilt blocks on the exterior of the Exhibition Center and measures 96” x 92”.  The blocks range in size from 36” to 8” square.  For 18 months you will receive, via email, a PDF file with clear, detailed instructions for two quilt blocks on the first of the month.  The instructions will include color diagrams, pictures and foundation paper piecing templates, when necessary.  The block of the month program will begin January 2015 and end June 2016.

Layout:

When I started drafting the blocks for the quilt I quickly realized that they would need to be different sizes.  Some of the simpler blocks can be made in the smaller 8” size while the more detailed blocks require a much larger size to make the piecing manageable.  What started as a necessity quickly became the base for a unique quilt layout.  There is nothing boring about this quilt!  Over the course of the year we will make:  1 – 36” block, 1 – 32” block, 5 – 24” blocks, 3 – 16” blocks, 15 -12” blocks and 11 – 8” blocks.

Full and detailed instructions for setting the blocks will be provided in June 2016. 

Fabric requirements:

For the At the Fair Mystery Quilt you will need a total of 14 yards of fabric.

If you wish to use the same background in all of the blocks you will need:

·         7 yards of background fabric

·         7 yards of a variety of solid or print fabrics (yard cuts of two or three fabrics recommended)

·         1 yard of binding fabric

·         3 yards of 108” backing fabric

Pick fabric that you absolutely adore!  You will be working with this fabric all year and you will not want to work with fabric that you think is just ok.  Large scale prints will be appropriate for the jumbo blocks and smaller scale or tone on tone prints for the smaller blocks.  I would recommend including some solids so that there is a clear contrast in fabrics, especially for the smaller blocks.  For background fabric, choose a solid color that contrasts well with your prints.

I will be using Michael Miller Cotton Couture in the following amounts:

•          7 yards Bright White
•          1 yard of Shell, Turquoise and Sail
•          ½ yard of Apple, Limeade, Sea Foam, Clementine, Tangerine, Berry, Bubblegum, Mango and Lemon
•          1 yard Clementine for binding

Skill Level:

Adventurous!  The variety of block patterns and sizes will keep this quilt interesting, but there are only a few basic techniques: half square triangles, quarter square triangles, flying geese and foundation paper piecing.  All techniques will be thoroughly explained with step by step photos and illustrations.

Community:

A flickr group has been created for this quilt along.  Post pictures of your fabrics, blocks and finished quilt at: www.flickr.com/groups/fairquilt.  You can also post pictures on Instagram using the hashtag #atthefairmysteryquilt.  I can’t wait to see them!

Cost:  $35 for the entire year and a half!  If you sign up after January 1st all previous months' PDFs will be emailed to you within 24 hours.  Sign up here!  You are going to love making your At the Fair Quilt!