Nearing the end of cuddle time

My plan for the day was to sew, sew, sew, and I did get a good bit accomplished. Then my 11-year-old son said, "Mom, can you come downstairs?".

"Why? What do you want?"

"Can you come down and cuddle with me?" How can I resist that. How many  more times in this child's life will he utter those words to me. He's eleven. He's on the verge of puberty. He'll be taller than me within a year. Each time he says them, I fear it will be the last.

"Sure. I'll be right down." And off I went. Instead of sewing, I snuggled up with my boy and read a book. Oh, how I will miss these days when they are gone.

As for the quilt I'm working on, it's been in the works for a few weeks, so there are still some things to show in spite of the delicious cuddle time that occupied part of my afternoon. My newest project is a sampler quilt with blocks from Craftsy's Block of the Month program. I am really enjoying this class. The format is perfect for my schedule. New lessons are posted each month that feature a new technique and two blocks using the technique. I love that I can practice different techniques throughout the year without the pressure of a fixed schedule or deadline. After registering for the class, I can access the lessons anytime, as many times as I like. And another great reason is that the class is free.

This project is taking me a bit out of my element, which is great fun. First, I selected fabric for the project. Here is the fabric that is the color inspiration for the quilt. It is a Brandon Mably print.

My goal is to use up some of my Kaffe Fassett scraps and to have a quilt that does not read pink. So many of Kaffe's prints have gorgeous shades of pink which I love, but just didn't want to have as the dominant color for this project.

 I think I succeeded. We'll see how many other fabrics sneak into this project along the way. The solid fabric is a Kona in Ash which will be the background fabric for each block. This is another part of the project that is not the norm for me. A solid and a gray. I'm hoping for a fun, contemporary result.

The first month taught slash skills. There is an Asterisk block and  a Wonky Pound Sign block using this technique. Punctuation marks in a quilt. I just love it!

In February, we learned about half-square triangles and made a Balkan Puzzle block and a Chunky Chevron block. I'm having fun playing with the hot and cool colors in each block. Some blocks get a mix while others stay on one side or the other. It will be interesting to see how it comes together for the quilt top.

This month we're learning about foundation piecing. There are two great blocks this month, the String block and the Broken Spider Web block. The String block is finished but the Broken Spider Web block is a work in progress.

In April, we'll be taking on English Paper Piecing, which I have never tried so I'm looking forward to that. Here's how the blocks are looking as a group:

You can see the beginnings of the Broken Spider Web block. I'm thinking it's going to be my favorite block so far. This project is intended to be one I keep for myself, which is another unusual aspect of the project. Look for updates as I finish a new pair of blocks each month, unless I find myself occupied by cuddle time, which is way more important than sewing!