Curved Piecing with Craftsy BOM

Sewing was at a minimum this week, though I did get my two blocks made for Craftsy's Block of the Month. This month was all about curves.

I love the two blocks for this month, all made from Drunkard's Path blocks. The instructions were great (as they always are!) but I did deviate from the instructions for cutting these. Amy has you use a rotary cutter for cutting curves, and she specifically recommends using templates from Marti Michell. First, my rotary cutter and I have a very healthy respect for each other and we know our limits. Cutting precise curves is just not happening with a rotary cutter. Instead, I used a pencil to draw the curved line, then used my trusty Gingher fabric scissors for all the curved cutting.

Quilt blocks with curved piecing belong in a class all their own...there's just something extra beautiful about them. My only issue is that you have to use so many pins. I'm not a big fan of pinning anyway, and the only way to get a good curve is to pin, pin, pin. I started by doing each block individually...pin, stitch, press, pin, stitch, press, but finally decided to pin a bunch, then stitch, then press. I enjoyed the process better that way.

Fabric selection is starting to get tricky since I'm getting low on so many of the prints. We're getting near the end though, so it should all work out just fine.

I am so happy I embarked on this free Craftsy class. It has been fun learning new skills, practicing different techniques, and watching this sampler quilt evolve.

Next month is the last month for making blocks, then we'll be putting it all together. I'm hoping to add this project to the finish pile at the end of the year.

Little Boy Blue Quilt

Took a break from all the projects in progress to make a baby quilt this weekend. One of the guys at the office is expecting his first child. His son was supposed to arrive in October, then the end of September, then the middle of September, and now it looks like it could be any day. So, I thought it was time to get busy. I don't know him very well since he just joined our group a couple of months ago so I wasn't quite sure where to start. 

What to make, what to make...I asked him what colors were in the baby's nursery. Light blue and dark blue. Light blue as in traditional baby blue? No, the light blue has maybe some teal or aqua to it. And that's the extent of the information I had for making this quilt. I abandoned the idea of making anything that would remotely match the nursery, but I did stick with the blue theme.

Jeni over at In Color Order has a great tutorial for a quilt called "Addition". I thought her design would work perfectly for a family expecting a new addition and it also represents all the positive things a new addition brings. With concept in mind, I hit the stash. I pulled every boyish blue I had along with some whites and grays. As with any project, the fabric choices were added to and taken away from until a quilt top was born. The end result uses all tonal blues with a strong leaning toward royal and navy. The teals and aquas just didn't make the cut and the whites and grays were too harsh.

The back was just as much fun to make as the front. Rather than a plain back, two giant plus signs are incorporated. This quilt can be used on either side! The Kaffe Fassett Roman Glass in Blue/White brings all the blues together nicely.

I used a dark gray Aurifil 50 weight thread for quilting. It ended up as a simple maze of straight line quilting since I started in the center and spiraled out.

The finished quilt is a little big for a baby quilt (approximately 46 x 54), but it will be great for throwing on the ground for a little one to lay on and roll around on. It has been washed so it is all soft and crinkly.

This project is another all stash project. All stash, no cash...that might be my new motto. And the funny thing is, even though I have made several stash projects this year, I have not noticed even a small dent in the size of my stash. Looks like I'll be stash busting for quite a bit longer.