Cardinal Blocks - Five More

And then there were fifteen cardinal blocks. I have a group of projects I'm circling through now, and it is fun to see each one making small strides of progress. This week, these cardinals needed some attention.

The patterns are from the Moda Sampler Block Shuffle. There are thirty patterns in all so that means I'm half way through. I seem to making these in batches of five. Some of the fabrics from my initial pull for this project are getting low so I will be going back through the stash again soon to see if I can find a few more good fabrics to join the project.

Here is the very first block in the series. It was designed by Pat Sloan. Originally, I was going through the patterns, picking and choosing the ones I wanted to make.

Then I decided I was spending to much time choosing so I put them all back in number order and swore I would just make them in order. This is block three in the series. It was designed by Sandy Gervais.

This is block eleven. It is designed by Brenda Riddle Designs. It has a bit of a psychedelic vibe to it. Did you notice the big jump from block three to block eleven? Well, maybe I am making them in a selective, sort of numerical order. There are a couple of applique ones that I wasn't quite ready to make so I skipped those and I suppose I was simply being picky about the ones I wanted to make.

This is block thirteen. It is designed by Bunny Hill Designs. All the blocks in the series are great.

And the last block for this time is block twenty-two. It is designed by Basicgrey.

Now that there are fifteen blocks made I am starting to contemplate a layout for them. I am happy with the way the colors are dispersed through the blocks. They aren't too heavy in any one color. And I still can't get enough of those cardinals.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and Whoop Whoop over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Spell It With Moda - A Growing Project

I had to move this project to the wall this week. It outgrew the table once I started sewing the blocks into rows. Do you know what it says yet? I think some of you figured it out last week and the letters added this week help a lot. The additions are B, O, and W. To help see what it says, here it is in more hangman style:

B  ___  ___  I  ___  ___  E

T H  ___  R  E

I  S       ___  O  ___  ___

___  N       T H E

W  O  R  L  ___

These letters have been guessed and either there aren't any or all that are available have been guessed:
 H, R, S, T, M, B, W

The tutorial for the filler blocks is not up yet over at the Moda Bake Shop. All of the participating quilters will have posts for their filler blocks. The schedule is still being worked out and I will let you know when mine is up.

Let's take a closer look at the fabric used in this week's letters. The fabric collection is Flow by Zen Chic. It should be available at your local quilt shop or favorite online shop in March.

First we have a W.

W up close.

A blue O. I know I have said it in previous weeks, but I really like the colors in this fabric collection. They are so cheerful.

O up close.

And last for this week, letter B, which is one of those reversed letters with the color in the background.

And a close up of letter B, using my favorite print from the group.

Remember, if you'd like to make something of your own, the letters are available individually on Moda's Pinterest Board.

Or, if you want a quick resource with everything in one place, check out the Spell It With Fabric booklet available at many local quilt shops and online stores. I did a quick Google search and found some great resources for purchasing the booklet.

So... do you want to guess letters, or are you ready to solve the puzzle? I am up for either. Thanks to everyone who has played along. This has been lots of fun and helped me pace myself through this project.

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.

An Almost Finished Quilt With My Great Grandmother

The only thing missing from this quilt is the binding and a label. Right now, there are four generations involved in its creation. By the time it is completed, I am hoping it will be five. Here's the cast of characters...

Eunice Fincher - my great grandmother - hand stitched three sets of blocks so that each of her three grandaughters would have something made by her.
Ruby Morgan - my grandmother - lovingly stored these blocks to pass on to her daughters. We are not sure if she helped make them or not.
Linda Morgan - my mother - recipient of blocks. She used my grandmothers treadle sewing machine to stitch them together into a quilt top.
Debora Exum - that's me! - put the layers together and did the machine quilting.
Erica Exum - my daughter, who doesn't know she is being recruited yet! I'm hoping to talk her into designing a label for the back of this beauty. She is good at that sort of thing. I've got my mom on the hunt for a picture of my great grandmother. I want to make sure this quilt gets a proper label.

I was really nervous about using any sort of chemicals with these old fabrics so I pin basted the layers together. This may be the first quilt I have ever pin basted and it is also the biggest quilt I have every quilted at 72" x 90". It's a good thing the quilting was kept simple.

I stitched in the ditch around each block and the four squares within the block. Stitching near the ditch would be more like it, and there is diagonal stitching through each petal.

The stitching shows up a tad better from the back, which is a wide backing fabric by Darlene Zimmerman in white and aqua.

This quilt is full of interesting fabric and I am sure it all covers a long time period. This pot bellied stove fabric was one of my favorites.

Then there are these cool black and white circles.

What about this 1930s looking baby fabric? So cute!

See how the red poodle fabric is stitched together from smaller pieces to make one piece big enough to be used in the block. Anywhere scraps are sewn together like this, they are machine stitched, while the blocks themselves are hand stitched.

And one more to make sure we have met our quota of cuteness for today... these sweet bows.

The only reason the binding is not on yet is because my mom wanted to choose the binding fabric. I took the quilt to her house today along with all sorts of binding options. She decided that it needed something dark to frame it so I will bind it with either a dark brown or a black solid.

Once this quilt is finished, it will hang on the wall at my mom's house. This has been a great project for me and my mom to work on together. I'm so glad the blocks did not get stored away in the back of a closet. They will be enjoyed for generations to come.

Other posts about this project:

Quilt Progress on the Treadle Machine

Quilt Blocks from my Great Grandmother

Linking up with Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt and Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Spell It With Moda - Getting Closer

Wow, we're getting close to solving this puzzle. Fifteen letters have been revealed with our Spell It With Moda project. Only thirteen more to go. This week we added an I, an O, and an L. To help see what it says, here it is in more hangman style:

___  ___  ___  I  ___  ___  E

T H  ___  R  E

I  S       ___  O  ___  ___

___  N       T H E

___  ___  R  L  ___

These letters have been guessed and either there aren't any or all that are available have been guessed:
 H, R, S, T, M

Did you notice that the business card place holders have been replaced by colorful filler blocks. There will be a tutorial about those coming up soon over at the Moda Bake Shop. I will be sure to let you know when it goes live.

Keep those comments coming! It won't be too many more weeks before this quilt puzzle will be solved. Let's take a closer look at the fabric used in this week's letters. The fabric collection is Flow by Zen Chic. It should be available at your local quilt shop or favorite online shop in March.

First we have a yummy orange I which completes the word "is" in our puzzle.

I was very excited to be able to make this project from this fabric collection and the more I sew with it, the more I love it. The bright colors are fun and festive and just make me want to smile.

Another one of those inverse letters, where the letter fabric and the background trade places. I wonder if those letters have any special meaning?

A close up of O surrounded in pink.

And last but not least, letter L, which has to be the simplest letter to sew out of the bunch.

And a close up of letter L, using the orange fabric that looks like a relief map.

Remember, if you'd like to make something of your own, the letters are available individually on Moda's Pinterest Board.

Or, if you want a quick resource with everything in one place, check out the Spell It With Fabric booklet available at many local quilt shops and online stores. I did a quick Google search and found some great resources for purchasing the booklet.

There are lots of other quilters sewing along with the Moda Bake Shop 7th birthday celebration. Head on over to their blogs if you'd like to see what they are up to.

Amanda Castor  {materialgirlquilts | blog: materialgirlquilts.com}Jemima Flendt {tiedwitharibbonquilts  | tiedwitharibbon.com}Jenn Nevitt {mommysew | mommysew.com}Lisa Calle   {vintagemodernquilts  | vintagemodernquilts.com}Oda May    {modabakeshop | modabakeshop.com}Samantha Olsen {samanthaleeolsen}Sharla Krenzel {thistlethicketstudio | thistlethicketstudio.com}Susan Ache {yardgrl60}Terri Ann Swallow {terriann | childlikefascination.com}Vanessa Goertzen {lellaboutique | lellaboutique.blogspot.com}

So... what letters should we try for next week?

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Yellow Scrappy Strip Quilt Top Finish

Thanks to all of the encouragement you guys provided when I last posted about this quilt, it is now a finished top.

There are twenty blocks in a 4 by 5 formation. Each block finishes at 15 inches so that makes this top 60 x 80 inches. That is the size of a queen size mattress so I am thinking about adding a border or two so that it can easily be used on a queen sized bed. My bed maybe? I'm not sure about that part yet.

Each of those larger blocks is comprised of 16 half square triangles. When I got close to the finish line for these blocks, I was ONE half square triangle short. Instead of making another scrappy strippy one, I simply made one from a single print fabric. I liked that there was just one that is not like the others. A Where's Waldo for half square triangles. It took me a while to find it in the full front view photo. Every quilt needs a little secret so that is my secret for this one.

I first posted about the idea of this quilt last June. The earlier posts have links to block instructions, pinterest inspiration that helped me figure out the layout, and the story of how this quilt came to be.

• About That Day I Was Taking A Break From Sewing - June 27, 2015
• Scrappy Strip Quilt Progress - Choosing a Layout - July 6, 2015
• Scrappy Strip Quilt - Making Progress - January 29, 2016

The story of this quilt isn't over, though. There will be borders and quilting and binding. Eventually. I'm just happy to have made it this far. I imagine you will see it again one or two more times before it is finished. Thanks for letting me share it with you.

Linking up to Whoop Whoop with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Spell It With Moda - Making Progress

Twelve letters have been revealed with our Spell It With Moda project. This week we added an H, an N, and an R. To help see what it says, here it is in more hangman style:

___  ___  ___  I  ___  ___  E

T H  ___  R  E

___  S       ___  ___  ___  ___

___  N       T H E

___  ___  R  ___  ___

Those three letters made a big difference. We have one completed word and three words that are only missing one letter. There is still one word that hasn't even been started and two others that have a long way to go. There aren't anymore H, R, S, or T so don't guess those for next week. Remember, if you ask for a letter and there is one, I'll give you one. There may be more, but they won't show up until they are asked for again.

Keep those comments coming! It won't be too many more weeks before this quilt puzzle will be solved. Let's take a closer look at the fabric used in this week's letters. The fabric collection is Flow by Zen Chic. It should be available at your local quilt shop or favorite online shop in March.

We have an H in what I like to call comma fireworks green.

Next up is an N. I was a little worried about the stripe going different directions but I think it just adds to the funkiness.

Nothing like an N with personality.

Our last letter for this week is R.

Green is my favorite color and this particular green is at the top of the favorites list.

Remember, if you'd like to make something of your own, the letters are available individually on Moda's Pinterest Board.

Or, if you want a quick resource with everything in one place, check out the Spell It With Fabric booklet available at many local quilt shops and online stores. I did a quick Google search and found some great resources for purchasing the booklet.

What letters should we try for next week?

Linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Thoughtful Sunday #20