MQG Riley Blake Challenge finished quilt

My Riley Blake Challenge quilt is finished.  The design comes from a Nancy Cabot block, Red Peony Buds.  I found the block in Jinny Beyer's book, but a Google search does not show up with any results that match the block from the book.

Besides the Riley Blake fabrics provided and a few squares from a RB charm pack, I added solids from my stash.  The solids weren't labeled so I am unable to provide that information other than that they are probably all Kona.  They might be corn, tangerine, medium gray, aqua, azure, bahama blue, coal and navy.  

I enjoy the problem solving aspect of quilting and using my math skills to figure out what I need. I debated normal piecing to make flying geese and the square in square blocks, but decided to try to use paper piecing for all of it instead. When thinking about how I was going to create the design, I wished for EQ7 or another quilt designing software that would easily create the templates I wanted.  But, since that isn't my reality at the moment, I found a way to make it work using free templates.

For the piecing, I used two paper piecing templates intended for other quilt blocks.  For the diamonds (or kites) I used template B from the Evening Star tutorial by Katie of SwimBikeQuilt.com.  The square in square template came from a Carol Doak book which happened to have a pattern that measured 5.5".

 I drew the lines on template B to make the shape rectangular (9x5.5").  I cut the fabric for the small triangles at 4 inches square as the directions stated for the Evening Star.  For the large diamond, I  cut the fabric at 4x7 inches.  The bottom triangle (or the 45-45-90) was cut according to the Evening Star directions (5").

 For the short white triangles, I cut my fabric as a 5" square and cut those squares in half on the diagonal.  Mostly this was because I had 5" squares already cut and it made it easier to just use those.   Pretty sure that 4" squares on the diagonal would work as well, but the 5" ones were already cut.  For the larger white triangles, I cut a 8.5 x 6.5" rectangle and cut that across on the diagonal.  Attaching those were a bit trickier and required a bit more thought as to how to arrange that fabric.

For the square in square blocks, I cut a 4 inch square for the center square.  I cut 3.75 inch squares on the diagonal for the outer white parts of the square.  I think 3.25" would work as well but I wanted a little wiggle room.

My apologies for my doubts on some of the measurements used for each component.  Crayons and markers were on the table in addition to the paper on which I wrote down the measurements.  My measurement papers were used for lovely pictures drawn by both kids.

For the quilting, I marked 1.25" from the outsides of the squares and diamonds.  In the white parts, I quilted figure eights (I think that is the Angela Walters description).  I need a bit more practice with that to make it look more professional.

The navy blue sections are quilted with the typical wishbone quilting that I like so much.  Originally I was going to put the rows on an all white quilt top but when I assessed how much navy I had left, it was nearly the perfect amount to match the length of the rows.  Practicality won out and that's why the negative space is navy.  I like it much better than the original plan for white.

 The backing is a blue brushed cotton from Cape Ann by Liesl Gibbons for Moda.  The quilt is bound in Navy Sketch by Timeless Treasures.  That was actually the only fabric I had to purchase for this quilt.

The quilt measures approximately 44x64" after washing.  

WIP St. Louis quilts

They aren't done but it is sunny outside and should rain the next few days. Only the smaller one has a chance of being finished before next weekend.  The larger one is basted and the smaller one is in the binding process.  And if I only showed finished quilts it would not be an accurate portrayal of life.  Productivity should decline as I go back to work tomorrow.

The smaller one:

 All the finished embroidery from Birdie Stitches!  Yay!

 The bigger quilt.

 And the back made of all the empty Birdie Stitches blocks that I never got to.

  I didn't realize I had as much green solid as I did.  Now I have very little left.  Block placement for both quilts were chosen by my sister.  She seemed to be taking great pleasure in it so I let her.  And I managed to label all the blocks and not mix them up for once.  More details about each when they are finished.  Looking forward to finishing these so I can be a bit more creative with my next new project.  Still waiting on the package with the binding fabric for the Riley Blake quilt.  Silly snowstorm in the east.

2014

   2013 was fairly productive in terms of completed quilts.  I think I averaged just barely over one quilt a month.  Every niece or nephew has received a quilt, although the nearly 2 year old has probably outgrown his.

  I finished up the year in a quilting bee, Beejeebers, and I'm happy to say that I finished all my blocks on time and am pretty sure I also managed to mail them before the end of the month.  I decided that I would not participate in a bee this year just to make sure there is plenty of family time.

     I'm proud that nearly every day my daughter is wearing at least one item of clothing that I made for her.  Over the winter break, I managed to finally sew the Hopscotch dress from Oliver and S. I bought the interlock knit in 2012, washed it and stuck it in a bin until I managed to conquer my fear of sewing with knits.  It is far from perfect (especially the hems), but she loves the two I made her.
 

      One more dress is planned for the break.  The neckline needs to be altered so it doesn't do the crossover.  I did acquire some additional knits this past week because I needed a little more variety in her wardrobe.  Same print in a different color is probably not enough variation.  It did feel wonderful to open the bin with the knits, use 2 of them and not be scared to take out the third fabric.

   
     On the agenda for 2014 is:

• sew more clothes for myself and kid 1.  Kid 2 has so many hand-me-downs that it would be foolish to sew much of anything unless I am asked to.
• Sew more quilts to donate using the fabric I already have.  
• Finishing the minky quilt for kid 2.  It has been waiting to be trimmed and pressed for more than a month.  Oops.

    Using the velveteen and voile for the scarves before Christmas (which have all been gifted to various family members) and finally sewing with knits made me want to get rid of the feelings of guilt that I sometimes have.  I look at fabric I have sitting in a bin waiting for me to complete the intended project.  Then I spend time thinking about how I should really use it rather than letting it just sit there.  And it continues to sit there untouched. 

    So the St. Louis 16 patch above is an example of finally using up fabric that has been sitting here for too long.  I bought a Freebird fat quarter bundle shortly after it came out because I loved the colors.   I attempted the Birdie Stitches quilt along using a Freebird jelly roll, and still haven't finished it.  The fat quarters sat waiting for me to make a New Wave (Elizabeth Hartman) quilt with the large scale prints (above) and Firecracker (Jaybird Quilts) with the monochromatic prints.  4 years later, I haven't started either project.

     For Beejeebers, I made some of the St. Louis 16 patch blocks and decided 2 days ago that perhaps it would be fast and easy and finally use up the large scale fat quarters from the bundle.  I have 6 more blocks to make that will be scrappy because I don't quite have enough. With so many large scale prints, it is incredibly busy and lacks the negative space that I like so much.  The daughter did give her stamp of approval even if it is busy.  As more blocks are added, it does calm down a bit.  The layout above is in the order that they were finished and not really balanced yet.

  The intention is to make a 20 block quilt and a 12 block quilt.  Both of the quilts will be donated to Katie's Comforter Guild.  That's my charity of choice for the year.    I would like to reduce my stash by making the quilts to donate, but I don't want to cross the line and have the quilts look like I'm simply trying to get rid of fabric and I threw something together.  It might be close with these two quilts.  I'll check with the 6 year olds tomorrow.  Hopefully my niece and sister will be able to drop them off in person, if they desire to do so and it makes any of the appointment days a little more enjoyable.