Don't Call Me Betsy

Monday, August 17, 2015

39 Blocks Before Baby: Week Three

Three weeks in, and I'm still loving this project big-time. I look forward to spending a few hours in my sewing room with my 39 Blocks Before Baby notebook each week, where I've got all my quilty math and such, and cutting and sewing a few blocks. And I'm loving how they are looking together so far! There's a total of 16 6" blocks in the quilt, so I'm making good headway making my way through that part of the quilt, so yay for that! Here's how they all look now...

Less is More
This block stems from my first book Becoming a Confident Quilter (signed copies available in my shop!). Granted, the pattern in the book is for a completely different block size, but the block itself remains the same. This one is paper pieced, not because there are unusual angles or anything, but because it's a five-unit block, and well, five divided by six yields some numbers that are less than fun to cut in my opinion, so I opted for paper piecing. I used a new background print that will be used intermittently throughout the quilt, a fun and simple white polka dot on a gray background.

Pineapple
The Pineapple block is quite a classic block, but believe it or not, I never made a traditional one. Just an improv one or two! The Pineapple is another paper pieced block, though it is possible to piece traditionally, I find the accuracy of paper piecing a must for a block this precise. I really love the way the teal and fuchsia play against one another, and I think it's making this one my favorite block thus far!

Good news to share too - I will indeed be doing a block of the month subscription club for this epic sampler, I'm just working out the details of how to spread out the blocks and such, since there's 39 of them! I hope to iron out the details over the next week or two and I'll likely kick off the club in October, though I'll announce all the details way sooner than later.

I'm really having fun with this project, and I'm loving how quickly it feels like I'm making progress already. I'm officially eight blocks in - just another thirty-one to go! If I keep up this two blocks a week pace, I will for sure manage to make my goal, yay! Have a wonderful day, friends :)

Labels:39 blocks before baby,epic sampler,epic sampler bom,paper piecing | 4 comments

Monday, August 10, 2015

39 Blocks Before Baby: Week Two

This week's two new blocks are the Churn Dash and the Courthouse Steps. Pretty traditional, but I love them all the same. There's such a rich history in traditional blocks that I thoroughly appreciate, and sewing them up in modern, fun fabrics is more than enough to make them look fresh and new for me. I did alter last week's Economy block as well, which I was feeling was just a bit too dark on the outer corners, so I took those off and added my most favorite-ist Chicopee print in fuchsia, and I think it really works :)

Churn Dash
Why is it that this beautiful shade of nautical blue is so tough to find in modern fabric collections? It's one of my favorites, and I was so glad to see Alison Glass use it in her recent Sun Prints collection. Another really simple block, but with these beautiful fabrics, I can't help but love it just as much as the more intricate blocks. Sometimes, I think really complicated blocks need some simple ones nearby to give the eye a place to rest that doesn't require as much effort.

Courthouse Steps
I love that my husband's reaction to this one was "It's like a log cabin, only way better!" Too cute. Indeed, I love a good Courthouse Steps block, and I was shocked to realize I'd never made one before! This little 6" version was probably enough to cure me of wanting to make a full quilt of them, though, as they are a bit fiddly at this size. Regular patchwork piecing all the way on this one, though you certainly could paper piece this type of block if you'd rather!

Six down, thirty-three to go! I'm still mulling over the concept of doing a block of the month club with this project, especially with the rate at which they're coming together, so I hope to have news about that soon! Have a great week :)

Labels:39 blocks before baby,epic sampler bom | 11 comments

Monday, August 3, 2015

39 Blocks Before Baby: Week One

So, I mentioned last week about my hare-brained idea to make this epic sampler quilt before the baby is born, and I've gotten right to work on it. Combined with my Twirl block from last week (download the free tutorial right here!), I'm up to a total of four blocks thus far. Here they are in all their glory!

Each of these blocks will be 6" finished in the quilt. There are three different block sizes that I'll be making throughout these next many weeks - 6" finished, 12" finished, and 18" finished. There's seventeen 6" blocks, twenty 12" blocks, and two 18"blocks to make.

This week's three new additions are The Claw, the Friendship Octagon, and the Economy block.

The Claw

The Claw is a fairly traditional block known often as a Capital T block. I paper-pieced mine, although it's absolutely doable without that. When I get down to 6" blocks with this much patchwork going on, I often opt for paper-piecing to insure as much precision as possible. I love the shades of teal going on in this block, and it really solidified my choice of the fab Botanics Leaves print for my primary background print. There will be two other background prints that I'll use in some of the blocks, but the bulk of the blocks will use this print for the background.

The Friendship Octagon

The Friendship Octagon block brings in a new shade of teal as well as a new background print. This is such a simple block to put together, just a handful of half-square triangles and a center square, and it's done. It was so simple that I decided to throw in one more block for the week because I had extra time :)

The Economy Block

The Economy block is one I've made many times over, for lots of bees, and I've even made a pillow top for my home using the block. I used a deep, dark shade of fuchsia for the outside accent frame, and I just love the addition of this beautiful, rich fuchsia to the blocks so far! I have to say, this photo doesn't exactly do it justice, in spite of my photo editing attempts - today marks the 22nd day in a row of rain where I live, and the lack of sunshine has made photo-taking really difficult! This block is also easily achievable through traditional piecing, but I much prefer paper piecing when dealing with all those bias edges, so I paper pieced this bad boy.

Four down, thirty-five to go! I'm still mulling over the idea of turning this project into a super fun club, so if you're interested, make sure to tell me about it! Have a great Monday everyone :)

Labels:39 blocks before baby,epic sampler bom,paper piecing | 8 comments