Back to reality of the daily grind. I forgot just how exhausting working can be and how hard it is to get motivated to quilt after work. So my to do list? Way too aggressive! But one of my personal new year's resolutions is to be kind to myself. So it's okay, the stuff will get done after I get back in a rhythm. 🙂
The update for the new pattern (PBQ102) that is releasing this month… I haven't started writing it. I know that's awful, but I am committed to getting it out by Jan 24 prior to Winter Quiltfest. This one most likely will not be proofread due to the multiple diagrams I plan on having! I will be getting the quilt I made with Spectrum fabric by V&Co. back from Rhonda this week, too. So I can't wait to finish it! I was able to complete my first finish of 2017, the mini-version of the PBQ102 quilt. So a sneak peak of the back of the quilt, but it's missing a label. Recognize the Sundrops fabric by Corey Yoder? I'm obsessed with this fabric line, it's so pretty!
I realized I was going through enders and leaders so quickly that I figured that the Modern Heritage BOM Month 6 blocks would be perfect for the enders and leaders this week. Obviously I did not get these blocks done this week, so this is my excuse! Hopefully with the sewing I'm doing, the blocks will almost sew themselves!
I'm giving myself low pressure for finishing America's Garden Quilt by attempting to finish at least one block a week. This past week I finished the Tennessee block with their state flower, the Iris. It's such a beautiful block!
The 52 Quilter's Planner block this week was "Unnamed." I read some frustration with how much waste this block created and how frustrating it was to align. I tend to agree with the comments, however I used my scrap bin to make the block, so the waste just went back into the scrap bin. I oversized the block and cut it down to size to minimize the frustration and it worked out well! I made a head start on week 2's block by cutting out the fabric and using them as enders and leaders. (I'm loving the usage of enders and leaders! I feel it's like bonus sewing!)
I finally finished cutting all the blocks out for the Modern Building Block quilt. It's rather unfortunate the way Moda lays out the cutting instructions for the quilt. You will end up cutting more squares than needed if you cut each block as instructed. If you purchased the kit, make sure you cut the larger blocks first or you'll run out of fabric. There is a published google sheet a fellow quilter made to help with cutting, but there are also some errors on that as well. I'm trying to figure out a good way to communicate the cutting instructions better, but it's rather cumbersome. If I come up with something, I'll definitely post about it!
The 4 blocks I decided to do were Blocks 6, 23, 27, and 41. Here are some tips for each block!
Block 6: Press all seams to the lighter yellow fabric. This will help all of your seams match up!
Block 23: Be careful about pulling the fabric, the bias will catch the fabric to stretch and the block to distort.
Block 27: Press all seams to the darker fabric.
Block 41: Like Block 23, be careful not to pull on the fabric as the bias will stretch. Press the seams to the darker fabric and then the final seam will align.
Once I have more blocks created, there will be a page added for Moda Building Block tips to be able to find them all in one spot! One thing to note, the pattern is written so that there is NO trimming needed with using half-square triangles or quarter-square triangles. If you would like to trim your blocks, you will need to add 1/8" to the squares prior to cutting.
1/10-1/17 Weekly Goal:
Available time for quilting:
Friday PM, Saturday, Sunday PM (Boo on traveling for work this week)
Projects I want to work on:
Powered by Quilting Patterns
Modern Heritage BOM
America's Garden Quilt
Modern Building Blocks
Quilter's Planner Block
Goals for the Projects:
Powered by Quilting - Start writing PBQ102 pattern and name the pattern. Bind the Spectrum Sample Quilt.
Modern Heritage BOM - Month 6 Blocks as enders and leaders
America's Garden Quilt - Make 1 Block
Modern Building Blocks - Make ANY 4 Blocks
Quilters' Planner Block - Make this week's quilter's planner block
**hummm this looks similar to last week's to-do list doesn't it? Maybe I need to drop a weekly task. *sigh, but which one?