Monday, April 22, 2013

This Week's Projects... Catching Up on SkillBuilder BOM and Improv Wall Hanging




This week will be a rather busy week, and I am not sure how much quilting/sewing I will actually accomplish.
Instead of a regular Summer Vacation Bible School our church is hosting Back Yard Bible Clubs in various neighborhoods in our community, these clubs will take place 4 different Saturdays throughout the year... The first one is this coming Saturday and we are hosting one in our backyard! Yikes, we haven't had enough "Spring" to really get our yard in order! Hopefully this week will be beautiful and I will get a lot accomplished in the yard and the house... And of course we are all praying for dry weather Friday/Saturday... We shall see.

As for quilting projects...

Last Thursday the April Skill Builders BOM from Alyssa @ Pile of Fabric was released, I hadn't finished March's (actually I hadn't started on them ;) last Thursday. I was really excited about the April blocks, but I absolutely wasn't going to start on April without doing March, so Friday I got to work on those blocks.


Block #5 wasn't bad at all, I whipped that one out in no time and I actually liked it. I have had some motivation issues with the Skill Builders BOM because I don't really like the fabric I am using for it. I am determined to use scraps, and most of these scraps are from a bunch of baby quilts I made when I first started quilting and while I love the fabrics in and of themselves, I just don't like them for this project.



Block #6 wasn't difficult in and of itself, but it was very time consuming for me. Just cutting out all of the HSTs and QSTs took me quite sometime. With this Skill Builders BOM I am not accepting "just okay." I am using this BOM to learn some foundational skills that I never learned when teaching myself to quilt, so I am determine to do things "right." 

I like the way block #6 turned out as well. I used coordinating scraps, from Clementine by My Three Sisters (I believe). 



So here is a picture of all 6 of my completed Skill Builder BOMs... I plan to "Quilt As You Go," but haven't gotten to that point yet. 


Like I said I was very excited about the April BOMs so as soon as I finished Block #6 I got right to work on Block #7. If I thought Block #6 was time consuming, well I hadn't met Block #7 yet :) 

It is a beautiful block using Traditional Paper Piecing Hexagons. Yes, I am hand stitching all 56 of them, and I love it. I did go with Alyssa's recommendation and ordered the pre-cut foundations. These pre-cut hexagons were definitely worth $5 I spent on them! I had to cut out 56 3 inch squares of fabric, and then glue all of them to the foundations, then trim the edges, then glue and fold the edges over each of the foundations before I could begin stitching them. 

Once I started getting all of those little hexies laid out, I really wanted to throw Block #7 to the wind, and start making flowers. Oh they make the most adorable little flowers, and I have wanted to work with hexies for so long, and just haven't had the time... But I didn't. 

There are all my little hexagons laid out, my block isn't as dramatic as Alyssa's because of the color combinations/prints I chose, but it is still cute. 



My hand stitching was not great at first, but after about 3 hexies, I started getting the hang of it, and I am really loving it. For those of you who are doing the Skill Builders BOM, yes I started piecing my rows/columns in a different order than the tutorial instructs. I am assuming it is going to be fine in the end. I just started piecing my color specific rows/chains, instead of in columns. 



Yesterday afternoon I put the hexies aside for a bit, since I had time to be in my sewing nook, and started working on my Improv Philippians 4:8 Wall Hanging. It was hard to get back into it at first, but after a bit I really started enjoying it and I love the way the second block is coming along!

I only finished two sides, but coming up with an idea I like is sometimes the hardest part. 


Side by side with the first finished block.


Obviously some spacing issues, but these are the other burlap "centers" that I will be using as part of this wall hanging. 

My big design/color dilemma is that I chose the fabric - Urban Mod by AGF because of the yellow, and wanting to bring more yellow into our living room... And well I keep using Kona Olive instead of instead of the Kona Canary because it is just so bright, and I am scared of that bright yellow. I am going to have to figure out a way to bring some of that yellow into this, while not allowing it to overpower the whole quilt. 

Any thoughts?

Linking up with Lets Get Acquainted by Plum and June, hosted this week by Kristy @ Quiet Play

If you love paper piecing (or are interested in it) you have to take a look at Kristy's blog, Quiet Play. 



15 comments:

  1. I adore block 6, love the colors against the white background. Well done!

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  2. Well done. I'm yet to catch up. I have only 2 blocks. I better get back on track.

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  3. Nice blocks!!! My favorite is block 6, too. Great job on all your projects. Keep busy!

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  4. I voted for your quilt "Timber and Leaf Baby Quilt" on Quilting Gallery's Show & Tell. I love how you quilted it, the wood grain design is great. Is it difficult?

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  5. You blocks are looking great together!

    I love the inspirational words on the burlap for features on a quilt!

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  6. You've been busy! I love the idea of Backyard Bible school...we used to do Sidewalk Sunday school in parks...it was a great time. I hope it goes well.

    As to your dilema, I can't say that I have a good opinion, but I love the theme. =) Visiting from Let's Get Acquainted. Have a great day.

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  7. i think your wall hanging will be great. i think the burlap adds such a nice touch. and can i just say ditto about block #6 :)

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  8. Your Skill Gilder blocks look great together!

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  9. Jessica,
    Love your blog!!! Thanks for stopping by and visiting me at Pots, Pans, Pins, and Prayers today. Love your background since we share the same "quilt"!! I look forward to following you. I see you went to OSU. Could it be that you live in OK? I am in Tulsa. Your projects are creative and very "Happy"!!
    Keep up the great job!
    Sue

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    1. Sue - I did graduate from OSU, but I now live near St. Louis, MO. Thank you for the sweet comments. I look forward to following you/your blog as well.

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  10. I love your blocks, Jessica. How many are you planning on making? Will it be a full size quilt?

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    1. Thank you. When we are finished with all of the blocks we will have 20 12X12 blocks for the Skill Builders BOM. I will have 7 blocks for my wall hanging and then sash them together, honestly I am not sure how big it will be when I am finished.

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  11. I love your fabirc choices! I'm so impressed that you pulled all of that from your stash.

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    1. I started quilting around the time I was pregnant with my second, we didn't find out the gender, and I really wanted a baby girl... So I bought way too many "girly girl" prints. I had a second son, so now I have to find things to do with the "girly" fabric!

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