Block Eleven with Vanessa Wilson

WOW! Block Eleven! How did that happen? Our flickr pool is beginning to look like spring. Yea! At least it is looking like spring somewhere.

Our block today is from Vanessa Wilson who is also known as the Crafty Gemini.

So, without futher ado, here's Vanessa:

Hi there! My name is Vanessa Wilson. I am the wife and mother behind Crafty Gemini [http://www.craftygemini.blogspot.com/], a blog dedicated to creativity on a budget! I post dozens of my FREE step-by-step text and video tutorials for beginning sewists and quilters. I also host giveaways, quilt alongs, and post product reviews of quilting devices, notions, etc. I'm also a new quilt designer and have two patterns being published and sold by QuiltWoman.com. You can see them both here: http://quiltwoman.com/search.aspx?find=vanessa+wilson

So, who am I and where do I come from? I am a 27-yr old, wife and stay-at-home mama by day and a college law professor by night. I was born in Queens, New York and grew up in Miami, FL. When I was in law school I was in desperate need of a creative outlet. My mother came over with a 1966 Singer sewing machine and taught me how to thread it and sew straight stitches. That was the beginning of my new obsession.

I immediately began repurposing old jeans into purses, and shirts into aprons, etc. A few weeks later I discovered a sewing/quilt shop in town and signed up for a pillow sham class, then a Christmas stocking class, etc. I remember rushing out of my law classes to make it to my quilting classes on time. My friends thought I was crazy!
My goal is to eventually have my own quilting show! In the meantime, I post video tutorials to spread my love of sewing and quilting with the world. My videos cover a variety of subjects from how to make toddler pants out of a t-shirt to loading a quilt on you longarm frame. My YouTube channel  [http://www.youtube.com/TheCraftyGemini] has had great success with almost 500,000 views and over 2,700 subscribers worldwide.
I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about me! To follow more of my quilty ventures check me out at the Crafty Gemini blog [http://www.craftygemini.blogspot.com/].


Click HERE for instructions to Vanessa's block.


Thanks Vanessa!

Here is a picture of Vanessa's "E-ccentric Quilt Block."

Here is a picture of my block.  As usual, my colors are a little wild.  I'm still getting use to them.

Notes about the pattern:

1)  The cutting instructions use 1/8" measurements.  I know this worries some of you.  Take a deep breath.  You can do it.  The 1/8" marks are the little ones on your ruler between the marks you usually use.  3 1/8" is one little mark more than 3."  1 7/8" is one mark less than 2," or 7 little marks more than 1."

 

2)  On the pattern, Vanessa notes to use a scant 1/4" seam.  Between that and the 1/8," I was a little worried, so I sewed a very scant 1/4," and ended up with my piece too big. 

Then I checked the math. 

Turns out, in the top and bottom row, using a regular 1/4" seam creates a block that is 1/8" too small.  1/8" over four seams is NOT a lot.  You can make 4 seams 1/8" bigger by pressing.  The other critical place is the 5 pieces that make up the E.  If sewn with a true 1/4," the piece ends up 1/4" short.  It also really isn't that much.  This is where I tested my small seam and ended up too large. 

Conclusion:  When Vanessa says to use a scant 1/4" seam, she means the regular scant 1/4" seam that is barely, barely, one thread over from 1/4."  Mostly, just make sure you aren't sewing a seam any larger than 1/4."  That will give you fits.   My block went together just fine (on the second try).

3)  FYI -- Fabric A and Fabric C take 1 layer cake + 1 -- 3 1/8" square.  I used two scraps for Fabric A and Fabric B and used one layer cake square for Fabric C.  I didn't have a similar scrap to Fabric C, so I pieced that last 3 1/8" square. 

Conclusion:  If you piece that last square, you will have enough of both Fabric A and C using 1 -- 10" square. 

I also ended up piecing one of the Fabric A squares, but that's because my first cut was wrong.  Oh well!

So what happens next?

Well, any pictures posted in the flickr group by tonight will be entered into the first drawing. About 10 ish tonight (Mountain Time) or tomorrow morning, I will post my Block TEN. All blocks BEFORE mine are those entered into the first drawing. It doesn't matter which block - just the one's posted before mine. If you post your block AFTER mine, then it will be entered into the next drawing. I will post the winners tomorrow.

What's up for grabs this time?

Vanessa has donated TWO of her patterns!

Starry Picnic!

and Lock Up!

And I think I should donate TWO of my patterns!

Sweet Baby Kate!

and Baby Sadie's Bears!

Happy Quilting!

Play Time

This morning as soon as I came in from my morning constitutional, (I don't know what that means either.  I was on a bike ride.) the baby was playing with her daddy, so I ran straight downstairs and finished my quilt!  I had dreams of this becoming a UFO, and I didn't want that to happen.  Baby did help me quilt it.  Sorry for the quality of the photo:

I LOVE IT!  This is MY couch quilt!  The fabrics are Nicey Jane, Hunky Dory, Modern Meadow, and one other that I just grabbed.  I have been wanting to play with Nicey Jane and Hunky Dory for a while now.  So nice that they played together so well!  The background is a white Moda Bella Solid. I love the binding.  I didn't have enough of the pink so I put in some of the leftovers from the quilt.  I put bamboo batting in it.  I have used bamboo before, but not on a quilt that I have actually used.  So this is my test quilt to see if I like bamboo batting.

WARNING:  Scritch Scratch Ahead
A couple of you asked how I did it.  Well, I don't have time to make up a real pattern so the instructions that I am giving are not for a beginner--unless you like puzzles.  Sorry. 

Fabric Requirements:
12 jelly roll strips or 12 -- 1/8 yards cut into 12 -- 2 1/2" strips
1/4 yard for first border (4 strips at 2")
1 yard for the second border (5 strips at 5" -- there is enough extra to get one 2 1/2" strip if you want.)
1 yard background fabric

Background is cut as follows:
9 -- 2 1/2" strips from which you need:

• 40 of A -- 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
• 16 of B -- 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"
• 8 of C -- 2 1/2" x 6 1/2"
• 8 of D -- 2 1/2" x 8 1/2"

2 -- 4 1/2" strips from which you need:

• 5 of E -- 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"
• 4 of F -- 4 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Okay -- so I scanned my scritch scratch.  Basically, its the EQ Diagram printed out with my instructions on it.  HERE is the link to that page.  All you need is where the letters are for placement.  (Oh, if you have a question if that is a B or a C, it's a B.  I had to change after I started.  Some of the Cs got changed to Bs and some of the Bs got split into 2 As.) 

Now aren't you grateful for real patterns?!?

Oops!  You need one more set of cutting instructions:
Divide your jelly rolls into three groups of four.  I called my sets outer, inner and middle.  Inner and outer don't work though. The middle set doesn't go all the way across. 

From those four "middle" strips you need:
2 -- 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" and
2 -- 2 1/2" x 8 1/2"

With the other strips, notice that one set has one strip that goes all the way across the block and the other doesn't.  So one set of four has the 12 1/2" strip and the other doesn't.

From the four "outer" strips (the ones WITH the 12 1/2" strip) you need:
2 -- 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
2 -- 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" and
1 -- 2 1/2" x 12 1/2"

From the four "inner" strips (the ones WITHOUT the 12 1/2" strip) you need:
3 -- 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" and
3 -- 2 1/2" x 8 1/2"

There you have it!  Start at the middle or one of the corners.  I started at the middle.  It's a 12" block (12 1/2" unfinished) just like Block 11. 

 -- The quilt turned out about 48" square.

QUESTION:
For those of you that have read this far, or skimmed down, I have a question.
I have decided to finish the binding by hand.  I have noticed that it isn't as sturdy as by machine.  Any tips for me when I finish a binding by hand.  My problem is that after use, the threads break and the binding starts coming off.  I use a single thread, but I am thinking about using a double thread.  I don't use any special type of thread.  Should I be using a sturdier thread?

Thanks in advance!  And thanks again to Jewel for a fun play time!

(Temporary) Abdication

Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, I just have to put everything aside and do something else.  I suppose that I am abdicating my responsibilities, but only for a couple hours or so. 

Jewel's Arm Candy (Flickr name) posted this quilt on the flickr discussion board after block 11.  HERE's the link in case you are interested.

I have been thinking about it since she posted this picture.  Today it was just what I needed.  I figured out how much fabric I would need and what I would need to cut while sitting at the tire store waiting for a leak to be plugged.  Then I stopped by a fabric shop on my way home and picked up the supplies.  I even had a gift certificate to the shop so the quilt was free (well, almost)! 

So, the kids watched tv and made messes while I sewed.  The kids played and cried while I sewed.  It is all done except the border.  I am hoping to show it to you tomorrow.  I love it!  Thanks Jewel's Arm Candy!

Here's to (temporary) abdication of responsibility!

The Last Block, but not the Last Winners

We have two more winners this morning!  First we have the winner of the prize from Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios:

stefgaul!

and the winner of my jelly roll:

magentaleaves!

As always, winners have been notified through FlickrMail.  Please email me through Flickr or directly at kluckau@moosequilts.com with your mailing address!

Block Twelve with Scott Hansen

Block Twelve! WOW! All of a sudden that happened quickly. We've got a great last block for you. It was designed by Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios.

Scott and I "met" in a way that only quilters could meet.  One of my quilting friends did a doll quilt swap and Scott was her swap partner.  So I looked online to see who Blue Nickel Studios was.  I know some of you know Scott, but for those of you who don't think you know Scott, you may know Scott through his quilts.  Hop over to his blog and see if you recognize his work.

Now from Scott:

Hi everyone, I'm Scott Hansen and the person behind the Blue Nickel Studios name....which you may or may not have heard of ....but as time goes on I hope you will hear more and more of the Blue Nickel. I have been quilting since 1993 pretty regularly, although my very first quilt was back in 1976 or so when I was really into Americana, and wanted a "crazy" quilt. My mom knew very little about quilting, and that first quilt that she helped me with was tied...and weighs a ton! I am not sure what we used for batting, but it is nothing like what we have these days. In the mid-80's I picked up counted cross-stitch to keep my hands busy (I always need something to do) and then in the early 90's, I discovered I could accomplish bigger, more useful, and faster items with quilting. That and we had babies popping up all around us in our social circles (including 3 of our own)

I have always been creatively minded, but somewhere along the way, a lot of that got somewhat pushed back. Being a man, creativity is not so much applauded as is productivity, and I could not get the two to co-exist for many decades. Now I am working on remedying that. Back in 1995 or so, I was seriously thinking about leaving my life in retail for a different life in quilt-shop retail but never had the upfront $$ to get started, and didn't want to borrow money. Somewhere along the way, I decided that I would almost rather design than run a shop, but that may come along eventually.

Through a long slow chain of Divine events, I am now at the point where I have been professionally designing quilts for the fabric companies of Free Spirit, Michael Miller, and Robert Kaufman so far and I have an upcoming Moda Bake Shop project as well. On the websites of those first three companies, you can find the free downloadable patterns that I have done for them (there is also a link on my blog to make them easier to find). I have been published now in more magazines than I can remember....but if I was to take the time, I could still probably count them on my fingers...(I think). I have four more coming out this fall and winter with 4 different magazines. I am also working on self-publishing patterns that will start off in PDF form selling online only, and as time goes on, getting them actually printed on paper and in shops all over the world. The block that I have designed for this Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along is going to be one of my first patterns with three different layouts in three separate color schemes. You can follow my blog http://www.bluenickelstudios.com/ for news on when and where those will be available.

Besides magazines, I am also one of 30 men featured in Joe Cunningham's upcoming book Men and the Art of Quiltmaking, and I am thrilled that Joe included me in that book, as there are a lot of "bigger" names in the book as well, but there still aren't that many of us guys in the world of quilting (although I KNOW there are more than 30!!) I try to keep my blog fairly fresh with entries every so often, sometimes 2-3 times a week, sometimes I miss a few weeks, if things get really crazy around here with home projects, teenager stuff, or quilting deadlines. I still have that DayJob in retail that won't pay me if I don't show up either! :) You can always sign up for email prompts that tell you when I post if you want on the right sidebar of my blog.


I was very happy to be invited by Konda to join in with the fun on this quilt-a-long, and hope to see you stop by my blog at http://www.bluenickelstudios.com/. If you stop by before the 5th of August be sure to join in the naming contest for the Blue Nickel Prop Girls here on this link http://bluenickelstudios.com/?p=2191 Fat Quarters and a Layer Cake bundle are being offered as prizes. Also check out post #240 which as I write this isn't done yet, but it will have a prize that goes with Konda's quilt along as well. You know, I could just go on and on, but as it is an early Sunday morning, and it is the end of a week of wonderful vacation, I am just going to say thanks to Konda for the wonderful opportunity to meet you all, and please do stop by the Blue Nickel Studios site as often as you like, I love the company.

And now for our LAST BLOCK!  Here are Scott's pictures:  (He must be an over-achiever because he made three different blocks!)

Click HERE for instructions to Scott's block. 

Thanks Scott!

And since we love seeing how different each block can look, here are my blocks!  First with Attitude Girls,

and then with Swanky.  In each case I used the background fabric as the -- well where the plain white is in Attitude Girls.

Drawing tomorrow morning for Block Eleven!  We have two prizes again -- one from Scott and one from me!  Yipee!  (Tomorrow I will tell you what I have planned for the rest of the schedule.)

Update:  Yes, sorry, forgot to mention. . . . the alternate color schemes were causing problems with the pdf so Scott took them out of the pdf.  The pictures that were there are those you see above.  Thanks!

Block Eleven with Konda Luckau

Well, we had our first snafu.  All the other designers have been super fabulous about getting me the blocks.  I haven't been able to get in touch with this next to last designer.  She probably forgot and is now out of town.  I completely understand since she offered to make the block six months ago!  I should have sent a reminder sooner. 

As I was skimming through my Quilters Newletter that recently came (Aug/Sept p.49), I saw this:

Now, it caught my eye because I like Joel Dewberry, but my second thought was, "that would make a great block for our Sampler!  I don't know where the block came from.  It was just a block made to show the fabric line. 

Here's my Electric Quilt version:

and HERE's the link to instructions!

We will still have a drawing -- I have another jelly roll and I have a couple patterns so there will be three this time!

Thanks for playing!