Split Personality

I hit a road block with my Echt Hollands quilt, I definitely need a darker blue ribbon. I haven't found any yet. So I was sitting in my sewing room with my measly stash....unlike others, I do not yet need to go on a fabric diet. I found some neat left over cat fabric and I was making little piles of matching fabrics, and I found I that some of the matching fabrics were from my Suske Quilt. So what could I do with this? Perusing APQ October 2005 I found this Block Party pattern by Jason Yenter that might do!


First you make these courthouse blocks, mine are one strip smaller than in the pattern, and I only made nine of them.



Then, you split them into four pieces and join them with a thin sashing. Above, I had already cut my blocks, when I realized I hadn't taken any photos yet, so you can see the cut lines. Below I show you how they are split and then rejoined. I hadn't finished the piecing yet.


I've decided to call this wallhanging Suske II: Split Personality. However I have hit another road block...I have the perfect fabric for the sashing, but I don't think I'll have enough. Will the store I got them at still have it.....? Will keep you posted.

Below is Suske's take on the whole thing!


I am also getting ready for our Robyn Pandolph's visit to our guild and her workshop. Here are the fabrics I bought for the workshop. Aren't they yummy?! Very feminine, not really my style, but I like this colour combo. Some are her fabrics and the others are some Robert Kaufman blends. Those are great! When I first saw them by themselves, I shrugged, but when you put them with the prints they are fabulous. You know why I like these fabrics, even though they are not really me? They remind me of spring and I am getting so sick of winter! There I said it! It had to be said. It was minus 18 degrees Celsius yesterday! We just got out of another snowstorm! egad!...although today was sunny...yes, the fabrics remind me of spring.

More Echt Hollands

Am not feeling too well, today, I think I am getting a nasty cold that is going around. So here are few photos of my 'Echt Hollands' (Real Dutch) project I've been working on. See my October 21st post for the origins of this project.



I've run out of the fabric, I want to put in the corners. I am thinking I will applique a 'boerenbont' pattern in the corner blocks. Boerenbont is a pattern that can be found on some Dutch dishware. My mother really loves this pattern, and always brings back these dishes from Holland. And amazingly enough never breaks them! I mentioned to my mom I thought I might applique this pattern with my dutch fabric and her first reaction was it's not the right shade of red! And she is right but this is just a representation not an exact replica....really the boerenbont might do better with the country shades, but hey, this is my project.


Here are some of the plans I've drawn up, and the beginnings of some flying geese and some pinwheels. I always feel so anxious when I start to cut the fabric, like, don't screw it up! Especially, when I am making up the pattern, and I don't know how much fabric I will need. LOL

Liberated Quiltmaking in Practice

Happy New Year one and all!

It's been a very hectic Christmas season for those of us who work in retail, and I am glad the worst is over! Now I can get back to quilting and blogging in my spare time!

A few notes on posts: CA stands for Canada, not California....although sometimes I wish I was in California...the wooden cats came from a store called Sea Jewels, which specializes in carved wooden imports and such...Can someone tell me the etiquette for responding to people's questions in their posts?...oh and in case anybody noticed...my posting name is now comicbooklady, instead of Carol. It all started with beta blogger and having 2 blogs....don't ask...and I changed my photo :)

I haven't been completely out of it though. I managed to make a tea cozy, a Christmas present for a friend. As well as practicing the stuff I learned from Marston's Liberated Quiltmaking book. I have found out that Fridays for me are good liberated quilt making days. I am too tired to be precise or follow directions, but I still have the desire to quilt and create. I started to go through the book in order; here is my liberated strips:



I sewed some strips together from my stash (ironically my stash is filled with very neat, rotary cut strips, oh well), then I cut it into 3 pieces and then sewed the background fabric between them. I like the simplicity of this piece...It was after all my first attempt at liberated quiltmaking... I was thinking, I could hand quilt a leaf pattern onto it, to bring out the fall theme...or it would make a lovely tea cozy...:)

After I moved onto liberated log cabins, which I had a lot of fun with, more fun than strips I think. It was fun just to pull stuff out of my scrap bin and use up those bits, the colour and pattern is a bit more lively, that's probably what made it more fun.



I am enjoying liberated quiltmaking; it certainly is a great exercise in creativity, but I don't think I'll give up my rotary cutter quite yet. I am not that good at cutting with my scissors!:)

Next: liberated tea cozies...stay tuned!