SAHRR Week 4

Happy Full Snow Moon! As I compose this post, the name of this month’s full moon is rather à propos since we are waiting for yet another imminent snowstorm. It’s been a lot of winter this year, but that is good for the health of our forests (ticks) and lakes (algae), albeit not so good for summer-loving Sandra.

Here is my glorious joy-filled design wall as of this morning:

SAHRR Numbers 1 and 2, and this year's RSC two blocks

Let me explain!

SAHRR #1

Here is where I left this quilt after two rounds. It measured 27.5", and has the first round, Snowball blocks (a block that starts with your initial: S for Sandra), and the second round, HSTs.

I had hoped that round 3 would let me somehow incorporate finishing off the frame I made with the HSTs. Round three was stars. Hmmm.

One day after letting it percolate on the design wall, (actually off it for a good chunk while I furiously sewed on my PQ challenge, Seacliff Beach), I suddenly saw two star points formed by the little bows, how I'd originally seen them, in the four corners. I quickly cut two 3.5" squares from a pretty gold-embossed floral that is similar to the navy floral in the original block. This is a floral I'd used in a kaleidoscope made several years ago, so it's pretty holy (haha double entendre there) fabric. In retrospect, I would have had enough to do all twelve in this round out of the original navy floral, but at that time I wasn't sure, nor did I want to cut too much into it, as I planned to use a bit throughout the following rounds. This one tones in beautifully, and by digging into my 4" squares tray and pulling some burgundy squares, and folding them à la HSTs, I found that yes! I could make stars in those corners. This tickled my creative fancy because it blended rounds 2 and 3!

You'll notice that I made eight burgundy/gold cat background HSTs and cut a precious 3.5" square of the navy floral to finish off the frame. At this point I wasn't sure what would fill in the 6" wide space on either side of the frame, possibly more gold cat fabric, but I trusted the process, to use an overused cliché, knowing that inspiration would strike.

Here are the next stages as it evolved this past week.

Top row: eight squares for the corner 4-patches cut, and frame finished; filling in with star points and gold cats fabric (as used in original 15" block);
Bottom row: more star points made this time with light blue background and four cornerstones with round 1 floral; frame finished to a point, and week 4 prompt will fill in on either side.

These are all the components that make up rounds 3 and 4:

The frame could have ended with the navy floral square, but when I started figuring out what to fill in on the long edges between the outer star points, I saw the potential of making the corners of the frame end in points, using a QST. I was feeling this was going a little too much in the pink and burgundy only directions, so wanted to incorporate some light blue because it is in both the navy floral and swirling floral. Pink and blue is a very pleasing colour combo to me, and with the burgundy it gives it that depth that a dark will do.

I am so glad that PQ interrupted the progress on this SAHRR because Wendy's prompt of a slashed square at first threw me, but then it became part of the stars round. This quilt is definitely not modern or improv as that block pretty much is. I thought maybe of doing a zigzag border on either side of the point, yet it still felt jarring. Then I saw Kathleen's post where she, too, wasn't feeling the improv aspect in her quilt, and she had some suggestions. As you can see, I went with her idea but for making my slashed squares finish at 3". So the three patches are 1", ½", and 1½" finished rectangles. I had to break my rule a bit here by going into my drawers where I store ⅓ to ¼ yard cuts for the light blue. I had about ⅓ yard and it is just about all gone now, good! Use it up, use it up, is my mantra.

I sewed these two rows basically into 4-patches, and then joined them into rows to go on all four sides of the quilt. There are 88 3½" squares in these two rounds!

Here is the quilt centre which now measures 39.5". I am so in love with this!

Trying for a little natural sunlight on it; too windy outside.

SAHRR #2

If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen my block for round 3, which I was able to make between sewing the Seacliff Beach quilt blocks.

This is the block on which I based this, known as Mosaic #15 in Eleanor Burns' book Go! Qube which I've used a lot over the past two weeks.

I was able to incorporate my 'must have strips' component in the centre square on point. I love using old, ahem, vintage fabrics from my stash along with brand new ones.

This is what I mean by my rule for both SAHRR and RSC quilts. I do my utmost to only work out of my scrap 'boxes' (the blues one is shown), my squares trays and strips bins (not shown), and my triangles packages (in the plastic baggies). The scrap box holds chunks under ¼ yard. This makes me use up these bits, even when I have to find two or more backgrounds and dark greens, for example, as in the above block. To my mind, this is what makes a scrap quilt sing: multiple fabrics that 'read' as one, but upon closer inspection, the variety is evident.

Here is this week's block. Again, I wasn't sure about doing an improv block like Anja's for this quilt, but at Emily's post, I got the idea for incorporating slashed squares on a diagonal into a block. When I went into EQ to play around with what blocks might work for me to add these, I found this block, Cross Roads, which, interestingly enough, I had used once before, as one of my six extra Canadian Women blocks!

Observant ones will notice I have six, not four, strips on the sides. This is because I'd made the rail fence blocks in mostly blues (the planes, navy and plaid sections) for week 2's prompt, but rejected them. I had hoped they'd get used eventually! I then made the plaid, swirls, and lime sections which fulfilled my strips component. I put my slashed squares in the four corners, repeating the two ancient fabrics used in the centre. Those two may very well be ancient but aren't they terrific? That lime--swoon! I only have about 7" x 26" left.

Here is where my five blocks are. Oh how I love this quilt! I do not know if I will be able to part with either of these. The first has a lot of special personal meaning in that original 15" block, and the second is my favourite colour combo, well my absolute favourite is with a little purple in there too. I've decided not to do any more stars; three is enough I'm thinking, though I'm not sure how this one will come together yet. It's not talking either.

A note about the original ombré heart block. I can't find the old post where I first showed it, though I did find the Biscuit Basket post from 2014 using the jellyroll I'd purchased for the pattern. It was some time not long afterwards were I'd seen the ombré heart online, and played with the leftover strips to see if I could make a 12" block, which is what I'd pulled out of my Lonely Blocks Club drawer. The Crafty Quilter has a free pattern for a 6" ombré heart, but hers is constructed differently. Just so you know.

Again, no one owns this block; it's another common one, though construction methods can be 'owned'. My Winter Blues quilt design that was based upon my rendition of the ombré heart will be owned, or copyrighted, as in no one can copy it or pass it off as their own quilt design, or my posse of lawyers will come after you bahaha. Seriously, it is sad that there is a lot of pirating in quilting, especially since we put so much of it online. I have experienced this with my suitcase quilt as you may recall, and I'm sure you're aware of other instances. Since the PQ challenge this past week was all about common blocks and ownership, I thought I'd make it clear about this ombré heart!

The basket used to hold guest facecloths in our Florida condo we used to have, now holds sewing supplies in a closet. Hmm, I think it needs to come out of the closet and show off once I get MacGyver to build me a corner shelf.

It was another fun week, and I can hardly believe there are only two more rounds to go; it seems like we just got started! I'll be linking up at Wendy's Pieceful Thoughts.