To Give and To Recieve Swap Block

The latest issue of American Patchwork & Quilting is hitting the newsstands and mailboxes this week.  I'm sure subscribers are anticipating this new issue, especially considering the times we are living in right now.  It's jam packed with great projects and I'm thrilled to be part of this issue.  I can't imagine all the puzzles the staff had to solve to get this to your doorstep.  I hope you enjoy every page of it!

 I first blogged about this project here.

Photo courtesy of American Patchwork & Quilting Used with permission © 

 First I must give a big shout out to Barb,  from Fun with Barb, who hosted this fantastic swap. I also have to thank my stitching pals who offered up their scrap bags so I could get such a variety of prints and colors for the 16 patch blocks.  Even Jody (editor of magazine) sent me a goodie bag of scraps.

The best part of participating in a swap is getting that envelop in the mail, and anticipating all the different colors and prints that will become part of a quilt.  I knew I could not let these star blocks get tucked away in a box or bag so I got busy right away.  Here I am testing out the 16 patch blocks with swapped star blocks.  Look at all those prints and colors!

Testing out more 16 patch blocks and realizing that I need to keep the lighter squares away from the corners of the blocks.

Once I had all my blocks made I started playing with the layout.  One challenge is balancing out both color and value.  The other consideration was spreading out the blocks based on whether they were all one fabric or two toned.

Using the black and white setting on your cell phone is the best way to work out the values of all the star blocks.

I love the name the team at American Patchwork & Quilting gave this quilt.  It's perfect for this swap block quilt.

Photo courtesy of American Patchwork & Quilting Used with permission © 

 

When deciding on the quilting, I wanted to keep it very simple and clean.  The fabrics are the star of this quilt and I didn't want to detract from the huge variety of prints and colors.  Straight lines and neutral thread did the trick.

The cover quilt is pretty fabulous, along with many other patterns in the issue.  "Meet the Maker" is also a great section to introduce you to quilters that might be 'new to you'  There is a lot going on in the design world right now, and AP&Q have captured a lot of it and packed it into this issue.

I hope that you take some time to enjoy this issue.  Maybe you will find a project of two that you can start prepping for and work on during the upcoming fall months.  All the staff at AP & Q have stayed hard at work under these challenging times.  A big thank you to them for always making my work look so good!  

Please share any projects and tag the maker.  Me, you can always see whats happening on my Instagram page #grassrootsquilting  Hop over there, follow along, and tag me on any of my projects.  I love to see how others interpret my patterns.

Stay safe, mask up and keep stitching.  We are all in this together!

Sharon

 

Swapping Stars

Another great swap in in the works.  Barb, from Fun with Barb hosts swaps every so often and I always try to join in.  This time was no exception, even though I knew I would be under some pressure to hit the deadline.  I signed up for making 40 blocks using 1800's reproductions prints.  Here is a sampling of my stars. 

This piece has been in my stash since 2004.  I bought yards of this when I came to the US.  I didn't know anything about 1800s reproduction fabrics, but I was drawn to them immediately. I used this for curtains in my first place here.

Barb sends out very clear instructions and parameters for her swap and that is why I love doing them.  I trust the workmanship of the participants and know that I will be getting back good blocks.

In the process of making my stars, I dug through a bag of these.  Over 100 - 6 1/2" churn dash blocks from a previous swap. 

They have been patiently waiting to become a quilt top.  I've started adding sashing on one side of each block and I have the fabric for the corner posts.

thank goodness I've started adding notes to my boxes, and bags of projects.  That is a game changer when you get back into something from over a year ago.  Counts are there, color notes, cutting measurements, etc

I only had to make 29 more blocks, per my notes.  Since I had out scraps of muslin and a variety of reproduction prints were stacked up on the cutting table, I got busy moving this project forward a little bit.

Now that I have all the blocks made, a pile of muslin scraps folded up in the bag, a few sketches of ideas, this will be a perfect project to take to retreat at the end of the month.  Lets hope I don't take this long to put the star swap blocks into a top.
Keep stitching,
Sharon

Doll Swap Reveal

Once again, I've been overwhelmed with the amazing piece  I have received in Humble Quilts Doll Swap.  This year my piece came from Wendy over at The Constant Quilter. 
 

There are 131 different prints in this piece which is 12" x 12". Each little square finishes at 1" and the center medallion is 4" x 4". Wendy hand quilted the center piece and then machine pieced diagonal lines going into a V on all four sides.

The backing fabric is super cute, it looks to be inspired from a vintage crazy quilt. 

The piece fits exactly onto a little stand I have on my antique sideboard.  It's the perfect place to display this.  The center medallion has been hand quilted and its the perfect center motif.  I don't have an eagle on any quilts that I own.  Now I do!

With a big fresh pink peony beside it, the pinks just pop. 

Whoever thinks civil war prints are dull and drab just haven't seen what can be done with them.  The bright chrome yellows, the double pinks, the purples and greens all play so nicely with each other and really shine. 

And to top it all off, Wendy enclosed a goodie package, I know these will come in handy when making more 4 patches for a future project.

Lucky me, that I get to enjoy this piece for years to come.  Thank you Wendy!

If you haven't participated in a swap, I would encourage you to give it a try.  There are many going on all the time, just find one that suits your preferences and give it your best, you just might get something back that will thrill you!

Thanks for stopping by,
Sharon

Dear Postman

I know you are busy this year, but really? Did my package have to arrive looking like it got run over by a reindeer? Seriously, there was precious cargo in that envelope.

This is the second envelope I've recieved like this, and one I mailed out was also recieved at the other end looking like this. Hmmmm
Do I need to leave some cookies and eggnog in my mailbox?

Good thing zip lock bags were used to protect these.

Yes, my swap has been completed.  I sent off 9 sets of 6 and recieved 54 blocks with only one pair. Wow. I couldn't see one fabric duplicated and most of these prints are brand new to me.  This is an amazing swap group!
This package arrived with nary a scuff, thank goodness.  It contained my Christmas present to myself.

In closing, Annie and I want to wish all my blog readers a very Merry Christmas.  Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments, it's appreciated.

Sharon