Economizing

When I shared this little block right after New Year's, I had every intention of making oodles more and having an Economy Block quilt as my first scrappy quilt of the year. 

And then last night, with a few free hours to sew, I looked at the 6 blocks I'd made and everything changed.

Don't get me wrong. They are darling. I love the scrappiness. I love seeing all the quilts made from them. And a part of me wanted one for my very own. But apparently not a big enough part. Because what I really wanted last night was to just stitch up a mini. So that's what I did.

Nine blocks just under 5" each, pieced together and quilted with a few square spirals and echos. And a little black and white stripe binding to set it all off.

A total change of plans. But a satisfying one at that. 

This project is on my 2014 FAL Q1 list. Also linking up with Fabric Tuesday.

Random, Random, and More Random

Hope you are enjoying the "31 Inspiring Quilters" series at sew mama sew! I added a tab to my blog with a running list of the bloggers being featured, just in case you missed any. And of course, there's many more to come!

I think I mentioned that the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild's Binary Challenge Exhibit is going on now at Island Quilter on Vashon Island, through February 6. I'm not sure when I'm going to get over to see the exhibit, but there's a couple of great posts up about the show from two of our guild members HERE and HERE. I think you'll see at least one quilt you'll recognize!

Did you hear about the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Radiant Orchid sponsored by On the Windy Side and playcrafts? 

There's several categories, lots of terrific prizes, and even fabric suggestions, which I love. I'm hoping to join in and just for fun, made a Radiant Orchid pinterest board, so I can keep track of my favorite fabric possabilities. Actually, I invited Rachel/Snippets of Sweetness to pin too, so don't be surprised to see selections from both of us.

I've been wanting to make a 'brown quilt' for a while. This may just be the palette to inspire me. Don't know what pattern yet, but I'm mulling.

Ok, so who's obsessed with Economy blocks??

I've only managed a half-dozen, but plan on using this as a leader-ender project for a while once I get past my current quilting deadline. Looking through my bloglovin' feed this morning, I see posts from Katy/Monkey Do, Rita/Red Pepper Quilts, Nicole/Mama Love Quilts, Svetlana/s.o.t.a.k handmade, AND Amy/During Quiet Time with a bit of a variation, but all about their Economy blocks! So obsession? I'd say so.

Lastly, my friend Louise/I'm Feelin' Crafty is a contestant on the latest round of Project Run and Play!

I've followed this series before, and even though I'm not a garment-sewer, seeing their entries is alot of fun! I'm hoping some of you will follow along, and root for favorites! Read all about Louise here, and the other contestants in recent posts.

*Edited to add* Just caught wind of another Triple-Zip swap! Sign-ups are open for round two at Quarter incher! And just a reminder, the tutorial is always available through the Tutorials tab above!

Hope you have a great day!

Linking up with Really Random Thursday.

New Year Random

It's been nearly six weeks since my last {officially} random post, so it's good to join in today. First up is something I've been meaning to share for weeks - a nice little video about Geometric Quilting Designs with Angela Walters. Wish I'd remembered to watch it again before my own recent geometric quilting adventure, but during these busy times it didn't cross my mind. But it's definitely worth a watch.

And speaking of sharing, after showing off my City Sampler grid earlier this week, I just had to share the latest finish from PatchworknPlay. She's made many of the same blocks as I, but in a very neutral palette, arranging them using the "City Skyline" layout. Isn't it something? I just think it's very striking and love that it's so different from where I'm headed.

After discussion here and on Instagram several weeks back, I meant to let you know that I settled on some quilt labels! I wanted to try some woven ones this time around and settled on using a portion of my blog logo. They are from Inked Papers on etsy, and I'm really pleased with them. I found the customer service, turnaround time, and product all more than satisfactory, so just thought I'd let you know that. 

So who hasn't heard about the Economy Block Quilt-Along (#economyblockalong) on Instagram? It's a brand spanking new scrap buster that you might want to consider. Here's the basic block tutorial that begins with 3" centers. I happen to have a stack of 2 1/2" squares - some are novelty prints, but most are not - so I adjusted all dimensions for my first little block.

My block finished to an odd size of 4 5/8", but as long as I'm consistent, all should be fine, and I at least can use those centers I already have. Here's how I cut and trimmed;

• one center block 2 1/2" square
• two 2 1/2" squares, cut diagonally for inner triangles; trim to 3 3/8" before continuing
• two 3 1/2" squares, cut diagonally for outer triangles; trim to 4 5/8"

Another fun new event comes from Amy/don't you know who I am?, who is hosting a Vintage Quilt Revival Block Along based on the book by Katie of Swim Bike Quilt, Faith of Fresh Lemons, and Lee of Freshly Pieced. It begins January 21, and I've ordered the book hoping I can maybe join in.

And lastly for today, I finally managed to create a mini quilt wall in my studio! I've been wanting to do this for ages, and just seeing them there makes me smile.

From top left going clockwise: made by #breepickles/Julie@Distant Pickles, me, 
Don't Call Me Betsy, Snippets of Sweetness, & kristananne/Doodle Do Designs

Linking up with Really Random Thursday.