Friday, January 20, 2017

Steps to the garden

Hi all!  How was your week?  It has been a heck of a week around here, and I've been having some stress because I haven't been able to sew.  Do you ever get like that?  Classes started this week, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't have anything to do with the stress, right?  Oh, plus we're ripping up carpet, which is actually a decent stress reliever, but raises a ton of dust

All that I managed to make up this week were these:


This is my second project for RSC17.  Apparently I have this thing for making the same block over and over.  Doing that makes for spectacular quilts, but can be very, very boring if I try to do it all at the same time, so I've been breaking them into 3 or 4 blocks at a time.  The colors this month are the rejected purples from the En Provence quilt that I'm working on sporadically.


This block is Steps to the Garden, a Nancy Cabot block from the 1930s.  This was a block I used for the Intricate Stitches quilt last year, and you can find the tutorial for it HERE.  Here's how stressed I was--I had a heck of a time making sense of how to put the block together, and not only had I made it before, but I wrote the tutorial!


For this year, I pulled 2 constants to use with the color of the month each month.  The darker green will make a lovely trail through the quilt, and the lighter green is a better background for a "garden" quilt than a white or cream.  I tried them out with a range of colors and they look okay, so there we go.


I have a bunch of the darker green, but I realized after I made these three that I probably don't have enough of the lighter green.  Not sure what to do there.  Anyone have any of this "Nancy's Favorite Holidays" that they'd be willing to part with?

Hey, here's a tip I used while stitching these:


Stick your seam ripper in a spool to make a great stand-up cutter!  It works so well!  I saw this online somewhere, so I don't know who to credit, but it's genius.


Hope everyone has a great weekend.  We are ripping up some more carpet!  Yay! Then we're going to visit our daughter, so that will balance it out, I'm sure.

Sharing at Finished or Not Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Oh Scrap! and soscrappy for RSC17.

18 comments:

Jo said...

Love the colours of fabrics you are going to us. I wish I had some of that green to help out..

Alice said...

I love all of your blocks. Maybe even more so because they are purple. The green really looks nice with them. Hope the stress level lowers a bit. It is always something around here--you are not alone.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Glad you went with the greens for the background colors -- much more garden-isn than white.

Preeti said...

Let's start with Stress (since that is where you started this post). Yes, I am stressed and sad and unhappy today. And you know why.
Speaking of purple -it is a difficult color, in my opinion. Not sure whether to group it with warm colors (red tones) or cool colors (blue tones). If these are your rejects, I need to see your prints of choice. The little purple and green squares in your pattern will surely become something lovely. For now, I am so impressed by their neatness and uniformity.
Hugs,
Preeti.

Nell's Quilts said...

Stepping through the lavender and purple salvia. Lovely block. The greens are perfect for your garden theme. I don't know what's easier - ripping up carpet or ripping out seams.

newsurfiegirl said...

Love those blocks they are stunning! The colours you have picked are beautiful can't wait to see the finished project! Will have to follow your progress now won't I !0)

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I love your purple and green together! The green will definitely make a pretty trail through the quilt!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

I love this block! It is really pretty in purple and green. Brilliant idea with the seam ripper. I will try that next time I chain Piece.

Lin said...

Lovely blocks and what a great idea to use green as your constant. I can see that I am going to learn a lot from everyone this year. Thank you. xx

PaulaB quilts said...

This will be a beautiful rainbow garden, off to an excellent start. The greens are a good choice. Hope you find more. It reminds me of a spring display garden at a tulip farm, with winding paths among many varied bulbs in all colors, back in Mt. Vernon, WA.

scraphappy said...

Love the way that the two greens look with your purples. Such a pretty block! Hopefully things will calm down and the carpet will get finished. Life can be so stressful!

a good yarn said...

What a clever idea for the seam ripper. Your blocks are lovely. They look a bit like hydrangeas.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Yes - if I don't get to sew or cut something up the stress level totally rises - glad you got some stitching in!!! I love your blocks!

Bernie Kringel said...

Sorry to hear you are feeling stressed. Hope some family time with your daughter will make you feel better. New carpet, that is a treat. Show a pic of the progress you are making! I bet things are looking great.

The tip with the seam ripper is genius. It also scares me a little. Not that I have ever fallen over on my sewing table (though I wouldn't say it is impossible) it would be wicked with that thing sticking up! Probably makes for swift work when chain piecing though. :-)

The Joyful Quilter said...

Nice use of your En Provence rejects!! Hoping the coming week is less stressful for you.

Vicki in MN said...

That is a very interesting block I have not seen before. Thanks for the tip of the ripper!

Deb A said...

Gorgeous block! Love it in purple and green. Hope you are able to get a little destress stitching in today.

Kate said...

Beautiful blocks! Love the greens with the purples. It will make for a gorgeous quilt. Hopefully you were able to fit in some stitching over the weekend. I miss the sewing room when I can't get there, it makes everything just a bit easier to cope with.