Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Block by block

Hi everyone!  Well, the leaves have officially started to turn, so it must be fall.  I can see yellow leaves on my neighbor's trees, though ours are still all green.  Plus I noticed that it's definitely getting dark earlier in the evening.  Thankfully, I have those great lights in my sewing room now so I can still see everything no matter how bleak it is outside.

Right now I'm working on blocks for two quilts.  First up is this new one:


One of the colors for the rainbow scrap challenge this month is dark neutrals, so I pulled out the bin of black fabrics.  It was almost comically empty, just a few small squares.  It happens, though, that I have a bunch of fabrics with black backgrounds that I have never used. 


Aren't those pretty ? They really deserve to be used, but I've never found a way to incorporate them into my quilts.  I should totally work on that, but until then, I decided to use them in a quilt all their own.  Sounds fair, right?  Plus it will get them off the shelves and into something cozy.

The block is from my Intricate Stitches quilt and the pattern can be found HERE.  In a bit of serendipity, one of the names for this block is Black Beauty.  It was meant to be! I've got ten more of these cut out and ready to stitch, and I think I'll probably get 20 blocks out of the pieces I have.  And then I'll also have some black scraps!

The second project is the fall flowers quilt:


If you recall, these are flower blocks that I'm making from the bundle of fabrics that I chose for Bernie's shop.  (There are still a few bundles available HERE, or you can find some other fun stuff you like there.) I've been having fun making a variety of flower blocks using the fat quarters from the bundle.  Some of these I've also done before, but some of them I just drafted for this project.  I'm not sure about the two orange squash blossom blocks so I may yet take one of them apart.  I think I can manage to get 4 or 5 more blocks from the bundle, then I'll figure out some alternate blocks to make the quilt a decent size.  What if I used the adobe-colored scraps to make some fall leaves?  Hmmm. . .

Lots of little pieces in a complicated layout--just what I love!

That's my current progress!  I'll keep working on these, but I've also pulled out the walking foot because I've got several quilts basted and ready to go and I really need to get to them.  I need the room!  Plus, it's getting cooler and it will be cold before you know it, so I'd better finish up at least the quilts for my daughters.  And we all know I have to finish them at the same time, right?

Everyone have a good week!  Hoping to have a binding on something before this week is over!

Sharing at Let's Bee Social and soscrappy for RSC18.

14 comments:

Alison V. said...

These are all such great blocks! :D

Louise said...

What a pretty block! It looks fab with those dark background fabrics, too :)

piecefulwendy said...

Always fun to see what you are creating! Love those blocks from the blogger bundle - so pretty!

Laura said...

What a great way to use those "dark neutrals". I do have quite a few, but have strayed from using black because it's so hard to see and sew. I'll bet pairing with the lighter colours (which is oh, so effective) would make the whole "seeing" thing much easier. Thanks for the inspiration.

Sara said...

The blocks using the black backgrounds look so elegant. You’ve given me an idea of what to do with a similar fabric that has been sitting around too long.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Love those dark print backgrounds!

Jayne said...

I'm now sold on a dark background for blocks! These blocks are so pretty. I especially love how the white and pink jump out...well done!

Karla Brown said...

Wow -- I love your blocks! I'm really partial to darker colors!

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

I actually have two of those fabrics! LOL. Love the way you have used them.

helenjean@midgetgemquilts said...

I totally understand the concept of having to finish sibling quilts at the same time! Been there with that. I love how the black and pink floral fabric takes on a whole new look in the large star block. A quilt of black blocks will be very striking

KaHolly said...

Hmmm, I read this but didn’t come back to comment. Glad I double checked! I think your dark neutral blocks came out great! I used some up last year on a similar block to make pillows for a nursing home. They were stunning. I am loving your sampler blocks. You sure know how to choose fabrics!

Bernie Kringel said...

Both projects look wonderful Mari. The black background theme is a great idea! I have lots of pieces like that and also haven't used mine. But I think this is going to look great.
The Fall Flowers quilt is super. You really chose a great bundle and it will be a pretty finish. Seems like this year you have accomplished a ton - how did you do that anyway???

Kate said...

Both projects are coming along beautifully. Of the two, I like your "Black Beauty" blocks the best.

Preeti said...

Bright white stars seem to pop out of the night sky like background. Love your blocks - all of them. Is that black dotty fabric from Connecting Threads? I got some too. It is so gorgeous.