Hello all! How is your day going? I'm just working through some stuff, trying to get some grades done and maybe find a few minutes to throw in some laundry. Long ago I read a column or something about the "eternal three--" kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry. No matter how much you work on them, they always need more work. That author was not wrong.
Thankfully, I also found a few minutes to make two lovely yellow blocks for the rainbow scrap challenge. I have a bunch of yellow, mostly in smaller pieces, but it worked out this time. Here are the blocks:
I definitely like them! I love yellow, but it can be such a difficult color to work with, especially when you are trying to showcase it. It's hard to get gradations, and a lot of yellow fabrics slip into orange or have a tint of green or something. I think I chose wisely enough for these blocks.
This block is called Golden Samovar (what a name!) and it came from one of my Judy Hopkins quilt books. I have the BlockBase software, but I find that books give more realistic cutting directions and sizes and you generally end up with a better block. The software can be helpful, but no one has updated it for how we sew today and often the cutting directions are not suited to piecing with modern methods. I think no one has updated them since hand piecing days, really.
This block is called Double Aster and just looking at it makes me happy. All that sunny yellow goodness just shining out! It's also a good illustration of what I mean about the difference between the block books and the software. See those light yellow hsts? You'd piece them from squares in some way, right? The book tells you what size squares to cut to get the hsts you need. The software has you cutting a square in half twice to get four halves of an hst. Also, if you look at the medium triangles that are pieced to a yellow triangle and then pieced to the larger dark yellow triangles, all of those triangles should obviously come from squares cut in half twice to make four pieces, right? The software has directions for cutting single triangles with various degrees of angle. Better to just look it up in the book!
I could go on about this all day, but I won't! Time to throw some laundry in and get some more grading going. Those essays won't read themselves! Enjoy these happy yellows, and I hope to see you again later this week. Maybe I'll have some clean shirts by then, too!
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11 comments:
I got the bathroom done this morning and some of the vacuuming - will I finish it today? I don't know I might sew instead :)
The statement about kitchens, bathrooms and laundry is way too true. Your yellow blocks turned out beautifully! I've never used Block Base for piecing instructions, if I'm doing something without instructions, I end up using my reference books for things like HSTs and such. Hope you got your grading done.
Yellow is wonderful but it is tricky, just as you described. And I agree about books v. software for designing and making. I spend enough time on the computer so I'd rather dream and design with a book!
Beautiful yellow blocks! The one with the deeper gold really caught my eye. I agree that book patterns and software patterns can be so very different. And sometimes a pattern uses steps that make no sense at all to me.
Our day here is overcast and rather gloomy, so seeing those bright yellow blocks is a delight. The "eternal 3" - haha - and why is it that once the kitchen is all clean and tidy, someone gets inspired to bake?!
Your yellow blocks are wonderful! Btw, I think you will find that Block Base was completely redone when the new Encyclopedia of Pieced Patterns was published a few years ago.
Love your yellow blocks, Mari - especially Double Aster! They are definitely sunny and happy. I have to agree about the kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry problem - they always need something! I read your post yesterday about the pretty finished quilt, and just never got a comment written. That's such a fun finish with the Rainbow of churn dashes and that fun border! Have a wonderful weekend!
I love looking at patterns in books! I have no experience with designing software! I always thought it would be so much easier. Seems I was wrong! The Double Aster block is wonderful! The “Eternal 3” , for sure! I need to do laundry, yet again this week’
I agree yellow can be challenging, but so lovely. I think you nailed it
Bright rays of sunshine in those blocks. Glad you got a little play time around laundry and work. Have a good weekend.
I just love all of these blocks. Thank you for taking us along on this journey! If I could add a fourth thing to the list of eternal cleaning, it's my sewing room. Ugh! I had windows and siding put on my house this summer and everything got pushed to the side. Time to purge and replace items in their proper place. Thanks for the inspiration!
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