Saturday, October 17, 2015

Positively, PROGRESS!

Last weekend, I took a workshop from Jean Wells. Jean is from Sisters, Oregon and owns the Stitchin Post quilt shop there. She is a fabulous teacher. Perhaps, in a week or so, I'll post about how much fun I had.

She shared with us how she makes her curved piecing and her skinny inserts among lots of other tidbits! I've been slowly working on a past book club quilt; but, was stuck on what to do next. Well, I pulled some fabric and now I'm letting it talk to me about where it might want to live in the quilt! 

As I pulled the fabric, I noticed that it was time to get ready for fall retreat which begins at the end of the month.

So, I stitched the retreat block. Everyone is supposed to stitch a block. At the end of the retreat, a winner is drawn from the names of all who participated. This year, the theme is Autumn Brilliance. I enjoyed making the maple leaf block. It will be fun to see every one's creations! 

I cut my 7" squares that we exchange. In the past, I just collected the squares. The last two years, I made a quilt and made blocks from the squares of the last two retreats I attended. It is nice to have a memento of the activity. As I cut the squares for this year, I realized that I had done NOTHING with the squares from last year. 

Now, I have plenty of projects to FINISH; but, I really did want to make something to show when we share projects that we worked on at a past retreat. So, I pulled the bag of squares out of the darkness and into the light. 

Yes, I began something new!!!!

My challenge is to use ALL of the 36 squares of different fabric. Last year's theme was stars. Each fabric is printed with stars! I started with a Plus design. I liked it because it is a one block kind of design. Next, I cut one of the seven inch squares. Of course, as soon as I cut it, I decided that I could take out one seam, make the block a little bigger and be happier with the outcome! 

At the end of yesterday, I had pieces on the design wall:

This morning, I moved pieces around. The two red blocks came from my stash as the piece needed some sparkle! Then I started stitching.  
When I completed the blocks, the piece measured 33"x24". 





It looked boring. So I auditioned some green for a border. I liked the green border. Plus I was able to use some of the too small pieces as corner stones. Then, I decided I liked the portrait view over the landscape view!!

 Next, what to do with the scraps? I had a 2 1/2" x 3" piece and a 2" x 7" piece left of each fabric. These were "about" measurements as some of the squares were a little larger than seven inches and some were a little smaller!

I pieced the smaller scraps into coins and stopped for the day. You will have to check back next week to see where the coins are positioned! 

Oh, I also didn't pick a project for the seven inch squares I'll be receiving at the end of the month!!! Have you made a project from charms or layer cakes or seven inch squares? What was your inspiration? Please share! :) Happy Stitching!


9 comments:

Unknown said...

I love all the progress you are making

TerryKnott.blogspot.com said...

Thank you, Joanne!--Terry

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to hearing about fall retreat as well and seeing your new projects.
Wendy

Luann Fischer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Luann Fischer said...

I really must watch that auto correct feature more closely!!
Terry,
Your plus sign quilt is looking good. Have fun at retreat.
Luann

BJ said...

Looks like fun progress. Have fun at your retreat. Cheers.

TerryKnott.blogspot.com said...

Wendy! I'll be happy to share the retreat happenings. I'm sure I'll be inspired to start a . . .ahem. . .few new projects!!! :)-Terry

TerryKnott.blogspot.com said...

Thanks, Luann! Retreat is going to be a blast. I can hardly wait. . .it is a week away!!!--Terry

TerryKnott.blogspot.com said...

BJ, It was fun to play with value. Retreat is a week away. . .I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas morning!!!--Terry