Jingle Bell Dance Blocks Completed

Scrap selection for the blocks

In May, one of the Mystery Mavens suggested we have a block swap. This small group formed to stitch the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt because it is more fun to stitch a project together. Bonnie's mystery stitching begins in November and ends in January. We spend the rest of the year finishing the mystery or stitching other projects. Some members stitch other patterns of Bonnie's. It is a fun group of ladies.

Debbie suggested the swap and suggested the pattern. While I was "in" for the red and green color way because I have a lot of red and green scraps, others were not. In the end we decided to use the color wheel and to make complimentary colored blocks.

Joen Wolfrom's color wheel

My inner squirrel was all in for the swap. I resisted for about a minute. Fabric selection is the part of the quilting process that causes me the most angst. I believed practicing with the color wheel while constructing the blocks would be a good growing exercise for me.

The group also determined that we would use our stash and that we would make three Jingle Bell Square blocks and three hour glass blocks for each person who wanted to participate in the swap. Because this swap was to be fun,
we set the due date months out. We talked about kitting the blocks and sewing them as a leader ender project as a way to make blocks without taking away from sewing time on our other projects.

Rainbow color wheel

I planned to sew my blocks as leader/enders until I started to pull possible fabrics for the process. What you see in the photo is some of the green fabric choices. In my head, I planned red blocks with a green accent. I sifted through the chunks in the red drawer and pulled possibilities. I did stitch a few red blocks. Because I couldn't close the green scrap drawer, green became my main fabric color. 

I sorted the fabrics into color ways. Sometimes, it was a struggle to find the third red or green fabric to finish the block. Sometimes it was a struggle to find the red or green accent fabric! For the first blocks, I used Joen Wolfrom's color wheel. I liked it because it represents the true colors. Some of my fabridcs had a lot of gray tones in them which made it harder for me to decipher what colors I had. 

First block

I also used the  Rainbow color wheel. I liked this color wheel because it contained the complimentary colors of the shades. Sometimes to make a block, I had to use fabric shades to have enough fabrics. Of course, as I used up the scraps, my options became more limited so I had to stretch myself to really look at the fabric to determine what colors I was really working with.

I've mixed batiks, tone on tones, and small prints together as long as I could determine the color range was complementary. It was a good exercise. My eye is better at seeing the yellow or the blue hues in the green now. While I wouldn't say that I'm a color expert, I am more confident pairing fabrics. I also am more confident using the color wheels. I ended up using both through stitching the blocks.

Some of the greens from my stash

Once I had selected and cut the fabrics, I stitched them together following the block diagram. I did my share of unstitching. If there was a way to misplace a block element, I did it. I also did it more than once! Hour glasses oriented vertical instead of horizontal, center sashing that was flipped so the accent color wasn't against the inner hour glass block and points that didn't match, cut off or were floating in the background.

For a simple block, I found it challenging at times to end up with an 8 1/2 inch unfinished block! In the end, I finished the main blocks as well as the additional hour glass blocks for the exchange. My inner squirrel patted me on the back for stretching my fabric selection skills.

We plan to exchange the blocks towards the end of September. When we exchange, I don't know if I'll stitch the blocks into a 4x6 configuration or if I'll make more blocks. I don't know if I'll use the small hour glass blocks as a partial border or if I'll make more. My next steps will depend on what the blocks look like together as well as what my inner squirrel wants to do. Already, she is getting excited about the block possibilities that might be making their way to our studio!

Blocks ready for the exchange

This was goal number eight on my June goal list. I'm linking to Oh Scrap/Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework. I'm enjoying that my green scrap drawer closes easily. There are however many more block possibilities residing in that drawer!

Regarding COVID:

Worldwide: 176M cases; 3.79M deaths

United States: 33.4M cases; 600K deaths

Oregon: 205K cases; 2,759 deaths

In the United States, the number of deaths and hospitalizations continue to decrease. However, there is yet another variant which is causing an increase in the number of COVID cases.

In Oregon, about 56% of the state population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. Now, people could pick up a $100 gift cards for Safeway or Fred Meyer (grocery stores) when they receive their first shot.

Friday, the county where I live was moved from the moderate risk category to the low risk category. We have reached 65% vaccinated meaning that people have received at least one dose of the vaccine. This is a big step! We are also about five weeks from our daughter visiting us from London. . . .I hope President Biden lifts the travel ban soon so it will be easier for her to arrive!