Progress on House Blocks

9/8 A starting point of the blocks 

Goal number ten on my September list was to work on the top for my next book club quilt. I'm using house blocks that my friend Martha had in her stash. The reveal is at the end of the month. I am so behind in the quilting part of the process; but, I thought I might be able to make the top by the end of the month. 

Turning the blocks on point into squares evening of 9/8

Inspiration behind this project is the book, "Strangers in the Night" by Pat Rushford. The main character in the book is contemplating purchasing an abandoned town and turning it into an artist colony. There is a murder, several secrets and a love interest. It was a fun read. 

Playing with the layout. Adding more "parts" morning 9/10

Cynthia Brunz from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework, spoke at the Mt. Hood Quilt Guild on September 7. Her lecture inspired me to make more of an effort to use my strips and squares that I've cut from the leftovers as I've finished projects. 

Close up of the string piecing mid day 9/10

Finally, Alvera from Project Linus shared a challenge she gave the volunteers. She gave them some orphan blocks and asked participants to make a quilt using the Wanderer's Wife quilt by Jen Kingwell as inspiration for the layout. I pulled "parts" or leftover blocks from the parts department. I auditioned these parts next to some of the house blocks. Martha loved purple. The purple pinwheels are bonus blocks made around 2000. I decided using the parts was better than storing them!

Progress by the end of the day 9/10

Members of one of my small groups made the house blocks for Martha, when she turned 70 in 2013. Five of the twelve blocks contain the maker's name. I shared the blocks at our monthly Zoom quilt day; but, no one remembered if they had contributed blocks or not! No two blocks measured the same size. There was no color parameters either. All Martha requested was that the house be wonky!

Progress beginning 9/11

I started with turning the blocks on point into squares. Next, I concentrated on building the left side of the top. Each day I spent on the project, I tried to at least take one photo of my progress each day. Some days, I took more photos!

Progress at the end of 9/11

I found it helpful to lay the strips in place and to stand back to view the values and contrast. Sometimes, I moved blocks into different areas on the design board. Sometimes, I didn't have quite enough fabric to use in the space I needed to fill. I either chose a different fabric or I changed the size of the space. 

Completing the second "column" 9/15

It's been enjoyable putting these blocks together. Martha would be happy with me finishing her blocks. She would be applauding me for all the scraps I have used. She also would be laughing because when we sewed together, I lacked the skills and the confidence to use scraps. The more I do it, the easier it becomes.

Progress at the end of 9/16

Perhaps, by the end of today, I'll be closer to a finished top! Linking up to Oh Scrap!