Design Wall Monday - on Sunday???

Go HERE to see my Dots on Dots block! =^..^=

I'm off to retreat tomorrow - whoohoo!!!!!

And since tomorrow is my day to show off my Dots on Dots block, I'm going ahead with my Design Wall Monday post today :*)  You can check out all the other DWM posts on Monday morning HERE.

I'm planning to get a lot done while I'm at retreat!  Hopefully, I'll manage to put together a blog post or two in between projects, but I know you'll forgive me if you don't hear from me for the next few days, right?  You look like a really sweet, forgiving bunch :*)

We'll be at retreat until Friday noon, so lots of time to get some serious work done on several UFO projects, as well one of the Calendar Quilts that I did not get around to in August.

Picture from the book, Calendar Quilts by Kim Schaeffer

It is the Bee Hive design and one of my favorites, so even though August has come and gone, I'll have lots of fun doing this one and will be able to hang it next year :*)

My design wall is currently bare because I've pulled these off and labeled them in their rows, ready for assembly into a top! ................

25 of these.....

and 24 of these!

This is the Girls Just Want to Have Fun quilt.  I still have to make some more of the four-patches before I can finish assembling the inner border design blocks.  Then I can assemble the center and finish up with the scrappy piano key border!!!

This was a class I took at Runaway last year, so I'm happy to have it to the stage of sharing the finished top this year.

I've also pulled the fabrics to begin my first In Flight butterfly block.  I'm starting with the Monarch block because it is just SO STINKING BEAUTIFUL!!!!  ( Okay, well.... I'm glad I've got that out of my system, aren't you?!?  =^..^= )  But seriously.... isn't this just gorgeous?  Of course, this is the designer's block - mine is yet to be created :*)

Photo courtesy of Zebra Patterns
http://www.zebrapatterns.com/Butter_1Monarch.html

I don't know if I'll get around to working on this one at retreat or not.  Because I'm using a relatively new technique on these blocks - Beth Ferrier's Hand Applique by Machine - I may wait until I get home and can really concentrate and be sure I have everything I need at hand.  I'll certainly have enough projects to work on if I decide to wait on this one.  I always take too much with me :*)

 And just to get you in the Dots on Dots mood - I found these oh-so-CUTE little travel tags at Tuesday Mornings this week.... isn't that just the cutest thing???  The other side has a see-thru pocket for name & address info.

Gotta run now and finish packing up!

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL week -- I'll miss you!!!  

Hope you miss me too :*)

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

Design Wall Monday - Sept 10, 2012

My design wall has been getting quite a workout lately :*)

I couldn't wait to start on my Hawaiian Sunset blocks, so I jumped right in - these colors are so much fun!  Here is my first block ...

This block has visual impact like nobody's business!!!  I had a group of friends over to sew together Friday, and as each one arrived and glanced over at the block I had laid out for them to see, they ooooo'd and aaaaaa'd like crazy!  It's a big hit with everyone.

Here it is with the sashing laid out.  I'm absolutely in LOVE with the look of the navy blue alongside the pinks and poison greens :*)

Of course, I won't sew the sashings on yet, I just wanted to get a good look at the overall color scheme to be sure it was working.  Um, yes, I think it is :*)

Basically, this block is made up of bubble-gum pink wings on the flying geese with scrappy "bodies", and poison greens for the cornerstones.  Then the nine-patch and sashing around it in the middle layers are all scrappy.  I'm using reds, bold yellowy-golds (pattern calls for chrome yellow of which I have NONE!), bright blues to add sparkle, some darker greens, and browns.  Of course most of my fabrics are not reproduction prints, just current prints in colors that pretty much fit the colors in the original quilt.

I really appreciate Angela at SoScrappy who said she had drawn up a paper-piecing pattern for her flying geese.  Wow!  What a time saver!!!  These little puppies go together so easily & a group of six is done in a flash.

I'm pretty sure I fried a few neurons or electrons or whatever it is there in the brain that gets burned up when we expend too much mental energy.  Math has never been my strong suit, and I always count my results several times before I act just to be sure!  The pattern for this quilt is adequate, but there's a lot that's not provided, such as the finished size of each block component.  So even though I was given the size of the base piece for one flying goose - 1-3/4" by 3" - it did not provide a measurement for the completed set of 6 geese.

Now, to my mathematically minded friends out there that may not a problem because they just pause a minute, add it all up, subtract the correct amount for seam allowances and Whamo! they've got the correct measurement.  For me, it takes a little longer and a lot more mental gymnastics, not to mention some written calculations and even a few drawings LOL!!!  There are two things about myself I've learned to NEVER trust - my math results and my directional sense LOL!!!  =^..^=

So imagine my delight when my first set of geese from this hand-graphed pattern worked perfectly!!!

This block was so much fun that I can't wait to work on some more :*)  

However, this weekend I had to work on some other things that were calling for my attention.  Such as my Dots on Dots Blog Hop block! :*)

Click HERE to see the schedule!

My day will be the 17th, which is next Monday and I am excited about showing you my block :*D  Here is a sneak peak at some of the fabrics I had to choose from....

What's your favorite combination out of these?  Wondering what I chose for my block?  You'll just have to come back on the 17th to find out ;*)  I know, I'm such a tease!!!

I'm also plotting and planning my first Butterly block - the patterns came this week!!!  I'm so excited because they are even prettier than I thought they were :*)  The series is called In Flight.

Right now I'm just at the stage of pulling fabrics for the monarch butterfly.  I'll keep you posted on further developments on this project :*)

What's on your Design Wall?  Join in the linky party over at Judy's Patchwork Times and see what others are working on.

I'm also linking up with these fun blogs.....

Hugs & Blessings,
Teresa
=^..^=