modern blocks

Posted on November 4, 2011 by laura west kong

C&T Publishing/Stash Books debuted a new book this year at International Quilt Festival. Well, actually, quite a few great books. This is only one of them. Scroll down to the end of this post to find out how you can win a copy.

Modern Blocks: 99 Quilt Blocks from Your Favorite Designers

Really. Fun. 12-inch blocks to mix, match, and make your own. Piecing, applique, paper-piecing, and embroidery. Beginner friendly. Something for everyone.

Check out my block from the book below, Quarter-Cut Daisy. I’ve finished the center panel, and am now contemplating what to do with the borders. I’ve got 8 extra sashing strips, so I suspect that once upon a time I had planned to make 4 more blocks for the corners of the quilt. Hmm…

Here’s a peek at a few of my favorite blocks from the book:

After Hours
by Louise Papas

Fungus Family Portrait
by Amy Sinibaldi

Missing Your Kiss
by Penny Michelle Layman

Mondrian
by Jamie Moilanen

Besides being a wonderful collection of quilt block patterns, this fun book also dishes up a generous serving of eye candy. You can find Modern Blocks on Amazon or as an eBook download from C&T Publishing.

I’m also giving away one eBook copy to a lucky reader! Just leave a comment telling me your favorite kind of quilt block, currently. After all, a quilter has the right to change her (or his) mind from time to time. If you want to add a link to a photo of one of your favorite quilt blocks, that’s even better. One can never have too much eye candy to enjoy! The giveaway begins Friday, November 4, 2011 and ends Sunday, November 13, 2011.

Happy quilting!

quilting with kaffe

Posted on August 17, 2010 by laura west kong

Finally finished! You might remember the sneak peak of this quilt way back from summer 2009. (Read the post from July 15, 2009)

The pattern is The Gift by Brandon Mably, found in the book, Kaffe Fassett’s Country Garden Quilts. I made this quilt for a book report at my guild. Now I’m not going back to school and presenting you with a formal book report, but I will tell you a few things about Country Garden Quilts: The whole first third of the book is chock full of gorgeous photos of vibrant quilts that look like they just sprouted out of magnificent gardens (set at Great Dixter in Sussex, a 15th-century English manor). It’s enough to just sit back in a comfortable chair and flip through the pages. Pour yourself a glass of lemonade and enjoy!

If you must break out the needle and thread, this book is more than just eye candy. There are clear instructions, great tips, full views of the quilts, alternate colorways and suggestions for quilting. Projects are divided into easy, intermediate and difficult. I really like that with not just one, but a whole team of quilt designers, you get a wide variety of styles to choose from. Mostly pieced, but a bit of applique as well.

I chose The Gift not only because it was so charming, but because it combined fusible applique with the piecing. A little secret: I made my version at half-size, 13.5″x16.5″ because I didn’t want to take the time to find a copy machine and enlarge the pattern pieces. It worked splendidly right out of the book, and the math to reduce the block sizes was quick and easy to do. I included some of the Kaffe fabrics from my stash, as well as some other prints that I thought were in keeping with the overall feel and scale of the original. I hand-quilted it with salmon pink thread like the original, and added hot-fix crystals for a touch of bling.

I wholeheartedly recommend Kaffe Fassett’s Country Garden Quilts, whether for actual quilt-making or simply the sheer beauty of the book.

Speaking of Kaffe quilt books, I’m reminded of Kaffe Fassett Patchwork: Over 25 Glorious Quilt Designs, one of the very first quilt books I ever owned. One of the very first quilted objects I ever made uses several of the quilt blocks from this book as well (including that glorious cover quilt) … but that’s another story for another day.

in the cabin

Posted on May 25, 2010 by laura west kong

I’m working on a few blocks for my guild’s Opportunity Quilt and they have to be Perfect with a capital P. So here’s #1 of 4.

I’m afraid that I probably should have gone counter-clockwise, so all that sparkly perfection may be in vain. I’m holding off on making a date with Mr. Seam Ripper, as well as sewing any more blocks until I have confirmed which direction the logs should be spinning. Either way, it’s a beauty to behold. Just wait until I have a photo of the completed technicolor king size quilt with pillow shams to show you!

Here’s my version of a Log Cabin block, stress-free style. The last red log wanted to go on the other side, so of course I obliged. (How could I refuse?) This one’s for my Dear Diary 2010 quilt, but it would be fun to do a whole quilt of these mixed up Log Cabins.

happy piecing! ^_^

tip tuesday: just sew it

Posted on April 6, 2010 by laura west kong

“Measure twice, cut once” is good advice for many folk, from carpenters to quilters, but every once in awhile it’s nice to forget about the math and just start sewing fabric pieces together.

* * * * *

Last night I was making a blue block for my Dear Diary quilt. Here is the design I pictured in my head. Actually it was originally more like 12 small squares and one large square, but I got tired of cutting and searching for that many blue fabrics so I changed it to the 4 small squares and 3 large squares shown in this illustration: blue-design

I didn’t feel like doing the math or the measurements either, so I simply guesstimated and moved to the machine to sew the pieces together. It quickly became apparent that the block wasn’t going to be big enough and it wasn’t even going to be square! Rather than start all over again I found a rectangle of polka dotted blue in my scrap box which was coincidentally exactly the size I needed and cut the cloud fabric to fit.

Here’s what I ended up with (the actual block):
blue-block

I like the carefree feel of the finished block, and I love the mystery of piecing scraps together, not knowing exactly how the block will turn out till it reaches the desired size. Bonus: No stress over doing it right. Anything goes here!

Try piecing fabric scraps together sometime when you need to relax. Or sew a handful of pieces together as a warm-up before your regular quilt-making session. At the very least you’ll be warmed-up and ready to go, but you might also end up with a charming quilt top as well.

wip wednesday: dear diary 2010

Posted on January 13, 2010 by laura west kong

day-01-12 I’ve learned a thing or two during the first 12 days of Dear Diary 2010. For example, there are some blocks that I would really rather not make multiples of. A four-inch 16-patch (shown above) is one of them. I don’t mind making one every now and then, and this quilt is the perfect place for it.

day-01-12-detail The purple and black Square-in-a-Square at right is another one of those blocks I don’t see myself making more of. (The dime is for scale.) It is pieced for real, not painted, stamped or fussy cut. I can’t imagine why I ever made it in the first place, but I can see why there is only one.

I was digging in my scrap box for more of the sheep fabric, but couldn’t find any. What I did find was this little gem, already inset into the muslin and just waiting for me. I think it fits in rather nicely.

happy quilting! =(^_^)=

muse monday: autumn block exchange

Posted on September 21, 2009 by laura west kong

Today for Muse Monday, I’d like to ask for your inspiration. The following are blocks from my guild’s 2008 autumn block exchange. It’s about that time of year for some good autumn projects so what would you do with the blocks below? More about the blocks here.

(The unfinished one on the left is my unfortunate basket. I pieced it wrong and didn’t have time to fix it before the exchange deadline. Luckily all the others turned out OK and I had enough good blocks to exchange. I’ll have to finish piecing it before I turn them into something though.)
So, any ideas?

tip tuesday: stop … step away from the seam ripper …

Posted on August 25, 2009 by laura west kong

Put your hands in the air where I can see them. … Much better.

While there is a time and a place for perfectly matched seams, there is also an equally important place for moving on and getting those quilt blocks completed. Just keep sewing and with practice you can achieve those perfect seams one day. In the meanwhile you don’t want to rip your fabric (and your patience) to shreds. Quilt-making should be enjoyable.

If that mismatched seam intersection bothers you too much, try covering it up with a well-placed button or bead. This little trick can be so much fun that once you master your piecing you might not want to give up the embellishing!
Ric-rac embellished seams are another nifty option.
What are your favorite cover-ups?

tip tuesday: mix it up!

Posted on May 26, 2009 by laura west kong

For a fresh look, why not mix it up with piecing and appliqué together in the same block. You’ll get an interesting variety of shapes without knocking yourself out with complicated piecing or fussy appliquéing.

The diamonds in the corners of the Sakura block are quick and easy to appliqué. Each corner would need 5 separate pieces if they were paper-pieced and custom templates would have been necessary for regular piecing. The blossoms dancing across the block add movement to an otherwise basic 9-patch variation.

The gentle curves of the flowers and leaves in the Tulip Basket block are easy to appliqué and contrast nicely with the angular pieced basket.

Here are some tips for you if you’d like to try mixing appliqué and piecing together in your quilt blocks:

• Simple pieced blocks with fewer rather than many pieces work best for appliquéing on top of.

• Pressing the seams open for pieces that will have appliqués on top will reduce the seam bulk and help your appliqué stitches to be smoother.

• If you prefer to press your seams to one side, just appliqué slowly and carefully over the bumps.

• Simple appliqué shapes will show up best on pieced backgrounds (and they’re the easiest to sew too!)

• Bright, warm colors (think hot pink, orange, yellow, red) will help the appliqués pop into the foreground.

• Light, cool colors (think aqua, blue, green, purple) will help keep the background in the background.

• I used fusible web on my blocks, but there’s no reason you couldn’t try needle-turn appliqué over a pieced block. Just needle through the top layer of the background only, avoid appliquéing all the way through the seam allowances.