Finally! My book arrived! It was being held at the Post Office and then I forgot my ID so it took far too long for me to get my hands on it. I was getting a bit downhearted about how much catching up I would have to do until I spoke to mum. "Oh you could rustle up three blocks a day no worries"... Says the retired lady of leisure.
So I laid out all my tools and sat twiddling my thumbs.
Then I saw that their was a second quiltalong over on Carrie's blog! A US Version which was just starting! Yes! And the second one is handing out the first blocks as downloadable pdf patterns whilst people wait for their books to arrive. Punch the sky! Double result! Sorry about the excessive exclamation marks but I was so desperate to get going. So thank you Gnome Angel for making it all possible.
So whilst I was waiting last week I decided to make one of the blocks from the first four Carrie published. So although I am doing the UK based quiltalong with Kerry, i seem to have defected to the US one immediately. Is that allowed? But it does mean I get to just choose which block I'd prefer to make each week.
I don't have the space nor the funds to make a big quilt and if I am honest, i am a real lap quilt person. So I am not in need of every block. Therefore I thought I might just do one a week or none depending on how I feel. Of course I seem to like most of them so far so I need to play catch up every evening this week.
So behold Aunt block!
Not number one, not first Alphabetically but third in the US version due to its ease of construction. A nice way to ease into this whole thing. As for construction time, the answer is not that long! I managed to print out the pattern in the early morning before she woke. Chose the fabrics and cut them out during breakfast. Sewed them quite quickly after bedtime. I should have starched and ironed but there was no time. Just a bit of finger pressing.
As for my fabric choices, I am really pleased. It doesn't look like a train crash! I find choosing fabrics so hard. I don't want it to all be the same colour or the same family of fabrics. I want lots of colours going on. This is a bit safe but I am still happy.
Above is my fabric pull neatly contained in my new Tiger basket so I can lug it from sewing machine to cutting table to sofa. It is always near me so I can frown at it.
As for my tracing paper foundation piecing templates. Epic fail. The paper is too thick. It's pulling my stitches apart left right and centre, but it's really helpful to be able to see through it. I need some cheapo thin printer paper. I am scouting around for it. In the meantime I'll just have to make do.
Behold Block 1: Addie, of the UK quiltalong: Addie (I am such a turncoat). This was much harder and my seams were pretty lumpy. This will only get worse with the more complex blocks. I might swat up on Gnome Angel's open seam foundation piecing tutorial and her folded template one. I really like this version this one, and this one. It makes me want to redo mine!
I started thinking about block three and felt a little overwhelmed! Seam central! Can I really bear it? I decided to give it a break and slope off to the US quiltalong and see what's cooking over there. I know I should commit to one, but I can't help myself! Being a member of two is twice the fun. Carrie at Gnome Angel is having a link party each week. I've even heard of one of those. But it seems like a great place to go and sniff round all the other blocks people have been doing. I really like checking out what everyone else does, it really makes me think about why a block works better or how a different colour contrast can change the whole design. It keeps me busy.
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