Cathedral Windows, Done!

Whew! Just under the deadline, I was able to slide my last few blocks and sampler top into Pellon's Cathedral Window Challenge.

You can read about my first four blocks here and here.
Here are my last five blocks:

Block 5

Block 6

Block 7...this is probably my favorite of the bunch, both the design and the fabrics. 

Block 8...The original pattern called for a thin inner border and a scrappy outer border, but I stayed with a simpler look. It also helped to straighten up the block--LOTS of fabric layers here, so it got a little wonky pretty quickly. I also put this one off to last because it seemed like the most work. It was, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Block 9...definitely the quickest! Just fusible web and pattern pieces. :)

I struggled a bit with how to make these into a top. As a rule, I'm not a huge fan of samplers. I knew I wanted something more than just basic sashing. I hit on the idea of making each block into a square within a square so the blocks appeared to be set on point. I chose red and black for the triangles because some of the blocks read dark and some don't. (I also had trouble choosing a red, because the two fabric collections I used here had very different shades of red in them, so I went with a middle of the road red to match neither!)
The first layout looked like this:

But it just seemed too ordinary.

 (don't mind the bad picture above...it's just from my phone, taken for my reference, as I feel like you get a better view of your layout on a camera/phone/screen. Also notice that block #8, the one I put off, hadn't been done yet.)

So I tried this layout instead and liked it better.

Of course, this meant that I had to sew lots of triangles together rather than using black squares and larger red setting triangles, but that's okay! I think a big part of becoming a better quilter is auditioning design and placement ideas.

Here's another look at the final top. I may ultimately put a scrappy border on it, but I haven't decided yet. I have no idea how to quilt this because some of the blocks have SOOO many layers to them.

It was a fun challenge! You can see other people's blocks and sampler tops here on Flickr.
I'm definitely planning to go back and make another Cathedral Window project (pillows, maybe? at some point), but for now, I'm putting this all aside to get started on some Christmas stockings!

p.s. Speaking of pillows, be sure to check back Wednesday, November 21, as that's my day for the Holiday Lane pillow blog hop through Sew We Quilt and I'll be having a giveaway as well.
p.p.s. Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict's Can I get a whoop whoop Friday!

Two more Cathedral Window blocks and a sneak peek

I've finished two more Cathedral Windows blocks for the Pellon Quiltalong. My progress has been slowed only by the fact that I'm trying to finish up a quilt for the Blogger's Quilt Festival (and I thought I had a couple more days than I do to finish it...oops!)

Speaking of oops, part way through making block #3, I made one. Dumb mistake, but happily fairly easy to fix. 

Fussy-cut fabric squares in place; time to fold and topstitch to make the windows!

My finished block #3

And a close-up shot. I do love the red, black and white combination because everything pops so nicely!

And block #4, which was probably the easiest to sew so far, but the measuring and spacing of the different strips was surprisingly time-consuming:

And a close-up!

And then just a sneak peek at my Color Challenge quilt in progress for the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I'm done with the borders (you see portions of the pieced border here) and am currently quilting it.

Peek in my windows...

Cathedral windows, that is. This technique has been on my mental to-do list for a long time, but seeing Amy's small wall hanging in the Dots on Dots blog hop a few weeks ago really catapulted the idea to the top of my list!
And then I heard about Pellon's Cathedral Window Quiltalong. Perfect!
I love the look of cathedral windows with a solid background, like the gray in Amy's piece, but I promised myself I would do this quiltalong completely from my stash (which is not very solid-y. I tend to use solids up as they come in the door!).

So I pulled out a stash of red, black and white fat quarters, from Red Rooster Fabrics' Mango Tango and Paparazzi collections. (This isn't all of them--I was so eager to start my blocks that I made the first couple before taking this photo.)

I am loving trying out all these variations of Cathedral Window blocks! You can find links to all of the blocks here; two new blocks will be posted each week through the end of the month.

The first block uses four of these quarter blocks:

First I put them together like the original pattern:

But I decided it was too dense in the middle. 

So I rotated the quarter blocks instead to get this:

The second block, which is woven strips:

And a close-up:

I'm having fun...more blocks to come as I finish them!

p.s. Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict's Can I get a whoop whoop? today!