Shades of Gray Quilt: My Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry

Shades of Gray and Green

45.5" x 54.5"

Pieced and quilted by me

In a mad dash of sewing the past few days, I managed to cross two things of my list at once. I finished my Shades of Gray quilt, made using charm squares from a swap I hosted last August. This gave me a new quilt to enter in the Blogger's Quilt Festival and meant that I'd finished my May Lovely Year of Finishes Goal (9 days early!!). Hooray!

I'm entering my Shades of Gray and Green quilt in the...you guessed it!...two-color quilt category. The quilt is made up of 5" squares--120 of them--and then each square has one cathedral window-style green corner, which creates the curve. I'll post a tutorial on how I did it next week. I used three different greens for the corners.

 For the quilting, I free motion quilted three wavy lines through each gray diagonal "stripe." It looked like it was missing something, so I quilted sort of a curved zigzag through the green diagonal stripes as well. Because it's a charm square quilt, there was so much going on with the fabrics that I didn't want the quilting to stand out.

My inspiration for this design came from this quilt by Megan at Tales of Ineptitude. My original plan for the charm squares had been to make half-square triangles with gray and green, and then do some sort of chevron design. But when I saw Megan's red and gray quilt, I changed my mind. I really liked the effect of the smaller colored corners.

 It's been raining all week here, so yesterday I dodged the raindrops and wandered through my neighbors' backyards looking for photography options. So if you see puddles in any photos, that's why. Happily, my quilt dried quite nicely after its rainy morning adventure!

The backing is a gray and white pin dot that I bought on a Frugal Friday from the Quilting Lodge.

If you haven't already, head over to Amy's Creative Side to check out the entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival. It's like your own personal quilt show!

Also linking up to the Year of Lovely Finishes, which prompted me to (start and) finish this quilt during the month of May, and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.

Shades of Gray Update

I've been surrounded by green and gray! My quilt will have 120 blocks in it; each block now looks like this:

Are you wondering what the heck I'm doing? It's not just a green corner on each block; instead, I'm doing Cathedral Window-style corners. So I've folded each 3-1/2" green square diagonally in half and then basted the raw edges to a corner of a gray square.

My shortcut? Since I cut the green squares in pairs from a strip, I kept them doubled up and pressed two squares on the diagonal at a time. Not as sharp of a fold line, sure, but not a problem and definitely a time saver!

I like my original diagonal layout, but I played with a few others as well--you never know what you might end up liking!

Here's the original (though all the blocks are done now; apparently I just didn't take a photo?)

A (blurry) flying geese layout:

I was thinking if I did this one that I'd put green strips between each column of geese.

And a two-block layout:

I am now folding back the green folded edge and topstitching it on each block. I contemplated waiting to do that until after I'd assembled the quilt but ultimately decided against it because I didn't want to deal with the starts and stops. I'm just being cognizant of where each curve ends so it doesn't get cut off in the seam allowance when I join the blocks. We'll see how it works...

Oh, and my mom, who participated in the Shades of Gray swap as well, is using this same technique with teal solids. I'll share photos of hers as well--it'll be fun to see a different color scheme!

May Lovely Year of Finishes Goal: Shades of Gray Quilt!

Last August I hosted a Shades of Gray Charm Square Swap. Which means that since last September, I've had a pile of lovely gray 5" squares sitting patiently in my studio, joined by four green solids shortly afterward.

Not anymore! Finishing this quilt top is my May goal for the Lovely Year of Finishes challenge. I'll share more about the process in future posts.

Had these two projects next to each other on the design wall--talk about going from super bright to a much more controlled color palette!

Get Your Gray On!

Yes, this means what you think it does!

I mailed out all of the Shades of Grey Charm Square packages on Friday! 

I can't begin to relate how excited I am to have these on their way to you. I'm excited to see what everyone does with them, and I'm happy that the squares are no longer "haunting" me. I kid you not--I was sorting these late at night this past week, and each night I would DREAM about gray squares all night. It was strange...

Here's what the sorting looked like:

And here's a (slightly blurry) photo of the massive pile of envelopes:

I give my local post office a lot of credit. 

They didn't duck behind the counter when they saw me coming! :)

I can't resist showing off a few of my favorite prints. It is amazing (you'll see!) to realize how many different shades of gray there truly are. 

Some more green, some more purple, some more brown, but all are gray!

Shades of Grey friends, I'd love to hear from you when you receive your package! And please let me know if there are any problems. I recounted every pile, but it's always possible to make a mistake!

Have fun!

Oh, and one more thing. I have an extra set of charm squares that I'm going to give away. Please leave a comment for a chance to win them. The giveaway is open until Thursday, October 4th at 11:59 pm EST and then I'll use random generator to choose a winner. 

Thanks everyone!

I'm Gonna Need a Bigger Mailbox...

(Shades of Grey Charm Square Fabric Swap update!)

Hi all,
The envelopes have started arriving! Today my mailbox was stuffed full. I have never had so much fun going down to get the mail! Will you all keep sending me packages even after the swap is over?! just kidding...

First, the administrative stuff: 
I have started a discussion thread on Flickr listing whose envelopes I've received. I will try to update it every day if I can, but at least every other day. Sometimes life (and by life, I generally mean a 3.5-year-old and 1-year-old, and that fun little thing called a day job) fills up every minute of my day/night.

If you signed up for the swap, are reading this post, and haven't received the email with my address and other details yet, please leave me a comment. I sent an email out a few days ago and I want to make sure everyone has the information they need.

Now on to the fun stuff...what are you going to do with your charm squares? 

I started this swap with absolutely no idea in mind--I just thought it would be fun to do. But then I saw this design by Lindsay's mom over at the Cottage Home last week, and right now it's at the top of my list. I'm thinking about pairing the grays with lime/bright greens--either solids or scrappy, from my stash (unless someone wants to host a "shades of green" swap???).
If you've got a pattern in mind for your squares, please add it to the Flickr page (I started a "Design Ideas" topic).

Eagerly awaiting the mail lady's arrival tomorrow....

Winner, Swap Update, & Mini Paper-Piecing

First, thanks to all who commented on the watermelon coasters! Thanks to friendly Mr. Random Number Generator, the winner is:

Amy of Amy's Crafty Shenanigans! Amy, I'll be emailing you for your address and coaster color choice. 

Second, the Shades of Grey Charm Square Fabric Swap is now full! I emailed all of the participants with shipping information. It's been fun watching all the gray swatches appear on the Flickr site. Check them out if you haven't yet.

Finally, my "little" project over the weekend was to stitch my nametag for my quilt guild. The group is the Log Cabin Quilters, so the block is a log cabin. I did mine wonkily, and then decided that I should paper piece the letters of my name. Besides the fact that I'm not really an embroiderer/hand stitcher, it just seemed like the look of paper pieced letters would go well with the wonky log cabin. I used patterns I found online, resized down to 1" square finished. Talk about tiny pieces! The letters had a lot of bulk.I must really hate  hand stitching to choose this instead.  

Here are two of them: 

They actually turned out pretty well until I sewed my name tag front and back together, pillowcase-style, and turned it right side out. The bulk was just too much. I think I'm going to have to redo it before the next meeting. 

The irony of this whole story? The guest speaker tonight at the guild meeting was a paper piecer. I kept my name tag covered! :)

Juicy Watermelon Tutorial & Giveaway

I came up with this idea at the beginning of the summer, and purposely chose to save it for August, thinking how appealing a refreshing watermelon design would be during sultry summer days. Well, joke's on me, apparently, because at least where I am, June and July were super hot, and today it barely hit 70 degrees.
Regardless, I wanted to share my ragged edge watermelon block with you, shown here in coaster form, and linked to Confessions of a Fabric Addict's Can I get a whoop whoop!

Perfect for a thirst-quenching glass of pink lemonade on a hot day...or a cool day...

These coasters were inspired by a table runner I made about 5 years ago.

In the runner, I used traditional colors and some feedsack-style prints. I wanted to update the look a bit and play around with some brighter palettes, hence the coasters. 

(Note: Scroll to the bottom of this post for the giveaway and an update on the Shades of Grey Charm Square Fabric Swap.)

Watermelon Block Tutorial
The beauty of this block is that you make one larger block and then cut it into four quarters, so it goes quickly!
1. To make the coaster, I started with an 8" square of background fabric, and fabric squares measuring approximately 6-1/2", 5-1/2", 4-1/2" and 3-1/2" for the circles (3 red and 1 green).
2. Go through your kitchen cupboards, ruler in hand, to find cups/bowls that measured approximately 6", 5", 4" and 3" in diameter. Here's what I found:

Depending on your bowl/cup/circle template options, you can make the outer (green) circle closer in size to the second circle, making a narrower rind. 

3. Trace the circle shapes onto the wrong side of the appropriate fabrics and cut out. 

4. Press each circle and the background square in half in both directions to make creases for lining up the pieces.

5. Line up the 4 circles right sides up on the background square, aligning the creases, and pin in place.

6. Stitch across the circles to secure to the background square. I simply eyeballed it, making sure I crossed the center crease every time. You can either stitch once or twice through each quadrant of the circle. If you stitch twice like I did in the photo below, think of the circles as a clock, with the creases at 12, 3, 6, and 9. Stitch from 10 to 4; from 11 to 5; from 1 to 7 and from 2 to 8. If you choose to stitch one line through each quadrant, center it between the creases (so between the 10 and 11 to between the 4 and 5). Don't bother stitching on the creases because that's where you'll be cutting. 

7. Cut the square in half along both crease lines (but measure, don't just eyeball this based on the creases!)

8. Add a framed border. I chose to use 1-1/4" wide strips. Sew to the sides and then top and bottom of each quarter-circle.

9. Cut backing and batting squares the same size as the coaster front.  Layer back and front right sides together, add the batting, and stitch around the outer edge using a 1/4" seam allowance and leaving an opening for turning (marked with red arrow in photo).

10. Trim corners, turn right side out and topstitch around outer edge, catching the folded in edges from the opening to secure. I topstitched a second line around the inner edge of the border as well. 

11. Wash and dry to enhance the frayed edges of the watermelon curves. Trim excess fraying if needed. Enjoy!

I was having trouble choosing between two different fabric groups when I made these coasters, so I made a second set.

I used a slightly smaller background square for these (7" instead of 8"), so the watermelon takes up more of the block. You can see the difference:

Just for fun, I'm going to give away one of these sets of coasters (if I can wrangle them away from my 3-year-old, who is calling them "hotpads" and begging me to let him use them in his play kitchen!) 

To enter, become a follower if you aren't already and then leave me a comment telling me what summer activity you're still hoping to do before fall (and school) comes lurking around the corner. 

If you're already a follower, just leave me a comment telling me about that summer activity you're still trying to sneak in here in August. Giveaway closes Monday, August 20 at 5 pm EST. 

At that point, I'll use our good friend random number generator to pick a winner!

p.s. Are you signed up for the Shades of Grey Charm Square Fabric Swap? I was just over on the swap's Flickr board and I am so excited by the different fabrics participants have posted! I like each one better than the next, and I haven't even bought mine yet! 

Join in the fun while there is still room! 

Sign up HERE. 

The swap is now full.

Shades of Grey Fabric Swap update

Hi everyone!
I'm so excited about the gray charm square fabric swap, and thrilled to see that you are too!
A couple questions have come up, so I'm going to do a short FAQ here. Let me know if you have other questions; I can always add to this.

8/22/12: The swap is now full! First, there are still 7 spots open in the swap (as of August 17 at midnight EST). Tell your friends! Let's get this swap filled up!

I have been trying to keep up with sending Flickr group invites to participants as they sign up. I'm also going to post the link so you can simply visit the page yourself.

Visit the Shades of Gray/Grey fabric swap Flickr group HERE. 

See the original post about the swap HERE, and if you want to join in, sign up on the spreadsheet HERE. Please feel free to leave a comment as well to share the excitement, but you need to sign up on the spreadsheet to be a part of the fun. 

Now onto the FAQs:
Q. Can I use two different 1/2 yard cuts, or 4 different fat quarters rather than 1 yard of the same fabric?
A. I'd prefer you just used one fabric. However, if you have 2 generously cut 1/2 yards (my math says it'll be hard to get more than 24 squares out of a 1/2 yard), you can use two different prints. No fat quarters, please.  

Q. Do black & white fabrics count, or should it be just gray fabrics?
A. If the black & white fabrics "read" as gray (i.s. small pattern), that's fine. If it looks distinctly black and white, please choose a fabric that reads as gray instead. 

Q. What is the due date for sending the fabrics in to be swapped?
A. September 20. Once the swap is filled, I'll email everyone with details and my home address for sending the squares.

Q. What's the deal with the Flickr page?
A. We're trying to avoid duplication so that all participants have a wide variety of gray prints to work with. Please take a photo of your fabric and upload it to the Flickr page so that everyone else can see what you bought. If you can, also list the collection name and fabric company. I'm excited to see all the different grays that people are finding! 

Any other questions? Let me know!
Thanks! I look forward to swapping with you!

Fabulous Friday: A winner, a finish, charity blocks, and gray???

Lots to share today! First, the winners for the Garden Divas fabric giveaway, courtesy of Random Number Generator, are: 

Congrats, gccmom and Karen O! I'm sending you both an email for your mailing address. Whoever responds first can choose which bundle they receive.

My kids are sound asleep and my husband is away for the weekend. That means I'm sewing! And my best friend, Kathy, is coming to visit tomorrow, to hang out with me and the kids, and you guessed it, sew! Here's to a productive weekend and nice long naps by the kids...

Kathy's birthday was this past week. She turned 29 again, or so I like to say, since I'm 9 months older than she is! She is also the subject of my "finish" for the week. Of course, if you've read my blog at all, you probably have already guessed that my finish was also a "start" this week. Specifically, last night. I made her a medium-sized (11" square) zipper bag using some of the fabrics from my beach bag and some other scraps. Here it is:

I love the lining fabric! I'm looking forward to giving this bag to Kathy tomorrow. I hope she'll like it. Also, I'm linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict's Can I get a whoop whoop? Friday to show it off!

I have also taken advantage of 40% coupons from Hobby Lobby the last 2 weeks and treated myself to new rulers to replace the ones I broke. I think I was too embarrassed to reveal that in addition to my two 6.5" x 24" rulers, I also cracked and then snapped my 12.5" square ruler a month or so ago. Argh! But I'm now the proud owner of these two beauties!

The only drawback is that the long ruler is 6" wide rather than 6.5". I've been using a 6.5" ruler for about 12 years now. Any guesses on how long it'll take for me to cut a wide strip the wrong width? But what can I say? I'm a sucker for a deal...and for 40% off I'll just have to pay attention!

I used my new square ruler to cut the fabrics for these blocks, made for Margaret's Hope Chest. I have three sewn and will do the rest this weekend. SO much easier to cut large squares with a ruler that isn't broken in two pieces!!

Super easy blocks, and they changed the deadline to August 20th if you want to make some. I'm planning to meet up with them and help them join the blocks into quilts at the end of August. Can't wait!

And finally, for this week's Fabric Friday...a few gray fabrics from my stash. I just finished reading the racy book that everyone's talking about...50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James. And it inspired me. (Not in that way!! This is a QUILTING blog!) I started pulling out my "shades of grey" fabrics. Stay tuned next week to see what I'm going to do with them...and how you can be involved!

Have a great weekend!

p.s. Hoping someone can help with this. Earlier this week, while browsing blogs (either from Quilt Story or WIP Wednesday, I think?) I came across a blog with a week's worth of zipper tutorials. I didn't bookmark it at the time and now of course I can't find it. Can anyone send me the link? I need to beef up my zipper skills, especially for when I make my sister's boppy cover.