My Favorite Quilt Block Blog Hop!

It's such fun to join a blog hop with fellow quilters! 

Today is the third day of the hop.

Over the course of 5 days, the hop will feature 38 creative quilters who are anxious to show you their favorite blocks!
Many thanks to Carla, our hostess, at Create In The Sticks for making this blog hop possible!

Today, my favorite quilt block is the Half Log Cabin. 

I've been hooked on this block for a few weeks after seeing a quilt on Pinterest (what a rabbit hole to fall into!).

I didn't follow a pattern for it, but just figured it out to work for me. 

I made this table runner for my best friend for what I thought was her 60th birthday.

Turned out, she was only 59! 

Oh well, she'll have something special to remember her 59th year around the sun! 

She loooooves color, so working from my batik basket was a given!

I started with a 3" square and worked around 2 sides, alternating widths as I went. Keeping it rather wonky, I'd sew on strips til the block was at least 10" square, then I'd trim them all to be the same size. 

Here they are laid out ready for stitching together and auditioning

 for a white background. 

Quilting was fun using a leaf-type design on the batik blocks and 

straight line on the white. 

I'm getting better with my FMQ. Still makes me nervous. 

I added a sweet label to the back corner. 

Don't ask my why I threw grass clippings on there. 

I even made her a birthday card using batik strips!

This is the runner in her new home! 

She is adorned with a lovely vase and garden flowers!

Since then, I've made another smaller table topper using all scraps,

 not just batiks. 

Of course, before I could finish it, I had to make a few more smaller blocks.

This time, I thought I'd keep the outer strip in a solid color. 

Not sure what this will be yet!

My Favorite Quilt Block Blog Hop Schedule

Monday, September 9th

Just Let Me Quilt

Words & Stitches

VroomansQuilts

PamelaQuilts

Songbird Designs

Days Filled With Joy

Quilted Delights

Tuesday, September 10th

Quiltscapes

Melva Loves Scraps

Stitchin At Home

Homespun Hannah's Blog

Mary Mack Made Mine
Just Because Quilts

Den syende himmel
Selina Quilts

Wednesday, September 11th

MooseStashQuilting

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Kathleen McMusing

Karrin's Crazy World
April Grace Quilts
you are here---> Hazel’s Daughter
Seams To Be Sew
Limeleaves

Thursday, September 12th

Websterquilt

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Nutz 4 Redwork
Quiltsbyjoanne
Ms P Designs USA
Pampered Pettit
Hill Valley Quilter

Friday, September 13th

For the love of geese
Life in the Scrapatch

Kathy's Kwilts and More

Alycia Quilts - quiltygirl
Domestic Felicity
The Joyful Quilter
QuiltFabrication
Creatin' in the Sticks

Whew! You made it this far!

Would you like a chance at a prize? 

I've got a Clara's Garden quilt pattern and 

Kansas Troubles Wedge Template for one lucky reader!

The winner will be notified Saturday, September 14 by email and will have 48 hours to reply. An alternate will be chosen if no contact is made. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pixel Play: Project Quilting 10.4

Oh, how I love a challenge! 

I am  not competitive in any way, but give me an idea to be creative and I'm all in!

This week's theme for Project Quilting at Persimon Dreams was Pixel Play. 

I searched the internet for a pixel image to work with and found a perler bead butterfly. 

In my stash for a very long time, I've had a baggie of 2" blocks of purple fabric. 

Perfect!

As I laid out the squares, I realized that this was going to be a big project! 

BIG=lots of time!

Good thing we had 3 school cancellations this past week. 

School cancellation=time to sew!

Lots and lots of chain sewing...along with always counting.

That's 529 two inch blocks total! 

I added a few 9-patch blocks to add more area and interest. 

Then came the quilting. Simple straight-line quilting down the middle of each block. 

Twist clock-wise and stich again!

Next came the binding. 

Both the backing and binding fabric are from my full-time teaching days when I covered my bulletin boards in fabric. Somebody apparently likes purple, huh?

Every piece of this project came from my stash, which makes me (and hubby) happy!

A couple of pups were happy with this quilt too!

I wish they had emails so they could each vote! 

This quilt...perfect for a baby measures 36"x 36".

Made in my home in Dubuque, Iowa.

Please stop by Persimon Dreams this week and vote 

for your favorite 10 Pixel Play projects!

Red White & Blue: Project Quilting Challenge 10.2

Red, white and blue....in January? 

Well, that's the theme for this week's Project Quilting.

It's been so cold here in Iowa this past week that school was held only 1/2 of ONE day! 

Early dismissals and late arrivals, plus 2 cancellations due to snow and wind chills. 

Now more snow is on the way.

Sigh. 

With no school, I had time to play with my red, white and blue scraps!

Surely, I could come up with some idea to put these to use!

I started with creating a feather.

But I didn't like it.

 

I played with some scrappy triangles.

Meh.

But once I started just sewing strips around a hexagon, I was a happy girl!

I went on to make 2 more square blocks.

I added Insulbrite as the middle layer so I could use them as pot holders.

Even if it is -5 degrees outside as I write this, 

I'm already looking forward to July when I can put these to good use! 

Such scrappy, patriotic fun.

Made in my home in Dubuque, Iowa.

Linking up to Persimon Dreams Project Quilting 10.2

Hope Springs Eternal: PQ Challenge 10.1

Hopeful Table Mat

I've been inspired and involved in Persimon Dreams Project Quilting 

for the past few years. 

I love being able to create a project with one single idea!

This first challenge idea is 'Hope Springs Eternal'.

I had a very busy week with school and didn't think I could

 get involved in this week's project. 

Until, I looked through my want-to-make list and found a block I have long admired from 

Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage book. 

I had HOPED to make this into a table mat 

someday for our sitting room. 

I could get this done, right?

My HOPES to use up the extra HST pieces did not work out. 

Maybe another project will come along. 

The fading sun coming in my sewing room was not providing a lot of

 HOPE as I auditioned binding choices. 

*I went with the lower left fabric in black and gold. 

Simple quilting in the ditch and spaced along the seams, 

along with programmed stitches along the side panels

 increased my HOPE for getting this done!

HOPE truly does spring eternal! 

I finished my table mat and two matching coasters for my little side table just in time!

I HOPE you like it as much as I do!

Please stop by Persimon Dreams to vote for your favorite projects this week!

Project completed in my home in Dubuque, Iowa.

Dimensions: 16" x 12"

Pieced fabrics and consisting of 3 layers.