Drawing breath and a New York state mini finish - Building Blocks Tuesday

I feel like I am finally able to draw breath - well, at least one or two.  The quilt show for the mountain guild is over.  I was unable to attend (thanks to the kids), but I heard it was a smashing success!

I was not able to finish all of my projects for the show, but I did finish up my last state mini quilt.  This is New York.

It did not turn out exactly how I envisioned it, but done is done.  I think what I don't like about it are the quilting lines of the face.  I am no good at drawing faces, so I really didn't know what to do there.  I knew it needed something, but I didn't have the bravery to quilt the dickens out of it like I've seen other quilters of faces do.  My poor Lady Liberty just looks a little tired, and maybe hungry (or is that just me?).

Ah, well, it would be pretty boring if we didn't have things to try to improve on, right?

What blocks have you working on?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading!

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Louisiana state mini finish - Building Blocks Tuesday

I've got no new blocks to share today, but I will share my finished Louisiana State mini quilt.  It represents the bayous with their cypress trees and Spanish moss.

I've been working furiously trying to finish up a lap size quilt for the show, and nearly forgot that I still needed to get my New York mini done.  Tonight might be a long night for me since they both need to be essentially finished by tomorrow night.  Yikes!  Wish me luck.

What blocks have you working on?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading!

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Louisiana mini redesigned - Building Blocks Tuesday

Mom-cations rock!  With just a few days away, I feel completely refreshed, not exactly rested, but refreshed.  I returned late last night just in time for dinner and the bedtime routine.  This morning I've already taken the kids to school and someone to the airport, washed my car, cleaned the house, and completely redesigned my Louisiana mini quilt!

My original design was a scene from Mardi Gras, but sometimes we have to admit one's limitations/lack of abilities.  I am not very good at drawing people, and the scene had quite a few people in it.  Given that I am a tad short on time too, I felt a bayou scene might be more easily accomplished.  Wish me luck!

Janie asked if I thought about creating a tutorial for my Montana mini.  Honestly, yes, I thought about it, but I was a little caught up in figuring things out as I went along that I didn't document the process.  I'm probably not going to make another Montana quilt soon, so instead, I am trying to do a better job of documenting the process on Louisiana.  I hope you will check back to see that post when it is ready (the quilt is due in less than 2 weeks, so it won't be long).

What blocks have you working on?  I would love to see.  Link up your fabulous blocks.  You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off!  This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.

Rules:

1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage.  Flickr pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!

Thanks for reading!

Jen

An InLinkz Link-up

Montana state mini - a finish Friday

Another state mini finished!  This one is for the lovely state of Montana (where I very much desire to visit one day) and is supposed to depict Lake McDonald, known for its colorful rocks and pebbles.  I barely did it justice.  Just Google "Lake McDonald, Montana" and see what I mean.

I used tulle for the first time in the making of this mini.  I used it in layers to get the effect of depth of water while preserving a bit of reflection of the mountain.  I admit that tulle does make quilting over fused (or glued in the case of the rocks) bits much easier; however, unpicking any quilting on tulle is very difficult.  It is almost impossible to pick your stitches without getting a few of the tulle fibers cut too.

Only Louisiana and New York left to go.  I will have to tackle them after my Mom-cation.


Thanks for reading today,

Jen


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Teacher gifts in progress - WIP Wednesday

Before I begin, I want to thank everyone who left a comment on my recent post about originality in patchwork.  Your advice and encouragement are just what I needed to work out my own feelings and move forward.  Thank you all!

There are only a few more days of school left, and I can't believe how much there is still left to do.  I've focused all my spare time on teacher gifts and I'm nearly done.

I'm working on a Divided Basket (pattern from Noodlehead), and my 3rd Tinker Tote from the Craftsy class, "Quilt-As-You-Go: Patchwork Bags".

I just need to sew down the binding on the tote, and of course fill both with summer goodies.  I also picked up copies of Outlander (Amazon affiliate link) to include as summer reading.  No reason not to share my addiction with someone else, right?  I am counting down the days for the next one to be released (5 more, in case you are interested), and I have my Kindle all charged up.

I've also been sketching out my thoughts for my blocks for the guild quilt show at the end of September.  The theme is "Across America" and I have 5 states to make finished mini's for.  Each mini has to be between 10 and 15 inches square, so I've drawn mine 15 inches.  I don't have any paper that large, so I find it helpful to draw my idea directly onto a piece of cheap muslin.  It gives me a better idea of how the final block will look.  Here is my road map for Massachusetts.

As you can see, I still have a lot of work to do, but at least I took the first step today.


As always, thanks for reading,

Jen

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