A year’s worth of learning

As of this past weekend, I can say that I have finished with the International Block Swap that I have been involved with. It was sponsored by Make Modern Magazine and I have loved working with 4 quilters from Australia and 1 from New Zealand.

Our fearless leader, Gaye, was the first to present a block back in April of last year….read the post here…..

Block swap with an international flair…

……and now she is the last one to present a block as the challenge ends.

As I mentioned in the post, her blocks contained 61 pieces in a 10-inch square, which meant that accurate piecing was key!!

The first thing that I did differently from last time was that I used my “Accu-quilt” machine to cut the 1-1/2 strips and in a matter of minutes, all 122 pieces were ready to take to the sewing machine…..

In the post, I said that I had to make a few adjustments to my seam allowance, but in truth, I AGONIZED over getting it exactly right so that the blocks would end up being the correct size.

Over this past year, I have worked hard to figure out where to hold the fabric to achieve a perfect 1/4-inch seam allowance on my machine.

SO…..it was VERY exciting to sit down and be able to piece these two new blocks with minimal size differences.

MAYBE….just MAYBE my plan to “up my game” in the quilting area is coming to fruition!!!

The first block contains some of Gaye’s favorite “Moda Grunge” fabric…..

….and the second is a sweet blend of blue and yellow…..

Tomorrow they will be winging their way to New Zealand. HOPEFULLY, it won’t take 10 weeks like it did last time!!!

This challenge has been so much fun….not only for the quilt blocks that I have received but for the new quilting friends that I now have on the other side of the world!!!

If you have a chance to join a challenge like this, I suggest that you do it. It has been a BLAST!!!!

Stash Smash update….

I haven’t posted in a while about my International Block Swap that has been going for this past year.

It is being run thru “Make Modern Magazine“, which is published out of Australia. It is an online magazine and I have loved seeing the designs and patterns from all over the world.

My swap group is definitely international as we have 4 Aussies, 1 New Zealander, and me!! It has been great fun getting to know these ladies and even more fun exchanging the blocks!!

I have now received almost all of the blocks that I requested and I love how the quilt looks….

It will be a lot of fun to finish up once I receive the last set of blocks and then add my own to it!!

One of the sweet things that happened was that one of our members suffered some sadness in her life and had fallen behind with her blocks. Another of the members picked up the ball and sent extra blocks to cover the missed ones. It is just another example of quilter’s taking care of each other!!

We are supposed to send the blocks every month as they are finished but the US postal service is not shipping to Australia.

So, I have held onto the last three sets of blocks and am about to UPS them to one of the members and she has graciously offered to send them on. Hopefully today they will be winging their way to Aus….

I can’t wait to see what their quilts look like!!

There is one more set to do this month and then send off to New Zealand!!

Add two bay leaves

Today it is my turn to present the 2022 Monthly Color Challenge for February…..may I present BAY LEAVES!!!

Now I know that they look like the above, but I know them better like this…..

When I read more about them I found that fresh bay leaves have a very mild flavor but that it deepens when they are dried…..who knew!!

I started by picking fabric for my bay leaf block….

When I found this fossil fern on the shelf, I knew that my search was over….

Since I already had the background pieces cut, it was quick work to cut the fabrics……

Sub-cut the units…..

Do a little arranging…..

….a little sewing, ripping, re-cutting, and more sewing!!!

…..and the Bay Leaf block is finished!!

Each month we are supposed to show other quilts in the same color and I found that I don’t have very many green quilts. But there was this one…..

If you want to learn more about this quilt…..

Kaleidoscopic Fun!!

If you want to check out what other bloggers are doing with this pattern, please visit…..

Patterns By Jen

Appliques, Quilts & More

Katie May Quilts

From My Carolina Home

Sunflower Stitcheries

AND….it is not to late to join the 2022 Monthly Color Challenge….Click on the photo for more…..

2022 Monthly Color Challenge

As I posted recently, I greatly enjoyed participating in the Monthly Color Challenge from “Patterns by Jen“.

Last year was all about fruits and vegetables. This year we are continuing in the kitchen theme with the 2022 Spice Challenge…..

This year, Jen provided details for making all of the blocks with the same background. Since I am planning to alternate` both sets of blocks into one quilt, I decided to use the background option.

It took a while to cut all of the background pieces…..

….but they are all bagged up and ready to go now.

The spice for January is ORANGE!!!

Now, I normally wouldn’t call it a spice, but it IS used to add flavor…..

Since the background pieces were already cut, it took no time at all to cut the 3 orange fabric pieces….

Isn’t that orange fabric the PERFECT color!!!!

I quickly sewed the two seams for the “snowball” blocks…..

….and a few more minutes to sew the seams for the half-square triangles….

A quick layout…..

….a few more seams and the first block for the year was finished!!!!

Jen suggested that we show other quilts in the monthly color and I decided to share one that was given to me a number of years ago…..

Mary Ellen used various threads and decorative stitches to create this beauty and I was honored when she gave it to me!!! It is a favorite!!

I think that this a GREAT start to a new challenge!!!

Challenge finished….almost

Throughout this past year, I have been involved in the 2021 Monthly Color Challenge presented by “Patterns by Jen“. This challenge was based on food….my favorite inspiration!!!

During the year I have enjoyed Lemons, Limes, Blueberries, Cherries, Pineapple, Pumpkin, Yams, Potatoes, Eggplant, Oranges, Grapefruit, and Olives…..

Now that the challenge has ended, it is time to put the quilt together…..

OR IS IT???

In 2022 there is ANOTHER challenge…..this time focusing on spices……

Now, doesn’t THAT sound interesting!!

So, instead of completing my quilt for 2021, I am going to keep the blocks and wait until I have finished the 2022 challenge. That way I can make a larger quilt and enjoy the results of both years of blocks.

Why don’t you think about joining me on this new journey? Check it out HERE.

There are a number of challenge participants who have actually finished their quilt!! Check these out…..

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Daybrook Designs

True Blue Quilts

Create With Claudia