Ending with Olives

I recently finished the 2021 Monthly Color challenge from Patterns By Jen. The last block was based on one of my UN-favorites…..olives!!

My best memory of olives was seeing trees in the Duoro Valley of Portugal….

I sure wish that they tasted as good as they look!!!

I bought a bottle….

…and spent a little time examining the inspiration…..

It was fun to look thru my fabric and pick the perfect colors…..

I thought that the print was reminiscent of the pimentos stuffed in each olive.

Cutting was easy (just 4 squares)…so easy that I failed to take a photo before I started sewing…..

In a matter of minutes, I had the 1/4-square triangles made….

And three seams later, the block was finished….

Each month we are supposed to share our favorite recipe using the food, but that is impossible for me to do. However, Michael does enjoy a martini, so here it is…..

This has been a fun challenge and I have learned or perfected a number of techniques during the year.

Now I can’t wait for the 2022 Spice Challenge to start…..

Why don’t you join me??

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It’s all about learning something….

Someone asked me why I continue to do challenges and mystery quilts and my answer is the same…..”I ALWAYS learn something!!!”

I have now finished Angela Walters’ “Quilting with Rulers Challenge” and, as you might guess, I learned SO much!!

Here is the finished quilt…..

…..and here are a few things that I learned……

Rulers can be used in other ways that don’t match their intended purpose. In this case, I used an oval ruler to quilt some longer curves…..

Use a matching thread….especially if you don’t know exactly what you are doing…..

Plan and measure borders so that they turn the corner well….

Larger areas can be made smaller by dividing them into sections…..

Adding some non-ruler quilting can make a boring design pop……

IF you want it to be exact, there are tools that you can use…….

Finally, even though you can use a ruler to quilt a filler design, it is easier to freehand it!!!

I bought a few new rulers at Houston this past month and am already having fun playing with them and figuring out exactly how I can use them!!

And, will I do another challenge???

You-bet-ya!!! I have the top for Angela’s new “Feather” challenge and I cannot wait to get started!!! I am horrible at feathers and know that this will push me forward.

Do you need something to PUSH you to get better????

If so, think about signing up for my FREE 10-week Free-Motion Quilting Challenge called “MOVE IT!!!”

Each week you will receive an email with a few new designs to try and a video with instructions, encouragement, and sometimes even some commiseration!!!

If you are interested, sign up HERE

Sweet Blueberry Inspirations

Last week I caught up with the Monthly Color challenge by getting tangy with a grapefruit, and now I am ready to get a jump on the November challenge from Patterns by Jen.

The fruit for the month are BLUEBERRIES……one of my favorites!!

To start out with, I had a blast photographing the little guys…..

….and munching a few between shots!!!

It was also fun to cut them open and see the delicate insides…..

When I started looking for fabrics, this one JUMPED right off the shelf…..

It couldn’t have been more perfect.

So, the pieces were cut…..

…and the sewing began.

But as I ironed the first set, I realized that the white thread that I was using was showing!! WHY hadn’t I switched to grey!!!

The thread change was made and the block was quickly completed…..

I have tried to do some special photography on each block and this one was fun…..

Here is where we are so far……

I wonder what December will bring??

Grapefruit Inspirations

In September, I posted about the welcoming pineapple as the monthly color prompt for the Monthly Color Challenge from “Patterns by Jen” …..

And, as much as I enjoyed the sweet pineapple in my studio, it was followed by the grapefruit for the month of October….that’s right….I am running behind!!!

Now I am NOT a fan of grapefruit…..

….even the sweet Red variety that I pick out to use as inspiration.

I will admit that the citrus aroma did do a great job of freshening my studio and I loved the colors of the pulp…..

The fabrics pretty much chose themselves…..

…and within a few minutes, the pieces were cut and ready to sew…..

Very quickly the block was finished….

…and ready for some fun photography……

Now that I am caught up, this month is BLUEBERRIES…..one of my favorites!!!! Check back later this week for more!!

PATTERN UPDATE…Have you checked out my pattern for “Crumbs for the Geese”. To purchase, simply click on the “Patterns for Sale” tab at the top of this page.

Stash Smashing!!

As I have talked about earlier this year, I am involved in a “Smash That Stash” Quilting bee hosted by Make Modern Magazine. There are 6 of us participating….1 from New Zealand, 4 from Australia, and ME!!

We have been making blocks for each other with some new, fun designs.

The months of August and September were MY months so I got to pick the pattern and the colors….FUN!!

I posted about the intricate plans for my blocks…..

…but when it came down to it, I really didn’t want to make all of the additional blocks that I would have needed to create my masterpiece!!

Since I didn’t want another UFO hanging around, I went for something simpler and more fun!!

While I was at the retreat, Michael called to tell me that I had a package from Australia….MY FIRST SET OF BLOCKS HAD ARRIVED!!!!

They are from Janet and are wonderful…..

I believe that all of the other blocks have been made, but since Australia and New Zealand are in a major COVID lockdown, they can’t get to the post office to send them on.

I suppose that this is teaching me patience, but that is a hard lesson for me to learn!!!

I will update you when more arrive!!!