Friday 5 October 2012

Favourite things

Leila chose 'Favourite Things' for her 'Ringo Pie' queen bee month.  There was a lot of freedom in this theme, the block needed to reflect something about us.  I recently bought this inspirational book, 163 Patchwork Blocks and Quilts.  There is a Flickr group about this book and you can find out more about it there.  You just know looking at the cover that this book is fantastic- sorry to be such a temptress.  It is hard to find- The Workroom stock it when they can and are great at mail order.  Pomadour24 on ebay and etsy sometimes has copies.  Warning: it is expensive!   You need to be prepared to draft with this book, it is all in diagrams in the usual Japanese style and many of the blocks use intersecting Y seams- just saying...

 As soon as I saw this spools block I just knew this was the one.   I love spools block, conquering the Y intersection seams in my first Ringo Pie block was part of my quilting journey and my love of paper piecing.
I knew I wanted my favourite Kumiko Fujita ruler print, ( you can find some here).  I have it in 4 colour ways- one for each spool and I wanted vintage prints for the spool centres- many of these came from swaps with the lovely Chase.
Leila wanted 6" finished blocks for a sampler quilt she is planning so this block is small but it was intricate with 16 Y seams!  I drew the block on freezer paper- you can see the book diagram which gives block proportions and also a picture of the assembled block reverse side which is most helpful.
I am using the same book to inspire me for Pillow talk 9 swap.  I have an amazing partner, and I am hoping that this block will do the trick.  I plan for 9 of these and you can see, Y seams again so I need to get on with it!

sib blog

34 comments:

  1. Wow the book looks great - hope the project goes well, the block is really effective!

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  2. The book looks fantastic as does your block. Is it possible to give me the references so i can find and buy it .
    Martine ( Belgium)

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  3. I believe the book is very hard to come by...it certainly looks like a treasure! Your 'reel' blocks are...'unreal'!

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  4. This book is among "my favourite things" I look at it each night before bed. I'm excited to start one of the quilts in earnest soon!

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  5. Oh Kerry it's fantastic!! Love all those little spools they are so special, thank you xx
    That book looks great I bet it's one of those really hard to find ones isn't it?

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  6. oh wow - love those spools and the angle they're set at! Can't wait to see what you come up with for pillow swap too!

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  7. Love it! Have I mentioned lately that I want your stash? ;o)

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  8. Oooh I love your spools and I so want a copy of that book

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  9. Love the block, where did you find the book, I've tried to locate it but no joy so far and it would be a good Chritmas present.

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  10. Hi Kerry! That book looks fantastic! I guess it's full of blocks you want to make! I love the block with spools! x Teje

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  11. Where did you find the book? I've been searching for a copy of it for a solid year now!
    And your block looks fantastic!

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  12. What a fabulous block out of an amazing book!!

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  13. It's really lovely and that book looks fabulous. I need to conquer Y seams. There are so many blocks I want to make that have them and they kind of intimidate me! I need to get over it!

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  14. I wasn't going to buy anymore quilt books this year--I hate you. ;)

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  15. I love Japanese books and this one looks great!

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  16. I love them both BUT....16 Y SEAMS???!!! Dang! You're good! ;p

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  17. You are a temptress indeed: I just ordered the book on Amazon. Or I should say: I think I ordered it, everything was in Japanese so I'm not quite sure, haha

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  18. I just bought one for what I think is a pretty good price, having seen them before. There is one left:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/My-Favorite-Patterns-163-Quilt-Patchwork-Block-Square-Star-Japanese-Pattern-Book-/310463051660

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  19. Kerry, I was so excited about finding the book that I forgot to say your spool block is total fabulousness!

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  20. Love your spools,fantastic!!

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  21. You are so right!! You are such a temptress and have tempted me once again. Hope you have a great weekend. I lost everything on my phone and am so sick of IOS6 I just can't tell you. Ok my moaning has stopped now.
    Lots and Lots of Love
    Patti xxx

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  22. Here i am again from Belgium.
    There is a Japanese bookshop in Paris THat still have some copies of the book, the have a webshop too.
    Junkudo Librairie 18 rue des Pyramides 75001 Paris France ( near the Louvre )
    www.junku.fr
    I hope it will be some help for someone.

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  23. I adored the book! I have the book with me a few weeks back! I would love to make the spool blocks, but hesitated the Y seam! Just love how you fuzzy cut your fabric each time! I might need to spend extra time and find a way to work more properly!

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  24. The block is my favorite one in the book, but I even like yours more!

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  25. this is fabulous Kerry! I love this block, such perfect fabric choices as always. I've been eyeing up that book on the pomadour shop for so long!! Definately on the Christmas wish list :)
    Jessie, xo

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  26. Hi Kerry...I bought the book a few months ago on ebay and I just love it!
    I haven't had time to play with it yet but I will as soon as fall market is over.
    Thanks so much for the heads up about the flickr group...I had no idea it existed when I got my book and now I have joined up.
    Your spool block is amazing...as usual:-)

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  27. Love Leila's block - so pretty!
    Tks for the link to the book. I've been wanting it for some time now : )

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  28. I saw this book on a blog in August and bought it on a japanese online selling website. I could sit and look at it for hours.

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  29. OOOH, I'm in love!! I've never tried drafting a quilt block before. Can you recommend a good source for learning how to do the drafting, so I can put it on my wish list along with this one?

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  30. OH, you temptress, you! How did I miss this post 'til now??? Absolutely adore your block, and the ruler print is my fav KF print, too! Love how you used both it and the vintage ones from Chase. Thanks for including info about where to find the book (which I've been avoiding but now see my attempt is futile, lol).

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