Belated Blocks

I got  behind with Bee Blocks over the summer so I am trying to do a little catch up.  First for Leila, her theme in Cocorico was 'A woman's Work'.  I had a lovely pattern by Kumiko Fujita that came from a Japanese magazine- possibly Patchwork Tsuchin.  The stove and the casserole seemed a good fit for her theme.

Leila asked for either blocks 6 1/2" square or any size- this is a bit of both, 6 1/2 x 7 1/2".  I slightly misjudged the right side of the black strip but by the time I realised it was already cut and sewn. 

In Ringo Pie, many months ago, Tamiko asked for blocks on a Magnum PI theme, an imaginative idea and one that is producing some great work and a strong sense of humour.

This block started off with a free paper piecing Hawaiian Shirt pattern by Linda Worland at Paper Panache.  I did a little tweaking- added the back collar, added a Y seam and used freezer paper template method rather than sewing through paper.  I made the pocket as I would a real one and the same with the collar pieces. The trunks owe a debt to Penny and the pants/undies she made for Monica in the Travelling Quilts bee.   I drew out the shape, the stripes were pieced first, then the shape was cut out and the strips are bias pieces of white fabric.  After extensive research of Tom Selleck in trunks, these seemed to be the most distinctive for Magnum PI.  This block cracks me up.  If I could have pieced a tiny moustache and sunnies, I would have! 

Paint box

For the first time in ages, I completed a Bee block in the right month.  In Cocorico, Amy had asked for blocks from the 'Artist's Studio', great theme!  I knew where this was going.  When I want to do a quick colour sketch, I reach for my little water colour box, and that was my inspiration.  I drew this out on quilter's graph paper and used that to rotary cut and improv piece the block. 

  I am not a massive fan of rainbow themes.  I find them a bit predictable, they don't excite me, but this works for me with all the patterns and prints, old and new.  

  The hardest thing to piece was the paint brush, straightforward by itself but an awkward shape to fit into the rest of the block.

The smudgy multi-coloured vintage fabric was a bit of a gamble.  It was meant to represent colour mixing in the lid palettes but I think in hindsight a dirty moda grunge in cream would have been better  and given a little more clarity to the design, but I like the little cubes of paint.  

 My favourite part of sewing a block like this is choosing the fabric, put little words and pictures that fit, love that!

House for Charise

For a million reasons,  I am behind on my bee blocks.  Work is busy, home is busy and I am prepping like a crazy for Fat Quarterly Retreat.  Paper pieced blocks take time- not just to make but to think about and design too and I have to be in the right head space, each block needs a lot of thinking time!  I love a house block and that is Charise's theme in Cocorico for April.   She wanted older house, Victorian, Edwardian, that sort of thing.  I found my inspiration in a vintage game card at Ingrid's blog, Ing things and she kindly gave me permission to post here.

I always recommend a trip to Ingrid's blog, she posts almost daily and is full of creativity and zest!

Such a lovely house image, I loved the arcs above the windows and I knew I had to include them.

And this is how it turned out.  The arcs were undeniably tricky and were hand pieced- too tightly curved for the machine.  The roof is straighter than it looks- no subsidence here- I think the seams wouldn't lie flat for photographing.  It has a French gite feel, I would certainly holiday there- chicken wire walls and a green dog- who wouldn't!

 The images are from vintage fabrics and are my favourite feature when sewing a house.  The 'garden fabric' is a feedsack scrap from Chase.   We arranged a little fabric swap and it was one where I felt I got the better deal- she spoilt me with a gorgeous package.

we have a little future swap planned after the retreat rush is over where we make each other something! I already have ideas for this.  Back to more prepping, I got my class lists today- oh my goodness, so many of you!  I truly can't wait :)

Best in Show

This block was for Megan in Cocorico bee. Her theme was 'Country Fair'.  I dallied with the idea of pigs but they started to look more like dogs in my sketches so I chose rabbits.  I had to do two, I think of rabbits in multiples, it must be their breeding habits!  And the "Best in Show" idea was rattling around my overcooked imagination from the start.  The sitting rabbit as from 318 Patchwork, Kumiko Fujita-(you know already that it is, of course, out of print).  I played around with that pattern for the standing rabbit and pushed myself to fit a  total of 5 inset Y seams just into that one rabbit- that was fun!  Both bunnies are freezer paper pieced and the ribbon was foundation pieced. The ribbon was adapted from  Carol Doak's free Pink Ribbon pattern.

The tails were needle turn appliqued on with the straight edge sewn into the seam.  The noses and eyes were wool felt cut with a paper hole puncher and hand stitched on.  For the stamping, I always use Versacraft ink.  I like to live life on the edge, the stamping was added at the very end of the block.
Fabrics
Green- Sweet on NYC for Timeless Treasures
Ripple Ribbon-Anna Griffin
Pink large polkas-Lecien
Pink tiny dot-my stash
Yellow prints- Picnics and Fairgrounds, Denyse Schmidt
Aurifil thread for piecing and Superior needles- my new favourite piecing needle, love them!

Pippi Block Process

In Cocorico Bee, Muriel chose Pippi Longstocking as her theme.  She put a lot of inspiration into a gallery and initially I thought stripy tights and boots was the way to go, but I could not see it working with piecing, and you know I like to piece, I like the challenge.  So instead I was drawn towards hair.  I didn't want the desgin to be too tight, Pippi is a carefree character and I wanted to sew her in a improv free pieced style.

I like the spirit I have captured in this, but it is reminding me a little of a rugby ball!  This is how the process went.  First I sketch the basic shape on to quilt block graph paper and tidy up the lines.

Then I use permanent fine liner and label the sections, add some tick lines for matching up.   I trace this onto the reverse shiny side of freezer paper with pencil.  I use reverse tracing so that the freezer paper sticks to the back of the fabrics, easier when piecing.

I free pieced the hair in two halves and two plaits and then cut it to shape using the freezer paper.

Then it is all pieced together.  The tick lines help a lot when sewing the curves and but I also just have to wing it some of the time.

This was a kicking and screaming block, I had to drag it into existence out from wherever it was hiding.   I could not see it until I was well into the construction and I was prepared that I might have to abandon it and start something else.  

The jumper is based on Pippi's jumper, Muriel managed to find one for herself! 

To tell the truth I am more than a little relieved  that I managed to finish this, I was getting an imagination funk on what to do for this block.  Off you go Pippi!