Week 22 Blockade

After my marathon effort last week when I got all caught up here I am several days late in sewing this weeks block. Oh well.

The lesson for this week indeed is seams and pressing as mentioned in Cheryl's blog. At one stage this afternoon as I passed through the kitchen someone asked was I making progress. Oh yes, I replied, for every three seams I sew I unpick (rip out) one. But it rapidly became for every seam I sew I redo it three times.

For color selection I saw this one as being the Union surrounding the Confederates. Thus while most participants were making the center four triangles the same fabrics as the outer four I wanted to have confederate grey in the center with the union blue on the outer edge holding them in with the snake - I am a tiny bit out of order by making the snake grey but it is important to the block to make that on point effect with pale colors. And, since my plan all along has been to make the block using the directions given by BB, I could not substitute those pieced triangles for a single piece of fabric as others have done.

Oh and let me tell you this is not the most perfect sized of my blocks. Plus I had to indulge in the little clipping trick on the seams on the reverse side. But I have a finished block!

And here it is:

Week 21 Underground Railroad

This block has a number of different names but for the purpose of this project Barbara Brackman has settled on Underground Railroad. It was an easy one to make while I was away from home and not having all my usual sewing/electronic equipment with me to use.

Here is the block:


I will be interested to hear your thoughts on the red paisley fabric I have used as my backdrop. It is from the Simple Abundance collection by Bonnie of Cotton Way and Camile of Thimble Blossoms for MODA.

Week 20 New England block

Moving right along here is my New England block:


I liked making this block as there was a lot of opportunity to showcase fabrics and the construction was not difficult.


Again I have my block posed in the shop.

Week 19 Missouri Star

Ta dah! I have been away for the weekend and had lots of opportunity to sew so I am finally caught up on my Civil War blocks.

Here is my block for week 19:


I was trying to take some more adventurous photos "on location" for you so keep in mind that my blocks are not quite as carefully groomed as usual i.e. this block is quite square.


I was staying at a place that has a small fabric shop on the premises where they stock, I think exclusively, Moda fabrics. So I took advantage of my location to try some fancy poses for my blocks. What do you think of this red paisley fabric I pulled off the shelf to use as a back drop since my usual red chair was not available?

You can see there was quite a variation in the stock on the shelves.

Week 18 Union Square

In my mad scramble to catch up here is the block for week 18:


When you are "only" making one block there is more incentive to fussy cut. And this time I had a fabric to make the fussy cutting worth while although the blue was not an easy one to match/blend.

This is a relatively simple block but I like how it looks. And in my fussy cutting I guess I have made sure that this block will have to be set on straight and not on point. In discussing the project with someone in the past few weeks we tossed around the idea to make a medallion setting where there are center blocks set on point surrounded by the balance of the blocks set straight. Just another idea to work with.

Week 16 White House

Do not adjust your monitor - I know I am out of sequence with this posting. And that my block being all in grey and white may make you think the color settings are amiss on your screen. I also know I am giving you an example of something along the lines of "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery" so Cheryl, you should feel very flattered.

Yes, I struggled a lot with this week 16 block. Part of the problem was with my self imposed color scheme of grey and blue. Another part of the problem was the "suggestion" that a striped fabric form the focal portion of the block. Many striped fabrics were auditioned and set aside. After several tries I had to go with Cheryl's example and made my own striped fabric.

So with kudos to Cheryl for the idea, here is my week 16 block at last:


The fabrics are cut for week 18 and my ankles are smoking with the heat of being behind as the week 20 block is posted tomorrow.

Gulp.

Week 17 Comfort Quilt

Oh dear, I am four weeks behind on making my Civil War blocks; I was away at the National Quilt Symposium in New Zealand and then took some vacation time with my sisters so that is my excuse.

The patterns for weeks 16 to 19 have all been printed out and I made a start on week 16, White House on Saturday. Alas, I got it mostly pieced and decided I really did not like the fabric choices at all so I set it aside. In the meantime I had also cut the fabric for the week 17 block and happily it turned out



I notice on the flickr site that a few people made this block choosing a different blue fabric for each square. That option appeals to me also.

As for that week 16 block, I'll get to it. But I cannot say it is likely to be a favorite one.