absenteeism

Hi.  Sorry for being completely absent from the blog in my month of block swapping.  We're hunting for a new apartment-- a fruitless labor-- and so that's sucking up all my internet time.

There have been lots of questions about block sizing, etc.  I was shooting for 8.5" unfinished, but if you're in the ballpark, I'll be fine.

All the blocks I've seen so far have been amazing.  I've even received one in the mail!  I'll take a photo of all of them together once I've received each block.

I'm ready for March-- what are we making?!

Jennifer's NY Beauty

Here's Mz. Jennifer's NY Beauty block right before going into the envelope as I send it off to her.  I'm not even showing you the practice blocks I made for this one.  Suffice it to say I am learning new words and new things about myself...

I actually can't wait to see this quilt all done as I like the overall idea of these spiky blocks and I really like Jennifer's color palette.  It's just constructing the blocks that isn't so likeable so this was a great way to get an almost completed quilt.  Smart lady!  Hope you like your block.

First Try

Here's my first attempt at New York Beauty. Piecing the arc was very easy and it turned out almost perfect. The curve was a completely different story. I followed the common process of clipping and pinning, etc, but it got all bunched up. Help me out-- what's the smoothest way to piece a curve?

February - New York Beauty

Alright, ladies.  Fabric goes in the mail tomorrow.  


We're making New York Beauty blocks.  Here's some inspiration:




1. IMG_0490v2, 2. IMG_0492v2, 3. New York Beauty quilt, detail, 4. New York Beauty, 5. New York Beauty, 6. new york beauty blocks


Gorgeous, right?!

Pattern
You may choose any 8" New York Beauty that your little heart desires. If you don't know where to start, there are some easy to follow patterns on Ulas Quiltpage.

Don't know how to make a New York Beauty? Me neither! But this Quilter's Corner Tutorial on How to Sew a New York Beauty makes it seem pretty damn easy.

Fabric
I have sent each of you 9x14 cuts of 5 different fabrics. Two grays, two purples, and one chartreuse. You may supplement with any coordinating fabrics from your stash (print, batik, or solid) but you must use the chartreuse in your block.  


Any questions?

Finally!

Okay, here it is!  I finally finished Jessica's block after several unsuccessful attempts at paper piecing.  I could never get the patterns from Quilter's Cache to print correctly.  So, I went with good old normal piecing.

This block is called Louisiana. I can't believe my flying geese came out so nicely! I did them using triangles, not rectangles and squares as many people do. I think this is the reason why they're so much nicer than usual.


It's not perfectly sized... It's about 1/8" too small in a few areas. Sorry, Jessica! I still think it looks good.


By the way, I signed on the front. I was supposed to do that, right?

Incredible!

I'm shrinking!

As discussed in the flickr group, I have been doing cardio and core workouts at the gym each morning before work since mid-November.  At the end of December I weighed in and measured.  My waist measured at 33.5" (three inches less than in November!).  My gut-- you know, the spare tire area?-- came in at 41.5"

Yesterday, we measured again.

Waist -33.5"
Gut - 37.5"

Four inches!  I'm shrinking!

How about you?

(PS - I got started on Jessica's block tonight.  Thank the Lord of all creation that I decided to do a test block!  The template printed too small for some pieces, and so they didn't all fit together.  I'll try again tomorrow.)