Category: Quilting and Sewing

The weather is lovely where I live.  Although it’s October, we’re still experiencing highs in the 70s and 80s every day, yet I have perfectly crisp morning air to enjoy on my daily walks.  My current favorite is watching the golden morning sun break across the valley as I walk.  In the mountains the leaves are colorful; in my neighborhood they’re largely green, with a little bright yellow sprinkled here and there.  Flowers are still blooming, and the sky is the perfect blue of October.  I love all of it, but I think the reds and oranges of oak leaves are my favorite.  After my walk yesterday I decided to start a fall sewing project.  A little oak leaf applique has begun!

Do you do much fall sewing?  I realized that I love summer and patriotic sewing, and Christmas, but I don’t do as much fall-themed quilting.  When I do, I especially love to push the boundaries of the traditional “fall” color scheme.  My Color Stack quilt remains my favorite (pattern here), but I also love my On a Whim Quilt with it’s ice blue and gray.  If I were committing to a fall quilt right now, I think this free Autumn Bliss pattern looks fun.

This project?  My oak leaf applique beginning will be another slow sewing project.  I started with sketching some leaves, all 7-8 inches tall.  I’d like to play with rectangular blocks.  It could grow, or remain small.  Time will tell.  It’s nice to be playing without committing to a large project.  Creative exploration is a joyful, healthy thing!  So for now, I plan to explore color with these applique blocks.  What are you working on?  I hope it makes you happy!

I wrote last week about my moody little HOME blocks (created with my HOME quilt block pattern), and how I was craving a small project.  Well, I dove in and made something with them.  No pattern, just cutting and sewing (and learning by trial and error), and now I have a little HOME needle book.

For starters, I have renewed respect for makers who create sewing patterns for bags, books, and pouches.  Their attention to detail is really awesome, and my novice skills are apparent in this little book.  And yet, it makes me smile and I’m happy with it.  I enjoyed making it and am already using it.

One of my goals was to just finish it, so I didn’t look online or visit any stores to find hardware.  I just used what I had on hand.  Obviously this could be a lot fancier.  But I decided to make a little envelope to hold scissors and thread inside the pouch.

Above the envelope I added a flap of felt for holding my needle.  Hot pink ribbon won the color audition for a simple ribbon closure.  Since finishing this, I’ve been playing more with the envelope idea, and have figured out a better way to sew a fabric envelope.  I’m excited to use this new skill for the holidays!  For now, I’m tucking the flap inside to keep everything in place and it seems to work just fine.  Simple.  A HOME needle book for the joy of sewing with colors that make me smile.

On the back I put a piece of the amazing modern floral I first photographed these little 4 inch blocks with.  I have a small piece of it but sort of wish I had yards and yards.

What do you sew when you need a small project to finish quickly?  I enjoyed making my HOME needle book.  What became of my second block?  Well, I made a quilted book cover with it, and it matches the needle book. So fun!

Last week I needed to take a deep breath creatively.  I have SO MANY quilts and other projects I’m working on or planning in my head, and the list is longer than there are hours in the day.  I needed a small project to work on.  Enter my HOME quilt block, a foundation paper pieced quilt block pattern in three different sizes.  I really love all three sizes (my Refuge quilt is made with the largest), but there is just something about the tiny 4 inch block that always calls to me.  So I pulled some fabric, started sewing these small blocks, and now I’m smiling at my moody little HOME blocks.

In fact, It occurred to me that if these were the typical Halloween color scheme, I might like the holiday more.  The pinks and dark blues with a touch of honey are so pretty to me.  It looks like the tiny house is glowing in the dark of night, and I love it.  A few years ago I started a 100 day project using this little 4″ block.  Unfortunately, I didn’t stick with it because they take so long to sew.  Smaller is definitely not always faster!  These cute little blocks take time to piece, but are oh, so worth it!  In fact, I still intend to finish a quilt made entirely of these 4 inch blocks.   I’m ok with a far away finish.  It will be marvelous.

But, back to my moody little HOME blocks.  I’m loving dark backgrounds with bright colors, and I have hopeful plans for these two little blocks.  Honestly, I love this color combination so much that I wish I could just keep making them and turn it into a quilt.  But my goal was a small project, so I’ll see what I can do.

What about you?  What would you make with a little 4″ block?  Any suggestions for what they might become?

Have a great day!

Jennifer