One Block Wonder

 Oh boy -- I just unearthed a treasure trove. 

But first - if you remember, I could NOT find those darn panels that I had purchased several years ago, and it was niggling in the back of my head. Where could I possibly have put them? Then, while I talked to Carol about One Block Wonder quilts yesterday, the location literally flew into my head. The moment I got off the call, I ran downstairs and put my hands on them! And it was in the logical place - I just didn't search well enough the first time - that's the problem with UNMARKED boxes. 

Project storage

This shelf is tucked away in a storage room downstairs - the one that houses all the community project stuff. I had given the shelf a glance and looked through a few boxes, but obviously not hard enough. See the purple containers near the top left? Well, there's an unmarked white pizza box on top, and when I opened it - there were the missing panels. 

The box of missing panels

Was I correct in my guess of what was on the panels? I was close. I had said a fairy in a garden and a peacock. Let's see what they really were. 

OK -- so it was a fairy, but not in a garden - it's a Christmas tree! I have seen this one made into a One Block Wonder, and it was stunning. This is the one that I saw at a guild meeting, and it was the reason I purchased the panels. 

A fairy in a Christmas tree panel

The second one wasn't a peacock, but close - it's a Tree of Life by Chong-a Hwang. 

Tree of Life panel

There are only six of each, so I intended to make a One Block Wonder but NOT incorporate the hexagons onto a panel.

I was tempted to buy a 7th panel (yes -- I found one online) and make a panel quilt, but this morning when I did a bit of stash research, I've changed my mind. 

I'm going to sell both sets of these panels. They are both 24" wide, and I really don't need them. 

 So if anyone is interested - let me know, and we can talk price.

As a bonus, look at what else I found in the box. A ton of pillow panels with Chevy trucks on them. There is enough to make a One Block Wonder project  - one with the red truck and one with the blue truck. Should anyone want to buy those, I would be willing to part with them as well. 

Chevy truck panels

But WAIT - it doesn't stop there. I decided the best thing to do was to consolidate ALL the One Block Wonder stuff together so the next time, I could find it more easily. 

Let's start with the books. Yep -- four books for Stack and Whack and One Block Wonder. 

Stack and Whack and One Block Wonder books

And then there are another four books. I mean -- why buy one when you can buy them all? 

More Stack and Whack and One Block Wonder books

And two more books and a pattern. Yes -- that pamphlet on the top right is the earliest version I can find of this technique, and it is dated 1993 by Brenda Groelz. So if you think Bethany Reynolds created this technique -- think again! Her first book was published in 1998, although I think she did something in a magazine before that. Nothing is new, and I would bet that we'll find that these kaleidoscope patterns existed years ago if we go back into the history books. 

More books and a pattern

And yet one more pattern - this pattern and the one above use a certain degree ruler to make the repeat pattern. 

Stack and Whack using a 15-degree ruler

I've NO idea how many Stack and Whack, One Block Wonders I have made. Two One Block Wonders for sure, and both of them are waiting to be quilted. There are at least FOUR Stack and Whack quilts waiting to be quilted, and one has been given away. I've got one quilt that was made using FOUR layers of fabric, and that is also waiting to be quilted. So I've done my fair share of this technique over the years. 

Do I have any UFOs for this technique? Let's have a look. 

Surprisingly, there is ONLY one UFO that I'm aware of, and it's unusual. This is the block - it goes with that pattern above. The unique thing is that you use the FRONT and the BACK of the fabric, so finding the suitable material is a bit of a challenge. 

Stack and Whack fan quilt

This is the fabric that I used. It's a cheap quality and very stiff fabric, which is why the dye went through to the back. All the fans are made, the fabrics are all cut, and it just needs a bit of applique to finish it off! Well, maybe I'm lying about that, but it worked, and the blocks look amazing. 

Vegetable fabric for the Stack and Whack

Here's what else I found in the Stack and Whack boxes on a different shelf. A beautiful tulip fabric. It's up for sale. All the fabric for sale has at least six repeats. 

Tulip fabric

I bought this fabric years ago, and I don't know that it's really the best choice since it's pretty pale. I might repurpose this one to a quilt backing, but should someone want it for stack and Whack - it's for sale. 

Celestrial fabric

Another bright one that would be good for stack and Whack. It's also up for sale. 

Bright fabric with dark background

OH MY GOD -- I found more of those crazy Corn Flake pillow panels. I must have bought hundreds (well, not quite) of them. Good grief!! I think there are eight here, and I've already made two quilts from the panels. Should any crazy person want this, I'd be willing to part with it for a price, and this one comes with some green and red fabrics that I've matched. 

Pillow panels

I've got SIX each of these animal panels. So there are 12 in total. Why????  If anyone wants - they are also up for grabs. 

Animal panels

Then I bought yards of this smaller panel which would also make a good Stack and Whack. It's up for grabs for a price. 

Small panels

I also found it in another colorway. Good grief -- I could open a store! I think I'll keep this one as I really like the colors, and there's a coordinating border print for it. 

Same print - different colorway

Then I found these two border prints - one is Christmas-themed, and the other is whimsical. Both would make great stack and whacks. And if anyone wants them - you can have them for a price. 

Border prints

I did a little bit of shuffling this morning, and now ALL things Stack and Whack and One Block Wonder are in the same location in the main stash room. 

Stack and Whack and One Block Wonder

That yardage is sitting in the next pile as there wasn't room in the same pile. 

The Stack and Whack yardage

Here's the question I pose for myself. Why? Why would I have amassed so much when I had already made so many of these quilts? I have no idea - but it seemed like a good thing at the time, or I wouldn't have bought so much. It's a sickness, to be sure, and I had it bad! I'm glad to say that this habit has STOPPED. Never to be resurrected again. I think long and hard about buying anything. 

If no one wants the fabric above, it can easily be moved into the backing area, and I'll make good use of it there. The panels? I'm not sure - but I'll find a use for them. 

And what about my current project with the small panels? I had a few minutes yesterday to mess around, and this is what it looks like. 

My current project with Stack and Whack

It looks a bit of a hot mess, but I've got a plan in how to proceed -- one step at a time, and that will clean up the center so you can see the panel. I have three hexagons leftover, and I'm going to try and work them in somehow!!

So here's my lesson to all of you! I know why I bought so much of this fabric. It was because I thought that once it was gone  - it would be gone. And that's not true. That particular fabric might be gone, but there'll be many more just like it to replace it. Oh yes -- there is NOTHING new in the patterns, styles, and colors of fabric that emerge each year. It gets recycled, although I haven't seen those cutesy calico prints come back. Well, that's not true. They did come back, but not in the same oranges and brown we had in the 70s!!!

If anyone is interested in any of the fabric/panels above, send me an e-mail, and we can chat about the price. elainetheriault@gmail.com

I made good progress on one of the paperwork projects, and I hope to finish it this morning and try to get the other one done as well. I loaded another customer quilt this morning, and my brain was so focused on my audiobook that I didn't realize what I had done. 

Oopsy! 

I pinned it to the wrong roller! I had to remove it and repin it in place. Oh, shoot! But if you have NOT read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, I highly recommend it. Wow -- it just goes to show that you just don't know how your life would be if you made one small choice differently. That's why we need to learn to live life with NO REGRETS. We need to understand that just because we made a wrong choice doesn't mean we have to live with it. We are in control of our lives, although I do believe that fate plays a huge part. OK -- so we can't control our lives, but we can control how we REACT to outside influences. I'm not always the best with that, but I just try to let most bad things roll off my back.

And that's enough philosophy for today. 

The only thing on the agenda is to get my MIL to her physio. It was DH's turn today, but I offered, so he has to do it twice next week! And besides, there's a geocache close to her physio, and I can get that while she's having her treatment!!!  😃😃

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!