ACK -- my light that I use at my computer was getting dimmer and dimmer and I didn't have a chance to get a new bulb. Now the bulb is gone completely. But no time today to get a new one - I'm on a road trip today so it's very early in the morning so I can get the blog done - in the dark! At least the bulb is out and in my errand bag so when I pop into the hardware store, I'll know which one to buy.
It's funny how my brain is resisting going into Studio B to tidy up. I just hate the thought of the mess. Like last night. The last thing I wanted to do was go down there and face the mess. But I forced myself to go down and do a wee bit. Next thing you know, several hours had passed and I made some great accomplishments. I'm happy to push myself - if I don't, who will? And nothing would get done.
I'll share what I've accomplished tomorrow. I'm quite happy with the progress in both Studios - one where I'm actually sewing and the other where major tidying, sorting, and cleaning is happening. And you know what? I might actually find a home for everything without it going back on the floor. I also have a good system going to shuffle things back and forth between the two places.
Today, it's all about the second block that we choose to work on from the Ultimate Quilt Block Collection book.
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| Ultimate Quilt Block Collection by Lynne Goldsworthy |
So here's the thing about this book. It's a sampler book. The blocks were designed to be used as a single block with sashing between the block and the next one. It would be a challenge to take some of the blocks, make multiples of them and sew them together to make a quilt.
This block is a very good example of that situation. I LOVE this block. I just love all the little pieces in the sashing. But can you imagine what would happen when you joined this block to another one like it? While you would have those pretty little nine patches in the center, the edges where one block meets another would be awful. So that's the other kind of thing that we chat about in the class. How to take one block and make it into a quilt.
I'm not going to share that with you - that's for the class! I also didn't like the way the block was assembled in the book and so that's another thing we chat about in class. How to change the directions to make more sense for assembly.
Look at this first block. The green and white (very high contrast) make the pattern pop off the block. Those center green squares are something like 3" finished. Yikes - that's tiny! But the lesson that month was all about small piecing.
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| Great contrast in this block |
This next block is very pretty, but the contrast isn't nearly as defined as for the previous block. However, you can still see the pattern. When working with two fabrics and both of them share the same color (in this case white), the fabrics might end up "bleeding" into each other. The values of these two are fairly similar as well.
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| A more subtle combination |
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| Very classic look with red and white |
Here's an interesting comparison. Remember the block above with the blue/white fabric in the center squares and how subtle the contrast was? Well, this block uses fabric that has the same color as the sashing, yet it doesn't affect the contrast. Why is that? Because the values of the two fabrics are quite different and the amount of orange in the main fabric is very small. The values (and the colors) in the previous block were quite similar. So yes - you can use two fabrics that both have the same color, but make sure there is plenty of contrast. There's really no right or wrong to this - it's what is the final look that you want.
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| Block uses two colors with loads of high contrast |
This person will be making their block larger as they didn't want to cut off those nine-patches at the edge of the block. This is going to require that more sashings be made and larger triangles must be used for the corners and much larger squares (or a big triangle) used for the center edge of each side. But what a pretty block!
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| Can't cut off those nine-patches along the edge |
It's so interesting to see all these color combinations and hopefully, the class (and you) get an idea of what fabric combinations work well together. Both value and color can make a huge difference.
On that note, I'd better get myself together. My ride arrives in 30 minutes and I need to assemble snacks as there is ZERO time to eat on this road trip and I haven't had breakfast yet.
Have a super day!!!!
Ciao!!!!
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