Tethered Threads 2

How can it bee?

2010-09-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

Seriously, How could it possibly be a year that has gone by? I have been in two block parties this past year, as has my daughter and my daughter in law. I sorta forced them both. However, I am sure they both have enjoyed it almost more than life itself. This month is my daughters month. She hasn't mailed her fabric yet, though she knows what she wants and loves the fabric she has chosen. After a year with all of you I know that she will get back some wonderful squares.
As I said I was in two block parties this past year. So what I decided to do was the same thing for both. I will end with 48 squares to put together. The squares have been so interesting and wonderful. I can't wait to compete it. But it's going to wait for a bit, I have a "Birth quilt" to complete for my grandson, who will be a year in November. I have 10 Dear Jane squares to complete by October 30th. All by hand, no machine for this one. Wouldn't you know it, I was driving down the freeway today after buying 8 fruit trees for my new yard and inspiration hit me like a ton of bricks. I see it in my head, a quilt that I have to make for someone I love. That means another trip the quilt shop, more fabric and on it goes. I have a craft fair to get ready for and Christmas just after that. I wonder which of us will actually put our squares together first? I wonder who will post their photo of a completed quilt. We all have to do that you know. We can't possibly just end our 12 months together and never see the end product. We have all been so connected and grown so close over the year how can we just say good bye? I think we should change the name of this block party though. Maybe, "To busy block party" or maybe, "It's all I can do the make the block, much less blog about it block party". Anyway I love all my squares and I will promise to post it's completion.
Hey, anyone want to go another 12 months? I"m pretty sure Beth wants to. Beth you could get 24 more amazing blocks for your quilt. 24 squares. I'm just saying think about it.

thank you soooo much!

2010-08-09T17:26:00.001-07:00

Thank you all so very much!!

I was shocked!

And it is sooo beautiful!
Honestly,
I'm not sure if it was the hormones or the surprise,
or just the deep heartfelt thankfullness,
but I started to cry when I took it out of the envelope.

quilters truly are the most generous people.

The lil' guy and I both thank you so much.

You've made me feel so blessed to be a part of such a great group of quilters.

thank you.

Kelly

here they are...

2010-07-12T17:24:00.001-07:00

My June blocks for Kathy have been done for a bit and on their way to her...

I wasn't so sure about my wonkiness...
"wonk" I've noticed, does not come easily to me...

but I think she likes them, so I'm safe :)

I'm so enjoying the swap process.
It has opened up opportunity for me to really stretch and learn.

I'm excited for the next one!

p.s. no baby yet.
I have 5 days til' my due date.
I'll let you all know when it arrives :)

a thousand apologies

2010-06-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

here they are.

My May blocks for Kathleen.

Done and dusted.

In the mail.

LATE...

So sorry....

so what happened to me this month??

why the late blocks from a girl who's turnaround record has been pretty good?

ummm...

well when I received the fabrics and directions, I froze.

I found it confusing.

ummm...yeah.

let's remember I'm 34 weeks pregnant.

I have baby brain, people!

so then I didn't have the right fabric in my stash.

so I had to go to the store.

the fabric store 25 minutes away.

this is not normally an issue.

It's normally a joy...

hmmmmm...

"surely I must have something here..."

nope.

so then I equated purchasing the fabric for the block

to finishing the block.

ummm...

note to self--

purchased fabric=UN finished

so this morning

I decided to let it lag no longer.

45 minutes

2 freezies

and a broken seam ripper later

(don't ask-- I didn't even need it for the block!)

ta da!

two blocks finished.

April squares

2010-04-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

I LOVE COMING HOME AND FINDING A SMALL PACKAGE. IT'S BEEN SO MUCH FUN GETTING ALL THESE SQUARES. THESE ARE THE ONES I'VE RECEIVED SO FAR. AREN'T THEY GREAT. THESE ARE FROM AUDRIE, RUTH & BETTY. ONE OF THEM HAS HER NAME EMBROIDERED ON IT. THANKS FOR DOING THAT RUTH. IT'S HARD TO SEE BUT I KNOW IT'S THERE. I WILL ALWAYS KNOW IT'S THERE. THANKS. IMAGINE IF YOU WERE IN 12 BLOCK PARTIES AND YOU ARRANGED IT JUST RIGHT YOU COULD RECEIVE SQUARES EVERY MONTH.

March and April blocks

2010-04-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

I decided yesterday that I was going to sit down and get caught up on my quilting bee blocks. Quite amazing what you accomplish when you put your mind to it!

Blocks for Marty... I'm a huge fan of wonky / improv blocks so these were right up my alley.

I had lots of fun working on these :) I added a Kona solid (I think it's called herb?)... hope that's okay, Marty!

And Jen, I'm so sorry I took so long to get your blocks done! I'd put them on my WIP shelf... and then kind of forgot to make them. Oops! I hope you like them tho :)

The blocks will be in the post tomorrow, ladies :)

-- Audrie

April already?

2010-04-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

So how do I know it's April?
I got Marty's fabric in the mail,that's how!

I was a lucky girl and received the beautiful orange-yellow fabric!
which I happened to have some stash to match!

Marty requested simple and off centred.

In my first block I added the lovely centre square from my Make Life stash
--the surrounding fabrics are the ones Marty sent.
finished off by my "signature colour"

also from Marty.

This block, I fear,
is not the "simple block" that Marty requested.

I simply went overboard-- I couldn't help it!

It was the first time I was ever able to just pull stuff from my stash that worked!
and the block just carried me away!

The stripes are from my Amy Butler stash
and the polka dots and flowers were again from Make Life by Sweetwater

I mean look at all those seams!!!
aren't they pretty!
Sorry Marty!

Your fabric was just too good and I was just too weak!
Simple went to the wayside.

Hope you can still use them :)

crazy nine patch

2010-03-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

March Blocks for Jen

Totally fun!

Now I'm addicted!

Kim's Blocks... Finally!

2010-03-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

I have to apologise for being SO tardy with your blocks Kim! I must admit that it was half procrastination and half hesitation. It was a little scary doing these blocks because I wasn't 100% certain what I was meant to do, and I really didn't want to mess up Kim's gorgeous Rouenneries fabric.

So I finally sat down and immediately felt rather silly for putting it off for so long... these were really fun to work on, and I think I got them right. I hope you like them Kim! :)

- Audrie

it was fun...but now I'm done!

2010-03-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

yes. these blocks for Kim were fun.

the fabric was beautiful.

block #2 came together even quicker.

and then I thought I'd try another...

and then I realized I really don't like to make these blocks anymore :)

I was up until midnight because I couldn't stop

and then....

I did.

and I was done!

2 things I learned about myself:

1- I like straight lines. I love the wonky look but it's not my forte.

2- I like to use every bit of fabric. Every bit went into these blocks.

I even got a fourth one done but it was an inch shy of the 12" Kim was looking for.

I sent it back to her so she can play with it or add to it.

I almost forgot to post these awesome blocks from Beth!

they came quite a bit ago and I just let them sit there looking pretty and forgot to blog about them!

thanks Beth!

As the final blocks trickle in I'm really starting to sweat about what to do next.

I thought I knew how I wanted it to look and now I'm not sure....

Once I get all the blocks I guess I'll have to decide :)

Have a good day,

Kelly

February Blocks

2010-02-13T10:23:00.000-08:00

The fabrics from Kim arrived last night, just in time for me to make her blocks before packing up my sewing room this weekend for our move. There was so much fabric that I made these two blocks and I think there is still enough for a whole 'nother block. Kim, I sewed all the strips up at once, so if you want to make that extra block, the first step is already done.

Here are my blocks:

I just loved working with this fabric. It is so lovely and it felt really nice.

February Block Instructions

2010-02-13T07:50:00.001-08:00

Hopefully everybody is starting to receive their fabrics for the February Block. Inside the envelope you will find a copy of the email with some instructions.

Here is a link for Oh Fransson's instructions for this block, but will also explain below as I have slightly adapted this block.

Included in your package you will find various strips of material approximately 9 inches long by 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches wide. There are a variety of patterned and striped fabrics.

Start by sewing together 9 strips sets of four fabrics. Although the strips are cut straight, I sewed them together slightly (please, note the slightly) wonky. You may be short a fabric or two here so feel free to add from your stash. I just ask that you keep within the color scheme of the fabrics provided.

Once the strips were completed, I cut the strip sets into three or four pieces of variable sizes. Again, cutting slightly wonky. Again, slightly goes a really long way on this block. I made the mistake of getting too adventurous on my first attempt and it didn't turn out so well.

I then sewed up three slices different slices together and squared the edges, slightly wonky. So I now had nine blocks.

Finally sew together the blocks together to make one large square (or rectangle). This time square the edges properly. I ended up trimming my block to 12 inches square. See what you can do. If it's smaller, that will be fine.

It can be a rather time consuming block, so although I have provided you with enough fabric to complete two squares, it will be fine if you feel like just doing one. Please just return the unused fabric to me.

One tip: I pressed my seams open! I found it a lot easier to work with that way. It also provides a nice flat block. However, if you feel strongly about not pressing seams open, that's fine.

I'm excited to see what you gals come up with.

more January blocks

2010-02-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

Seeing these blocks popping up in my mailbox is so exciting!

These ones are from Kathleen

and they are just so merry!

I love the feel of them :)

This one is all her fabric except the tree.

I sent the tree and the red and white polka dot fabric for this one... She said she enjoyed making them so much she made me another!

So sweet!

love the shimmer to these fabrics!

thanks Kathleen!

The next blocks were made by Judith.

Aren't they fabulous?!

The main fabric of this block came from my winnings from Sweetwater of their Make Life fabric line!

I love it!!

And this one is just dazzling with the twinkly gold snowflakes/stars!

When I got Judith's package it smelled so good when I opened it...

and then I saw why!

thank you Judith...

as you can see I couldn't hold off from trying it before I took a picture!

Yummy!

when I'm pregnant I don't drink caffeinated beverages so these were perfect!

I'm such a tea granny :)

thank you ladies

blocks from Betty

2010-02-03T05:57:00.001-08:00

I have received a couple block sets and am so excited to start putting this quilt together!

I don't know what I was envisioning so

I'm not going to be disappointed either way!

All the other blocks have been posted so far

However I received these from Betty the other day.

I love how it looks like it's snowing from the top!
and this one is just a snowy wonderland!

Betty's were the first blocks I received and it was so exciting!
thanks Betty!

Now here is the train wreck I came up with on my own!

yeah....

those trees are tricky....

I'm not giving up though!

Can't wait to see what everyone else has up their sleeve!

and I'm Rarin' to go for FEBRUARY!

How about you?

December and January Blocks

2010-01-30T05:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting the blocks that I completed for Audrie and Kelly. I love the opportunity that this Block Party provides for us to play around with different techniques. So much fun!

The brown background fabric was from my stash. Did anyone else have to pause and think a little before adding the background triangles around the tree if they had a print fabric? I was flying along and then realized that I better be careful or else I was going to end up with wonky trees.

The red semi-solid fabric was from my stash. I had been a bit cutting happy with the red tree print fabric that Kelly had sent and decided to dig in the stash for the outside strips.

These were fun! However, sometimes when I'm given such freedom, I get a little overwhelmed with ideas. I could of happily sewn a whole quilt of these with all the ideas I had.

I'm excited to see these blocks all put together in the quilt top.

Now, February is my month and I'll be doing a last minute scramble today to try and get everything ready to send. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do this month with my blocks, but have finally made a decision. Once I have everything together I'll post some instructions on here. Looking forward to seeing what you creative gals come up with.

Kelly's January Blocks Finally Done

2010-01-29T14:02:00.000-08:00

I've had a lot on my plate this month so I only got round to doing Kelly's blocks today. Oops.

I must say they were loads of fun to do, and I'm now itching to do an entire quilt with this method! Thanks for introducing me to paper piecing Kelly :)

This is the first block I did... The pink is from my stash (I wanted to work with my fabrics first in case I made a booboo). It does look a little festive to me, so hopefully it does to Kelly too.

The second block was made with Kelly's fabrics except for the solid red. I wanted to make both blocks I did look similar to each other so that's why I added the solid to both.

Hope you like them Kelly!

-- Audrie

Blocks for Kelly

2010-01-16T20:08:00.001-08:00

These are my blocks for Kelly. I goofed on one of the trees and used your green for the tree in the wrong place. I used something else which I hope was OK. I just can't believe I was the one who couldn't follow the directions. There's always one who doesn't listen right? It was my first attempt at paper piecing. It was fun.

Thank you Kelly!

2010-01-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

These were my first paper pieced blocks and they were sooo fun. I meant to only do one tonight but I couldn't stay out of the sewing room and I ended up doing the second one as well. I think I see a quilt like this in my future...

a peek at January...

2009-12-26T04:20:00.000-08:00

Are you ready ladies?
Are you set?
Are you armed with your scraps?

Here's a peek at what I'd like my quilt to be for January...

I'll be sending fabric and instructions out soon!
Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Merry Christmas!
Kelly O.

Getting to know you

2009-12-19T22:40:00.000-08:00

I heard some exciting news about one of our members the other day. I am going to challenge you to find out what that news is. First one to leave a comment with the news gets a prize. Now I'm not telling you what that prize will be. It could be a trip to Disneyland or a gift card or fabric from my stash.
Audrie, I'm really liking the blocks you've posted. Mine will go in the mail on Monday. I finished them tonight.

First Two Blocks Received!

2009-12-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

I received my first two blocks in the mail today! These are from Jen, and they're gorgeous!

I have to admit I had reservations when I joined the bee. I'd never been a part of one, and I'm something of a control freak. So giving someone else creative license is something that made my head spin hehe

But I must say, all the blocks I've seen so far have made me just feel silly for even worrying at all! I love them all, and I know I'll love the rest. I thank you all for your creativity, for showing me things I never would've thought of, and especially for putting my fears to rest :)

And I'm looking forward to Kelly's January blocks!

- Audrie

2009-12-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

I guess Kelly and I had the same idea... I decided that I need to finish these up while I had some time last night. I hope they aren't too crazy for you, Audrie.

Even though they were pretty simple to sew up, I ended up ripping multiple seams because they just didn't fit my artistic vision. Then I spend about 20 minutes searching for a strip of the dark brown in my sewing room that I eventually decided I had used on the first block.

This led to more seam ripping when I decided that the second block was more deserving of that dark brown strip.

I had lots of fun, though. Looking forward to another month. :)

December Blocks done!

2009-12-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

Here we are in the thick of Christmas frenzy.

I thought I'd better get to Audrie's blocks before I got too far behind.

I figured it's not fair to leave her hanging just because I have a busy life right now :)

It also takes 2 weeks for my package to get to any of the 50 States as I reside in Canada,

so as it stands now they'll be there just in time for New Years!

These were surprisingly challenging...

This one with the small centre gave me the most grief.
I wanted the light brown to be just right...
and in the end it worked out perfectly!

I left them and didn't square them up so Audrie can do as she deems fit
since she's bordering them yet with another shade of brown.

I really am enjoying this swap!
can't wait 'til next month!