Twin Secret Santa Quilts

Ok, I'm trying to catch up on some finishes. These were made with a pattern from Moda Bake Shop called Scrappy Avalon Summer. It called for charm packs etc. as usual (that's what they want you to buy) but I went to my local quilt shop (Joann's) and bought several 1/2 yards to make my own scheme :) Each quilt took about 10 hours to make. The HSTs took the longest. I used the draw the line method (my favorite) and my Bloc Loc ruler (love it!) The instructions on the website were just okay. Sometimes it wasn't too clear for me, but I made it work. I would have done the 4 patches differently since I wasn't using charm packs. I would have just cut them to size rather than trim down. It's a great and super easy pattern to do... and it has a great scrappy quilt effect!

Anyway, you are probably wondering why the post title says Secret Santa. I made these for 2 office Secret Santa parties, so they were given away to unsuspecting co-workers: 1 in my office and 1 in my husband's office. I have to say that they ended up with 2 very deserving people!

Here are the photos:

Until next time,
Mike.

I have Google+ comments activated, so you can only comment if you have a Google account. If you do not have a Google account (and don't really want one) you can comment on my Facebook page, Twitter feed, Flickr, Instagram, or Pinterest pages! ...On any of my photos or posts!!! I love getting comments! You can also email me at amateurquilter at gmail dot com! I will always respond! Thanks for stopping by! .... Mike.

WIP Wednesdays, Block of the Month and Do you think I'm Hexy?

I've been working on the block of the month over at Quilt Story. They are doing a nice simple monthly plan in which this month was HSTs (half square triangles). Last month was 9 patch. I am doing 2 of each BOM so that I have a larger quilt at the end of the series. It started in March. Below is a picture of my March and April blocks.

I really got some good use of my Bloc-Loc. I got this tool at the Quilt Show in New Jersey last month. It was expensive, but I think I already got my monies' worth. It's great the way it grabs the piece making it easy to square off. I also used the draw a line technique that I learned in the Craftsy Block of Month for February 2012. Basically you add 1 inch to the size of the finished block (including the seam allowance) and then draw a diagonal line on the back of one square, put the two squares together and sew 1/4 inch on either side of the line. Then, you cut on the line and voila! You have 2 squares. I then square it off with the Bloc Loc to the finished size (3 1/2 inches in this case). It makes them perfectly every time (not wonky looking) and it gets rid of the tiny dog ears on the corners. It's important also to note, that if you press the seams open before you square them off, the tool will not grab the seam! Learned that the hard way ;)

In the background on my cutting mat you can see strips of fabric. This is for a quilt I am working on for my Aunt L. I will talk more about that on another WIP Wednesday. In the meantime, I've been whipping up some hexagons on the train. There were some German tourists on the train at World Trade Center and they were standing over me when the gentleman said "a stitch in time saves nine." Turns out his English was not very good, but he just wanted to try out some of the English cliches he had learned in Germany. His wife said I was doing "patchverk." :) It's an obsession to some degree. So, "Do you think I'm hexy?"

I'm linking up at Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesdays.



Until next time,

Mike.



BTW, I am still deciding how to celebrate turning 50 (in blog followers!) I'm thinking giveaway, but I need to ponder what to give away :)