Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Quilt Thrills On Blueberry Hill













Blueberries and watermelon.  Am I thinking Spring?  Well, yes.  It's 80 degrees in the big city today.  It seems the grass has turned green overnight and the trees are beginning to flower!  Kids are out riding their bikes.  And I am sitting here writing this wearing shorts!  Gentlemen:  Start your BBQ grills!  

I'm also thinking about the quilt I began sewing this week.  Originally I planned to do a log cabin quilt, but I changed my mind when I came across this pattern called, Blueberry Hill.  It's by Villa Rosa Designs.   

  
I decided this pattern would work well with the yummy Bali Pops I  found at the same shop.  This packet of 2 1/2" strips is called, Watermelon.


The purple fabric under the Pops is what I'm going to use for the border.  The quilt should (fingers crossed) end up to be 56" x 72."  I began the other night by pressing the strips and then cutting them into 3) 8 1/2" x 2 1/2" and 2) 6 1/2" x 2 1/2" strips.

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Now the hard part.  Selecting the strips for each block.  Honestly, I thought this would be much easier as these strips came from a coordinating set right?  This was frustrating, but, in the end, I just decided to be completely random and not put too much thought into it.  Each block is made by sewing three longer strips together lengthwise and then adding a shorter strip on each end.  There are 40 blocks in the finished quilt.  I've made 21 so far.  To get a sense of what the colors look like together, I've laid my blocks out according to the pattern.



Not exactly how I thought they'd look, but after the blocks are all there and the border is added, I think it'll look pretty cool!

I've learned a few things from this project.  First, I love batiks!  How cool is it that you can use either side?  Very cool!  Second, chain sewing is awesome!  Also, using that little piece of fabric at the start of the chain makes sewing so much smoother!

My family and I are going away for Spring Break!  We'll be heading for the beautiful (and warm-I hope) Gulf Coast this coming weekend!  I hope to finish sewing my blocks before the trip, but if not, they will be here when I get back!

Tootles!  
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5 comments:

  1. Bali pops are wonderful. I have a set in greens and earth tones and have been using them in various paper and fabric projects. This will be a really colorful quilt. 70 here today and I heard our first peepers croaking away. xox Corrine

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  2. Hey girl, look at you go! I like that quilt pattern you've chosen. One of the first quilts I made was a pattern similar to that one, only the strips were more narrow. The colors you chose are wonderful, and the quilt is going to look awesome! Can't wait to see it finished!

    It's warm here, too, and I LOVE it!

    Hope you have a great weekend!

    XOXO,

    Cyndi

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  3. Hope you have a great time at the Gulf Coast, Angela. I was there about 20 years ago and have always wanted to go back.

    Your quilt is looking good. (I have to say it ... you found your thrills!) I'm not a sewer but I love batiks, too.

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