Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Epic-ly Caught Up Once Again

Would you look at that?!  Be still my heart...I'm all caught up again on The Epic Sampler BOM! To everyone who joins a good old block of the month or quilt-a-longs and keeps up with it, I applaud you!  It isn't easy!  I've tried.  

The hardest part for me is waiting an entire month to make a new block (or three in the Epic case).  Once the blocks are finished, you have to pack up the block and fabric, wait for the next month and hope you haven't lost interest.  The saying 'out of sight, out of mind' becomes very real!

One aspect I love the most about this block of the month is all the paper piecing!  Paper piecing is so much fun!      

For the month of June we were tasked with three paper pieced blocks.  Two 12" and finally...one of the 18" blocks.  I was so excited about that!



Last month I figured out how to add my finished blocks to a coloring sheet.  I needed a way to see the progress and the rainbow flow without laying them out each and every time.  This month I was able to look at the chart, and figure out what colors needed to be in each block...so much easier!  And it's fun to add the blocks after they are finished.  A quilting puzzle!  Plus, when the blocks are finished, I can rearrange them as needed.

Let's see what the month of June brought us!

Crown of Thorns.  Simple and paper pieced.  This block could easily be made without having to be paper pieced.

12" - Crown of Thorns
Ribbon Star.  The colors are pretty weird, I must say.  


12" - Ribbon Star
And lastly, the first 18" block ~ Good Morning Starshine !  I was super excited about this one. Not just the design, but dang it's a big one!!  And it really was a lot of fun!  

Thank goodness for coloring sheets and colored pencils!  It can be confusing without them.


18" - Good Morning Starshine
But wait...I have one more thing to show you!  

I'm always a day late and a dollar short on so many things, the One Hour Basket from Kelly at Kelbysews is no exception! 

I finally made one!  Using the scraps from my recent pillow covers, I now have a matching basket!  


  
This basket was really easy and fast.  On that alone, I highly recommend trying it.  There is one thing I would change next time I make it.  

The outside fabric requires fusible fleece and nothing on the lining.  Next time I will add a heavy interfacing to the lining.  I like my baskets to be stiff and sturdy and I think the extra interfacing would do the trick.  


Matching those two wasn't as strange as the time I matched my dining room chairs with my purse!  (Starting A New Trend)



Have you made the One Hour Basket before?  Do you have any tricks or suggestions to make fabric baskets sturdy?


LINKING:

23 comments :

  1. Replies
    1. I'm afraid if it wasn't for all the paper piecing, I might have lost interest by now!

      Delete
  2. Jayne, I love the BOMs. I looked through your blog trying to find what you use to put the blocks into your quilting puzzle. I love it. Is it some type of program or app?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The program is a word-process program 'Pages'. I imported (drag & drop) the coloring page first. Once I finish a block, I take a photo and crop it square. Then drag & drop, resize and place it where it belongs. I'm sure other programs would work just as well. It really has helped with planning on this sampler quilt!

      Delete
  3. This is coming together beautifully. I love sampler quilts like this one that are made up of random sized blocks that fit together. I'm curious too, how did you place your blocks into the coloring sheet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't often do random size blocks that fit together…this sampler quilt is a fun change! It makes me want to design my own!

      Delete
  4. Beautiful epic blocks! Yes, I've made the one-hour basket at least 8 times now. I've only used quilting fabric, but her recommendation of using decor weight fabric would definitely make it sturdier. I think using an interfacing on the lining would definitely help when using quilting fabrics. I love making this basket for baby showers - it's the perfect size to put diapers and a travel packet of diaper wipes inside. I've also made it a bit smaller cutting the large rectangles 9" x 13" (with the square cutouts 2.5" instead of 3").

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm having fun with this quilt and for the most part actually staying current! What a great idea using the basket as gift holder. It would make the perfect wrap and also be something practical and useful. I am pleased with the one hour basket, I just think I would like it even better if it were sturdier!

      Delete
  5. Oh, I really love seeing the BOM blocks being colored in on your coloring sheet. That is super exciting. There are some really beautiful blocks still to be made, too... wow! I haven't made a one hour basket yet myself; I may finally succumb to 3D sewing at some point. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The coloring sheet with the blocks has been so helpful! Once I'm finished with all the blocks it will be easy to rearrange them if needed. I'm the first to admit that I'm not a bag, basket or anything other than a quilt maker…but the baskets is super easy and fun!

      Delete
  6. Your blocks are such a pop of color, they brighten my day, Jayne. The coloring puzzle sheet is brilliant. Paper Piecing - of course yes!!!
    The 1-hour basket I have made several and at least a dozen (yes, I am crazy) are in the works. If the outer fabric is home décor, use just the fusible fleece. If the outer fabric is quilting cotton, use SF101, followed by fusible fleece. Lining needs SF101 in my opinion but can be omitted. Also, I believe the handles need a décor bond strip inside them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm just proud that I've stayed current with this BOM! I would never call you crazy…obsessed and an over achiever…maybe! I like to make my projects as easy and painless as possible, the one hour basket was just that. But I would like a little more structure. Not that the home dec fabric isn't sturdy enough. I'm thinking interfacing on the lining would make it perfect for me! Good luck getting all your baskets, I'm sure they are all going to be gorgeous!

      Delete
  7. Your blocks look amazing. Nice job! I love how you are organizing the colors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm hoping it all comes together in the end! Sometimes my vision doesn't quite translate!

      Delete
  8. How did I miss that sampler?? I love it - I could start it.....but I would rather just do it - I like to binge watch TV, too. Otherwise - you are right - out of sight....out of mind.

    The Houston Modern Quilt Guild does an 'opportunity' basket full of yummy quilty things and I am Queen - had all my officers make and donate one of Kelbysews Hour Basket for the container - and my FAVORITE one has Soft and Stable (or a variation of it) as interfacing - it is SO nice that way!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. WOW! Loving your sampler...I do love samplers with different sized blocks, so interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your blocks are looking good. Yeah that basket is still on my list :) Waiting patiently ... yours is lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love your coloring sheet with the actual blocks! I'm doing the same thing on my Summer Sampler 2016 quilt. I haven't started my Epic quilt yet. I'm a little scared. :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. Those blocks are amazing - especially the 18" one. Wow.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love that 18" block. It's blocks like that that make me LOVE paper piecing. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  14. That Starshine block is fantastic! Good for you for staying caught up - I definitely struggle with that so BOM aren't good for me. LOL I've made several of the one hour baskets and love how fast they are and how good they look. I agree with adding something to the lining for more structure, especially for the larger sizes. I've made smaller ones and left the handles off - they are perfect for sitting near my sewing machine to hold various gadgets.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What an amazing sampler, looks great so far! Are you using all solids?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Such lovely blocks for June. I know what you mean about applauding those who keep up to date ..... me, well I haven't even started the Summer Sampler blocks yet and I think we're on Week 6!!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog! I love getting comments, and try to respond to each and every one.