Have you been to a quilt show lately? I was at our guild’s annual a week ago, and boy did I miss seeing friends. Many of my sister guild members I had not seen in over 3 years. It’s even odder since I would normally have seen them when I worked at the quilt store. I have to say, there were so many beautiful quilts, I was inspired by the quilts and my soul was nourished by encountering all the quilters. My small group, the Sewatorium Bee, had its own challenge which I thought I would share with you.
The Challenge
Almost every year our bee, the Sewatorium Sisters, has a challenge for the Rising Star Quilters Guild show. This challenge was for 2021 but the show was canceled, however, we decided to carry it over to this year.
For the challenge, we were each given the same 4 fabrics. We were to make 4 – 6″ blocks with our initials. The fourth block would be an “S” block for the Sewatorium Sisters. This would result in a 12″ block, which you will see that I forgot about as I finished my piece.
The Chosen Blocks
My initials work out to be K (Kathleen), S (Scargle), M (McCormick) and S (Sewatrious Sisters). Here are the four blocks that I chose:
- Kaleidoscope Rotated
- Signal Lights
- Maple Leaf
- Starry Path
I wanted the blocks to interact in some way, but couldn’t find blocks that did that. I felt that they needed a little separation, a narrow 1/2″ finished border was perfect.
Now, when you see the others, you will realize that I forgot the part where we were supposed to end up with a 12″ block. I decided to also add a border as I loved the mums, Floragraphix V 2020 by Jason Yenter, and wanted to place this on my nightstand. Above you can see the layout I used in Electric Quilt 8*.
The Other Versions
I thought it would be fun to show you a slideshow of all of the quilts we displayed. I only see two duplicated blocks (starry path and the maple leaf).
My Paper Piecing Files – A Gift for You
It has been a while since I had any bonuses for my readers, so I thought you might enjoy these paper-piecing files. There is one pattern on each page and the files are for 6″ finished paper pieced blocks. Make sure you print at 100% to get the correct scale,
Also, I thought it would be fun to give you some other ideas, here are some samples of quilts made from repeating each of the blocks. Only the maple leaf needed some rotation to make it a bit more interesting. I love the pattern that both Starry Path and Signal Lights make when they are placed next to each other.
Coming Up on the Blog
PopStar QAL Finish (10/27/22)
FQ Support Group Stitch and Quilt Along (10/2922)
Second Quarter Finishes (11/1/22)
Music Blog Hop (11/15/22)
Tips and Tutorials (11/22/22)
I’m so glad you had a good time at the quilt show. Hopefully things will be back to the normal every year pace from now on.
Thank you for sharing the paper piece patterns. I have been gathering scrap fabric in one place, so I can do some color play with your patterns. Peace, Monica
I went to our local guilds show last weekend, first show I have been to since before Covid. I be that was a fun challenge to figure out what blocks you wanted for your name. BTW I don’t see a slide show of the others.
Author
Thank you! I fixed the slide show problem. Seems safari is okay, chrome is not…so I changed the format.
What a fun challenge! I don’t see the slide show either.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Author
It is fixed, converted to a display….chrome isn’t playing nice!
Hi Kathleen! Those are some challenging fabrics but I love the different settings you chose to highlight them. I think it shows quite a bit of cohesion with the triangle shape appearing in each block. Adding the thin border to separate them does a great job of letting each block shine on its own, too. I’ll bet it was a blast to see your friends and find inspiration from hands-on, in-person quilts, fabrics, and vendors. Hopefully, this is the beginning of returning to near-normal. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
What a beautiful display of quilts at the town hall!!! I’m glad someone else said something about the missing slideshow because I was looking on more than one computer this morning to see it. Fun to see them all together. Love that idea–make blocks from your initials! Yours has great spinning motion, Kathleen!
Kathleen I love the challenge and your blocks are great! We had our show this year also, first one in three years. Our guild does meet monthly now though, in person, so that has helped seeing everyone. Have a great week!
What a fun idea. Even though yours was not 12 inches, I like how you finished it. Well done.
What a lovely quilt show and thank you for sharing your blocks patterns. I really like your blocks and especially the Starry Path. That mums fabric is gorgeous.
The challenge quilt turned out really well, and I enjoyed seeing the other quilts, too! I think a bee challenge group would be so much fun. Thanks for the 6″ patterns, they are printing as I type!
Oh my, thjere are so many quilts to see. I am sure it was a fabulous time. Thanks for the patterns!!!
LOL! There’s always one in the group who can’t follow instructions, Kathleen. (Personally, I’m glad you “went rogue” and added sashing and borders!)
Your quilt show looks amazing.
and your Letter blocks – I like the border you added so I give you permission to make it bigger hahahaha!!
Hi Kathleen, thanks so much for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks. I also enjoy using my walking foot to quilt the straight lines and I’m much better at it with a walking foot than the FMQ foot! I love your blocks and the way that you placed them. They really look great! It looks like a very successful challenge.
What a gorgeous display of quilts!! And a sweet mini for you to enjoy, love the border fabric. Thanks for linking up with TGIFF, sorry I am so late in responding!