More SBS blocks

I am getting closer to the end of these blocks. I finished up H-7 Odd Fellow's Chain late last night (or was that early this morning). I rotary cut, machine pieced the corners, but paper pieced the rest.

I did H-8 Pinwheel after finishing up the other three, just so I could say the H row was done . I used Marti Michell templates, or rather, template.

I had been dreading H-10 King's Star, but ended up piecing an eight pointed star (using the MM templates), then making a small pinwheel and appliqueing it to the center of the star. This was similar construction to a couple of Dear Jane blocks. I used a gold silk thread for the applique, and didn't bother to change it, silk blends in so nicely :)

Another block I had been dreading, I-10 Rocky Road to Dublin. I tried to piece it (one of them is pieced), but ended up appliqueing the quarter circles. I used freezer paper, printing them using EQ6. Kept changing my mind on fabrics to use, auditioning several different ones in EQ. The pink almost ended up green. It would have been appropriate I think, but decided I liked the pink better.

At this point I have one more block that I know will be hand pieced, all ready on my layout board, Snow Crystal (one that I added). And one more that will be too, now that I think of it, Tumbling blocks, but then they are getting to the easier (or maybe just quicker) blocks. 128 done, 16 to go!

SBS G-9 Dutch Tulip

I've been putting off this block, but now I have rows A-G all done! A combination of methods, the small corners done with paper piecing, then trimmed and added to template cut parallelograms, with the final triangle and the rest of the pieces cut with Marti Michell templates. All machine pieced.

SBS Offline Challenge

June's challenge was very husband and wife oriented. The two I hadn't done were True Lover's Knot and Contrary Wife. Got those done today. 123 done, 21 to go.

I-1 True Lover’s Knot

L-10 Contrary Wife

SBS Lancaster Rose

I had been putting off doing Lancaster Rose, mostly because of the green leaves. Done is certainly better than perfect with this one. I should have made my background square even bigger, not enough to hold onto when I was doing those corner leaves. After those were done, the rest went pretty quickly. 121 done, 23 to go. I will work on the offline group challenge blocks next. The challenge was to do six from a list, but I have already done all but two of them. One easy, one medium-ish. I am not sure if I have done three or four already this month, so will try to get at least one more done besides True Lover's Knot and Contrary Wife.

Second extra SBS block

This is the second block I am adding to Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, Star of Bethlehem, hand pieced. Very fiddley, and I need to pull the stitches together in the center, slight hole there... Last time I made this in 6" I said it was the last time. I guess I forgot. Love the block, but maybe as the center of a medallion next time? Gee, if I had only made it slightly bigger this could have been a center medallion :)

Mystery Quilt

My small quilt group recently did a mystery quilt, which ended up being a bow-tie variation.

I started out with the oranges, then used the Blank Peking Kids kites as the background, the fish kite worked perfectly with the oranges! I got a yard on the way home from a quilt retreat (Gold Country) in 2008. It worked to begin, but then I found 2 more yards (online) so I could use it for the border and a few more blocks, so now it is big enough for a cuddle quilt (62" square). This is just the top. When I get a few more tops I'll pull out the basting table and baste and quilt it.

Sauteed Fennel with Goat cheese

I was trying to figure out how to use some fennel from the CSA box. I looked at several recipes and this is what I came up with:

Sauteed Fennel with Goat cheese (served with brown rice):
1 large red onion, chopped
1 med large fennel bulb, chopped
mushrooms (what I had left, probably about 12 large ones), sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
butter
Goat cheese

Saute fennel and onion in EVOO until brown and caramelized, almost. Add dab of butter and mushrooms (like these precise measurements? :) ) Continue cooking until mushrooms are done. Sprinkle crumbled goat cheese on top.

(Don't remember if I had garlic in this or not, but it would be good if it did, I'm thinking.)

I am only blogging this because I want to try it again! I'll be using most of these ingredients with my pork tenderloin I am cooking for dinner. More fennel this week. Now I am looking forward to getting more :)

Joan Skalbeck

I didn’t know Joan Skalbeck well, but I loved her fabrics. I was a friend of a friend, so I got to hang out with her a bit while in Houston at the Quilt Festival. She had a zest for life and a love of color. If you went to a quilt show where they (she and her husband Charly) had their Primrose Gradations booth, you would be enveloped in wonderful hues, colored by Joan, shown on the display racks made by Charly. She passed away this morning at 2:22AM, surrounded by her family. She will be missed.

SBS BOW H-3 Sarah's Choice

This week's Sylvia's Bridal Sampler BOW was H-3 Sarah's Choice. I made it with Marti Michell templates A4, A5, and A6. This is number 119 for me, 25 to go!

Grandson has graduated from High School

Yesterday and today have been busy, not with quilting or knitting, but with celebrating my grandson's high school graduation! OK, I snuck some knitting in there too. There were a lot of speeches and several diplomas to give out before the one I really wanted to see got given :)

Here is the scarf I have been working on, Noro silk, done with two colors 274 and 279, two rows then I switch colors. There have been a lot of these done over the last couple of years, but this is my first one. Well over half way done.

Castle Wall - a SBS extra block

This is the first "extra" block I have made that is going into my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt. It is a Castle Wall variation (variation because I did not piece the center, I like the floral just the way it is). This is one of my favorite blocks, and since I am trying to add ones that Agnes pieced, this was an obvious choice to add to my quilt. I used templates from the Jinny Beyer website, except the center octagon, which I drafted in EQ6.