Wednesday, June 9, 2010

first block, yay!!!

It's about time I got the first block made!!  I'm trying to match all of my intersections really well on this quilt.  I pressed the seams open on the triangle blocks and on the last seam across the block.  That should make it less lumpy for quilting.
We had a rainy cool day yesterday.  I pulled some weeds last night and they came out easily, roots and all.  Now I just need to do a little more weeding each day while the ground is wet.  I'm losing my gardening neighbor (moving), but the lady who bought the house wanted all of the plants left in place.  It is a beautiful view from my bedroom window.

28 comments:

SpinningStar said...

Beautiful color combination.

I am also losing my gardening neighbor - we share a garden area in the front yard. I am hoping that whomever buys the house will also enjoy gardening and want to maintain the common area. You are very lucky!

Liz

Sewing Junkie said...

Wanda, Glad yu were able to get started on your block. Have fun with it. Chris

Unknown said...

Love blocks with HST's. I think pressing them open is a great idea here because of all the intersections. It looks wonderful!

Marianne (dagmar.eu@gmail.com) said...

I so enjoy visiting your blog every day to follow your colourful voyage with your fabrics. Today's post makes me bold enough to ask whether the pressing of seams to one side is just a leftover from the past when all piecing was done by hand? Is the pressing open of the seams something that you only do in this instance because this will be a wall quilt with no wear and tear? I come from am a dressmaking background and am struggling with matching seams despite never having problems when making up garments. If I have 2 seams meeting I use Hong Kong binding instead of French seams for easy matching (and less bulk) so I have been thinking about pressing seams open when machine piecing but have not till now come across anybody who does this. I can see the point of pressing to one side when hand piecing so the seam is stronger but with machine sewing I cannot see the durability arguments somehow. Am I setting myself up for a fall if I press seams open on a bed quilt?

Pat said...

Boy am I glad you mentioned pressing the seams open! I finally started doing that on some multy-HST blocks because the intersecting seams were so bulky. I've always felt as though I were committing some sort of quilting sin, but continued to do it in secret because it just worked better. Thanks for giving me permission to come out of the closet!!

Julie Bagamary said...

Great colors and great block.

patty a. said...

Beautiful block! I need to get out and pull some weeds and grass starting to peak their heads up in my newly redone front beds. I don't want my beds overtaken again - it was too much work to get them in good shape. It has been hard to get out and pull weeds with all the rain we have had, the humidity, and with the sewing project deadlines. Oops - sounds like a bunch of excuses!

Quiltdivajulie said...

GORGEOUS colors ... really does that fabulous leaf fabric great justice!

Sorry about your neighbor leaving ... hope the new resident turns into a good neighbor!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I press my seams open on some pieces also - it just makes it too thick in some places to always press to the side - whoever came up with that rule anyhow!!
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

Cathi said...

That is a gorgeous fabric combination!!
I'm curious about the pressing seams open comment. Do you use a shorter stitch length on the machine when you're going to do that?

hetty said...

Love your first block! When I want to quilt in the ditch, I never iron my seams open. Otherwise I might open them if they are too lumpy. Wishing you luck on your new neighbour.

Chartreuse Moose said...

Love you new quilt blocks! Thank you for sharing comments and how to turn on my e-mail button! Blogs are so new to me...and wonderful fun!

Needled Mom said...

Those colors are fabulous together. I have found that ironing seams open gives me a much more accurate match on many seams like that.

Sorry about your loosing of your neighbor. I am glad that the new neighbor wants to keep the plants.

Char said...

Great combination of fabrics, I really like this block.

Anonymous said...

How about a pic of the back of this block? We can then enjoy what pressed open does for a block.

Anonymous said...

These fabrics really look good together. How pretty.

Twisted Quilts said...

What a great block but all those triangles intimidate me. The fabrics are so cool and fresh, the remind me of a waterfall.

Laura said...

Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Always fun to see what you created with your fabric. For me this block has an elegance of leaves and water.

J~MT

Dawn H. said...

Absolutely LOVE your color/fabric choices.

Elsie Montgomery said...

Ohh, lovely block. I agree... using up that darker print would make me sad too, but it will look so good in this quilt!

Wacky Woman said...

What a pretty block.

Momma Made This said...

I LOVE THESE!!!! So lush, so green. So pretty.

From the lush, green Pacific Northwest...

~ Ronda

Julia said...

I love green. this block is beautiful!
I pulled weeds yesterday, too. Mine didn't come out so easily, but after today they should. It is raining like crazy today.

Sharon M said...

Your energy level astounds me and your flowers and quilts are such an inspiration. I look forward to your posts daily. Thanks for blogging, yours makes me want to! Sharon

Vivian said...

Beautiful fabrics. It'll be another outstanding quilt.

You have a lot of comments re: pressing the seams open, and those have been fun to read. I really enjoy how your ideas and your processes trigger a lot of comments and questions. It all ends up making us better-informed quilters. There's nothing better than knowing about options.

Patty Benner Young said...

Love the colors! Nice points! Hmm, maybe I'll start pressing seams open.

Sharon said...

Love the fabric combo. I don't press seams open, but I"m sure it's faster and just as good as what I do, I clip the seams on either side and then press to one side and only press open where the seams cross. Tedious, but it reduces a lot of bulk at the intersections and I still have my "ditch" to quilt in.