Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Hive 3 January: improv log cabin

Hi!  I'm Julie, and I live in mid-Michigan with my partner, two dogs (a pug and a pug/Boston terrier mix) and two rabbits. 

Hardest quilt thing I have ever made?  I'm gonna go with a quilt I made for a friend years ago.  It's a snail's trail pattern, easy enough, but I let her pick all the fabrics, and I didn't like them!  So now if I make a quilt for someone else, I make sure we consult on the fabric choices.

Favorite dessert food?  ICE CREAM!  Especially if it has chocolate in it. 

Last time I laughed REALLY hard?  My partner was very seriously explaining to me how jackalopes fit into the animal kingdom.  I eventually had to ask..."Um, you know jackalopes aren't real, right?"  She'd meant jackrabbits. 

My job:  I am a buyer for a book wholesaler.  I get to buy hundreds and hundreds of Nora Roberts and James Patterson books...none of which I've ever read.  But I also get to buy literary fiction, travel memoirs, mysteries, and occasionally, quilting books--all of which are more to my taste. 

Learning to sew:  My mom taught me, and I also took a class where I made what I remember to be a horrible pink skirt.  It wasn't horrible at the time, tho.  I hated mom's machine, and it hated me, so she bought me my own little Singer.

The first thing I ever sewed?  Besides that skirt, I remember making sock dolls by hand, and dressing them.  One was named Debbie, and the other I think was Meg.  I think I got lazy, so Meg never had any legs.

My block for January: Improv Log Cabin



Ok, really this is just another name for wonky log cabin.  A lot of us seem to like this block, tho someone out there might be groaning "again?!!"   It's an easy block, and we've made them before, so I didn't do a tutorial.

Fabrics: purple, lavender, gray, red.  Please use a mix of solids and "modern" prints.  Here is where I found my inspiration:

http://www.filminthefridge.com/2011/08/18/red-purple-quilt/
This is a great blog--I'm sure many of you are familiar with it.  The quiltmaker doesn't have gray in her blocks, but uses it for sashing instead.  I'm using gray in my blocks as well, and thinking about doing a lavender sashing.  We'll see.  (Note: blocks here have all been framed in gray, but that's not considered part of the block itself.)



http://thedesignvote.com/house-no-less-by-gavin-rooke/
This is a house that was featured in Dwell magazine recently.  Coincidentally, I had the magazine open to a picture of this house, and my dark-lavender highlighter was lying next to it, and I liked it.

Block size can be anywhere from 11"-14"...square, or not quite square is fine too.  You don't even need to trim it.  Could I have two blocks, please?  They're easy, and it works well to feed one thru the machine after the other.   

Happy new year, Stash Bee! 



2 comments:

Nancy D. said...

Oh boy! love the color choice! The jackalope made me giggle. My kiddo used to call it that when he was little.

Carolyn said...

Oh so glad to see something fun and easy to work on! This'll be so pretty!