Sedona Block 2 - Stepping Stones

 Block 2 of Sedona is a cinch! Cutting strips. Sewing strip sets. Cutting strip sets into 2 inch pieces. Sewing 2 inch pieces into blocks. Done!

As usual, though, I have some tips. 

First - it you are doing Sedona Sky, you'll need to either get 1 inch more than the half yard called for, or you'll have to use some of the left over strip set fabric. Its doable, but if you don't want to worry about it, just get an additional inch or so.

Second - use your favorite starch product on either the strips or strip sets before you subcut them.

Third - reduce your stitch length when you sew your strips together. Since you'll be subcutting these into 2 inch units, your stitches may unravel a bit, so its best to use a tighter stitch. I almost always do this for strip sets that will be subcut.

Forth - if you are making the Sedona Medallion, it uses the same amount of fabric as Sedona Sky. 

Two down!

Woven Wanderings

 Many of my quilt designs and patterns are quite complicated, with many peices and involved techniques. So I thought I should design a quilt that is simple to make, has just one block, and is perfcect for beginning quilters. Woven Wanderings fits the bill!

The block that makes up this quilt is one that I've made many times for block exchanges. It looked very cool on its own. I started wonderibng how it would look repeated over and over again.  So I made several of them and really liked how the pattern took shape. The problem was that there were too many seams to match. I wouldn't want to attempt matching that many, and it certinaly wasn't appropriate for a beginning quilter.

So, ever curious, I began playing with the block to see if I could achieve the same look without the matching. And of course there was another way.  However, this block required one additional simple technique - partial seams.

I've made the quilt in two colorways and I think the results are pretty darn cute! This pattern is a great way to feature a pretty fabric - either in the woven strips or in the background. I've done this in each of the samples I've done.

I am so excited to share this pattern with you. I hope to use it to teach beginning quilting, and I think it will make a really cute lap quilt. Woven Wanderings is available on my Etsy Shop and at the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival in Overland Park in June of 2023. If you make it, let me know and send some pictures.

Cheers!

GE Designs Ruler Stickers

 Who knew such as little thing could be such a big help? Gudrun did!

As I get older, I find myself double checking the lines on my rulers and more often than I'd like to admit, I still make mistakes. The one thing that helps is Gudrun's ruler stickers.

These repositional vinyl arrow stickers are a great tool for marking lines on quilting rulers, marking landmarks on QCR rulers when trumming the curved units for Sew Kind of Wonderful patterns, and marking the grooves on the GE Designs stripology rulers. 

The Sedona pattern has many opportunities to use these clever little stickers. Here is how I marked my QCR mini ruler for the Slide Rock Block. 

The stickers are available on my Etsy site, on GE Designs website, from your local quilt shop, or from Amazon. Check 'em out. I think you'll love them!

Cheers!

Ch

Fuzzy Leprechaun

 I thought I might branch out a bit this month and venture into the area of adult beverages. I was looking for something that might be appropriate for a Saint Patricks Day celebration. 

I found this delicious cocktail and am very anxious to try it. A few special ingredients that I don't normally keep in the liquor cabinet are on the shopping list. 

Here is the recipe:

• 1 part Peach Schnapps
• 1 part Blue Curacao
• 1 part Vodka
• 1/2 part Orange Juice
• 1/2 part Pineapple Juice

Mix and pour over ice. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.

I'm planning on bringing the ingredients to the March Retreat and making it for everyone.