thecraftycreek

I’ve got a bit behind with my Splendid Sampler blocks, what with finishing the Anderson Farm Quilt and then Christmas! However I put a bit of a spurt on and managed to do four blocks in one evening, well if I’m honest I started about 4pm, but it’s still pretty good going!

Three of them were foundation paper pieced, which fortunately no longer fills me with fear and trepidation like the first few did on this journey! I think my favourite one is called Spool of Inspirational Threads, it’s designed by Melanie Barret, her story behind the block is as follows;

‘My earliest memories of sewing are ones of my great-grandmother. She was a very skilled seamstress and altered a lot of dresses for me when I was younger! My grandmother (like her mother) was also a very skilled seamstress and she sewed all the clothes that she wore! She even made her own hats! I learned to sew from her using her treadle machine. I made lots of clothes for my Barbie doll on that machine. When I was 11 years old I had a paper route and the very first thing that I bought with my tips and wages was a used Singer sewing machine. My mother took me to the local Singer dealer and helped me pick it out. It weighed about 100 lbs, but it was a great machine. My mother was quite an accomplished seamstress also, but not a quilter. It wasn’t until I was in my 30’s that I began quilting. I took classes at my local quilt shop, at quilt shows, or through the local guild. Many people have and still continue to influence me in the love of sewing/ quilting. Those people are represented in the threads of the spool. This block is my spool of “Inspirational Threads”’

I enjoyed making this one, I do like the blocks where you can put pretty much every fabric you’re using in your quilt in that one block, it’s like a mini record!

The secondblock I tackled was Heart String Star by Elizabeth Dackson. It was paper pieced again for the four star point blocks and went together fairly easily. I had to smile on facebook as someone posted a photo of their block and as soon as they had posted it they realised one of the points was pointing the wrong way. She was about to undo it when some one posted ‘Don’t worry, we all have a friend like that’. That’s what I like about quilters, mistakes can become creativity!!

I love the flamingo print I used in the centre of this one, it just makes me smile! I picked out the pink and green for the stars, I’m please with it.

The third block I made was called Jersey, it’s designed by Carrie Nelson. I love this block, I’m really pleased with how the colours worked out, my points aren’t perfect but they’re not bad, I even managed to get all the little hearts running in the same direction!

Having made three blocks it was about 9.30pm, I was just about to pack up when I decided if I picked a simple block, I could do one more!!!

‘Flow’ is Block 85, it’s by Latifah Saafir. It’s paper pieced but it was a very simple one, it’s nice to have a quick and easy one every so often, though somehow I seem to have ended up with every seagull either dive-bombing or flying upside-down!!. As you can hopefully tell it’s an aeroplane, or to be more precise, it’s the logo of a cessna, this is the story behind Latifah’s block;

‘Every now and then life blesses us with experiences where flow happens. Where we are on purpose and though it may be challenging the work seems to happen effortlessly. Where we are inspired and focused. Quilting is like that for me. I feel as if I’m sitting at the feet of the gods when I am designing and bringing those designs to life. I often think about the first time I had an experience with flow and that was learning how to fly when I was 16. In just two weeks and with just 10 hours of flight time I soloed in a Cessna 150. I couldn’t have done it without flow. This block is directly inspired from the Cessna logo – the plane that I learned how to fly in.’

So, after my little burst of quilting, I had made over eighty blocks towards my Splendid Sampler quilt. I’ve made a couple more since then and a couple of hand-stitching ones on the go, so I’ve just three more blocks and I’ve caught up. Pat Sloan is giving us a bit of a break over Christmas and the New Year, which I’m pleased about, a bit of breathing time before the final few blocks. I’m hoping to get a few more blocks sashed, sandwiched and quilted in that time.

Apologies for the photos, today is the shortest day and my photos are suffering from lack of natural light, this was my third attempt…