Cheddary Challenge is a Flimsy!

 Can you hear me hooting and hollaring and HAPPY!  I took my time and managed to get the last row to fit and attach to my Cheddary Challenge quilt!  It looks bigger in this picture than it is, but it is a good size...largish lap quilt and since it is for me that is just fine.  So many memories in these blocks and I plan to really treasure this one.

And at long last I finally remembered to take a picture of my Easy Street fabrics so far.  Copying Bonnie this time though I keep thinking orange would look good with these colors!  :)

Craftsy Class--My First Explorations!

I think I mentioned that I am taking some online classes at Craftsy.  I have finished watching and am now rewatching Weeks Ringles' "Designing Modern Quilts" and loving it.  She is a great speaker and shares her process and tons of her and her hubby's quilts.  It is so very cool to get a one on one class (with lots of others in the Craftsy forum) from her!

 Spent some time today doing my Craftsy homework...Weeks calls them explorations, and they are but they are also homework.  This first block is fabrics and colors that I use all the time, that I like.

 This second picture is of colors or fabrics I don't care for.  I thought this block was harder to put together because if I don't like something I don't buy it.  However some of my fabric was given to me and some of these were leftovers in charm square packs that I didn't care for so I didn't use them.  Glad they came in handy.

 So in looking at my two blocks together I can see that I like darks!  I like fabric that reads as solid or is solid.  I knew already I liked argyle, and polka dots (though none made it in, I have lots) and modern fabrics.  Not sure that there are enough mediums though.  My second block is really muddy and the only two or three fabrics I like are the reds and the chrome yellow (in the right quilt--Hawaii Sunset for example).  The rest are really not ones I care for.  Weeks challenges us to add something to this challenging palette and see if it is workable.

 I added a few cherry colored fabrics and an aqua and decided I might be able to do something with it, but I don't know!

 After doing this exercise I remembered I had a bag of "ugly" fabrics that were given to me for a challenge by two different people.  I never did this challenge because I really didn't like my first fabrics at all (my partner did good on picking out the uglies!) and I wasn't sure about the stack on the right Ros gave me.  I just reread the directions and they can go in the back of a quilt, so I am thinking these ones from Ros will go in the back of the Cheddar Challenge.  They will always be a conversation piece and I can cross that challenge off my list!

Exploration # 2 was matching up fabrics to a painting of one of the masters (they gave us several to choose from) and though mine is not done, here is what I have so far.  The painting is "La Grade Odalisque" and has really warm tones for the skin and the complimentary cool colors of the silk drapery and bedding.  

I had a dream the other night with my first quilt designing idea--it was no good, but I thought it was interesting that Weeks has my mind thinking of these things even as I sleep!  

Some Grey Going On!

 I made the second of the grey blocks for Jack in the Box, my SoScrappy Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Here is a picture of all the blocks but not the pinwheel border.  It is still pretty small so trying to decide if I should make more blocks or add sashing or what...

A Little Bit of Sewing

 I made some disappearing nine patch blocks to donate to Hurricane Sandy folks.  Hoping some other sewers I know will also make a few and I can mail out a box of them to Erin over at  My Patchwork Life.  She plans to sew them up. get them quilted and send them on.  I want to help her at least a little bit.  http://vesuviusmama.blogspot.com/2012/11/taking-action-wanna-help.html for the specific post with a tutorial on how to make these fun and easy blocks. 

I did sew up another hexi flower in the car on the way up to see my sister (and way back) yesterday.  No Packer game this week, so I plan to be at my machine all day tomorrow!  

Today we had a family party...it was Megan (Kathy's niece) and her daughter Ayla's birthday party.  They had it at the park..it was a bit chilly today (I don't get to say that often in Arizona) and Ayla liked her big girl quilt we gave her.  Megan was equally tickled with the fabric and quilt book we gave her.  

Sunday Sewing

 Sunday Sewing included finishing up this Lil' Twister Tree.  We didn't actually have the pattern so we used pictures online to help us out.  If we do this again we will use the smaller ruler (this was the medium and it is too big really for a wall hanging and too small for a lap quilt) and I will be sure to have enough of each color. We just used leftover 5 inch squares from charms and cut up the rest of my fat quarter shop leftovers from Designer Mystery BOM (that fabric went really far!) so we ran out of yellows and had to grab some more.  Ya, they are all at the top!  LOL.  It also seems to me that there should actually be more green in it since it is a tree.  So eventually may do a smaller one, but it will look different.  All told, we are happy with it anyways.  Kathy and I worked on it together and that was fun.  We make a good team on these kinds of projects!

Linking up with Kathy for slow stitching on Sunday!

 During the Packer/Cardinals game I sewed up the red and white flower above by hand.  Seven done and 5 to go!  It is Packer bye week but I am going to try to sneak it a flower at some point anyways since this project is finally seeing progress!

 Princess Stitch had to put her paw of approval on the quilt top so here she is!
Also linking up with Angela for the SoScrappy Rainbow BOM Challenge!

I did manage to cut and sew one grey block for the SoScrappy Rainbow BOM.  I can't believe this is the last color.  Next, I will be laying them all out and seeing if I need to make more blocks to get it to size.  Still have another grey block and pinwheels for the border to go.  I never did make the "neutral" color so I may need to pick another color or two after it is up to round it all out.  

I am already thinking about what block I will do in January when we start all over again.  Maybe I will just copy Amy again!  LOL.  She picked this one Bonnie Hunter's Jack in the Box) and it has been an great block to work with each month and has really become one of my favorites!  

I signed up to take two Crafsy classes last week too.  One is Weeks Ringle's "Designing Modern Quilts."  I really have no talent for designing any kind of quilt, but she sure makes me think I could!  She shows her quilts and explains various aspects and element of them and how they came to be.  It is like my own personal trunk show!  I am really enjoying it, am even taking notes on it!  I may even try to do the explorations (homework) she assigns...I took the class mainly because she was the first modern quilter I found, the first book I bought (Modern Quilt Workshop) and I just adore her and wish I was as talented as one of her pinkies!  In any event, I am learning things I can use in following other people's pattern about color, balance, etc.  It is a good class!  

The other class is about knitting socks.  I am GOING to get good at socks.  That I know I can do--eventually.  The good news is, when you buy a Craftsy class you can watch it as much as you want forever so it is there to reference down the line.  Works for me.

They also have a block of the month with videos and different techniques each month for the blocks.  When you are done you will have a sampler quilt.  A few of my local friends started it almost a year ago, but I just didn't make the time to join in or to really check out the forum.  Now I want to give it a shot...that is a free class you can get just for creating an account.  Anyone feel the urge to join me?  We can pick a start month and urge each other on each month!  http://www.craftsy.com and search "block of the month." 

Lil' Twister Tree...

 First picture is sideways, but here is our attempt at a Lil' Twister Tree.  We have a few more rows to twist, but it is coming along.

Easy Street--I Can't Wait!!!!

I may be working til 6 tonight, but I am still thinking about Bonnie's upcoming "Easy Street" mystery quilt!  Are you joining in?  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/10/find-yourself-on-easy-street.html in case you somehow missed her post about it!  I don't have any LIME in my fabric stash (unless you count my moderns, but I don't think I want to mix) so I just went to 5bucksayard.com and ordered some of this wild lime fabric.  I am hoping it works!  I plan to stick with Bonnie's color scheme this time.
Kathy is going to join in, but is changing up the colors.  She isn't entirely decided, but thinks it will be brown, blue, turquiose, muslin and one other color.  We will use the color wheel to try to see if we can do something similar to Bonnie.
So far besides Kathy and I and her neice Megan, I believe BJ, the other Kathy I sew with, Barb, Becky, a few facebook friends--Latrelle and Xina, I am pretty sure Amy in Wisconsin is joining in and I am still trying to convince Angela over there in Florida and Lauren here in Arizona.  I know tons of bloggers and quiltville fans all over the world are joining in, did I miss anyone?  If any of my regular readers are doing Easy Street, let me know I want to make sure to follow along on your blog too!