Four in Nine Patch Quilt Complete!

Today I finished the Four in Nine Patch Quilt that I started in January.  I finished it by doing a pillowcase edge and then knotting the 4" squares in my mom's quilt frame.  It only took two days of my pre-schooler being in school for me to knot it.  I was motivated to finish knotting it once the quilt frame was set up in my kitchen because it took up so much room.  Ahhhhh.  A completed project.

I would also like to thank everybody that has stopped by the Supernova Flicker sight (and this blog) and made a comment about my Supernova quilt-along-quilt.  I really appreciate all of the encouragement since I am so new to quilting.  At first I hated the colors but decided that it will still be a warm quilt and will probably be one of the most used since I didn't like it as much because of my color choices.  I figured it would be the quilt that I took to a football game and/or picnic and I wouldn't be afraid to set it down.  Now it has really grown on me and I LOVE it!  I've got an idea on how to finish the borders.  Hopefully I'll have time to mess with that a little after I get my niece's baby quilt started and done.  (She is due in about three weeks.)  I really do like staying on a schedule of the supernova quilt-a-long and Lee did a great job of dividing the work and presenting the details.  I will be searching for another quilt-a-long in the near future.

McSupernova sees the sun

Ahhh.  My McSupernova finally gets sewn together and gets to see a glimpse of the sun.  There isn't much sun in Ohio yet, but good weather is on its way.  I do have to say that the colors look much much better in this picture.  Laugh or not, I did find some McDonalds fabric on eBay.  It's on it's way.  I have decided to go with a pieced back and try improvisational piecing.  I also hope to use some of the half square triangles in the back to make it interesting.  I got the idea from a finished quilt by Leanne called "Puppies, Boys & Monkeys Quilt" at  http://shecanquilt.blogspot.com/ .  I don't know how I will do the border just yet.  I really would like to use my picnic ants somewhere but I think they might be too busy on the front.  Some of the border will be the yellow background.  Stay tuned...

McSupernova

My "McSupernova blocks are done.  I'm not sure if I need sashing to break them up or if I will just put them together and put border around it.  Your comments and suggested are much welcome.  I call it "Mc" Supernova because of the red, yellow, black and whites...  A friend suggested I purchase a color wheel.  LOL.  It's on my list.  Now you can see why I like jelly rolls and red/white quilts.

I think I like it better with just the blocks sewn together as they are.  In this next picture I put some fabric between the bottom blocks to see what sashing would look like.  The very bottom row has sashing and a couple of 3x3's added.  I need to sit and think about this for a while.

In the mean time, here's some giveaways for you to think about:

http://oneygirl-myquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/2011/04/bloggy-giveaway-fabric-pattern-and-some.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LeonasQuiltingAdventure+%28LEONA%27S+QUILTING+ADVENTURE%29

The start of the Supernova blocks

Now that I have my other quilting obligations done for April I can concentrate on the Supernova quilt-along a little better.  I put together two of the groups today.  This is the one that I thought I would like... (and I like it).

Remember, these are the four points of the block and not the center.  The other instructions will come on Thursday of this week.

I'm not sure of how I like the yellow on yellow as my second color on this next one.

I'm going to let it ride for now.  I have 10 more sets to make (12 blocks vs. the 9 in the pattern).  I am learning new skills and techniques with this quilt-along.  It is time consuming to draw the line from corner to corner, but well worth it.  It is also something that I can't have "help" from my four-year-old, because I have to pay attention to what is going in which direction.  I'll have to do this one when he's sleeping.  I also can't bear to throw away the little half triangles that I cut from each of the eight rectangles... so I end up sewing them together for future scrap projects.

No more quilting for today.  An exciting evening is planned.  Yes, I used to go to a lot of hair band concerts in the 80's.  The best seats I ever had were four row tickets to see Twisted Sister.  Tonight I have tickets to see Elmo.  Boy, times have changed.

My 1st Block Swap Adventure Block Sent

Today was a much much better experience in quilting.  I finished a block for Natalie in Australia.  It measures 12.5"!!!  The colors in this photo don't do it justice.  Here's a sneak peek.

Nat should receive her block in 7 - 10 days.  After she receives it I'll post a copy of the whole block.  We don't want to spoil the surprise!

Frustrating day for the new quilter

Today was a little frustrating.  I realize that I am learning.  I am working on making a 12" block for the Block Swap Adventure.  That's a 12" finished block which should measure 12.5".  I can make this block 12"... I can make this block 13"... But 12.5 didn't happen.  I love t his double aster block!  Here's two blocks for the orphan block box.  I also bought a new special plastic box to store my orphan blocks... looks like I am going to need it.  Can you tell that I did one completely backwards from the pattern?  On the 12" block I then added a strip so that they were both the same...

Then I decided to switch patterns.  Again, this water wheel block measured 12"!  Dang.  A call to my friend (Brandy) and she shed some light in to what I was doing wrong.  Duh.  I need a 12.5" pattern until I can learn to convert the patterns that I have.  Next I stepped back to look at this block and I put a whole row on upside down!  Yikes.  Time to stop quilting for today and maybe tonight after work while the little one is in bed I'll be able to do some more...  Oh dear.

Don't worry, Nat, these aren't your blocks.  At this point they may not even be your colors.  But then again you wouldn't be able to tell because the black and the saffire in the photo don't really show as the colors they really are.  I'll have a nice 12.5" block for you before the end of the week!

But it is what it is.  I am new to quilting.  What you see with me is what you get and sometimes it's just not right.  Everything can be fixed or started over.

On a happy note I put my block lotto blocks in the mail today.  Congrats to all the March Block Lotto winners.  I got to mail my blocks to Kate in England, Kathie in Allentown, PA, and Cathy in Australia.

April Block Lotto

I'm way ahead of schedule for the April block lotto.  Yes, I did have a little trouble getting the stem right on these pieces, but after I did the maple leaf pattern method instead of the clover blossom pattern I was okay.  Quaint little blocks.  I still need to find a good spot in the house to take pictures.  I almost took them outside and hung them on the clothesline to get some April Ohio snow in the background.  Grrrr.  Some day the sun will shine and I will be able to take pics of them in natural sunlight.  Until then, here they are:

I also worked on my block swap adventure block for April.  No pics here for now.  I don't want to spoil the surprise for Nat! ;)