A quilting challenge?

This winter my daughter said, "if I posted on my blog an opportunity to make some quilt blocks, would you like to participate?" And I surprised my self with a yes. I don't know where it came from, I said count me in. I have a new Brother Machine, and made an applique quilt for my oldest grandson this winter, "Oma" grandma designed.

So Anilia's challenge was answered by nine other women. And once a month, her husband John gives us a theme, we have the addresses of the participants, a fancy spreadsheet to show who we are sewing for each month and the colors they have requested...and after that it is up to the seamstress/creator in us to make the block and get it sent off to the recipient.

The block above is my first piece.

But truth be told, it was the dickens getting there. I have a rotary cutter, my Mom's cutting table and cutting mat, but a very reduced stash and my first assignment was for something in greens, and somehow incorporate "HOME". So I made a trip to School House Fabrics in Floyd, VA and chose green fat quarters...and a few pieces that are more than fat quarters, then I had to select a pattern or design one...I surfed the net and found the McCall's quilting sitehttp://www.mccallsquilting.com/patterns/index.html and http://www.quilterscache.com/P/ProvidenceQuilt.html, selected the pattern Providence. I downloaded instructions, cut material and began to assemble the pieces. But shortly into assembly, I heard my husband say..."maybe you need to take a break", either the air was blue, or he could smell the smoke as I flamed at the mistakes I had made. Had I cut on the wrong side of the line, did I not measure right? Let me say here that I am learning disabled, try as I might, I could not assemble two of the rows correctly.

And so it sat...then on a Sunday at church I saw my friend Judy, and asked her for help. So one evening with material in hand, the rotary cutter, the seam ripper,and the written directions, I arrived at Judy's home. Judy is a mathematician. She has taught college math and home schooled her youngest daughter. She has probably tutored countless children and young adults...so we looked at her current project a double Irish Chain quilt, looked at my project, had supper and returned to the sewing room to salvage the project.

Judy found graph paper with 1/4 inch squares, her square block measuring tool, and began to build the block based on the internal square and the outside dimensions. We both agreed, that one small square and triangle could become a single piece of cloth...and so there are little fat "houses" and little skinny "houses" in the new pattern. Who knew! Bless her heart, she cut the new pieces. I was the recipient of extra tips...like how to press each seam, and after reviewing two separate ways of assembling the block Judy suggested the one she felt would be easiest. So I brought the block home and assembled it. I have Judy's hand drawn pattern, and I plan to put to use some of those other green fat quarters. Thanks Judy...thanks Anilia for sparking the work. And thanks Grace for choosing green. I love green!