Sugar Block Club Catch Up

After playing catch up in May, I again fell behind on my Sugar Block Club blocks, partly due to a lack of motivation and inspiration, partly due to my new race training plan (I'm running a half marathon in October), partly due to the beautiful, perfect summer we've been having here in New England, and partly due to increased workload and extra projects at work.  But after a roughly three week hiatus from my sewing machine, I finally had the chance to sit down and sew this afternoon.  What better way is there to spend a Sunday?

This is one of my favorite blocks so far (along with February's Mercy block).  I think its the on-point center square that I really like.  I played around with the color placement a little bit and made a few changes to the block but it still holds true to Amy's original design.  In June, Amy (of Stitchery Dickory Dock), or rather her husband, Mr. Dock, challenged us to be a Teacher, to share our passion with others.  I've always loved teaching people about the things for which I am passionate.  I taught downhill skiing for 8 years through high school and college, and my friends know just how passionate I am about the sport.  Though I still have much to learn about sewing, I have been able to share my passion for quilting also.  Online groups through Facebook and Flickr give us the the chance to share knowledge and hard learned lessons with others.  Our shared passion for quilting make us all teachers.

June Block | Teach

In July, we were challenged to be Servants.  Mark 10:44 says “And whoever wishes to be most important and first in rank among you must be a slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as ransom for many.”  And Matthew 23:11 says: “The greatest among you shall be your servant” -Matthew 23:11.  Amy challenges us to be a servant by practicing humility and be a servant to others.  This means being there for other when they need you, helping to pack a lunch or taking extra projects on at work to help out a co-worker,or volunteering or donating.

July Block | Serve

For the August Beyond the Block challenge, Amy challenged us to be Bold.  This means speaking up about the things that are important to us.  For Amy, it was standing by her decision to home school her children, regardless of how others perceived her.  For me, it could be many things.  So often I struggle to speak up to voice my opinion or share my beliefs, fearing how others will react.  It is that confidence that I have struggled with for a long time.  Amy's Beyond the Block challenge helped encourage me to speak up.


Finally, Here are all the blocks together.  Aren't they pretty?  I can't wait to see the last four blocks to finish up this pretty sampler.  Hopefully I won't fall behind again... unlikely as that is.  I take over as President of my local quilt guild (visit us sometime if you're ever in New Hampshire!) and it's very likely that I won't have anytime for sewing for awhile.

January through August Sugar Block Club blocks

I'm linking up with Stitch by Stich for anything goes mondays.

Year to Date Progress on the Sugar Block Club

It's a short one today folks.  As I promised on Monday, here is the picture of my year to date progress with the Sugar Block Club.  Aren't they fun?!  My favorite blocks so far are from January (top left corner), February (middle, top row), and May (top, right corner).

Happy Quilting!

April and May Sugar Block Club

I have been so far behind on all of my block of the month projects recently.  I was two months behind for Sugar Block Club, three months behind in the Aurifil BOM and 4 months behind in Pat Sloan's Globetrotting BOM.  Luckily this weekend I was able to change some of that.  I'm now caught up with the rest of the Sugar Block Club gang and manged to get two of the three blocks for the Aurifil BOM done also (I'll share those later).

This is my version of the April block, called Presence.  It was fairly simple to construct and came together quickly.

In April, Amy challenged us to be more present in our daily lives.  In this day and age of technology it can be difficult to spend quality time together without the distraction of screens.  I was especially sensitive to this, having just upgraded to an iPhone in April.  Often I'd find myself spending more time with the people on my phone than I was with the people around me.  Now I try to put the phone away when I'm with someone so that they can have my full attention.

May's block was a unique paper-pieced star called Joy!  I had fun choosing directional fabric to carefully place in this block and I think the final result is pretty nice.

For the May Beyond the Block challenge, Amy challenged us to find the joy in every day.  Simply to live a positive life.  This is something I struggle with sometimes, having fought with depression for most of my life.  And for a long time I was very unhappy.  But one day I woke up and decided I didn't want to be sad any more and started down the long road of looking for joy in the everyday and overcoming the sadness that had gripped me for so long.  So I challenge you, can you find the joy in today?  Today, it was the sound of the birds outside my window this morning when I was getting ready for work.  It was the feel of the sun on my face.  It was the knowledge that I have a job that I enjoy and pays my bills.  What is your joy for today?

Unfortunately the picture of all 5 blocks together thus far is on my other camera so I don't have that to share with you yet.  I've also got a few other blocks to share with you later this week so stay tuned!  Happy Quilting!

I'm linking up with Stitch by Stich for anything goes mondays.

March Sugar Block Club

I was able to work on my Sugar Block Club block for March on Saturday.  This month's block is called EXPLORE.  It was made up of both traditional piecing methods and paper piecing and was so quick to sew up.

I'm not super pleased with how the light peach is working in this block and I might make another with some different fabric placement but I want to think on it for now.  The blocks are looking great together..

I'm linking up with Stitch by Stich for anything goes mondays.

Works in Progress

I think I mentioned earlier that I'm participating in several block of the month (BOM) quilt-alongs this year.

The first one is the Sugar Block Club, hosted by Amy at Stitchery Dickory Dock.  This is my first year participating in the BOM and already I'm sold.  Every month we get a pattern for a, as Amy puts it: "traditionally rooted block, full of lovely vintage charm, but truly fitting with nearly every aesthetic.  In a word, timeless", as well as a yummy dessert recipe and, new this year, Beyond the Block words of wisdom from Amy designed to help you reflect throughout the year.

January's block was beautiful and the Beyond the Block challenge last month encouraged us to Be Intentional.  I've already found that I'm doing better.  You can see my post about the January block here.  February's block, Mercy, is actually a very simple design made fantastic through careful color placement.  Check out the Sugar Block Club Flickr group for more beautiful examples of the block.

Amy also shared a very personal story about Mercy that really hit a nerve with me.  There are points in life when we are not at our best and sometimes it's due to circumstances that are outside of the realm of our control.  It is at these moments, when we are at rock bottom, that we need to be shown mercy.  Maybe I snapped at you because you just asked me for the fifth time when your report would be ready, but what you didn't know is that I'm dealing with a very completed and painful family situation right now...  doesn't make my reaction right but a little understand and mercy could have gone a long way.  At the same time, its important for me to show mercy to others.  I have to admit that sometimes I am guilty of getting snippy with the lady at Dunkin' Donuts because she occasionally messes up my coffee in the morning.  But what I don't know is if that woman is raising three kids alone or if she's about to lose her house, or if her husband just got laid off from work.  I don't know.  I can't know that.  But I can smile and say, "no problem, that's alright.  I like a hot latte as much as a cold one." So I'd encourage you to maybe pause for a moment before you yell at someone or honk your horn and think what is this person dealing with today?  I'm going to try to do the same.

January (right) and February (left) Sugar Block Club blocks

Enough of the heavy stuff..... The second quilt-along I'm participating in this year is the Aurifil Block of the Month.  You can find the monthly posted FREE patterns linked to on the Aurifil Flikr Page.  February's block was actually designed by AMY of Stitchery Dickory Dock!  Check out her interview with Pat Sloan and find her block pattern here.  Amy's block design this month is called Mother's Day and was inspired by her mother.  You can find my posts about January's blocks here and here.

This was a fun block to make.  It's all half square triangles.  I think the thing that took me the longest was TRIMMING all of them (and there were only 16...)  I need to get one of those rotating cutting mats.  It would make my life immensely easier, at least when it comes to trimming HST's.

January (bottom) and February (top) Aurifil blocks

I have one more BOM quilt along to share but it will have to wait for another day!  For more pictures of what I'm working on currently be sure to check out my Flickr photstream!  I'm linking up with this weeks WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

Happy Quilting!

Feeling...Pink?

Turns out I'm on more of a pink kick than I previously expected.  I've decided to work with my Peach-Coral-Orange color palette for two projects this year.  So far I've had two iterations of this palette.  The first one lacked a serious amount of oomph for me.  It was more heavily weighted in the peaches and soft pinks.

So after some rework I pulled in some additional corals and oranges and am very happy with the final results.

I always try to make sure to photograph my fabrics in B&W so that I can be sure of the value weighting of my fabrics as well as color.

The first project I'm working in these colors is the 2014 Aurifil Block of the Month.  You can find the monthly posted FREE patterns linked to on the Aurifil Flikr Page.  You may remember I posted about a low volume version of this block last week, but to be honest, the colors weren't singing to me and I wasn't really excited about working with all low volume for the remainder of 2014.  So I changed it up and made a new block.

Sorry for the dark picture.  I finished this one Friday night and didn't have a chance to get another good picture of it in the daylight.  I'm much happier with this version of the block.  I won't be using a consistent background fabric for these block either.  Each one will be a little different.

The second project I'm working on for 2014 is the Sugar Block Club.  This is a PAID block of the month club (only $7.95 for the year).  Each month Amy Gibson of Stichery Dickery Dock sends a block pattern to your inbox along with a delicious recipe for something sweet.  January's recipe was Hearty Pumpkin Pancakes.

I'm so happy with how this block came out.  Similar to the Aurifil blocks, these will not have a consistent background fabric.  Each block will be a blend of the Peach-Coral-Orange palette.

New in 2014 is the inclusion of a "beyond the block" personal challenge.  For January, Amy challenged us to BE INTENTIONAL.  One of the ways she encourages this is through the making of a list of intentional goals for the year.  So here goes:

I want to be a more active member of the quilting community.  My dream would be to make a living from quilting (my husband tells me I'm crazy for thinking it).  But I believe that with enough prayer and determination I can do anything I set my mind to.  So my first goal is related to this.

I will continue to post on this blog; if not daily than at least once a week.  

I will share my quilt-related adventures with anyone who cares to read about 

them and hopefully a lot about myself along the way.

Another thing that is very important to me is my health.  I won't go into detail but over the years I've had several major sports related injuries.  I went from an active 4 season athlete to a sedentary bystander very quickly during the recovery phase of each of these injuries and managed to gain a significant amount of weight each time.  At this point in my life, it's begun to negatively impact my health so I've decided to make some changes.

I will workout (either walking at lunch or going to the gym) at least three 

times per week in 2014.  My health is that important to me.

So there you have it.  Some quilt blocks and some goals.  Do you have specific goals for 2014?  Share them in the comments if you like.

Happy Quilting.