Splendid Sampler — Week 7

Here is some color inspiration for my favorite combo…

Red and Blue in Nature

Which leads me to think about the many different shades of reds and blues I have put in this quilt–just like in nature!

Aqua, seafoam, teal, turquoise–all different shades of a blue-green combo.  I would never mix those shades together in my clothes but I think it’s working in this quilt.

Even the reds have different levels.

Let’s talk about which blocks I’m doing now.

The Splendid Sampler people put out at least two blocks a week.  Sometimes they throw in a “bonus” block.  I also get a newsletter from a few sources as to how to put the blocks together.  But it’s a current newsletter–I can’t find the back issues to get hints on how to make the older blocks.

Should I be making only new blocks that come out every week so I can use the newsletters?

No, some of those suckers are really HARD!  So I’ll probably just keep skipping around and trying challenging projects when I feel like it.

Like I returned to the embroidery block, Block 11, Crocheted Thoughts by Alyssa Thomas.

I sewed together all of the pieces and then started on the embroidery.

First attempt was very very ugly.  I’ve admitted already, I do not know how to embroider.  This is a block that the newsletter would have helped with.  For instance, where do I start embroidering?  From the outside in?  From the center out?  Or just jump all over like I did on my first try that was a crazy jumbled mess.

So I started all over.

Did the center piece before I stitched the sides together this time.

The white I used for the embroidery background is Robert Kaufman Essex Linenwhich is a blend of cotton and linen that I keep around to make tea towels.  I read somewhere that linen is supposed to be easy to embroider on.

Much better!

Other than the crochet hook being a bit wonky, I was pretty please with the block.  Until just now.  When I put this picture up and realized that I had put one of the sides on backwards.  Geeze Louize.  And no, I’m not taking it apart.  It’s just another perfectly imperfect block for my perfectly imperfect Splendid Sampler.

Sometimes I don’t even realize I made a mistake until weeks later.

Like this “Flying High” block that I made in week 4.

Not only did I reverse the bird template.  I used the wrong side of the fabric.  I only realized it when I was arranging the blocks and put it beside a block that had the same fabric.  Sheesh.

So moving on….

I went to the block that is just bits and bits and bits and more bits that I cut out when Piper was here.  Block 17 by Kimberly Jolly, Family Stars.

Almost like a jigsaw puzzle.  This one had to have taken me the longest so far.  Hours to cut out those itty bitty pieces then sew them together.

There were so many different colors and sizes I had to mark them as I went along so I would make sure they were in the right order.

So the only one I have left to catch up on for the blocks 1 through 18 is Block 17 which is paper-pieced.  Next week.  Maybe for sure. Or maybe for sure not.

For my last block this week, I did an easy one, Block 30, Simple Surprises by Amy Ellis.

That’s it for this week.  More to come!