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Finishing up some BOM blocks for the month

I have spent the past few days finishing up some BOM blocks for the month of April.  The days are just flying by and I never seem to be caught up!  I think that’s true for most quilters.  We have a bad habit of starting new projects before finishing up the old ones.

I finished April’s block for the Classic Meets Modern QAL at Sew at Home Mummy.  It’s called the Double Z block and I love the simplicity of it:

Block 4 of Classic Meets Modern BOM, made by Julie Cefalu

I’m using up my scraps and stash for this quilt along and it’s looking like a rainbow of quilt blocks so far:

Blocks 1 thru 4 of Classic Meets Modern QAL, by Julie Cefalu

I just finished the letters “E” and “J” for The Quilt Show’s 2014 BOM, A-Z for Ewe and Me.  If you recall, I’m making two versions:  one is from the original kit fabric and the other is from my stash.  Here are the blocks using the original fabric:

E Block from A-Z for Ewe and Me, made by Juie Cefalu

J Block from A-Z for Ewe and Me BOM, made by Julie Cefalu

 

The E block is for Eight Hands Around and the J block is for Janet’s Lamb (named after Janet Stone, the designer of the quilt).  I think this lamb is adorable!

Here are my blocks made of fabric from my own stash:

E Block from A-Z for Ewe and Me BOM, made by Julie Cefaluj block modern copyI know, the lamb is even cuter in gray, right?  Part of the instructions for this month was to stitch all of the blocks together that we’ve made so far.  Now you can really see how it’s coming together!

Here’s version one:

A thru J Blocks of A-Z for Ewe And Me BOM, made by Julie Cefalu

and here’s version two:

A thru J Blocks of A-Z for Ewe And Me BOM, made by Julie Cefalu Now, I have to decide if I’m going to try the “quilt as you go” method of quilting (also called quilting in sections).  This quilt would be a perfect candidate for it.  It’s very modular and I could break it up into as many units as I want.  I think I’ll divide the interior of the quilt into three sections and the border would be last.  I can start quilting this section now as a unit and then join it to the rest of them later.  I’ve never tried any of this before, so I’m still doing some research.  If you have any thoughts or experience with “quilt as you go”, please share in the comments!

I’m co-teaching a block of the month at The Granary, and it’s from Eleanor Burn’s book, Quilts from El’s Kitchen.  I’m making the smaller version of the blocks as we go along and here are the first four:

Blocks from El's Kitchen BOM, made by Juie CefaluI’m planning on a citrus color palette with some blue and red thrown in.  Juicy!

And finally, I made a few zipper pouches recently.  One for me and one for my niece who is recovering from surgery.  I used the Scrappy Make Up Pouch Tutorial from Anna at Noodlehead.  They were fun to make and I loved digging through my scraps!  I used Essex Linen for the main body which is such a wonderful neutral for almost any color.

Scrappy Pouch, made by Julie Cefalu using tutorial from http://www.noodle-head.com

I added an exterior zipper pocket to the back and it was really easy.  I used a tutorial that I found at Sew Mama Sew.  Definitely worth the additional time spent (and the second one went by even faster).

Exterior zipper pockets on my scrappy pouches.  Made by Julie Cefalu

And the inside is just as pretty as the outside!

Scrappy Pouch made by Julie Cefalu.  Using the Scrappy Make Up Pouch Tutorial by Noodlehead

My other goal for the month of April is to clean up my sewing room and do a little destashing.  I was inspired by Faith at Fresh Lemon Quilts and her recent post about her Instagram Destash.  She packaged over 40 fabric bundles that each fit into a USPS priority flat rate envelope and sold them all at very reasonable prices.  I’m not sure if that’s how I’ll do it, but it’s great food for thought.

That might have to wait for next month because I’m leaving for San Diego tomorrow morning!  We will be spending four days with all of our children and their spouses/fiances.  It’s rare when we can all be together for a day, let alone four.  I’m definitely bringing my good camera!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Julie

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14 Comments

  1. hi …I am about to become a grandmother for the first time…came across the “a to z,ewe and me alphabet quilt…I really don’t have time for a BOM I just want to buy the pattern…but I keep coming up to a dead end….do you happen to have the pattern I could purchase
    thanks
    soon to be Memere…..

  2. Hello!
    I am quilting a BOM with Pat Sloan. After checking a link on her blog TONIGHT I found the beautiful A to Z for Ewe and Me quilt by Janet Stone. Where can I buy this pattern? Will it end up in a pattern book if I can’t get it from The Quilt Show website? I’ve really enjoyed the video tutorials I’ve seen.
    Thank you for the beautiful informative videos. Pamela

  3. Hi Julie, gosh you’ve been busy! I have ‘saved up’ reading your blog until I was home from Asia…it was worth it! All your projects are so bright and fresh. Love the pouches with the outside pocket, must look up how to do that.
    I have done ‘quilt as you go’ on a simple table runner. It wasn’t any faster than the traditional method and you have to keep checking the batting and back don’t go squint…they tend to. A quilter friend has just finished a large quilt which she quilted in sections then joined together.We were surprised that the joins were practically unnoticeable, no big bump, but it probably would depend on how much quilting you plan to do. Hers was hand quilted, so not very compact.
    Hope you had a lovely time with the family.

  4. Loving all your colorful themes in your blocks. They really look like Spring. And the wonky alphabet is wonderful! Love your work as always!

  5. Your BOM blocks are so pretty! What great colors & fabrics.

    I’ve made several QAYG quilts. A book that was helpful to me was Reversable Quilts: Two at a Time by Sharon Pederson. With these quilts it shows on both sides of the quilt where the blocks are joined. I have tried Missouri Quilt Company’s QAYG tutorial and it’s great for small quilts. The one’s I made were about 36″ x 40ish. One method I haven’t tried yet but it looks like a really good one (and fun) is Maureen Cracknell’s QAYG Tutorial. You can find it here. http://maureencracknellhandmade.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-quilt-as-you-go-tutorial.html

  6. Unbelievable! What we can do with a simple square with two triangles , and changing the colors and punting together in different shapes! Amazing!!!!!

  7. Hi Julie!
    Love the alphabet blocks (both versions)! Looking forward to seeing the finished product! You are so talented!
    Hugs,
    Liz 🙂

  8. Julie,

    As always, your blog is creative, inspiring and so much fun. Your colors make me happy. Have a great time in San Diego. Family time is precious.

  9. Wonderful projects, all of them. You’ve really been busy, using your time well. I like your project posts almost better than crafty Sunday. Have fun with your kids, family time is rare and speeds by so fast, and you never know when something will change. Hopefully you’ll have some wedding news? That would be fun, wouldn’t it.

  10. Please think about destashing here on your blog somehow as many of us don’t use all the social media sites. However, I check your blog daily! Thank you for considering all of us quilters.

  11. I followed the Gourmet Quilter and did quilt as you go blocks. It was so easy. I made a bed runner using the Dresden pattern all scrappy. Easy to do on my little machine.

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