A Mother’s Day Card & BOM Catch Up

I love to make my own cards and Mother’s Day is an occasion that deserves a handmade card.

I recently purchased the Spring Parade Stamp TV Kit from Gina K Designs that includes almost everything you need to make this card, although I used a different stamp for the words.  Here’s the inside:

I love the instant (well, 2 hours) gratification that I get from making a card.  Compared to the 2 weeks months it takes to make a quilt, it’s a snap!

I have been playing catch up on my block of the month (BOM) projects.  Here is block 5 of the Tyler Rose Parade BOM:

I also finished the April and May blocks of the Sister’s 10 Modern BOM.  Here are two versions of the May block:

And then I worked on the May block of the Blogger Girls BOM from Open Gate Quilts:

I purchased several specialty rulers that Open Gate Quilts designed and that are used in this block.  I don’t think I’ve ever had a block go together so smoothly.  I am amazed at how perfect my points are!  Not an easy task with so many of them in this one block.

The ruler that I used to make the square-in-a-square unit is called the Fit To Be Quarter 6.5 & Companion.  And the ruler used for the flying geese units was the Fit To Be Geese ruler.  Both of these start with oversized pieces that are later trimmed down to perfect size units.  There are no lines that need to be drawn, but you will be working with an exposed bias edge.  This means that I’ve cut the fabric on a diagonal which exposes the bias edge as you stitch the seam.   Not a problem as long as you’re aware of it.  I spray starch my pieces before cutting and it helps to stabilize the fabric.

It takes a little practice to get the hang of these rulers, but I am really happy with the results.  My block came out to be 12 1/2″ with just a little bit of shaving along the edge.  (Trust me, I’m lucky if I get within 1/8″ of the correct block size).  Here are the trimmings:

The fabric I’m using is Breakfast at Tiffany’s from Fig Tree Quilts for Moda.  I absolutely love it!  Each block has the dot print in a different color way (except for one which I have to remake).

On Friday, I’ll be joining the Quilter’s Favorites linky party at Geta’s Quilting Studio.  Many bloggers will be sharing their favorite tools and advice, so make sure to check it out.  (I have another favorite ruler that I’ll be showing you.)

Do you have any burning questions that you want answered (by me)?  Leave a comment with your questions and I’ll try my best to answer them!