Welcome, OP Challenge Blog Hoppers!

Good morning! Welcome all of you OP Challenge Virtual Reality blog hoppers. It's early. The kettle just boiled so the tea is steeping and I'm ready to show you how I improvisationally piece one of Pat's blocks. Above you can see the prize for one of you hoppers who leaves a comment on this post today. There's lots of lovely floss and decorative threads, beads, buttons, ribbon, fabric, some little cards, and some tags I stamped for you, and a festive nail file. Naturally, in keeping with the challenge, everything is ORANGE! Now, back to the sewing. This block divides down the middle quite nicely, so first, I free cut the fabric for the center block.

Next comes the fabric for the outside block.

These can be chained pieced together. (While I'm not showing photos of it, I always press after I've sewn a seam.)

Next, I free cut the sides of the outside square.

Now I'm ready to sew my second seam.

To make the cross in the middle, I first sew two side sections together with a strip of the cross fabric.

After those are sewn and pressed, I cut the final strip for the cross.

After pressing, here's the new block.

I'll be working on the back of my "Mérida Remix" piece today, taking lots of pictures, and updating progress this evening. Thanks for your comments!

The Prize for Commenting on Tomorrow's Post: The OP Challenge Weekend Continues

This is the prize you could win for leaving a comment on my post tomorrow when "The Quilted Librarian" will be one of the featured blogs on Pat Sloan's OP Challenge Virtual Retreat Blog Hop. In tomorrow's post, I'll show a picture of the contents spread out, but right now, I have to return to the studio and get back to work. Check in with Pat and see what's happening today. I'm looking forward to meeting her at the next national quilting event I'm able to attend. She's got an amazing amount of energy and projects going everywhere. I don't think she sleeps! Keep that orange thing happening this weekend. Check out this site for some more orange-inspired work. I'll leave you with another improv version of Pat's block. My blocks are more rectangular to go with the glyph shape on the front of my piece.

OP Challenge Improv Block

I've been enjoying the blocks that have been posted for the first day of Pat Sloan's OP Challenge virtual retreat. Naturally, with a lot of creative people involved, the original block is changing with each quilter who posts. In keeping with the technique of my quilt, I  improvisationally pieced one of the blocks for the back of my quilt. I'll take more pictures as the back starts to develop this weekend.

ORANGE!

Here's a little composition of some of my favorite orange things: a silk shirt, a Bakelite bracelet, an old iron I painted when I was in high school, a fancy dish towel from my brother, a drawing made by a friend, Frieda Kahlo stamps, and unmounted rubber. All of this is to build up enthusiasm for the Pat Sloan's OP Challenge and virtual retreat that begin on Saturday.  I'll be constructing the back of my piece, "Mérida Remix" during the blog hop on Sunday and will give a prize to someone who leaves a comment on Sunday's post.  Prize pictures will be posted Saturday. Get in an orange state of mind and join us.

Quilting the Baby Quilt

I started last night and got amazingly far for the first session of quilting. As I mentioned, I pin baste the quilt except for the edges. Those I thread baste.

I'm just quilting diagonally across each square in both directions and then I extend the quilting lines out through the borders. In the beginning, I don't knot the thread. I cut it a little long, start in the middle and quilt in both directions, then I move the hoop, pick up the thread and keep quilting until I have to knot and start a new thread. By not breaking the thread so much, it goes very fast. I can hand quilt this in about a week.

Don't forget Pat Sloan's virtual retreat this weekend for the Orange Pile Challenge. I will be on the blog hop on Sunday and will be offering a prize to someone who leaves a comment on my post on Sunday. Check back for details.

What's happening this week in Safety Pin Studio

Aside from a little cooking and cleaning, I spent most of the weekend in the studio which was very good for my soul. On the OP Challenge front, I'm getting ready to finish the back of the "Mérida Remix" piece: the label is printed, and the bias tape is made. I just have to print out the scanned pictures and then all my materials will be ready. I'm anxious to compose the back. Pat Sloan is apparently going to be doing a block this coming weekend during the virtual retreat, so I may encorporate one of her blocks into the back.


When I taught the crazy piecing workshop for the Piedmont Quilter's Guild several weeks ago at Randy's Quilt Shop, I used two demonstration pieces. This apron was my finished piece to demo embroidery and embellishment. (I won't show the crazy piecing demo piece yet because it's going to be a birthday present for one of our nieces.) I found the Soul Food t-shirt at Goodwill, cut out the design, and Wonderundered (I'm not really sure if that's a legitimate verb or not!) it to the muslin base, then crazy pieced around it. Crazy piecing something like an apron that's long and not so wide means that you sometimes end up long strips at the bottom. I like to cut that up visually by making strips with several fabrics and then sewing and flipping them.

The other thing I did this weekend was to get the new baby quilt pieced. I took a ton of pictures and I'll get those posted in the next few days.

St. Valentine's Day

A happy, slightly damp Valentine's Day to all. I'm headed for the studio now that my Valentine has taken me out to breakfast. He also gave me a lovely basket of tea and digestives from the English Tea Company. I'm hoping to get started on a new baby quilt today, so I'll take the camera with me and do a post about that sometime this week.
Don't forget about the OP Challenge at Pat Sloan's Place and the virtual retreat next weekend. I'll be on her blog hop on Sunday, February 22nd.

Valentine pictures are close-ups of a crazy pieced vest I made several years ago.