May doGoodStitches / Quilts for Boston

This months' blocks went to the Boston Modern Quilt guild and their Quilts for Boston relief effort.

It is so heart warming to see the quilts they are making from blocks sent from all over. 

April do Good Stitches Blocks

I really liked the block we made for April's Promise Circle of do Good Stitches and I think I've finally figured out how to get my blocks to come out 12.5" or more square. Pressing the seams open and doing an even scanter 1/4" than I was doing previously really helped. Also I've started using a shorter stitch length which has helped with the edges from unraveling....of course when I have to rip out my stitches it is a bit of a pain...win a little, lose a little. In the end it all came out good.

The tutorial for this block can be found on Fresh Lemon Quilts site.

March do Good Stitches blocks

Whew, being sick for the majority of March was a real bummer.
I was able to complete my blocks for the Promise circle of doGoodStitches though (again on the very last day of the month).
I was excited to see the block the quilter chose for March because it was one that I had pinned on Pinterest.
Then looking at the instructions I was a little dismayed because each of those tiny little squares is cut out individually...around 120 1 1/2" squares. Gulp. That was going to take forever. Luckily I have a Sizzix machine so I did some searching and scored a Sizzix die that was on clearance & had a 1 1/2" square on it. Sweet!

Little Miss Shabby scrapbuster #1

Little Miss Shabby scrapbuster #2

Once you have the squares cut out the blocks go together really quickly. I did mess up the first block by not reading directions correctly, but luckily it was easily remedied and only required a little bit of time with the seam ripper.

January doGood Stitches blocks

I love the blocks for this month's doGood Stitches bee. Ivete's Waves of Strips tutorial was really easy to follow and I love that you get two blocks out of the deal. I'm not sure how well I executed them though. 

I actually made some on Jan 1st and then decided I needed to do another set because the waves didn't look like they were going to line up very well.

Jan 1st

Jan 28th

I don't think there was any improvement from my Jan 1st blocks & my Jan 28th blocks...Hopefully they'll work for Ivete and if they don't I let her know I'd be willing to make another batch (3rd times the charm?).
Really looking forward to seeing how the finished quilt turns out. :)

December do Good Stitches

My blocks for the Promise circle of do Good Stitches were made using Sew Katie Did's magic numbers tutorial. I really love the look of her finished quilt. I'm not really big on scrappy quilts but there is something about hers that appeals to me. 

Putting the block together went super fast once I had all the fabrics cut out.

Looking forward to saying goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013. I need to get caught up on projects I started this year and since I don't have to work tomorrow I'll see what I can accomplish...first up will be the half square triangle QAL I slacked off on right around August. 

October do Good Stitches blocks

Ugh. I have not been feeling all that well lately which really cuts into my sewing time. Nothing like a head cold to sap the energy right out of you.
I've finally been able to breath through my nose again and finished up my October blocks (3 weeks late) for the Promise circle of do Good Stitches.

More half-square triangles (hst)!

Funnily enough this block design is one I pinned on Pinterest several months ago. It was fun to try it out. 2 1/2" HST are too small for me to use on a large scale though...no way I'm making an entire quilt outta these. :)

My very first do Good Stitches blocks

I am VERY excited to be a part of do. Good Stitches {a Charity Bee}. I am a member of the Promise circle. Each month my circle mates and I will work together to create a quilt that will then be donated to Threading Hope.

These blocks were made using this tutorial.

I have to admit these blocks were a little tricky to get the points just right on. I made about 4 blocks before I realized that I needed to press the seams in different directions in order for them to line up nicely.
I'm constantly amazed that what I figure is going to be a simple block ends up taking me several attempts to get it just right. Picky much? Little bit.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the completed quilt!