February 28, 2016

Flying Geese 12.5" Unfinished Block Tutorial

    Hi there, this month my guild is doing a 12.5" flying geese block.  I drew up a tutorial just for the Pensacola mqg and anyone that wants to use it. This block is a pretty basic flying geese method. It is very quick to put together and very versatile block. Changing fabric colors are placement can give you a different look as well.


                                   



For the Block Lottery Pensacola MQG block
 You will need Kona white and Sea glass colored fabric that reads as a solid.

Cut:

4 Kona White pieces 3.5"x 6.5"rectangles.
8 Sea glass colored fabric 3.5"x 3.5" squares
2 Sea glass fabrics 3.5" x 12.5" rectangles. 

Prep work:  Use a fabric pen to mark a diagonal line from point to point  on each 3.5" square. The way I like to do it is by ironing the pieces on the diagonal.

 Quick tip: If your fabric is directional, you will need to be aware of that while sewing. I know it seems easy, but I forget to check this on occasion.  

Take all the pieces and lay the block out near you. Take all the right side squares that you have pressed or marked and stitch just on the outside of that line as seen above.



 Once that is done. I check to make sure that the piece is still 3.5" x 6.5". Then, I trip a 1/4 inch from the outer edge of the seam.


You will take all the remaining 4 - 3.5" squares and line them up with the left edge of the rectangle. There will be a little overlap in the middle and that is what you want.  Once these are sewn and checked,you will trim these the same way. 



Now, you will sew the flying geese together. 


Now, sew each of the 3.5" x 12.5" long pieces to each side. 





The unfinished block is 12.5" x 12.5". I hope this tutorial is easy to follow for you.






  Here are a couple local picture of our beautiful beach for some extra inspiration. 
Happy Sewing! 



February 26, 2016

Color Play Friday-Link up

    I am back this week to link up with another Color Play Friday.  It is really nice to get recommitted to the blog. Plus, it is fun challenging myself to cultivate a better palette. Creating a palette in quilting can be hard for me. I still feel like I have training wheels on though.  Each week, I like to start with a print that I love. Yellow seemed  so obvious, but I couldn't leave it out. I started with some blues. Added some grey. Bland, bland, bland. Obviously, it just had to have a  pop of color. I am beginning to see a trend here. ;)

     I have been to NYC when I was 16, and it was amazing. The driving is crazy.  The city itself seems so alive with all the noise and people. It really is the city that never sleeps. You can go out in the middle of the night and always find food.  Just for that reason, I fell in love. Although, I am a small town beach girl, it was an amazing experience to go there and visit. I used to dream of going to live there, but my heart is here. Just as it was meant to be.  Home is where the heart is. I love that line.


1,Joel Dewberry 2.Karen Lewis Textiles 3.Cotton and Steel 4.Cotton and Steel 5Allison Glass

     These designers are some of my very favorite. I stumbled across Joel Dewberry's new line also that is coming out in March. It is going to be amazing, of course. Karen Lewis, I don't know how I don't have any of her fabrics in my stash. She has an amazing eye for color and design. Blueberry Park needs to get on the must buy list. Cotton and Steel is my jam.  All of their designers are amazing. I had my first fan girl moment at quiltcon 2015. Which was embarrassing, especially since it kept happening. Haha.   I love the octopus and have it in a voile too.  Allison Glass is last but not least, Mercury and her newest lines are very beautiful. They are always bright and colorful.

    If you would like to play along next week, you can stop over at Lorinda Laurel Poppy and Pine or Trina's blog In an Otter Life for the details. Hop on over and see what other pallettes everyone has come up with. They always amaze me. Check out the #colorplayfriday on Instagram.







Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you have a great weekend. 

February 19, 2016

Color Play Friday-Link up

Hi everyone, I can't believe it is Friday already. I am not even ready for the weekend. Time has just flying by for me. I really enjoy playing Color Play Friday. This week, when I saw the pic, I knew that Amy Butler would work pretty good. It seems like picking and matching fabrics would be easy, wrong. I do seem to stuggle a bit. I guess, that is why they call it a challenge. Well, challenge excepted.  I couldn't decide on colors, but I knew that the pop of purple had to stay. It is just a fun way to sit back and look at cool fabrics. That is exactly what the doctor ordered this week.
     I think that the Amy Butler and Tula Pink work pretty good together. It is hard to find a good  brown fabric these days. Plus, it is not the favorite color in the quilting community. I really could've taken this more on the Tula side, but I think that the combo is very nice. The horse was fun to work with and the  purple is in his mane.

Just a little note about me, I tend to love purple, but green is not my favorite color. I do love that Tula Bumble though. Sometimes, green can surprise me. ;) I love surprises. Hope you enjoy my  fabric picks. Individually, I really like most of these. I am sure that my eye will learn to pick a more cooperative palette. ::giggle:: At least, that is what I hope.



Starting at the top Tula Pink Bumble, Amy Butler Petal, Amy Butler Petal, Tula Pink Full Moon Forest PurpleAmy Butler Petal


Here are all the other ladies that are hosting or playing along.
You should go take a look and play along  next week.
 
 

If you'd like to participate in Color Play Friday, you can visit Trina @ In An Otter Life or Lorinda @ Laurel, Poppy and Pine for the rules, their contact information, and next week's photo.

 
Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you next week.
 


February 4, 2016

A Beautiful Life

    I have this platform to share about my quilting mostly. I usually don't over share about life on here. Today is different. This will not be a quilty post. It has been raining here for a few days. It has just been dreary. Today, the sun is shining through the window, and it is  hurting my eyes. Everything seems to be covered with a layer of loss so deep that I know cleaning it will not work. The colors are dull like my feelings. Although, the glare is there, and I can see it. The same is happening with my ears. The words are just so harsh. They lack softness. This is what loss feels like to me.


You can even see the rays coming in the window. I wonder if she is there telling me not to mourn.



 
 
 
     This photo was taken of Brandy and I in 2010. That was one of the last photos of us together. The title is A Beautiful Life, and it was beautiful. A fun and crazy life.  Brandy and I were step-sister's, and I loved her from the very beginning. We were polar opposites really. She loved beer, and I loved Tequila. She was fiery and fearless even as a child. She was strong willed and determined. It was like she was always on fire and nothing could put that fire out.

   As I said, I have a different temperament all together. I would always over think things while she rolled her eyes at me. While she is asking, why do you do that? Can we just go? Sometimes, I would cave.... She put the fun in fun, and the cray cray in crazy. When we were in our 20's, we partied or she did. I would be her dutiful older sister. I would go with her to make sure that she didn't get arrested  for a DUI or some other crazy shenanigans that she would cook up. If she was a chef, she would've been a master.

One night, I decided to stay in. We had children now, and I wanted to settle down. The younger sister went out  with her. I tried to warn her to stay in, and by morning they had toilet papered and egged her exes car  on the inside. They tried to shatter the windshield with a bat. She swore Jewel to secrecy... because they were back together the next day. This song is so her!!! Picture me singing this at full blast in her memory! She would have loved that.



She was trouble with a capital T!
 
As someone that likes to avoid all drama and loud confrontation. You could assume Brandy was in your face. You would be right. If she felt it, she was saying it for the world to hear. I felt bad for all the boyfriends before my husband. If she didn't like them, they knew it. Heck, she bit one. I mean, she bit him and left marks. I don't know why she did it to this day.  She would always confess after the fact. Waiting for me to condemn her crazy behavior. I loved her though. She knew that always.
 
She always knew the right things to say. She knew me just as well. Her and my other sister are the one's that know me the best. She knew me a little more deeply and longer. From ballerina tutu's to being mothers carrying our first born children at the same time.
 
She loved purple and unicorns. She believed in fairy tale love. She listened to music and really didn't like watching tv. In the middle of winter, when frost was on the ground, she would have every window open. The "Ice Princess" living in Florida. It was so funny to call her that, because she was a very loving person to those close to her. She had a way of looking so innocent. I think it was in the eyes. I would just wonder how people didn't see the gleam in her eye of mischief. She loved to bake in the sun with me though. She burned that candle so bright.  She loved her daddy. She was never right after he passed. I couldn't watch her drug addiction and pain through life struggles. I hoped that tough love would work and that she would get through it. Even though, I promised to look after her. I thought that was the right thing. She was getting her life back on track it seemed. I thought she was coming back. I messaged her 6 months ago.
 
She wanted to call, but she didn't want to me to know what she was up to. Even though, I begged her that I would not judge her or anything. I just wanted to be there for her. She knew that I would know all her secrets instantly. I would hear it in her voice. I would see it in her face. I wish I could rewrite her past and that nothing bad would have ever happened to her.  I would do everything to make it better. I would've handed her the bat to bash that window. Silly girl.
 
These tears I shed are selfish. God has her now. I will move forward, and try to live out loud. I will make sure that sweet baby Isaac knows your heart. We promised that. A promise I intend to keep.
 
 
I love you Brandy!
In Loving Memory
 
 
 
 
    
© Quilty Dream
Maira Gall