A Prairie Home Quilts

This is my progress on my 9 patch leader / ender.  I started sewing together 9 patches inspired by Bonnie Hunter’s leader / ender method of completing a scrap quilt while working on other projects.  I could have more of this done if I wasn’t spending so much time on the computer…

This isn’t my design wall.  It’s where I’m house sitting.  Except for the white-on-white that I used in the 9 patches, this is made all from scraps. I’m sure I have enough 2″ & 5″ squares already cut to make another top, but I think I’d like to use an off white or beige in the 9 patches the next time.

Back to sewing so I can get this one to the finished top stage before I’m done house sitting…

This Ohio Star block is the 31 July 2009 Inklingo Sampler block posted by Tilde.  Ohio Star is one of my favorite blocks.

The Quilt Index has a nice selection of Ohio Star quilts pictured in their index.  There is one that has both LeMoyne Stars & Ohio Stars with applique in the border.

Both blocks are among my favorites and I love applique in the borders. I’m not in love with the original colorway, but I’d like to duplicate it in another colorway. Isn’t it great? I think my design idea list has just grown.  No, I can’t go there. . .

This block is Shoofly.  Instructions for this block were posted on 24 July 2009 on the Inklingo Sampler blog.

This week’s block is made with the same bits as last week’s Friendship Star block.  They’re just arranged differently.

This quilt shall otherwise be known as “Erin can’t make up her mind.”  I’ve had the 9 patches for this scrappy quilt done since January 2008.  I originally planned to make the alternate blocks an hour glass block in tan/beige neutrals.  I used the fabric I had for them for some other project along the way and the 9 patches have been sitting…  waiting…  patiently…  to be transformed.

After I cut a bunch of apple core shapes for an Inklingo swap in April [May?], I hit upon the idea of using the “peel” part that was left over from cutting out the shapes to make a flowery-looking motif on the alternate blocks.  This idea involved ironing fusible stuff to the little “peels” and then sewing around each one either by hand or machine.  Did I mention that I need 128 alternate blocks?  Yeah.  So the 9 patches have been sitting…  waiting…  patiently…  to be transformed.

Then I saw Lori’s post at Humble Quilts about her 9 patch quilt.  She used reproduction fabrics for her alternate blocks.  WOW.  It’s lovely and inspiring.  Mine won’t be near as nice as hers with the beautiful shirtings and other repro fabrics, but I do aim to quilt mine with Baptist fans.  It will be warm and charming and inviting I’m sure.  I’m in the process of cutting up the alternate blocks from my scraps.  Then I should be able to get the top together quickly.  Then it will probably sit…   waiting…   patiently…   for borders.

I’m behind in posting pictures of the finished blocks for my Inklingo Sampler.   [What's new?] This is Friendship Star.  Instructions for this block were posted on 17 July 2009 on the Inklingo Sampler blog.

I love doing HST with Inklingo.  I printed on the back of the light fabric, put it on top of the dark fabric [RST], sewed on the dotted lines and cut on the solid lines.  Voilà.  Precise HST are easy with Inklingo without using paper that you have to pick off.  And I don’t know about you, but I always found it difficult to sew straight, even lines on either side of the center line when I used the method that involves cutting a larger square and marking a line down the center to make HST.  Here is Linda’s video showing how to do HST with Inklingo.

Nice, huh?

Block Two of the Inklingo Sampler was posted on 10 July 2009.  It’s a simple 9 patch block.  Here is mine in batiks.  I don’t have all the Inklingo collections so I’m not sure I’ll be able to do all the blocks Tilde will be posting.  I’ve combed through the block library in EQ6 and may add in a few of my own block ideas.  I think I’d like to do some 3″, 9″ & 12″ blocks to mix things up a bit when the sampler is going together into a finished top.  I like that mismatched block look in sampler quilts.

A few posts back, after I listed all my projects and promptly fainted, I had a heart-t0-heart with myself about my long list.  I decided I needed to whittle it down.  [Ha! Yeah, so you could add more projects to it without feeling so guilty. Oh hush, Guilty Conscience.  No one asked you!] One of the things I did was to stop kidding myself that I was going to get all those cute, free BOMs done.  I think there were about 5 or 6 of them previously listed on my sidebar.  I’d been saving the patterns but never actually making the blocks.  So I put a stop to that madness and even cleared some space on my hard drive by deleting all the PDFs.

I half-heartedly decided I was only going to do Guute’s Antique Quilt. But then reality set in. I really couldn’t justify spending money for background and reproduction fabrics when I really needed to use the money for the quilts on my “to do” list that are much more important.  [So now my Guilty Conscience was feeling all smug, but my Muse was not amused.] About that time, Tilde announced she was starting up an Inklingo Sampler quilt–a new block listed on her blog each week and made with Inklingo.  That sounded intriguing.  A sampler quilt that I could make with scraps.  Batik scraps.  The leftovers from my Top Secret–Area 51–Nevada quilt.  [The Guilty Conscience tried to raise his ugly head, but my Muse subdued him.  She's strong like that.] [Sorry, I don't know where some of these side comments are coming from, but I'm cracking myself up at least.]

Block One:  LeMoyne Star

A new block will be posted every Friday on the Inklingo Sampler blog.  Instructions for Block One are here and pictures of other completed blocks are here.  I used the  Inklingo 6″ LeMoyne Star collection for this block instead of the Inklingo Free 4.5″ LeMoyne Star collection.  We are only on the fourth block so there’s plenty of time to catch up if you’d like to join us.