Summer Sampler Block 4

Well it wasn't my children that caused me to pour a glass of wine tonight, it was my quilt block. Yes, block 4 of the Summer Sampler QAL kicked my butt today. It only has like 32 pieces and most of them are half-square triangles. Sheesh! Everything was going along well and my seams were matching up as I pieced together the triangles until I got to the last strip of the block and had to match up 4 points. I think I ripped it up 4 times before I was satisfied with how it turned out. It's hardly perfect, but it's done. I guess some other quilters were concerned about matching up all the points too so the tutorial creator made an alternate piecing post after I had already cut my 8 million pieces. Since I don't think there is quite enough contrast in the patterned square and my background fabric, I may make this block again using the alternate piecing.



On another note, since I am really getting this blog going, I am going to start another quilt-a-long (QAL). One of the authors of "The Modern Quilting Bee Block Party," Alissa Haight Carlton will be doing a Block of the Month (BOM) QAL on the Sew Mama Sew blog. I've added their button to my blog and I'll get started on that block as soon as I get some new fabric. Any excuse, right?

In case you haven't read "Block Party," I'd highly recommend it. The idea behind the book is doing a 12 month block swap. Each of the 12 members gets a month where the other 11 members make blocks for her quilt of choosing. You buy your own quilt fabric and give the other bee members some guidance, but you let the others have some amount of creativity with the overall look of the block. It gives you a chance to learn some new techniques and contribute to 11 other quilts, plus you get your own quilt out of the deal too. I loved the quilts in this book and am inspired to start my own bee.

I know that online bee's in which you swap fabric around can be tricky. I'm a member of the Modern Quilt Guild of Milwaukee and have heard some horror stories. I think instead of hosting my first bee all around the country, I'll try doing it with local guild members first. That way I can hunt down bee members if they're slacking. I've got 5 members committed so far, hopefully I can get at least one more to start. I'm going to try and coordinate the start after the release of "Modern Blocks: 99 blocks from your favorite designers," in November. That way we have lots of block ideas. I'm hoping it turns out to be a good experience.