Design Wall Monday - Sept 10, 2012

My design wall has been getting quite a workout lately :*)

I couldn't wait to start on my Hawaiian Sunset blocks, so I jumped right in - these colors are so much fun!  Here is my first block ...

This block has visual impact like nobody's business!!!  I had a group of friends over to sew together Friday, and as each one arrived and glanced over at the block I had laid out for them to see, they ooooo'd and aaaaaa'd like crazy!  It's a big hit with everyone.

Here it is with the sashing laid out.  I'm absolutely in LOVE with the look of the navy blue alongside the pinks and poison greens :*)

Of course, I won't sew the sashings on yet, I just wanted to get a good look at the overall color scheme to be sure it was working.  Um, yes, I think it is :*)

Basically, this block is made up of bubble-gum pink wings on the flying geese with scrappy "bodies", and poison greens for the cornerstones.  Then the nine-patch and sashing around it in the middle layers are all scrappy.  I'm using reds, bold yellowy-golds (pattern calls for chrome yellow of which I have NONE!), bright blues to add sparkle, some darker greens, and browns.  Of course most of my fabrics are not reproduction prints, just current prints in colors that pretty much fit the colors in the original quilt.

I really appreciate Angela at SoScrappy who said she had drawn up a paper-piecing pattern for her flying geese.  Wow!  What a time saver!!!  These little puppies go together so easily & a group of six is done in a flash.

I'm pretty sure I fried a few neurons or electrons or whatever it is there in the brain that gets burned up when we expend too much mental energy.  Math has never been my strong suit, and I always count my results several times before I act just to be sure!  The pattern for this quilt is adequate, but there's a lot that's not provided, such as the finished size of each block component.  So even though I was given the size of the base piece for one flying goose - 1-3/4" by 3" - it did not provide a measurement for the completed set of 6 geese.

Now, to my mathematically minded friends out there that may not a problem because they just pause a minute, add it all up, subtract the correct amount for seam allowances and Whamo! they've got the correct measurement.  For me, it takes a little longer and a lot more mental gymnastics, not to mention some written calculations and even a few drawings LOL!!!  There are two things about myself I've learned to NEVER trust - my math results and my directional sense LOL!!!  =^..^=

So imagine my delight when my first set of geese from this hand-graphed pattern worked perfectly!!!

This block was so much fun that I can't wait to work on some more :*)  

However, this weekend I had to work on some other things that were calling for my attention.  Such as my Dots on Dots Blog Hop block! :*)

Click HERE to see the schedule!

My day will be the 17th, which is next Monday and I am excited about showing you my block :*D  Here is a sneak peak at some of the fabrics I had to choose from....

What's your favorite combination out of these?  Wondering what I chose for my block?  You'll just have to come back on the 17th to find out ;*)  I know, I'm such a tease!!!

I'm also plotting and planning my first Butterly block - the patterns came this week!!!  I'm so excited because they are even prettier than I thought they were :*)  The series is called In Flight.

Right now I'm just at the stage of pulling fabrics for the monarch butterfly.  I'll keep you posted on further developments on this project :*)

What's on your Design Wall?  Join in the linky party over at Judy's Patchwork Times and see what others are working on.

I'm also linking up with these fun blogs.....

Hugs & Blessings,
Teresa
=^..^=