Well, I promised to show you why I was playing with them, didn't I?
Soul Searching
Block One - BLUES
This is ONE HUGE BLOCK!!! Unfinished it measures 24-1/2" x 27-1/2" - Yikes!!!
You may notice some grays in the background fabrics in the first picture... I decided I really didn't like them in there, so I pulled them out and stuck with the light blacks-on-white. I chose from my washed fabrics first, then I dove into my fat quarter drawer for more. Although I am not using only scraps for this one, I do want to use up the smallest size fabrics first when I can :) Many of these had not been washed, so I had a "wash" day last week....
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| All freshly washed and ready to quilt!!!! |
I'm making nine blocks for this quilt, each one a different color, much like the original which can be found in the book, Making Quilts by Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession. So, of course, it works perfectly as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt! (Right now, it is only $9.99 on Kindle. Go HERE to find it at Amazon.com if you are interested.)
May I go out on a little rabbit trail here? Have you purchased a quilt book on Kindle? This is my first Kindle edition quilt book. I really hesitated before hitting the "purchase now" button, but then I decided to give it a try to see how I like it. Do I really like Kindle as the best way to view and use a quilt book? No, not really. But the negatives are not deal-breakers, and I think the positives make it worthwhile. Such as - with the iPad, I still get beautiful pictures and easy-to-read presentation........no pages flopping closed on me as I'm trying to hold a block and read the instructions at the same time :)
In addition, sending it to my Kindle Paperwhite means I can take the book with me anywhere I go - to sit-n-sew, to classes - without the bulk and weight of a real book!
And at half the price of a print edition, no shipping costs,
no addition to the clutter on my book shelves ......
I feel like I am really working that SIMPLIFY mojo - right???
Still, this was not an easy decision for me. I LOVE BOOKS!!! I love having the real thing in my hands - the feel, the smell, flipping through the pages and stopping where my eye pleases .... well, you get the idea :) But let's be honest here - I have a million books on my shelves! I'll be doing a post soon to show you some of my book shelves ... and book clutter! And the quilt book section is growing way faster than I can make quilts. Am I preaching to myself here, or are you shaking your head, "Yes, me too!"? Sharon at VroomansQuilts has started her Let's Book It linky party this year to encourage us all to take those books down and actually start using them to make a quilt - what a "novel" idea! (Just couldn't resist that pun hehehe!!!) I quickly made up my mind to join in of course :*)
Anyway - after trying it out and weighing the positives & negatives, I'm pretty happy with the Kindle edition for this book, and I love that it is neatly out of sight on my Kindle "shelf". It will be handy to have the directions on my Kindle when I go to retreats or sit-n-sews. But will I start buying all of my quilt books that way - NO WAY!!! [we have reached the end of that particular rabbit trail :)]
So back to the lovely Soul Searching.....I must admit that I have been inspired to make this quilt by several of the bloggers I follow - Kevin the Quilter and Exuberant Color to name a couple :) It has that look I love - Traditional meets Modern! And I felt it was simple enough to add to my agenda this year without adding a major project. I hope you enjoy seeing these blocks come together each month :) I've already cut all the background pieces for all nine blocks - lotsa cutting going on today!!! But with that done, now all I have to do each month is pull my 24 different fabrics of the designated color, cut and sew.
It looks a little like a wedding cake, doesn't it? LOL!!!
I'm already looking forward to seeing what next month's color will be, aren't you???
Oh yes she does!!!! I say "usually sweet" because this little girl has some spice to her LOL!!! She's always been a bit feisty, but as she has become elderly, she's gotten downright cranky! She's always had a tendency to nip lightly at your fingers if you stop petting before she's ready for you to stop, but this past week she actually broke the skin on my finger! Poor little girl is just about skin and bones, and my heart aches every time I look at her and realize that her trip to the Rainbow Bridge is not very far away. So of course, I forgive her for her crankiness and snuggle her every chance I can get!
And speaking of snuggling .... well, there's a WHOLE LOT of that going on around here!!! It's no wonder Gypsy is taking refuge in warm mounds of fabric! Am I allowed to whine about the cold yet? No? Well, look at this....
That's right! SIX degrees - in NASHVILLE folks!!!!
I may have to move .....
Linking up today with:
SoScrappy - 2014 Rainbow Scrap Challenge
Sarah Did It! - Feline Friday
Patchwork Times - Design Wall Monday
Freemotion by the River - Linky Tuesday
Patchwork Times - Design Wall Monday
Freemotion by the River - Linky Tuesday
Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=
A other wonderful project. Your first block looks great.
ReplyDeleteGreetings Grit
Love all that blue! Great pattern for RSC14 and I think going with the white print was a good choice - the greys would wash things. And greys don't always play nice with all color/hues. I think it is cold all over (unless you want to go downunder).
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I now know for sure that we are related. As you know I'm friends with Kevin and when he showed me his finished Soul Searching top, I asked for the pattern. That is what I am doing for my RSC too!! You are a lot more organized than I, and you have a prettier stash, but I'm using up scraps so it's still a good stash buster for me. I love all of your beautiful blues!
ReplyDeleteI pinned the same quilt from exuberant color. So pretty! Looks like you have a big jump start on yours with all the backgrounds cut already. SO cold. Hope it thaws out soon.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I love blue and white (your blacks on whites are close enough ha!), I think I'd be pretty tempted to make mine with just the blues! ha! They ARE such lovely blues!
ReplyDeleteIt was COLD here, too ... and now we're going to have warm! 53 tomorrow!! What in the world is going on?? Still, I'm with you ... time to move south! ;-)
Looking forward to see how this progresses. I wasn't sure how I would like the black and whites as my light in my pickle dish, but I gave myself a little push to use them. They were in my stash and made the most sense, now I am loving the crazyness of it all. I can't wait for February's color either!
ReplyDeletewhat a neat block!
ReplyDeleteThat really IS a big block, pretty though! Cute kitty, too. Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteI love this block! A perfect scrap project for this year!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the photo of Gypsy in the fabric piles!
That's the same block I am working on. I got my inspiration from Wanda at Exhuberant Color. Your blues are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful! What an awesome collection of black on white prints. I'm going to enjoy watching your beautiful quilt come together this year.
ReplyDeleteDon't you know the best place for cats to sleep is in fresh washed anything. One of my old cats, started getting skinny, I started trying different foods, finally found a wet one in a pouch that she would devour and keep down with out vomiting it back up, so I would buy it by the case, and feed it to her 3 times a day after she started gaining some weight back, then about 9 months later she decided after 16 years she WAS going to be an OUTDOOR cat, and there was nothing you could do to stop her, so we let her, she stuck by the house, would come out of hiding at feeding time, eat her food and disappear into the bushes again, this went on for about 7 months, and then one night she wouldn't eat. The next morning she was laying in the yard and I had to bury her before I went to work.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least with such a large block, you don't have to make very many to have a quilt!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I like a book in my hands, but I can see the advantages of having this available for special circumstances.
Sweet kitty. Nice of you to understand the persnicketiness of aging. : )
Oh, bundle up in some of your quilts and stay warm!!
Our sweet kitty is almost 17 years old and we cater to her whims because we know she'll be leaving us before long. Gypsy looks very comfortable amidst your freshly washed stash.A picture to treasure. I love your block. My LQS calls the big blocks BABs. You can guess what it stands for.The black and white works perfect against the blue. Can't wait to see the next one. And don't move but you can always come here for a visit. We're in the 70's today in So Cal.
ReplyDeleteThis is one beautiful block, and the other colours promise to meet the standard.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the books - paper or digital - issue. Digital is fine for light reading, or the newspaper, but when it comes to works of reference I want to be able to hold them. I'm much quicker at finding the page I want when I can flick through the pages. I've just taken a digital subscription to "Quiltmaker" to see if I can get used to the format.
Your first block looks fabulous! And all those gorgeous fabrics!! Had me dribbling over my keyboard. Looking forward to seeing this project grow.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, love the blue! No whining bout the weather! LOL. The look on your cat's face is precious! Miss you but not enough to come home!
ReplyDeleteOhhh I love this quilt. This might be enough to make me buy the book. Your block is gorgeous and I am so impressed by how organised you are.
ReplyDeleteI have a cat who love to sit/lie/roll on my fabric and cutting mat. It' a real pain. She gets very grumpy when I move her, and jumps back up over and over again. Love her, but....
I saw that pattern yesterday in Kathy's book. It looks fabulous, and I love the fabrics you have used. Tibby sits amongst my fabrics sometimes too. I have put a piece of wadding down on a chair beside the window and that has been her throne now for some months. The Book It challenge is great - there is a quilt on the go at the moment for that, which I haven't had a chance to share yet.
ReplyDeletebeautiful project teresa! as always, and hang in there with the cold weather. it's certainly been an interesting weather pattern this winter {to say the least.} take care! xo
ReplyDeleteLove that block. The quilt's going to look great. THanks for the review of a quilt book on Kindle. I've thught about it but wondered if it would be workable. Might give it a go now xx
ReplyDeleteI love that quilt and the blue and white/black are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI like the block. I haven't visited the scrap challenge yet. I'll check it out.
ReplyDeleteGirl, you got the BLUES!! I love the Soul Searching! Really cool looking offset by the black and white prints. And your wedding cake -- I love that too!! STAY WARM!!! :)
ReplyDeleteTeresa,
ReplyDeleteYour work on the most beautiful projects. I want to come by and admire you stash!
Beautiful work Teresa and that is a fun block, perfect for the RSC!
ReplyDeleteSo amazingly cool! I love the block and what a great idea for using it to make your RSC! I'm doing snowballs. Maybe I'll have to pay homage to your great idea next year. Hmmmm, maybe even this year. How big will the quilt be when done?
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fab collection of BW fabrics for your blocks - it will certainly be fun to see the monthly blocks come together. Poor little Gypsy - she just wanted to re-fur your fabrics after you washed them all! And of course to stay warm!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have a question. Is soul searching the name of the particular block or the quilt in whole? Also, I don't so much mind quilt books on my kindle....as long as there aren't templates to copy and/or cut out. Then it's a pain!! When we moved to the RV, I go rid of most all of my books *except* tea and quilt books!! I know I've already been by this post, but I came back by to look at that block again!! :)
ReplyDeleteI love this block! I may have to steal your idea for yet another RSC2014 block! I'm going to have a half dozen quilts at the end of the year if I keep this up! Beautiful work! I'm also linking with Freemotion by the River, see you there!
ReplyDeleteOh la la...love the blues...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful block! Like you I've hovered over a quilt book or two on Kindle (I use the Kindle app on my IPad so the colors are fabulous) but my issue with this is that I can't seem to keep the IPad on very long if I'm not turning pages - it powers down to conserve itself. So I'm constantly turning it back on and entering the password when I'm trying to follow a tutorial using it. It's annoying but not not enough that I won't use it. It works great especially when I find a short tutorial for something I want to make quickly. blessings, marlene
ReplyDeleteI love how the blues vibrate against the black and white. Awesome choice! 6 degrees in Nashville? Yikes, that's cold for you. Have you had to deal with the snow/ice that we've been reading about? Gypsy sounds like a character. We have one of those and she keeps us on our toes. Thanks for mentioning the Kindle quilt book. I had been thinking about that because my bookshelves are overflowing as well. I'm with you-I love books :-)
ReplyDeleteYour first block is nothing short of stunning! What fabulous color choices you made. Try to stay warm!
ReplyDeleteHow on earth did I miss this post???? I am so excited you are working on the "Soul Searching" quilt! You and Dar may have convinced me I need to make one as well in the different colors with RSC14???? Hmmmmmmm??????
ReplyDelete