Rebecca Grace Quilting: Wisconsin Block

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Another Wicked Little 6" Sampler Block: EQ7 Block 2968 Wisconsin

So after the not-so-peaceful "Peaceful Days" block was finished, I thought I'd make another 6" sampler block using a pattern that I found in my EQ7 block library. The EQ7 notecard identifies the block as Wisconsin (Hearth and Home). I picked this block because it was giving me a vintage vibe and I thought it would blend nicely with the 6" blocks from the Farmer's Wife Sampler books and the Vintage Quilt-Along blocks. Hmmm... I wonder what made this block look so vintage to me, so subtly different from the blocks I usually see in quilts today? Could it be some wickedly wonky set-in zigzag seams to join the outer units to the center star?! I didn't notice this until I had already started making the block. It's not the end of the world.

6" Sampler Block (No. 2968 from EQ7 Block Library)

I used my EQ7 software to audition color/value/print placement for this block before cutting into any of my actual fabric. If I wanted to spend a lot of time on it, I could have scanned in the actual stash fabrics I wanted to use, but as you can see, I was able to find close enough approximations in my "virtual stash" to know whether what I envisioned in my mind would look good once it was cut up and sewn together in real life:

EQ7 Mockup with Similar Fabrics

I foundation paper pieced this block, but that method only got me this far before I had to resort to Old-School Traditional Putz-Putz Machine Piecing:

Paper Piecing Completed, Time to Sew This Mess Together

I wasn't really in the mood for this, and I had lots of other things going on in "Life" over the past few weeks that were eating up a lot of time, so I let the block languish and eventually got it done by sewing just ONE SEAM PER DAY. Now that it's done, I think I need something mindless and easy as a palate cleanser, like another pineapple log cabin block.

Here are my assorted sampler blocks so far:

6" Sampler Blocks

And here's the entire design wall, kind of a Hall of Shame for all of the projects I've started and abandoned over the past year. Except that only about half of my projects-in-progress even fit on the wall. The others are packed away. And yes, having run out of room on the wall, I did pin the one giant 30" block RIGHT ON TOP of another neglected quilt top...

My Design Wall of Shame

Meanwhile, I have two services of singing in church tomorrow, followed by a Confirmation Stepping Stone event to attend with my son Anders. Then laundry to fold, a Thanksgiving menu to plan, lunches to pack, a house to clean, a birthday to plan, and somewhere in there I need to put in some time to brush up on rusty math skills (don't ask; I'll tell you about that one when I'm ready).

Happy November, everyone!

I'm linking up with:

· Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times www.patchworktimes.com

· Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts http://www.cookingupquilts.com/