Tula Pink City Sampler Sew Along–Blocks 1, 2 and 3

Have you heard about the Tula Pink City Sampler Sew Along? If not then go and check out Sara's blog Sew Sweetness who is hosting this Sew Along.

.

I was lucky enough to see the quilt on the front cover of Tula's new book when she did a trunk my local quilt shop, Olive Juice back in March.

 

 

 

 

 

I have made the first three blocks in the book.  They are extremely easy and quick, and if you haven’t got much time to sew some weeks then they are ideal.

 

Angel Apron

I recently co hosted an Apron Swap with Fiona who blogs over at Celtic Thistle. 
Everything ran pretty smoothly and I received a gorgeous apron and so did everyone else in the swap, apart from one person. 
Which is pretty good going for a swap, sometimes it really can be a little hit and miss with some participants.  Sadly one of the participants in this Apron Swap just disappeared off the face of the planet!  I really do find this annoying.  We do know that this particular participant was sent an apron but never replied to say she received it or thanked her partner.  Her receiving partner in the swap did not receive an apron from her.  I hate to think something bad happened that stopped her from sending but at the same time if all is well and good her end, but life got in the way, then a short/quick email is all it would have taken to let people know that she could not reciprocate. This swap was not just a small swap with maybe a block or a pouch, but an apron, which required more than just a couple of fat quarters worth of fabric! (OK rant over)
Seeing as this swap was cohosted by Fiona in England who blogs over at Celtic Thistle Stitches and me here in the US, it was decided that it made sense for me to be the Angel to make an apron for this Swapper.
Well I made a few enquiries about what sort of apron this person would like and found out that she liked a particular apron in the swap! one that was a little bit out of my comfort zone! I can’t say what that was just yet! So I fired off an email to someone, who shall remain nameless at the moment to see if she could help me and let me just say she has!!!
In the meantime I went to work making another apron and here it is. 

I made the pocket with 1 inch squares and lined it, and also I added a little bit of Englishness to the pocket with an English Vintage button!

I had so much fun deciding on what fabrics to use for the patchwork of this apron.  Usually I just use one piece of fabric for the front and one piece of fabric for the back.I also made a patchwork waistband

And seeing as this person is a messy cook (her words not mine) I knew that a reversible apron would be just perfect. I used Kona Cotton in Turquoise.

I went to the post office this afternoon and mailed the apron, so hopefully by the weekend she will have received it.I hope she enjoys this apron just as much as I enjoyed making it for her.

Anna Maria Horner’s Feather Block

June, my favourite month of the year, and it just so happens to be my birthday this month!
It is also my month in the Stars in their Eyes Bee, so I will no doubt be stalking the postie (Mail person) for Bee Blocks. 
So while I am waiting to receive some gorgeous Union Jack Blocks from my hive friends, I thought I would have a go at next months block (July) which is Linda's month.  She requested the gorgeous AMH Feather Blocks (now why didn’t I think of that).  When I first saw that she had chosen them as her block for the month, I was a little nervous about making them.  I have long admired all the blocks I have seen in blog land, but did not think I would ever make them.  But I can now say I am so glad Linda chose this as her block.  It meant I had to attempt to do them.  They are much easier to make than I thought they would be.

These blocks are great for using up your scraps of fabric and I had a lot of fun deciding what to use.
You can find a link to a PDF Pattern that is free here

Linda chose Fall colors, including bits of turquoise, plum, chartreuse and magenta along with the usual orange, brown, gold, and red. Background: gray in medium to dark values, or black.

As you can see I went with a grey background, which I think is perfect for this block. It really makes the colours stand out.
I think I got a little carried away doing a photo shoot!