Coming up with a plan - K's quilt

So it's been a little while since blocks have started coming in for K's quilt, and I've been figuring out how to put them on the shelves.   This week I took down my PoD2K15 Dark Arts quilt from my wall board and started configuring the layout.... a quick peek...

I like how it's coming together.  There has been some conversations on the best ways to quilt this type of project, and this being my 6th version of this quilt (lol that made me chuckle), I am creating a tutorial on how I'm putting it together so keep your eyes open! (I'll update this with a link when it's done) :)

PoD2K15 QAL - Block 24 - The importance of Books

This week is the ONLY week during the PoD2015 QAL that the block had no alternate variations.  I'm kind of glad!  While it is always fun to have the "stuff" involved in any fandom on the shelves for this type of quilt, it is just as important to have books - and that is what this week's block is - BOOKS!

Block 24 - Books!  There has been great discussion about minimizing the number of books to add more of the fun stuff, but without the balance of both - the shelves will look a bit like a curio cabinet with a smattering of reading matter and the truth is, that while I love the stuff, I want my kids to remember that it was the books that held the doors open to all the adventure.

I've always been a big, voracious reader.  I love all different genres - and it all started with Laura Ingalls Wilder and this box set I got around my 9 year old Christmas:

Of all of the books, Little House in the Big Woods remains my favorite.  I wasn't a big supporter of good 'ol classic reads until I had my own kids and began reading with them - something we did all through their growing up.  Some of my favorite authors were Beverly Cleary (Mouse and the Motorcycle, Ramona series), Gertrude Chandler (Boxcar Children), E.E. White (Charlotte's Web, Trumpet of the Swan), anything by Lois Lowry (especially Gathering Blue), Lynne Reid Banks (Indian in the Cupboard), CS Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia Series) and of course (when they were old enough) the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling.

While my kids didn't all start out as avid readers - they came to love it simply by it being a constant presence in our lives.  From the time they were small (think Goodnight moon and Where the Wild Things Are small), we read before bed every night.  And because of the time and love we shared they kept reading as teens and now as adults.  (side note - when HP 7 was released, all of my children were in high school and they still begged me to read it out loud to them in the evenings!!)

I'm grateful to them too because they keep me on my toes by introducing new books on tap!  (Twilight -way better books than movies, Hunger Games, The Map to Everywhere, The Forbidden Library, Gregor the Overlander Series, The Dark is Rising Series, Dorothy Must Die, The Queen's Thief, Inkworld, Percy Jackson, John Green's books.  And then later as they became young adults - The glass castle, Room, Sarah's Key, Still Alice, Wild, Night, Orphan Train, the Divergent Series, The Goldenfinch, Eleanor and Park, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Match Series, Maze Runner Series...)  The list could go on and on.

Books are such a wonderful escape, I am often at odds as to why more people aren't readers.  I realize now after raising my children that it is what one puts in to teaching to read that really matters, it is the time well spent in investing in the adventure WITH someone, that makes the greatest impact.

As I sit here I am listening to Harry Potter 6 on audiobook again for probably the 20th time.  I love this series.  So many are blinded to the genre of the book that they miss the greater lessons and messages that come from these books - Here are my favorites.

So for all of you looking for just more book squares?  Try these (mostly) book only patterns on for size!

 Block 16                                        Block 9

Block 8                                           Block 5

Block 2

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die. … Anne Lamott

All patterns are the property of Fandominstitches.com and are always FREE!

Making the Mermaid - K's quilt

My friend K and I are a lot alike - we're both landlocked mermaids who wish we could spend more time at the beach and near the waves.  I knew I couldn't pull this quilt together without adding at least one personal mermaid touch - and so I hunted down THIS pattern over at fandominstitches.com and put her together.  (side note:  I would love to do a set of these, one in reverse for some bookends maybe?)

I always start by laying out fabrics to play with color and contrast.  The pattern has her nekkid-ish, so I revamped it a little and added a clamshell (that was seriously a lot of work - if I do add these as bookends on something I'm doing, I'll plan to give her a washed out green textured skin and call it a day)

3 1/2 hours of work later - and I finally got her put back together.  I always have this angst about remembering to give myself the 1/4 inch seam allowance so I can sew it back together!  but it worked.

Isn't she lovely?  She measures out about 7.5 inches tall, which made putting her in to a block with some of our fun gift quilt mail pretty easy! :)

More HG and an idea for layout/sashing?

 I debated for a long time about the coloring for this block (District 2 - Masonry).  The original pattern has it in all grays - but I like the color contrast against the black, so added the brown handle and "rock" fabric to give it a bit of dimension.

(District 13 - Graphite Nuclear) seriously my favorite square to date on this quilt.  The pictures don't do it justice, that silvery fluid fabric is PERFECT and lends itself to a futuristic feel.  LOVE!

I've been spending a bit of time trying to figure out how I want to lay this quilt out.  Since it's still fairly new (I've not seen a completed one yet), I was toying with the idea of mimicking the district symbols like these:

Liljabs was gracious and sweet and created a pattern for the word DISTRICT

Which looks amazing - so I put it with the square like this

And then toyed around with doing some laurel leaves for the sides.  It's not circular, but would give the same feel.  I'm still not sure this is the path I"m going to take with this - but considering for now.

I feel like those leaves are too big..... perhaps a redo smaller sized....

HG - Pattern Testing District 5

So I am playing a bit with a new HG square for this quilt.  I'm still in the dark as far as how I'm putting this whole thing together, but I have a few ideas.

This pattern was put together with a red alphabet set, and a green alphabet set - Gotta love that liljabs LOVES all those little pieces!  Slow and steady!

Putting all those little bits together really took some time.  I feel like on squares like this it's important to remove paper as you go, and trim seams down to 1/8th an inch to avoid bulky seams.  I read somewhere that you can "hammer" those bulky spots too to help reduce, but I'm too chicken to do it.

Just a little more.....

and finally - whala!  I've got to work on my own lining up skills (thinking that switching to clips over quilt pins may help).  It's not perfect, but I'm happy enough with it.

Working on layouts

Probably the hardest job in all of this is laying out the squares and figuring out how to put it all together.  I did not put these up on my hanging working board as I worked so was a little afraid I'd have too much of one color or too many of the same type of things clumped together. So despite my initial sketches and the like to the floor we go to figure it out!