Springiness

The crabapple is blooming.

The lilacs smell lovely.

And the bees have made a nest in the birdhouse.

Busy Little Bees

Some car knitting ready to go

The next couple of weeks have a lot on the calendar including another trip to visit my elderly parents-in-law, my Karate sensei’s sensei visiting class who trained under Tatsuo Shimabuku (the founder of Isshin-Ryu Karate), Quilt Market and more. I may be scarce around here for a couple of weeks. Or… maybe I’ll post random photos of my days. We’ll see.

Keep knitting and quilting and I’ll see you all soon.

- - - - -

BTW, I’ve made a button for all you Medallion Quilt-Along groupies. Feel free to save a copy to your hard drive and post it on your blogs.

*Sensei means teacher or instructor. And, I am not very good at karate - still a white belt I’m afraid. But it’s something my husband and I can do together and it’s good exercise.

The Center of The Universe

… Er… the quilt, I mean.

I have to admit, there was a tiny bit of fear when I first proposed to make this quilt into a quilt-along. But the more time I’ve had to think about it, the more excited I am getting about it. This is going to be great! A huge Thank You to everyone who has been excited with me. You guys are awesome! I can’t wait to see how everyone else’s quilts develop over time.

So.

We will begin in June. Actually, you can begin now if you want. But… officially, we will begin in June. We will make the center block and the first border in June.

I’ve also added another even larger image to the Quilt-Along page with numbers on the borders so you can see how each month will break down. I’ve tried to make December an easy month, well, easier than some because life is always crazy then. And, we’ll have to double up on some months to keep the time spent to one year.

The Center Block

I’m not wild about this center block. I’m proposing that everyone chooses their own center block and then we’ll pretty much stick to the quilt after that, with the exception being the prairie points on the outside edge. I’m still undecided if I want to tackle those or not. We’ll have plenty of time to decide that later.

• Make your center block 12-inches finished, 12 1/2-inches with the seam allowances.

I was hoping to use a feathered star block that I’ve had laying around, but it is too large. So, I’m still undecided on my center block as well. You could use a large, interesting piece of fabric, a simple block, a block left over from another project, or anything you like.

If anyone needs help or suggestions, just send me an email and I’ll do what I can. I’m a firm believer that hobbies need to be fun. If you aren’t having fun, then we need to change something. So… please, PLEASE, let me know if you are not having fun and getting frustrated. Okay?

The First Border - 1a

On or about June 1 (I’m shooting for the first of each month), I’ll post instructions for the first border. After a rough estimate, it looks like most borders will be somewhere around 2 or 3-inches wide. But I haven’t actually started working on any of them yet. It all depends on how the pieces will go together most nicely.

Also, you can make as many or as few borders as you like. I’m thinking that I’m going to end up with something near the size given in the book, 88-inches square. But you can stop at any time and have a great baby quilt, throw quilt, or keep going to the very end. It’s totally up to you.

The Fabrics

The great thing about medallion quilts - and others have mentioned this in the comments as well - is that you don’t have to choose all the fabrics you want to use right at the beginning. In fact, if you look at the original quilt, there isn’t much “matchy, matchy” going on at all. That’s what I love about antique quilts. And my own personal goal is to use this as a stash busting project. There are fabrics on my shelf that I just can’t imagine in a quilt any longer and they may just work for this one.

You may want to be thinking about a color theme or value while not yet deciding on fabrics. Or pull out a couple of favorite fabrics as inspiration and work from there.

• an overall light or dark feeling
• a seasonal feeling - summer flowers, winter greys
• solids or prints
• old and worn feeling or new and modern

If you want some inspirational reading, here are some books you might want to check out from your library:

Kaffe Fassett’s Museum Quilts - This book is great inspiration for taking antique quilts and interpreting them into more modern fabric.

Making Welsh Quilts by Mary Jenkins & Clare Claridge - good examples using both solid and printed fabrics.

The Art and Techniques of Creating Medallion Quilts by Jinny Beyer (no longer in print?) - Jeannie of Notebook Fame recommends this book. I’m trying to find it in our inter-library loan program. No luck yet. I may have to find it used from amazon.com

Classic English Medallion Quilts by Bettina Havig - I haven’t seen this book, but it also came up in a search on medallion quilts.

Start pondering about your center block…

Happy May Day

The May Day Sock Swap box of goodies is here! On May 1st, May Day boxes were being shipping all around the country. Mine arrived on Saturday. From Susan. All the way across the country - coast to coast. Boy, was that quick!

Susan was sneaky and gave only a tiny peek at these socks in progress. Look at the lovely lace panel she designed herself!

This yarn from Sundara is SO delicious! The yarn is soft and the color is beautiful. Must. Find. More.

She also sent some blooming Jasmine tea. I don’t officially own a teapot. Teakettle, yes. Teapot, no. So, the pyrex had to do for the moment. But I foresee a trip to Cost Plus in the near future for a teapot. We savored the tea and resisted the urge to make Phad Thai. But next time, Phad Thai… and Jasmine tea… and grape Sundara socks… it’s all good.

Thanks Susan, for a wonderful May Day!

For Jeannie

Jeannie’s Composition Notebook arrived safe and sound. Somehow… it seemed to end up being some of my favorite colors, green and red. She loves it anyway.

I did intend to write a tutorial but got caught up in the moment of just trying to finish it and inadvertently didn’t get enough pictures of the process. So… the tutorial is back on my list of things to do.

Coming soon:

• May Day Socks were simultaneously being delivered all over the country this weekend. Mine arrived  yesterday (Saturday). Woohoo!
• I’ve uploaded a larger image (396k) of the Antique Medallion Quilt to study. And, I’ve created a page at the top for the quilt-along. I’m not entirely sure about who wants to join and who wants to watch. Let me know if I have you listed (in the sidebar) and shouldn’t be or don’t have you listed and should be. Also, let’s talk about the center block this week.