CHUCK NOHARA?!

Please Don't Encourage Me

It's a well known fact that I have a serious condition - Fabricitus, my sister tried to tell me once that this wasn't an actual disease and that I might be a little bit deluded, I nearly fell right off my unicorn!! I mean really? As if Fabricitus isn't an actual thing?? In about 3 weeks it will be time for Festival...can I get a "hell yeah!!" and then we will see who is right, Caity or me!! 

I have desperately been trying to avoid all this Chuck Nohara lark, I really really have, but everywhere I turn it seems to be following me, I think it might be time to face the fact that it has accepted me as its human. At first glance it isn't really anything splendid, it looks fairly old and out dated, there aren't many instructions and the ones that are there are not in English.

Chuck Nohara

BUT don't let that put you off, inside is an Aladdin's cave of deliciousness, hundreds of lovely, quirky blocks crying out to be made in new ways, new sizes and new fabrics. There really is something for everyone crammed in this treasure trove, a variety of blocks for all skill levels and tastes.

It is literally everywhere on my Instagram feed, many of the fab blogs I love to read and follow, my Pinterest everywhere and the gorgeous examples are only making my growing obsession worse!! Look at this beauty over on Thimbleanna, 

And then there is the utterly fabulous version currently being created by Sharon of Lilabelle Lane, if you have never visited her blog you absolutely should, the woman is the very definition of inspirational, and largely responsible for my diseases and addictions!!

There are just so many gorgeous examples calling softly to me, that I am seriously considering making this my Festival focus!! But now I have the task of deciding what to make it in....

A popular choice seems to be making it out of scraps, I really like this idea firstly because I have an abundance of scraps most of which are from quilts or blocks I have made. Secondly because each block will then be a small reminder of everything I have done, each block would mean something different to me depending on which fabric it was made from and therefore become a sort of memory quilt. And finally because I am not very good at be spontaneous and uncoordinated in my fabric choices and as such this would be a huge challenge!! It is also something that I can keep as an ongoing project to dip in and out of, making a few blocks as I finish projects to use up my scraps. Of course I never can resist the buying of new fabric, and I have a serious issue with AMH, Tula Pink and Art Gallery Fabrics so maybe I should take the opportunity to start a whole new collection just for this?? I think I have totally just sold it to myself ha ha ha Kerry Q will be shaking her head and rolling her eyes right about now.

It's really not my fault, sometimes things literally leap off of shelves right into my arms, like this in John Lewis when I was totally minding my own business and absolutely not at all looking for any fabric....

Happy Quilting

Kerry xx

P.S If you are currently working on your own version of Chuck, I would love to see it and hear what's been inspiring you, we can start our very own Quilters Anonymous 

DRESDEN PLATES AND HOLLYHOCKS

Sunday Shinanigans

This week seems to have just flown by, I have been making slow progress largely due to the fact that I am trying to many new things at once and there isn't a pattern I am following. I am really just making blocks that I find interesting or challenging, roughly the same size so I can smush them together with my eyes closed tightly, hoping it will magically look like a quilt when I open them!!!

So this weeks challenge was machine based applique, using the blanket stitch button on my machine...I think it will take a while yet for us to become friends but I am pleased with the result for a first attempt!

There are loads of flowers in the fairy fabric and I have used lots of floral fabrics already as my Granny loves them, so I thought I would keep up with the theme and make a block with Hollyhocks on it. I started by cutting out rough shapes that could be appliqued onto a stem like shape, in a variety of the fabrics I had already used.

I cut 21 squares using my main background fabric and mixed in one of my favorites- Moda French General, Feather- just for variety, it is such a lovely off white and blended in wonderfully. All squares measured 2 1/2 inches and were sewn together in 3 rows. 

All the 'flowers' were then placed along the stem getting smaller towards the top. I used Bondaweb to keep them from moving, as some of the pieces were very small I thought this would work better than pins!! It was very tricky trying to get the blanket stitch evenly around the smaller sections and admittedly I had to cheat in a few places but overall it turned out ok. Added on a quick border and that was another one done!!

I spend a great deal of time researching and 'just looking', I spend hours and hours on Pinterest, so much so that I am nearing 800 pins on my Quilty Pleasures board.......yikes!! One of the great finds I have had on there was a link to the Makeower website, where they have an abundance of free quilt patterns. I fell in love with one in particular- Dresden Plates and Downton Abbey- who wouldn't??

I started by cutting out all the pieces needed, this time I decided to use some of the lovely batiks I have collected for the fans and one of the large florals for the center quarters.

As I had 24 units to sew in half, the quickest and most efficient way was to chain piece them. A method I was taught that revolutionized my block making!! A great tutorial by Melissa Burt can be found over on Connecting Threads.

I followed the steps for construction as they were written and Voila! A twist on the Dresden.

I still have some places open in the Quilting Bee so let me know if you are interested and as always if you have any thoughts, suggestions or opinions about the post I'd love to hear from you.

Happy quilting!!

Kerry xx