Block Base #1336 Seesaw block using a jelly roll or charm pack

I have my first block done for the BlockBase Sew Along at Electric Quilt!! Here it is, block #1336, the Seesaw block.  Today is the day you can link up your finished blocks.  Go to the blog to see everyone's finished blocks! There's quite a variety of fabric choices.

I have decided to use scraps of my bright fabrics and make a sampler quilt with the blocks.  There will be 12 blocks total.  A new one will be posted every two weeks.  You can make them whatever size you like but I decided to use my scraps which means 5", 2 1/2" and 2 1/2" x 5" pieces of fabric, of course, going along with my whole "nickel" theme.  Making this block an 8" finished block works perfectly!

Here's a very quick, basic tutorial for creating an 8" Seesaw block using scraps from a jellyroll or charm pack-

All of the squares are 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" and the rectangle pieces are 2 1/2" x 4 1/2".  You need all the pieces shown above.

Just sew squares across the corners of  the rectangles using the stitch and flip technique as shown above.  You need 2 sets of each of these units in different fabrics like shown below.

Sew your parts together into 4 sections like shown above and then sew them all together like shown below.
Super fast and easy!!  If I were going to make this block any other size, I would use the paper piecing templates. The rotary cutting templates have you cut to the 7/8" which I don't care to do.

My friend Linda decided to join the fun and made the same block look very different!

Check back next week to see if I can create the next block from 5" squares!

Ghostly Treats pattern

Today's my day to post a pattern to the Halloween Paper Pieced Blog Hop at Whims and Fancies.  If you haven't done so already, check out the great free patterns that are being posted daily.  If you make a block and post it, you have a chance to win a prize too.  Go here for all the details!

Ghostly Treats

My Ghostly Treats block pattern finishes at 10" square as do all of the blocks on the hop.  I used a marker to draw the features on the ghost's face and the Trick or Treat pumpkin bag but they could also be embroidered.  A piece of small black ribbon is inserted before the top two rows are sewn together to create a dimensional handle for the bag,  You can get the paper pieced pattern here.

October quilting

October is starting out to be a busy quilting month!  The AQS quilt show in Des Moines starts this week.  My friends and I always go on Friday of the show. Can't wait!  If you are heading there, be sure to check out Rainbows and Calico Things Quilt Shop's booth.  They will have a great selection of brights and novelty fabrics in fat quarter, half yard and one yard lengths.  Don't miss The Woolen Needle's booth either.  They will have tons of wool. 

Another exciting event for October is the Halloween Paper Pieced Blog Hop 2012 hosted by Whims and Fancies.  Each day of October, a designer will post a free Halloween themed paper pieced quilt block that they created. I will post mine on the 10th.  Be sure to visit the blogs and get your free patterns!  

Also starting today is the BlockBase Sew Along by Electric Quilt.  I have owned BlockBase for years and hope this Sew Along will help me use it.  BlockBase is the CD-ROM version of Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns with over 4300 block patterns.  Electric Quilt recently published it again but the product is the same.  Every two weeks, a block will be featured to sew and there will be a link up so everyone can show a photo of their finished block.  The first block is posted so I better get started!

Time to sew

I've been gone awhile with moving, remodeling, downsizing and changing jobs but 

we are finally settled in-at least enough to do some sewing. Yay!

The house is coming along but is not "decorated" yet.  I had hoped to show progress pictures but got too burned out to completely finish a single room and my type A personality won't let me show you a room until it is "done." 

So, here are a some photos of areas in my sewing room that are done-

My cutting mats are hung on the back of the door using a skirt hanger and a Command hook and my rulers are hung on pegboard attached to the wall behind the door and

I have an 8' by 8' design wall to left of the door and right next to my sewing machine.  This by far the best set-up I have ever had for sewing.  I love it!

The blocks on the wall are from a Buggy Barn pattern called Spring Fever.  I don't know if they will all go in the same quilt or not.  I have made 48 of these blocks so far in an attempt to decrease my fat quarter stash.  I have five nieces and I may make each one of them a quilt using this pattern.

Twister receiving blanket quilts finished

If you have been following me for awhile, you know that my daughter has me make quilts for her children from the receiving blankets they used as babies.  One particular set of blankets (Lainey Jane's) had colors that didn't really look right together and it took me a long time to figure out how to use them in the same quilt.  I ended up making a larger version of a Twister quilt which I posted about here and this is the finished quilt.

Lainey's Big Twister quilt

Here's a closeup of the quilting and the polka dot binding.  Linda of L&R Designs did the custom quilting.

The backing is made from two polka dot fabrics from my stash.

I liked the Twister idea so well that I made Lylie's blankets into a Twister quilt also.  This time I just used the tool and 10" squares instead of making it oversized.

Lylie's Twister quilt

A closeup of the quilting by Linda of L&R Designs

and the back.  I purchased flannel for the back of this quilt and used the leftovers for the binding.

I cut the rest of the receiving blankets into squares and made Lylie a smaller quilt and a quilt for her dollies.

The backings for these quilts were from my stash which doesn't appear to be getting any smaller!

I am caught up on making quilts from receiving blankets because Kinsey is still using hers!  I overheard my daughter telling her grandmother who is also a quilter, "Grandma, I can have babies faster than you can make quilts."  Isn't that the truth for many of us quilters!