Alphabet Acrobatics

I cut the Alphabuddies that I showed in my last post into 5 and a half inch squares using this half-square triangle ruler by June Tailor. It is so accurate and being able to cut 2 sides at a time makes the process nice and quick. I used the inner black border to line up ruler markings since the outer border of each of the letters is a wavy brown representation of tree limbs.




This image shows what the final version might look like with the yellow sashing. I put some of the squares onto a folded section of the yellow flannel.

The other fabric I have for this project is black. To me the yellow is such a contrast that it looks a little too harsh.

I think I like it with an additional border of black. Once I get a couple of strips cut, I'll audition the blocks again.

These little animal characters are so well done. I also like that the printing includes upper and lower case letters. I've seen other panels with just upper case. It doesn't appeal to me as much.

So far, so good.

A Lazy Perfectionist

Strip piecing this log cabin block appealed to my desire to keep sewing and avoid ironing and trimming. It also appealed to my need to have pieces line up nicely. Thus ... lazy perfectionist. Seems like an oxymoron.

The top is now finished and ready to be sandwiched and quilted. I'm so surprised. Usually I iron after every seam and measure and trim. I squared each block up to 9 and a half inches, trimming just a smidge off each one. There were very few seams to match within the blocks so the blocks fit together nicely and the end result is square. Good ol' Eleanor Burns and her tutorials on quilterstv.com. She was right. She's so great.

I bought an amazing ruler from Michaels with my 40% off coupon. It has slots every half inch for a rotary cutter and really helps square up blocks quickly and accurately. I can hardly wait to use it to cut strips as well.

A friend at work is expecting and will soon begin maternity leave. I found a great panel called Alphabuddies by Andover at one of the local quilt shops called Snip and Stitch. I plan to cut up each of the squares and surround them with sashing strips in yellow with corner blocks in black. It should go together quickly. I hope I can finish it before she begins her leave in March.

Once I finish this baby quilt, I'll go back to the log cabin quilt and play with the quilting. Maybe some feathers. Hmmmm.