Hi All,
This is Julie and Eric because it's a friendship quilt along and we happen to be friends. I also invited Eric to join us today because he is the major creative talent behind the creation of our new fabric line 2WENTY-THR3E. So heeeeeeeerrrrrrrreeeeee'sssssssss Eric.
Wahooo! Thank you, thank you. Today we are going to tell you how Julie created this block.
It all started before fall market when Lissa Alexander asked each designer to pick a block from some she showed us. She wanted each designer to have their own and so she told us to pick our top three choices. I don't know that much about quilting and I love to be accommodating so I just told her to choose out an easy one that nobody had picked. Next, time I will be more specific because my idea of an easy block is not this... it's more like two rectangles sewn together.
So, Julie spent a day sewing, cursing (for Julie cursing is saying things like "Oh My Goodness" and "Darn it all to bits and pieces"), un-stitching and repeating until after a few hours she had a decent block. She took this block to quilt market and gave it to Lissa. But, since she's so accommodating, she didn't want to bother Lissa and ask for it back or for a photo. No, she just decided she would make another block in time for the hop.
I got up at 5:45 this morning to make my kid's lunches. I told Eric I would be sewing my quilt block today for tomorrow's blog post.
I said, "WHAT!!! The post is today Julie." She said...
"No, it's the 21st." Then I started to worry. I decided to double check the post. Eric was right!
So now Julie is running around like an insane women. There's fabric flying, sewing machine running, but strangely enough... no cursing. I decided to make the kid's lunches before she realized that she had now forgotten that.
(If you notice the spotted plate in this photo... that is Eric's paint palette. No, I didn't even get mad.)
I have learned a lot in my past year of sewing practice. One thing is to keep calm and concentrate! Lisa Christensen's instructions say to "carefully cut" her crazy measurement of 2 3/8"... who cuts fabric to the 1/8"?!?!? But I did it. Trimming very exactly.
The next thing I learned from The Fat Quarter shop video tutorials. Here's my 1/4" mark drawn right on my machine. This has made a huge difference for me.
And finally, I have quit being lazy and now iron between every single step, no exceptions!
While Julie was doing this, I made grilled cheese sandwiches with cucumber slices and grapes on the side. I found Abby's glasses and Jack's shoes and I made sure Kate had her water bottle. I referreed no less than four arguments and only lost my temper once. All children caught the bus, so it was a great morning.
At this point, I could see that the block was going to work. It wasn't perfect. I'm not even close to making a prize winning quilt, but for me it was pretty good!
While Julie is persistent and hardworking, she's not a great quilter. If she can do this, you can do this too. Maybe not on a morning while you're trying to get kids off to school, but you know. (I had to put in the caveat, because what can I say, not every household is going to have me.) If you want to give it a whirl, you can download the pattern here:
Download Moda QA-Block 14-Julie Comstock (9-9)-1
We are giving away this lovely set of 2TWENTY-THR3E fabric today. But before we do, I have to tell you all how we named it. When I met Eric, I was 18 and he was 23. When he told me how old he was I replied in shock, "That's so old! You are as old as my sister!!!" Funny, now I don't think 23 is old at all!
Because 23 seems young now, we felt it was a great name for the line. The design is fresh and fun with a young feel to it. If you think so too, enter to win it by telling us your favorite thing about your best friend. We'll even throw in a surprise gift for him or her. I'll start by telling you that my favorite thing about Julie is a certain spark in her eyes that shows a combination of coming mischief and naive optimism. Also, you always knows when she's onto something because it's like her whole face is connected to a dimmer and when she gets that certain idea it lights up. It cracks me up everytime I see it.
To enter the giveaway, leave your comment today. We will announce our random winner on tomorrow's blog post. Then check out these other fabulous blogs featuring their blocks today.
Deb Strain
Camillie Roskelley
And here's to my best friend who's always there to help me out. He is my background man, shining the light on me in the most flattering of ways. What other man would be grilling sandwiches at 6:00 am just so I don't have to admit I am a complete scatterbrain?!
