Dee's row by Colene

This block is called baby bunting

and Dee comes from behind....

Misha's row is done except for appliqueing down the little black doors and Karen's is done also. So on Monday I can pop them both in the mail to Karen and say I'm finished. I took a couple days off and enjoyed some quality time in my sewing area that is long over due.  And there are still two days of the weekend left, whowho!

 

Pat's Row for Dee

Pat can't access the blog so she emailed the picture to me. Looks great!

Misha's Row for Pat

Well then, nothing like a deadline looming to make me kick into gear and get some sewing done!! Here are my 4 blocks for Pat's row. I used the Blazing Arrows block from Quilter's Cache. I've always liked this block, and in fact had bookmarked it to possibly use in the previous Row Robin for Becky's row but then went in a different direction and did some appliqued animals instead.

I oriented 2 of the blocks 1/4 turn just so you could see them better...you can also line them all up facing the same way and then the black background makes some triangles and diamonds between the blocks. If you click on the photo you can see close ups of each block.

Hope she likes them, I tried to pick some of the prettiest batiks from my stash, including a couple of brand new ones I just picked up 2 weeks ago at a show :)

Smokey couldn't help herself, she just loves to pet the fabric!!

Round 5...Check in Please!

I know that Karen finished Rebecca's Round 5 because I already have it in my hands (and started working on it, actually). I still need to start Pat's Round 5 and just looked at the calendar and was surprised to see that we're supposed to mail a week from tomorrow. Whoa! I thought it was mid-December that it was due but it's actually the FIRST. Well, better to notice now than a week from now I guess!

Colene emailed me that she finished Karen's row and mailed to Dee last week. Other than that, it's been awhile since anyone has posted so I'm a bit lost as to where we are with everything. If each of you could leave a comment and just confirm what you have in your hands or recently mailed/received that would be great!

Less than 3 months to retreat, can you believe it!?? (Hah, I'm so lost I initially named this "Round 4" when it's actually Round 5!)

Rebecca's Row for Dee

Here is Dee's Row.  I will have it in the mail tomorrow.  I added a few lighter accent fabrics, I hope that you like them Dee! :) The block is called Broken Wheel.

Karen's row by Colene

My row for Karen is on top. I like how this is coming together. Very pretty.

Misha's Baskets for Colene

Is it September already? I think we skipped August somehow...anyway here are my baskets for Colene, going out in today's mail to Rebecca. Hope you like them! Note: the centers are ultrasuede which is washable but can't take a hot iron.

Round...Five?

Now don't get all panicky on me. I'm the one who will have 3 rounds in my house at one time, LOL!! I just received this email from Karen...it's her Round 5 row for Rebecca...which, if I'm not mistaken, was not due to be mailed until December 1st! She has it all ready to send to me.

Recap: for those (ahem, like myself) who have not mailed Round 4 yet, it ideally should be put in the mail no later than Sept 22nd. I know I'll probably be the last one to mail as I've been so busy with the TBFQ project. Sorry to keep you waiting, Rebecca! I also have Pat's Round 4 in my house as well, received a couple weeks ago.

I haven't done a status report lately so if anyone would like to comment and let me know what you have in hand and/or what you've mailed lately that would be great. Thanks!

Rebecca's rows - this is going to be a stunner!

Warning Rebecca about her red

Rebecca, when I started piecing your blocks there was a bit of extra starch on my iron that smeared on the red of the first subunit.  I took it to the sink to rinse then laid it on table to dry.  I flipped it over to iron it this afternoon and noticed that the seam allowance and white thread were now pink.  the body of the block appears fine but I wanted you to know even though you prewashed your red, it is still bleading some.

Round 4 - Karen's Row for Pat

We're off to a great start, ladies! Karen has already finished Pat's row, but she noticed the background fabric is running a bit low so she's going to acquire more before sending it off to me in Washington.

Just as well, as all I've done so far this round is make some empty baskets for Colene, LOL! Two of the 4 are sewn down, the other 2 are glue basted. I've signed up for a Quilt University class that started this week to learn Hawaiian Applique from none other than Nancy Lee Chong herself, and hope to put her tips to work on appliqueing flowers into these baskets in the near future.

Hope all y'all are doing well, and feel free to post progress pictures if you wish. You don't have to wait for the entire row to be completed to give us a peek! This round has a mailing deadline of September 22nd, so there's plenty of time left :)

Pat's Rows - Round 3 is Complete!!

Colene's at the top, Pat's in the middle and mine at the bottom.  Planning to dash by the PO this week before DD and I leave on our trip. -Dee

I found this post sitting in the hopper from a few days ago. I know Blogger has been acting up and I'm sure Dee meant to post it. I'm stealing it to use as the announcement that this round is officially complete! Everyone has the start of what will be the Round 4 rows now. Way to go ladies!!! -Misha

Misha's Row for Dee

Dee's blocks 7349, a photo by Misha Misha Misha on Flickr.

Well, it was a long time coming but here they are! The mailing deadline for this round is next weekend. I know some have already mailed and others are very close to mailing (like me!)

I had a really hard time making a decision about both the block, and later about the center fabric.

I finally decided that Morning Star from Quilter's Cache would offer the best opportunity to use most of the fabrics Dee included in her kit. I have to say "most" because in the end I didn't use the 2nd neutral.

I was so on the fence about it that I posted it on my MishaMichele blog and put it to a vote. Between the comments on the blog and also comments on FaceBook the final tally was 11 for Fabric A, vs 6 for Fabric B. Dee declined to vote, LOL.

Here's a peek at all 3 rows now, which will be on their way to Rebecca in the next few days!

Rebecca's Row for Karen

Here they are! I didn't do the Redwork, as I wasn't up for that right now.  These blocks are from  2 Eleanor Burns books.  I hope you like them Karen!  Will have them in the mail in a few days.

Rebecca's row by Colene

I went with a churndash block.

Round 3 Status

Teaser for Dee's Round 3...

Well ladies, looks like we're humming right along!!! It's about 5 weeks until the mailing deadline for this round (July 14th) but Pat and Karen have already finished and mailed theirs :)

I will fine tune this post as the round progresses, but I believe at this time...(updated 7/3)


Colene has Misha's Round 3 row
Dee has Pat's Round 2 row and Rebecca's Round 3 Row
Karen is empty handed
Misha has Dee's Round 2 row and Colene's Round 3 row
Rebecca is empty handed...but not for too long!
Pat has Karen's Round 3 row

If there are any updates, please add them to comments!

Karen's Baskets for Colene

We have another Round 3 row completed! Karen has finished Colene's baskets and says she'll be mailing them to me soon.

I've been looking at possible block patterns for Dee's quilt, but that's as far as I've gotten. We have something like 8 weeks left on this round, however, so I'm sure inspiration will strike in time!

Round Two is DONE!!

Pat's wonky log cabin blocks for Misha

Round 2 is officially complete, and with days to spare. Let's all pat ourselves on the back!!!

Pat's on a roll and not only got Rebecca's Round 2 row completed but also completed the first Round 3 row...mine! All you slackers (myself included) can breathe easy, however as we have 10 or 11 weeks until the next mailing date.

Don't forget to tease us with some pictures!

Pat's Row for Rebecca

Trying this from my iPhone. Pat has not been able to post yet so she sent me this pic.

5/3 edited/cropped photo

Basket Ideas for Colene...and New Labels!

Found the coolest picture of a basket sampler quilt on Pinterest today...

Photo is from the 2007 Tokyo International Quilt Festival, and the description reads "One of eighty "partnership quilts" in the charity raffle"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/movinghands/362400054/in/set-72157594488104676

Also, I added Labels to the posts. The labels are based on the quilt owner, so when I made rows for Karen, the label says Karen (not Misha). The one at the top says "All" and that's where you'll be able to quickly access things that apply to everyone like the Current Round Progress. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions.

Side note to Karen: I see a draft of a post that you started but never published...so I know you got on at least once as a contributor! If you were to go to the Design link (top right menu) and went back to that post, you could potentially Publish it. Try a new one, it won't hurt. I promise!

Trees for Mishas Row

Here are 6 trees I just finished for Mishas Row. I really like the little quilt you are inspired from for this session, I think I will have to make one like it myself. I hope like them! :)

Karen's First Two Rows

Ok, I finally picked two blocks to piece and Karen's Row is now ready to go to Rebecca! Sadly my camera has been dropped a few too many times and does not like to take very sharp pictures, but I did the best I could.

I did not sew my blocks into a full row, so Karen can reposition them later if she wishes. I also only added bars to the sides of the redwork blocks, not the tops or bottoms. I figure this will be an easy modification for her to make later, if she thinks they need them once she works out her final layout.

I also know that Rebecca's original row did make it to Pat recently, so I'll go and modify that post.

Karen's blocks for Dee's row

I just realized Karen has not posted the picture of her blocks for my row here, so thought I'd find it from the forum and post it here for reference.

Two More Blocks for Karen

I did one more redwork block and the first of two pieced blocks for Karen's row. I still need to add trim to both of the redwork blocks, as well.

flower power

Colene, hope this is something like what you had in mind. Once you told me it didn't have to be baskets but that vases were ok, that seemed t0 break my mental block. I tried doing a bit of machine applique but it just didn't work and really I wanted to do some hand work anyway. These are all glued and two are finished, the other two won't take too long. Hopefully I can send them on to Karen by next weekend, mostly on time.

and in the meantime I remember why I love applique so much, having a wonderful time playing with needle and thread and all these lovely colors and "crisp" shapes.

Pats row from Colene

Here are the four blocks I made for Pat M.

Block one for Pat

Here is my first block for Pats row. I am using the Carol Doak 50 Fabulous stars.

Current Round Progress

Well ladies, how is everything coming along? I know that Karen completed Dee's row and I've received it. I've got the first redwork done for Karen's row, and hope to get started on a 2nd one today. I think I'll only have time to stitch 2, so the rest of the row will be pieced blocks.




I will continue to update this post as the Round 1 (starter) rows make their way to the next quilter. The "Round" number will be how many completed rows it has. I think that makes sense?

Updated May 3rd...future updates will be in a different post.

Colene received Rebecca's Round 2 row AND Misha's Round 3 row!!! (5/3)
Dee received Pat's Round 2 row (4/30)
Karen has received Colene's Round 2 row
Misha has Dee's Round 2 row
Rebecca has and Karen's Round 2 row
Pat is empty handed now (5/3)

If there are any updates, please add them to comments!

Stem Stitch vs Whipped Back Stitch

from left to right: two strand whipped back stitch, two strand stem stitch, one strand whipped back stitch...medium sized back stitches on top, smaller on bottom (far right only).

Karen, I can clearly see that at least one of your blocks is done with two strands, so that's what I decided to use...but mine looks heavier than yours for some reason! I'll finish doing this one block this way, but am thinking of doing the whipped back stitch for the other one(s). Here are what they look like...what do you think about the example on the far left??

The Schedule...and Karen's Starter Row!

Well, ladies, it was fabulous seeing most of you last weekend. Of course, I say "most" because our dear Rebecca couldn't make it! I hope next year will bring us all good health, and we'll make the draw for retreat!

I've worked out what I hope is a reasonable schedule for MAILING our rows. Remember as always, we are sending precious cargo so always ship with a tracking method, whether you use FedEx, UPS, Priority USPS or something similar.

So without further ado, here we go:

Round 1 - we all have our own rows done, and 5 of them were delivered at retreat. Rebecca is mailing hers asap to Pat
Round 2 - mail by May 5th
Round 3 - mail by  July 14th
Round 4 - mail by September 22nd
Round 5 - mail by  December 1st
Round 6 - bring to the 2013 retreat, or mail in time to be delivered prior to retreat!

Since it shouldn't take longer than a week (I hope!) to get each package, it gives us 9-10 weeks to work on each round. You're more than welcome to mail early if you are ready.

If you've forgotten who you are mailing to, here's the line up again:

Colene ---> Dee
Dee ---> Karen
Karen ---> Misha
Misha ---> Rebecca
Rebecca ---> Pat
Pat ---> Colene

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

And....drum roll please...here is Karen's first row!

Sorry the pic is so small, I had to use my phone to get the colors to show correctly. Karen is sending around fabric, DMC floss and a book. Now before you start to panic, let me say that she is NOT requiring us to do embroidery! It's just an option, ladies! If you would rather do pieced blocks that's perfectly acceptable, no pressure :)


Here are some close up pics...again, from the phone:

 I'm excited to get started as soon as I can!

2nd try

I like these a bit better, I think the problem was lack of texture. my fabrics were too similar. They still need "something", perhaps some sashing. Or maybe some ideas from some AZ retreat friends ;-)

first two blocks

well, here are my blocks. I think perhaps I'm not liking only having 3 fabrics in each block? I may redo them. I've cut the fabric for the other two but I'm not going to make them yet. need to think for a bit. I may try a different kind of block.

tried my first block

Well I tried my first block last night. Honestly not real thrilled with the result. The block is fine, it's the fabrics that kind of left me flat. I think the problem is I'm just not used to these types of colors. they just seem kind of blah, especially the tan background. I think the problem is there isn't enough contrast, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what the rest of you come up with. I'll post a picture tonight.

Misha's Row - New Twist on My Theme

So I've been following the threads on the quilt forum where people are talking about house blocks...and I started to think how cool it would be to make that the theme of my Row Robin quilt. Then I tried to decide, do I want everyone to use the same pattern, but different fabrics? Or wonky houses? Or....? So I started googling house quilts and found all sorts of neat pictures! I then came across this little cutie:

http://www.quiltersmuse.com/images/billings-winter-friends.jpg

And I'm thinking that all those previous blocks I've received (stars) could be interspersed with other rows of houses, trees, log cabin blocks, etc. So that's my theme! Still blue & white & wintery, and I'll send some fabric around that you can use if you want to, or you can use your own. You can do an entire row of similar items, or it can be a mix of things. Note: the only thing I'm not too crazy about in the above example is the rather plain row of pinwheels. Pinwheels would be fine, but I'd rather the row had more variety in it.

Any questions, feel free to ask!

The Order

Previously, the order was:
Misha  ---> Pat M  
Pat M   --->  Becky 
Becky  --->  Rebecca C   
Rebecca C  --->  Colene  
Colene   --->  Misha

This round I thought maybe we'd go in alphabetical order, but that would have me sending to Pat and Rebecca sending to Colene again...so I swapped Pat and Rebecca:

Colene ---> Dee
Dee ---> Karen
Karen ---> Misha
Misha ---> Rebecca
Rebecca ---> Pat
Pat ---> Colene

We'll exchange mailing addresses at retreat if anyone wants theirs going somewhere other than the address on the retreat attendee list (like me: mine go to my Mum's house).

It's only a month away, ladies!!! I fly into Phoenix on the 16th!!!

Colenes row

I managed to finish my row last weekend. I used bleached muslin for my background. Fused flowers with satin stitch. I made the baskets the same for a clean simple look. I would like to keep the background crisp white with flower baskets as my theme this year.
Also. Welcome to Dee!!!

fabric purchase

well, I'm pretty happy with all the fabrics I got except for the eggplant. darn, need to keep looking. it's ok, but not quite what I was wanting.

inspiration fabric

Well here's my inspiration fabric. The eggplant isn't as prevalent as I thought, but maybe the sofa brings it out. I'm trying to do something a little more sedate color wise than what I usually work with (and no black - gasp). I'm not trying to match exactly either colors or pattern, but just something that would look good in the same room. I found the swatch but it's only about 2" square, you can't tell anything so I'll just print this picture when I go fabric shopping for the backgrounds, maybe a couple of coordinating that can be used or just guides for colors.

testing and thinking??

I've been thinking it would be nice to have a quilt that goes with my living room furniture, so I'm going to take a picture of my throwpillows/ottoman fabric and see what you guys think. It's sort of fall colors, eggplant, muted green and tan with some sort of tangerine orange/rust. I think I have a swatch of it tucked somewhere also that I can include. The sofas are eggplant leather, so the only pattern I have is those two throw pillows. If I get some yardage of a purple/eggplant and a tan to include as sugestions, then you guys could add some green and rust batiks. How many yards would be enough to send around? Would 4 be enough?

Please Welcome....Dee!!!

We have a sixth and final player now in our Row Robin, Dee from Texas! I've sent a Blogger invite to her (and Pat the Cat again). You both need to accept the invitation so you can post images to the blog and create new posts. This will be where we share our photos and progress!!

If you don't know how to work Blogger, we can go over that at the retreat. Or just go in there and play with it, I can always clean it up later if you make a mistake...in fact you can probably edit your own posts to your heart's content I would imagine.

Um...these look so much better with a photo...hmm....So here is Smokey helping me with my own starter block 2 years ago. Apparently this was *before* she learned to squint for the flash ;)

Ladies...Start Your Engines!

I can't believe retreat is only 6 weeks away. Woo hoo!

Be sure to get your first row for your own Row Robin ready. You will be handing off your starter row, notebook and any fabric you may want to provide to the first participant while at retreat. Providing any fabric at all for your own quilt is totally optional.

Remember that as things progress we would like all packages to be mailed with a tracking number. We had great success last time with no lost or delayed packages and I hope we have the same good luck this year! I plan to include a giant Ziploc bag with my name and address printed on the outside for all the contents to go into prior to going in whatever box you will mail my row around in, so that if the contents get separated from the outer box there will still be a way to identify me as the owner. You may wish to do something similar :)

I've heard from Rebecca C that she is going to do a red & white quilt, and will provide the fabric for it. I understand Pat the Cat is doing batiks on black and will provide background fabric. I will most likely be having you ladies continue to make blue and white snowflakes/stars for me, but this time on a smaller scale I have plenty of 12" blocks now, but want some 6" ones so I can put it together like a big puzzle.

If Colene and/or Karen feel like chiming in with what they have in mind please go for it! Either comment on this post or create a new one.

If there are any questions please ask!

I don't have a Row Robin related picture for this entry, so here is photo of my personal assistant slash quilt inspector instead...