After a couple months' hiatus I've gotten back to piecing blocks for my Diamond Jubilee quilt. As you may recall I decided to make a version of the Sunflowers and Flying Geese quilt found in the book 19th Century Patchwork Divas' Treasury of Quilts by Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle. My quilt will be a bit smaller, with 13 sunflowers planned rather than the 18 shown in the pictured quilt in the book.
I made four sunflowers in September, bringing the total to five, and here they are.
This was my first block, completed a couple months ago.
These are fun blocks to piece, though fiddly at every step. The most difficult part of the process is cutting all the tiny pieces, needing to be cautious so my thumb and wrist joints don't give out totally. And I'm definitely not going for perfection with these, just reasonably good points is fine with me. My goal is to complete four additional blocks in October and then another four in November which would bring the total to 13, then begin making a zillion flying geese in January. So the four I hope to complete in October will be my One Monthly Goal for the month.
Our dry conditions in late summer and early freezes with temps in the mid 20s for several nights in a row have blessed us with an incredibly gorgeous display of fall colors in this area. We are probably very near peak colors, and have had bright blue skies to go with them for the past week or so. That will be changing in the next couple hours as the winds have picked up and rain is predicted for the next several days. We went grocery shopping at the large supermarket about 25 miles from here this morning, and the hillsides along the way were just glorious. Sadly my camera was sitting on the desk. After returning home I took the dog for a walk out back and snapped a couple hundred photos, none of which have been edited yet, so I'll leave you with this little indoor vignette for now.
I'll be back in a few days with shades of autumn and my progress on Lori's 50 Shades of Brown quiltalong at Humble Quilts.
Happy Quilting!
Linking with Patty at Elm Street Quilts to post my One Monthly Goal for October.
27 comments:
Beautiful sunflower blocks! Your points look good to me!
Your still life photos are so beautiful!
The Sunflower is one of my favorite blocks, tho I haven't attempted it yet. Yours are so wonderful. Are you celebrating a birthday or an anniversary?
Whichever, this will be very special.
love
lizzy
PS It is lovely here today but still green until November. Mo says hi to Gibbs; Mo is unhappy bec he had a spa day and is still a little soggy
Thank you Gladi, I've been following your progress with your sunflower blocks as well. They are gorgeous with all the bright, happy fabrics.
Your sunflowers are beautiful. You've chosen wonderful fabrics and your piecing looks very precise. Are you hand piecing? Your fall vignette is just right.
The sunflower blocks leave me in awe!
And I do love your autumn vignette.
awesome color combinations -- beautifully pieced!
Love all the combinations for your sunflower blocks. They are beautiful and the points look great to me! Perfect time of the year to be playing with the blocks.
OOOhhhh your sunflower blocks are a knock out.
Lovely fall display. Yay for fall and all the pretty colors.
Your sunflower blocks look great! So lovely to see forward progress on these.:)
Gorgeous blocks! I like the little zinnia bouquet. I've been waiting for mine to set seeds but they may not before the first frost date on Oct. 15. And are those squash or pumpkins on the table? Or gourds? They don't look like a variety I'm familiar with but they sure are pretty.
Your blocks are so pretty, are they foundation paper pieced or hand pieced? I've often wanted to make a sunflower block but don't know where to start. Happy stitching!
Those blocks are just gorgeous. The autumn arrangements are so inviting. I wish we had more color changes here.
J'aime beaucoup tes blocs pour le choix des tissus et ton travail.
Félicitations.
Amitiés
Your blocks are so amazingly perfect! I would never tackle them. I can't wait to see how these are put into a quilt. Our trees here have started to turn, but it seems later than usual. We are having warm temps this week and I think the lowest night time temp has been about 48. We have had some rain, thankfully.
They are lovely. I'm about ready to start some fiddly work again like you. Right now it would me good to have something I don't/can't work on all day. I haven't see the book so will enjoy watching your quilt unfold here.
Swooning over your Diamond Jubilee Sunflower blocks! I have long admired the 19th Century Divas pattern, but haven't had the gumption to give it a try. Thanks for a little bit of a nudge!
What part of Oregon are you in? There have been early cold spells that have even given us here in central Texas relief from our 100 degree days. September has actually felt like fall this year! Enjoy the colors.....they are gone so fast!
Your sunflower blocks are perfect both in fabric choices and piecing.
We now live in western New York state near the PA border. Left Oregon 6 years ago when we retired. Love the fall colors, especially this year!
Peak colors and bright blue skies! Oh wow! It will be awhile before we get there! I love the sunflower blocks! I am sure they are fiddly, but oh what fun! I am looking forward to your zillion flying geese!
I'm looking forward to making those flying geese as that will mean all those sunflowers are finished and ready for their final wreaths! Enjoy autumn's bright blue skies and colors whenever they reach your area.
Oh my but those blocks look tedious! Are they foundation paper pieced? Don't tell me you just cut and pieced! They're impressive, and look more than precise to me. Great work! Nice that you're seeing the fall colors now. That's such a rite of passage through the seasons. Hope you are enjoying these days!
Your blocks are beautiful!
Your blocks are so beautiful. I was tempted when Cathy or Gayle made these blocks and I find I'm tempted again. I need to get my hands on the book. Are they paper-pieced?
Love your zinnias. They are such perfect summer-into-fall flowers.
Thanks Nann!
Gorgeous blocks. Thanks for thinking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and good luck with your project.
Love your blocks - a quilt like this is on my 'some day' list. Hope some day comes soon!
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