4 X 7 Week 3 -- still going strong!!

Greetings from a very cold Northeast Ohio this morning!!  As I begin today's post it's up to -5 degrees F  -- yes I said "up".  It was -18 at 6 a.m. and a friend about 30 miles from here was saying it was -25 out in the country.  But the sun is shining and there's not a cloud in the very blue sky so at least it looks cheerful out my office window!!

 

The colder than usual weather this week has kept me close to home and made it easy to achieve more than 30 minutes of stitching every day.  I'd say I've averaged about 3 hours a day in my studio in addition to my daily evening hand work session.  I wish every week was so focused and productive!!

 

I took the week off from my hexagon push and focused on my monthly charity quilt goal -- you can read about the January one HERE.  My idea for February was triggered by Nathalie at Les Ouvrages de Nat -- she shared her Fat Quarter Log Cabin project earlier in the month and I recalled that I had cut two sets in pinks a couple years ago.  Pink seems to be a good focus color for February and so I tidied up the pink shelf pulling fabric for four more sets of blocks for this month's quilt.

 

The pattern comes from Marti Michell's Log Cabin ABC's but is also a separate pattern (which you can find at Marti & Me Club shops).

Marti's cutting formula for this quilt uses her Log Cabin Ruler #8038 for 1" or 2" finished strips.  I spent a happy afternoon in my studio, cutting and watching an old movie. 

If you aren't familiar with Marti's Log Cabin rulers and you are thinking, why do I need a special ruler? -- I can relate -- it was exactly my reaction when the tools were first introduced. 

BUT, being able to cut everything for 24 blocks in two hours is wonderful!!  I even cut the "leftovers" at the ends of the strip into little squares which are becoming 4-patches for something in the future. 

So here's my stacks for 6 sets of log cabin blocks -- 4 blocks will come from each stack.

Do you notice anything that might be a problem?

Yep, it's the two stacks on the right -- those are the ones I cut two years ago and apparently I was cutting with wider strips. 

This calls for a "cuppa tea" and one of those scones that I hoarded in the freezer. 

A decision needed to be made. 

Do I make the blocks as they are cut and hope no one notices that 8 of them use different size strips (the finished blocks would all be 13")?

Do I make two smaller quilts?

Do I pull out two more sets of fabrics and cut from scratch?

Do I trim down the wider sets?

Which would you have done?

 

Well, I trimmed the strips down and had to rummage around to add a few strips since the newly cut sets used more strips.  In the end, I had my piecing tray all set up with the strips ready to stitch the blocks.  I chain piece my way through one stack making four blocks at a time.  Because all the strips have been precut to the exact length needed, the finished blocks are very consistent in size.  I also don't have to trim or square up the blocks as I go.  Two more reasons to love this tool!! 

Here's a link to Marti's cutting video with her Log Cabin tools!!

The first two sets are on the work wall - looks pretty good, doesn't it?

The plan is for a twin size quilt and it's going to be charming.  It will reduce my stash by 12 yards by the time I get the top and back organized - a very good thing! 

 Two months and two shelves down -- ten to go!?! 

I also had a finish this week -- this is a new sample for a Rose Star Workshop that I'll be teaching at Mercantile on Main in Coshocton, Ohio on Friday, March 20, 2015.  It took a couple sessions to get the fabrics arranged but once that hurdle was cleared, the piecing took just 90 minutes.  The chain-piecing technique from my DVD, Set-In Piecing Simplified really streamlines those y-seams!!

And it's on sale through 2/28/2015!!

I love the mixture of batiks and prints that I finally achieved!  And this will be a lovely gift for someone in the future.  It's cut with Marti Michell's new 3" Kite and Crown template set.
If you can't find this tool set locally, I usually have some in stock -- e-mail me at maryhueyquilts@hotmail.com

 

Yesterday brought a large squishy envelope in the mail -- it is the selvedge zipper bag I won from Julie at www.pinkdoxies.blogspot.com during the Grow Your Blog Hop -- what fun!!

I hope you are coming off a productive week, too!!  It's feel so good!

More sunshine and cold on tap here, so I'm confident I'll be in the studio a lot again in the coming week!!

 

Mary Huey