Friday, July 13, 2012

A Friday Night Sew-In Celebrating the Red White & Blue!

Hello!  :)


Welcome to day 14 of the "Celebrate Red White and Blue Blog Hop"! There are only a couple more days left. Have you been hopping around and looking at all the fabulous blocks? I have. They're awesome!  :)  You can go here to find the entire schedule and links to the hop so you can start at the beginning. Don't miss out!

Here's Today's Hopping Schedule . . .
sewingly along . . . You are here!  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today to view my blocks. At first I thought I'd come up with 3 blocks and then put a table runner together in the end to tie them all together. Then I thought that I'd just make a bunch of blocks. Then I was thinking about what patterns I should use. After looking through some ideas I decided to just wing it. I hope you won't be disappointed. I actually came up with six 12-1/2" blocks. I took pictures of all of them outside and inside so there will be 2 pictures of each block. I hope you will like what you see!  :)

My first block came about by chance. I've been doing a lot of cross stitch lately. I actually made this one design for a swap. I liked it so much I made another for me. I used a different fabric then normal so it turned out bigger than I wanted. I decided to put it aside and made a third one for myself. I looked at the discarded piece and thought what should I do with this? Then it hit me. I'll use it in one of my Red, White and Blue blocks! Yes! That's it! Here it is . . .


Cross stitch and quilting combined! I echoed the cross stitch piece with fabrics from my stash. I think they accent it nicely! Here's another look . . .


A funny thing happened while I was working on this block. (Actually it wasn't quite so funny at the time.) I figured out the measurements for the stripes and began sewing strips together. Then I realized I'd forgotten to account for the 1/4" seam on both sides. Uggghhh! (This is something I do quite often.) So frustrated but eager to keep going I put it aside and cut new strips and started over. Then when I got to the center stripes I mismeasured again and sewed too many stripes together. Instead of picking it apart I sat it aside again, cut more strips and continued on. This time I got it right! Third time's a charm!  :)

What did I do with the all those strips I had already sewn together? I made two other blocks with them.  :)  Waste not, want not I always say!  ;)  (Plus I hate ripping out seams!) With the first of the two mistake strip blocks I appliqued some blue stars. I decided to blanket stitch around them in a golden yellow perle cotton thread. Another block finished.


Yea! Simple but sweet. The closer photo isn't really a good one (sorry).


Here's the other block I made with the mistake strip blocks.


This time I didn't have as many stripes to work with so I added a blue field and two appliqued stars with a patriotic eagle print fabric. I blanket stitched around these in a golden yellow perle cotton thread as well.


There are the first three blocks! All similar but different. Made by accident or was it fate? Hummmm . . . ;)

The next block is my favorite.


I had some beautiful vintage inspired fabric. I didn't want to distract from it's beauty so I just accented it with some stars and stripes. It needed a little something more. Hummmm.... I found some cool ribbon I had in my stash. It was perfect! Very simple and sweet!  :)


4 down . . . 2 more to show.  ;)  The next block is a basic log cabin with a historical fabric as the centerpiece.


I used lots of patriotic fabrics from my stash to complete this block.


Last but not least . . .


I'm not sure what this block is called. Is it a pinwheel? Is it a star? It's definitely red, white, blue and patriotic!  :)  The center fabric is my favorite find this year. It reminds me of the peace and love of the '60s. The other fabrics are favorites as well.


Well that's it! 6 red, white, blue patriotic blocks. What am I going to do with them? I'm going to make up a few more and combine them all into a throw quilt for me and the hunky dude. I'd eventually love to have one for every holiday and/or season. 

Thank you so much for visiting me and viewing my blocks! I hope you liked them!  :)  Thanks Jane and Madame Samm for hosting! It's been fun! Don't forget to check out all the other wonderful blocks!  :)

Also before you go . . . since I finished these up on Friday these blocks will be my submission for the Friday Night Sew-In.

Heidi and her cousin Bobbi host this monthly event. It's always fun to get together online with women from all over the world and sew on the same night of the month.  :)

Until next time . . .


60 comments:

Susie said...

Hi Cherise, Hello fellow July 14th hopper. Love the blocks especially the material. Thanks for sharing. Susie x

Sunshine Girl said...

Oooh they are all lovely - looks like you had a fabulous time making those! The Friday Night Sew In sounds fun too. Thanks for sharing.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

All just lovely - really like the vintage pieces you have used in your blocks, especially the 'children'. And good for you in finding more inspirational blocks with your 'oops'. Thank you for sharing with us today.

Zuzan said...

The three golden appliqued stars on the stripes is my favourite along with your fave. Thank you for sharing so many wonderful blocks and just love the way you solved the seam ripping problem.

pinsandneedles said...

The vintage fabric is precious and the ribbon touch is sweet! I also love the block with your cross stitched heart and the way you echoed the fabric. Thanks for sharing!

Sparky said...

Good Morning Cherise..your stitching is fabulous my dear...each one of your blocks very unique like their creator...sew glad you played along with us today...a perfect day it is...

Diann said...

I like your blocks. My favorite is the one with blue star fabric appliqued onto the red and white stripes.

Michele said...

I love them all especially the vintage fabrics. I've never seen ones like those before. Just perfect for this hop. And the last blokc is a Friendship Star.

JudyCinNC said...

Good fussy cutting and absolutely love the vintage fabrics you used. All are wonderful. Judy C

Sheila said...

Wonderful creative blocks and the star you weren't quite sure of the pattern is a friendship star a favorite block of mine .Thanks for sharing .

OneOldGoat said...

Very nice! It's great when you get bonus blocks from the 'extra' stripes youve sewn:)

Betsy said...

Wow, they are all fabulous. Wonderful choice of fabrics

Purl Buttons said...

Nice work! I like your "lemonade from lemons" with the mis-sized strips. I forget to add seam allowances, too!

beaquilter said...

where did you find that vintage looking fabric? my mom would LOVE that.....

KatieQ said...

Thanks for sharing your lovely blocks. I love the way you used the blanket stitch for your applique.

Jessisca Lenderman said...

you have some lovely blocks and i love to see your fabrics ... now i wants those for my collection : ) thank you for sharing.

Truffle queen said...

Great blocks! Thanks for sharing! Love how you re-purposed your strips!

Linda Lee said...

Thank you for hostessing your many blogging friends today. WOW! The amount of work that went into your counted cross stitch block. All the blocks are great.. It is amazing how using different fabrics can totally change the look of a block. I enjoyed my visit.

Catherine said...

Very nice unique blocks. I love your fabric choices. Well done!

Wendy said...

Hello to you, beautiful Hopper! You have some marvelous fabrics and the blocks you made are wonderful! Thank you so very much for sharing them!! Happy wishes to you today :)

Sharon Dawn said...

Love how you combined cross stitch and fabric! Great blocks! Your fussy cut center flower is perfect in your star! Wonderful blocks! Thanks for sharing!

♥Duff said...

Fun blocks! I love the way you mixed cross stitch with quilting--a beautiful combination here!

Terry@ a quilting blog said...

Great blocks Cherise!! Love the fussy cut flower in your Friendship Star block!

tink's mom said...

Great use of the extra striped fabric you created. The cross stitched heart is wonderful and fit with the theme so well. Thanks for hopping with us.

Beth said...

Great blocks. You really found some cool fabrics.

StitchinByTheLake said...

Cherise your blocks are just wonderful! I particularly like the vintage fabric and also the fact that you used all the "mistake" fabric. Perfect! blessings, marlene

prairie said...

Hi Cherise: I've been a follower for a while. Those patriotic prints are great! I just love this country and our colors and the Grand Old Flag. Please stop by and visit and follow, when you have time. Thanks for letting us stop by!

Marcia W. said...

Thanks for sharing your lovely blocks and the process followed for "recovery" of your strips. I enjoyed the humor.

Carol Swift said...

I love the blocks and the fabrics! So glad you played along in the hop.

leanne said...

love all your blocks and its funny how mistakes turn into extra blocks :) love your vintage fabrics too !

Rosa said...

lovely blocks and the vintage fabric is prettiest!!

VickiT said...

Wow. You have shown us a lot of great looking blocks. The one I like the most is that one with the starts you've outlined with the gold colored thread.

Michelle May-The Raspberry Rabbits said...

Simply beautiful blocks! Love them!

Jodi - usairdoll said...

Gosh! You went above and beyond. Your blocks are super. Pretty neat that you added your cross stitch to your block. I made my Mom a pillow years ago and cross stitched a saying and put it in the middle. Worked out great. You did a wonderful job and thanks for sharing with us.

Cherry's Prairie Primitives said...

My goodness you were super busy making so many beautiful blocks!!

Judy1522 said...

I love all of your blocks great patriotic fabric!

Jennifer Wingard said...

They all look great, Cherise. Looks like you had a majorly successful FNSI! :)

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

Hi Cherise, Sorry I am late to comment but we were gone all day. Wow, do I love your blocks each and every one!! The block is called a "friendship star". I love the fussy cut in your log cabin. You have a great stash of patriotic fabrics, I am jealous! Wonderful job, thanks for playing.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful collection of blocks for our hop, Cherise. And I really like the cross stitched center of your first block. Well done!

Janet said...

Those are beautiful. Great work.

Anonymous said...

I love the block with the blue stars! :-)

Mrs.Pickles said...

lovely work!

Maria Kievit said...

Love these blocks! Really like the one with the cross stitch in the middle. Thanks for participating in the block hop!

Katherine said...

Beautiful blocks, Cherise! Your fabric choices are just gorgeous. Thanks so much for sharing!

Lori said...

Your blocks are very creative and pretty.
quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

sarah said...

I love patriotic quilts! Very cute blocks!

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

Beautiful work Cherise! Thanks for sharing.
Quilting at the River Linky Party Tuesday

Taryn V. said...

What a great bunch of patriotic blocks! I love the mix of cross stitch and quilting! I hate it when I cut my pieces the wrong size...I usually do it after I specifically remind myself that I need to remember the seam allowance! Thanks for linking up to WIP Wednesday!

Heidi Grohs said...

Great blocks!!!!! They are really fabulous!!!!

Sandra J. Strickler said...

your material choices are gorgeous. love the block with the flower center.

Carole said...

Love the red stars one.
I found this through Thriving on Thursdays. I have linked in a salad with leftover lamb. Have a great week.

Quiet Quilter said...

Shoot! I bet you planned it all along! Those blocks kept coming and coming...so glad that you planned your mistakes....

Sara said...

Sometimes sewing tries to take US over with its shortcomings,but us quilters cannot be fooled right?! lol! We all make mistakes and learn from them and keep quilting!

I really adore all of those blocks you did up!!

Doni said...

If I could make such wonderful quilt blocks out of mistakes, I'd have a whole new hobby! GREAT JOB!!! I think you did an awesome job of creating those blocks! I love the way you were able to use so many fabrics together to create a perfect balance of red/white/blues and they all look wonderful.
Thanks so much for sharing your talents with us for Pearls and Lace Thursday!
Blessings, Doni

Little Becky Homecky said...

Those blocks are gorgeous!! Thanks for linking this up to Fantabulous Friday at Little Becky Homecky!!

Sarah said...

I'm a fan of red, white, and blue and patriotic things. it was interesting to read about how each of our quilt squares evolved.

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Hi Cherise, love all of your quilt blocks. Great how you were able to use all of the pieces that didn't work out for the first block. The one that is your favorite is mine as well. The vintage looking fabric is so fun. The block that you asked if it is a pinwheel or a star I think is a friendship star. Can't wait to see them all come together. Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup.
hugs,
Jann

Diann said...

Oh, these are wonderful blocks! I love all the different pratterns! Thank you for sharing at TTF last week! I hope you are having a terrific day!

Sara @ My Merry Messy Life said...

Very nice job! You have been working very hard. These are such an elegant way to celebrate America. Thanks for linking up at Hookin On Hump Day!

Sarah Craig said...

Sich pretty blocks! Whoop whoop!!