Quilts made from blocks from others

Reading Paula the quilter’s comment on my previous blog post:

That is such a wonderful idea to make a block like that. I suppose if one kept the background the same or similar a whole quilt would be the result. Our guild doesn't do blocks like yours does but cuts simple quilt kits for donations.

reminded me of a really neat setting for blocks that were contributed by many quilters.  If you will go to the Electric Quilt blog
http://www.doyoueq.com/blog/?m=200910 
and scroll down to Oct. 27 you will see the pic of a quilt that was made from blocks from quilters around the world.  Each one of the contributed blocks is certainly made of fabrics that are different from one the other, so there is no way that those blocks would have the same background.  Unless is was quite by accident.

The whole quilt comes together as a planned quilt because of that layout.  My eyes are drawn to the diagonal setting and then I see each individual contributed block.

My block is the first block in the 5th row.  Here’s a photo I took of it

The palm tree is thread-painted on top of appliquéd patches.  The sun is turned under appliqué, hand stitched.  Bottom row of 9patch background is paper-pieced.  9patch background is sewn together with bumpless intersections.

Perfect 1/4” seam

The secret to getting a “perfect” block is a “perfect” 1/4” seam – or so they say. Well, I found out it’s true!

The above block is the first time I ever made a block with rotary cut patches (other than a square) and templates and it turned out to be the perfect size! I have always shied away from rotary cut blocks and templates cuz when I sewed the patches together, the completed block was always a little bit off. This one measures 12-1/2” square – as it is supposed to.

It has 29 patches and a whole bunch of points. Lots of places to make a teensy error that multiplies into a big error as more seams are sewn.

I usually make my blocks divided into Paper Piecing parts, which I then sew together. The only time I use rotary cut is for squares. HSTs - I make by sewing 2 oversized squares together on the diagonal. Odd sized patches are usually in the Paper Piecing parts.

My secret for the perfect block -- I used a new foot on my Janome 6600 - http://tinyurl.com/ykvasw2
It’s a “Clear View Quilting Foot and Guide Set”, $16. It gives the most accurate 1/4” seam I’ve ever done on this machine or any other machine.

The block is one I saw in Quilters Newsletter Magazine, July/August 2005. Starry Star was designed by Judy Martin. The article had lots of “blocks within blocks” that Judy designed.

I belong to the Sunshine State Quilters Association, Inc. and also am the webmaster of their website. SSQA is a statewide guild for the state of Florida. SSQA was collecting blocks for Quilts of Valor and then distributed the blocks to member guilds who will be making them into quilts for Quilts of Valor to give to wounded servicemen and servicewomen.

Whenever I make donation blocks, I like to make unusual blocks, such as this one. It’s good for a personal challenge and gets the block out of my system. Cuz, when I finish one of these unusual blocks, I usually find out I don’t want to make more than one!

Medical Insurance World Gone Mad

I was catching up on some reading and ran across a very interesting article in the AARP magazine.  A woman has ALS and uses an iPod Touch that has an app (Proloquo2go) that can interpret her slurred speech.  Medicare will pay thousands of dollars for a device that will interpret her speech, but will not pay a couple of hundred for the iPod Touch which is compact and works just as well for the purpose.

Reason?  Medicare says it cannot cover the cost of iPods and other handheld devices because they are designed for the public and not for a specific medical purpose.  What an amazingly stupid reason!

Is Medicare afraid that along with using the iPod Touch for her infirmity, she might just use it to read a book, take notes, listen to music and keep track of her medication?  Heavens, she just might download a free app or two and play a game to while away the time. The medically approved (more expensive) device does only one thing.

Is Medicare afraid to save some money?

Here’s the URL for the full article - http://tinyurl.com/yedm5v6

Then, in this morning’s paper, I read an interesting letter to the editor.  It seems a woman went to her podiatrist to have a tiny spur on one of her toes removed.  Doctor said it would take 5 minutes.  BUT, first she had to

• see a heart doctor and get an EKG
• get a very detailed blood test
• get a chest x-ray

3 separate doctors – thousands of dollars, paid by insurance – just for a 5-minute procedure?  How many of those kinds of procedures are done daily?  To the tune of what kind of money?

She decided to live with the spur.

I guess all those things have to be done that way – it’s called “covering your butt”.  Let’s see – I think we have the lawyers to thank for that …  Nothing funny, here.

Techlicious

I think I first read about this website in the newspaper.  I like the way they explain all things techy.  They do it so I can understand what they’re talking about.  And I like all the reviews they do – on so many different products.

Go and take a look at their website http://www.techlicious.com/ and see if anything interests you.

Techlicious also has a weekly newsletter that I look forward to reading.  It always has some article (or two or more) that interest me.  In order to sign up for the newsletter, go to their blog --
http://www.techlicious.com/blog/ and you can find the “sign up” field in the right hand column.

Little mini gifts

I’ve been working, here & there, on some little gifts.The above is a “Travel Tray” from Angie’s site  
http://ajpadilla.com/freebies
I think it will come in handy on trips to hold things that might otherwise get misplaced.  There’s velcro in the corners which makes it possible for the tray to lay flat. 

Once you make one, you can figure out how to make them in any size.  Angie suggests to use a solid color fabric for the floor of the tray, but, I chose a fabric that “reads” solid and I like that.

And here’s Angie’s “15-minute Flower Brooch”.  I must say, it took me a little longer!  I am very pleased with the way it turned out, especially with the little beads I decided to sew to the center.  This can be used as a brooch as there is a pin sewn to the back.  And when you pin this brooch on your shirt, it becomes very handy to stick some pins in while hand sewing as the center is stuffed.  Sure beats sticking pins in your shirt!

I wrapped a gift in a Fat Quarter and pinned it shut with the brooch.  It made a nice presentation.

I made myself one of the Travel Trays, too.  And am going to have to make a brooch for me, too.   Or maybe I’ll try one of Angie’s “Finger Pincushions” made from a 3-1/2” fabric square.  Or maybe both!

Many mini Projects from Angie

Are you running out of ideas for little gifts to make for Christmas?  Well, not Angie!  She has got a whole slew of projects that will be just the thing. 
http://ajpadilla.com/patterns/bom/christmas-all-year-round

Lots of the projects are free.  Look around her website – Angie is some talented lady!

Sign up for Angie’s newsletter and she will send an email each time she puts up something new --
http://ajpadilla.com/newsletter/subscriptions

PopEater on iPod Touch

OK, I admit it – I enjoy reading celebrity gossip & seeing the outrageous things that celebrities do and get away with.  Now, PopEater (that online deliverer of all things gossip) has an app for the iPhone/iPodTouch.

Go to popeater.com for the download and to read all about this new app or go to iTunes and search the app store for PopEater.

I can read the juicy little tidbits right on my iPod Touch if I’m in a WiFi area.  If I’m not, the app auto-saves the entries for me so that I can view them when I need to pass the time in a waiting room.

Oh – it’s a free app!  I refuse to pay for any celebrity gossip …