It’s Week 16 of the RBD Block Challenge and I can FINALLY say I am finished with all the blocks! This has definitely been a challenge for me, but one that I have truly enjoyed every minute of. After seeing what the final quilt is supposed to look like once you have the sashing and borders on, I decided I am having this one quilted. Plus it will always be a reminder of where I started and through the years I can see my progress from that very first completed quilt. 

This week’s block is called the Checkerboard Star block and is brought to us by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet. Lori made her block with fabric from her upcoming Stitch collection. It was absolutely adorable and is making me want to use the Stitch fabric to make an entire quilt out of this block. You can view the block Lori made on the Riley Blake Blog or follow her on Instagram @beelori1 and see not only her completed block for this project, but all the wonderful things that she is into.

The colors I used this week were Marsala, Oceanside, Stargazer, and Le Creme Confetti Cottons.

Block 16, The Checkerboard Star

Another completed block for the Stitchery Sampler quilt. Only 7 more to go. This has definitely been going a lot slower than I expected, but most days I really don't feel like working on the blocks. I suffer from depression and migraines so some days I am lucky to be able to get through an eight hour work shift, much less, have me time in front of the sewing machine.

This block is called The Ninepatch. I was supposed to choose (2) red (2) orange, (1) blue, (1) cream with blue, (1) yellow, (1) grey and (1) green. Plus another red for the four post in the middle. I pretty much stuck with the prints in the sampler quilt on the cover of the pattern.

I know all of my blocks are not completely square, but the overall block is 11 1/2 inches, which is the size of the unfinished block for this quilt. I learn new skills with each block I complete and will continue to keep going until I have all 12 completed.

Block 5, The Ninepatch

It’s Week 15 of the RBD Block Challenge and I am looking forward to this block challenge ending soon. I don't know that I will do a block challenge not knowing what the final outcome will be as I like to know what I'm getting myself into before I get too deep.

I was very pleased with how all my squares ended up coming together on this block. I only had to use "Jack" one time and that was because I sewed a row in the wrong order. 

This week’s block is called the Summer Picnic block and is brought to us by Christopher Thompson, aka The Tattooed Quilter. You can view the blocks Christopher made on the Riley Blake Blog where you will find 3 different block that he created for this week. He made a Christmas block, which I think is my favorite, using fabric from his own collection, Holly Holiday. The second block was red, white and blue and the final block was from the Riley Blake Confetti Cottons collection, which is the collection that I have been using for this entire quilt.

The colors I used this week were Frosting, Moss, Canyon Rose, and Le Creme Confetti Cottons.

There is only 1 final block left and then it will be time for sashing, quilting, backing and border. Still not sure if I will have someone else quilt it or do it myself. I'm waiting to see the final version and then I will decide how I want to finish this up. I don't regret starting this as it has given me the confidence to keep quilting and as such I have many more projects waiting in the wings to get started on. I just don't want more than two or three projects going at one time as to avoid becoming overwhelmed.

Block 15, Summer Picnic

I never thought I would get this one finished as I have been working on these hexi's for weeks now. I actually enjoyed putting the hexi's together and look forward to making a hexi quilt, but with bigger hexi's next time. This 5/8" was too small.

Once I had all the individual hexis made, which I done by gluing to the precut paper pieces, I then hand sewed seven of them together to make each flower. Once all the flowers were complete, I then glued them to my background piece and sewed around the outside edge of each flower to adhere to the background. 

With each block I complete, I get more satisfaction and look forward to the next one.

Completed Block 4: The Hexagon Flower

Up close showing how I attached to the background block.

Another view of the entire block!

Block 3 of the Stitchery Sampler is complete. This block is called The Stairway and was harder to put together than I anticipated. There are 5 different colors involved in addition to the white background. I stuck with the sampler quilt in picking out my fabric choices on this block.

The hard part about assembling the blocks is to get the colors lined up. Some of them turned out great and others could have used some more "JACK". Not Jack Daniels, JACK the ripper, seam ripper, but after doing that a couple times I just give up and said, "hey I'm not perfect and this quilt doesn't have to be either."

I am really getting into my quilts now and look forward to completing each block. This one will definitely be quilted when I'm done if for no other reason but to use all the supplies I bought. No really I hope this one looks good enough when I'm finished to have it quilted and displayed in my house.

Completed Block 3: The Stairway of The Stitchery Sampler Quilt

Back in April,  I attempted to hop on the bandwagon for the Little Box of Figs from Fig Tree & Co., but unfortunately I missed out as the membership was closed. I emailed the wonderful owner, Joanna and asked about being placed on the wait list. Fast forward to June when the boxes were actually going to be mailed out and much to my surprise on the 10th I received an email stating there was an opening and if I wanted to commit to a full year of quarterly surprises I could pay for my first quarter subscription and get my box.

Being the adventurous person that I am I quickly paid for my membership and my bill soon followed and on the 15th I received my first surprise. By the time I received my box, several people had already started posting on Facebook as to what was in there and posts were being made to the blog for Fig Tree & Co as well so I knew some of what would be there.

Now remember I'm new to quilting and as much as I have fallen in love with it and have bought lots of fabric and patterns to make numerous quilts, I'm not sure that these little boxes are worth the money and excitement that people have shown. Maybe by the time I get box #2 I will have a different attitude.

It definitely comes in a "little" box and the whole thing more than fit in a medium size USPS pre-paid box.

The box my "little" surprises came in!

Below are close up pics of all the items included. My favorite is probably the little strawberry charm. The main project in this is for a table runner; however, I don't own a dining room table, so I would never use it, therefore, I don't plan on making it; however, I will be making the little catch all basket as it will look cute on my cutting table.

I got on a roll this weekend and not only did I finish the hexagons that I will need for block 4, but I decided to go ahead and piece block 1 and 2 of the Stitchery Sampler Quilt. 

Block 1 is called, The Plus and as it's name states it looks like a plus sign. I had cut all my pieces out a few weeks back and had planned on cutting all the blocks out before assembling them, but once I got the hexagons completed, I couldn't wait any longer to see how all the blocks would looks completed.

I'm really excited to finish this quilt and see how it turns out. All the versions I have seen in the group on Facebook look awesome.

A completed red version of one of the blocks.

I love this flower print. Another individual block with sashing on each side.

A close up of the individual red block shown above pieced with the other blocks.

BLOCK 1

Block 4 is called The Hexagon Flower and is made by using paper pieces in the shape of a hexagon 5/8 inch in size. This was a tedious process and took me several weeks to complete as there are 9 different flowers each with 7 hexagon shapes. I am happy to be done with all of these. 

The center was done using a single cream print, then I chose a blue, red, orange, grey, green and yellow fabric to make up the additional petals to complete the hexagon shape. Overall I am pleased with the outcome and considering this is the first time I have ever done this type of quilting I think they look pretty good. I know once I do more of these I will improve on my technique.

Hexagon shapes for block 4

It’s Week 14 of the RBD Block Challenge and I absolutely love the block for this week. I have really learned a lot by doing this block challenge and feel that my skills are improving every week. Starting this quilt has given me the desire and momentum I needed to start many more projects. As of right now I have the fabrics either in my possession or ordered for a total of 4 more quilts and will also be doing the sew along challenge with some Strawberry and Rhubarb fabric later in the summer when I join some others going through the book, A Scrapbook of Quilts, by Joanna Figueroa with Fig Tree and Company.

This week’s block is called the Heart Quilting block and is brought to us by Kelli Fannin of Kelli Fannin Quilts. You can view her block on the Riley Blake Blog or follow her on Instagram @kellifanninquilts.

I love the heart shape and used a soft, simple color palette of Canyon Rose and Le Creme Confetti Cottons.

There is only 2 more weeks left and then hopefully I will get to see what the finished quilt is supposed to look like. Not sure about some of the colors that have been used in this quilt top so far, so I'm still not sure I will pay to have it quilted and displayed, but we'll see once it's completed.

Block 14, I Heart Quilting

It’s Week 13 of the RBD Block Challenge and as much as I have enjoyed learning everything that I have, I am ready for this challenge to be over. It’s probably due to the fact that I have so many other projects I want to start, and I’m scared to start too many at one time and end up with a lot of unfinished quilt tops.

This week’s block is called the Dizzy Pinwheel block and is brought to us by Lauren Brewer. Lauren made her block featuring fabric from her Strawberry Jam Collection. You can view her block on the Riley Blake Blog or follow her on Instagram @laurnebrewerdesign.

My version of the Dizzy Pinwheel quilt block features an earthy color palette of Moss, Avocado, and Le Creme Confetti Cottons.

Dizzy Pinwheel Block, Week 13