New Beginnings Monday :)

It's Monday! SO excited about participating in the 2014 New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop! I wasn't sure what to expect.  I can tell you this, it has well surpassed any expectations I might have had and the email group has only been active for a few days!

I am working my way through all of the blogs and introduction emails.  I can't wait to see where this hop takes me! One thing is for certain, I have already found awesome blogs to follow and I have a feeling that there will definitely be new bloggy friendships formed out of this hop! 
 
On to new beginnings on my design wall.  After playing with the left over Oakshotts from the Triangle Log Cabin quilt for a pretty short period of time, I got bored. . . So I went digging in my stash and found a stack of material I had bought months ago with no real quilt in mind.  It is black and gold batik.  It is beautiful.  I decided to do a strip quilt.  Here's what I have so far:

I love it.  I hate making it!! SOOO boring! I'm beginning to think I have adult onset ADD! :) I started by cutting a few strips of varying widths and then sewing the blocks individually.  Those who have been around for awhile know that I have control issues and just putting the strips together was not going to happen.... it took an entire day to do four blocks! (and by blocks I mean the small blocks that make up the diamond....) That was not going to work.  I then sewed strips together width of fabric to the width I needed to cut one set of squares from the strip set. I got the idea from Molli Sparkles. That netted me four blocks in one go.  Not bad but seriously - sewing strips together is kind of boring.  Again, LOVE the look, don't like being bored :) By sewing panels together width of fabric, I have triangle 'scraps' that I am either going to sew together into squares and put them on the back -here are the squares I have so far:

Or I can sew them together to make a border for the front:

That decision will be made for me when I finish the blocks for the front - if it is the correct length and width to use the triangles as a border, that is what I will do, but I don't think I am going to spend a lot of time figuring out the math (we know I really blow when it comes to math) and cutting down the triangles significantly. . . so that part will be up in the air until I finish the blocks.

So today I am going to sew a bigger strip panel.  I want to get more blocks out of a panel so I can get the strip sewing part over with and get on the the more fun part of putting the top together ;) I'll talk more about the panel process in my next post after I actually cut from a bigger panel.

The postal person was rather prolific with packages since I last posted. . . My new Oakshotts are here!! Oh my! They promised thicker fabric, richer colors and general all around improvement (I really didn't think there was much to improve to tell you the truth) and they delivered beyond my wildest imagination! Check this bundle of fat eighths out!!! 

The weight is AWESOME and the colors - FABULOUS! That shimmer is just so yummy!!!

I also got the BlocLoc Flying Geese ruler - I have not had a chance to test it yet but I will be posting on my experience soon (first, I have to get the blocks done for the strip quilt). I press my seams open, I have heard from several of you that the ruler doesn't work well with seams pressed open. . . hmmm.  I'm gonna give it a whirl and I will be posting about it.

I also received Judi Madsen's new book "Quilting Wide Open Spaces" . . . Oh my! I don't know that I will ever make the quilts in the book but the quilting designs and her explanations are more than worth the price!! Some major eye candy and while I was reading it, Judi is so encouraging I actually believe her when she says you can do this too! :) 

Welcome to all of my new followers and readers! I am linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday and Marelize at Stitch by Stitch for Anything Goes Mondays. If you haven't been over to check out these parties - do! SO much inspiration!!

Until next time, keep on quilting!