Posted on by agilejack

Blue Blocks — Ready to Assemble!

I had to be in a Zoom meeting this morning at 6 am. So I took some Advil PM last night at around 8:00 so I could get a good night sleep. But on my way down the hall to get ready for bed at 10 pm I took a detour into my sewing room. I shouldn’t have, but I did.

I picked up my blue blocks and started putting them on the design wall. I thought I’d do a few rows, but no. I put all 80 blocks up on the design wall. And then I called it quits.

Several times today I stepped into my sewing room and tweaked, moved, adjusted. And I think I now have this where I want it and am ready to start sewing blocks together.

I really do wish you could see this in person. It’s so much prettier… airier… a little watery… really light and lovely. Photos just don’t do it justice.

I’m so tired tonight that I just don’t have the oomph to start sewing blocks together. So I’ll share some eye candy instead.

One of my favorite things about this quilt is that morning glory fabric. It ads a really lovely bright spot… almost like little diamonds across the quilt. I’m so glad I had a piece of this in my stash.

Another thing I love about this quilt is the little pops of color here and there.

Pinks. Purples. Greens. Turquoise. Sparkle! Yum!

And, of course, the other thing I love about this is the swirls in the sharks teeth sections. I stood there tonight and looked at every one of those swirly sections to make sure they were all swirling correctly!

Check. All swirls are perfectly swirly.

Even Bender looks good with all this beautiful blue!

I’m so tired tonight. I spent six hours on two long zoom meetings today. I have to be in the studio at the office tomorrow before 7 am. So I’m gonna be brief tonight and be ready to go to bed early.

Maybe I’ll have enough oomph to sew at least a couple rows of this together tomorrow night.

100 Replies to “Blue Blocks — Ready to Assemble!”

  5. I really love how you make it look so easy to put a quilt together! Love the blues and color bits. I hope to try a version of this one day. Rest up!

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  7. I’m always in awe of the beautiful creations done by you. This quilt is so lovely. You have such an eye for color and contrast. You inspire! Can’t wait to see more!

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  11. Hands down…this quilt is flippin’ gorgeous! I look at it and think, “I’d…if…it…yeah, no…I wouldn’t change a single thing.” Special squeeze to the beautiful Bender and congratulations for creating this piece of art. Like most crafters, my general approach to life is “I could do that”, but I seriously don’t think I could match, much less improve upon, this quilt. Very, very well done!

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    1. I’m a craft fair nightmare… all I do is start figuring out in my head how I could make the things I like myself!

      I would love to see this quilt made in other color ways. Hoping someone reading here will make one!

      Anne

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  13. I just love it. The movement within is breathtaking and your colour choices once again just sing to me. It’s a stunner and so is Bender. He’s a real cutie.

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  18. It’s incredible the way you’re placed the shark tooth fabric Anna, so interesting the movement in it make it beautiful. Very interesting indeed it makes your eye dart fron one piece to another to take it all in. You really are an amazing quilter Anna.

    Kathleen

    England

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  19. Anne, I do believe this is the best of your quilts yet!! I just love it!!. Also, I seem to remember from the past posts you spoke a bit about your retractable design wall. Would you be willing to share the specifics on it? I am redoing the room where I am planning on installing a design wall and a retractable one would be a great fit for me. Also, your photos are always amazing, for me the colors pop a plenty and are truly the best of eye candy. Take care, get some rest when you can and trek on!! Deborah

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    1. My friend bought a design wall like this at a quilt show a few years ago. She called me to tell me about it, and went back the next day and bought one for me and had it shipped to me.

      It has two rollers that have a heavy flannel backed plastic sheet on each roller. You can roll the design wall up or down and they both roll up into a wooden box at the top so they are totally hidden when rolled up all the way. You can even roll your blocks up in it, but it sort of makes a mess of your blocks.

      I like it because it hangs over my closet doors. I don’t have a wall that I could dedicate to a design wall in my small sewing room. So this is a great solution.

      I don’t think the guy who made mine is making them any more. But you can find similar things online and I think you can even find directions for making your own.

      Here’s a video that shows how it rolls up and down:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5h5S52oOts&t=1s

      Anne

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  21. The quilt is beautiful. I love the little pops of red. I have the blue sharks tooth material. I was planning on using for another quilt. I may have to rethink that.

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  23. The temptation to see a quilt up on the wall can be too much. It’s so easy to start but impossible to stop.TReally like how light this quilt is. I think the sharks teeth fabric keeps it light while all the other lovelies are medium-dark. The effect of the blocks is great! The quilt looks like the blocks are on point even thought they are not. 

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    1. I really like the lightness of this as well. It’s harder now to collect a lot of lighter Kaffe fabrics. So many of the now are totally saturated. I’m glad I have a decent stash!

      Anne

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  31. oh my goodness!!!! That has to be my favorite, favorite from all the favs I have of your quilts. I love everything about it but especially all the beautiful blues. You and your amazing fabric stash continue to amaze me.

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  33. Love the new blue quilt. Very creative with the swirling sharks teeth and the sparks of bright color. I’m trying to figure out how to create a design wall. How is yours hung and how wide does it need to be. Always enjoy your blogs and tips. Thank you.

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    1. My friend bought a design wall like this at a quilt show a few years ago. She called me to tell me about it, and went back the next day and bought one for me and had it shipped to me.

      It has two rollers that have a heavy flannel backed plastic sheet on each roller. You can roll the design wall up or down and they both roll up into a wooden box at the top so they are totally hidden when rolled up all the way. You can even roll your blocks up in it, but it sort of makes a mess of your blocks.

      I like it because it hangs over my closet doors. I don’t have a wall that I could dedicate to a design wall in my small sewing room. So this is a great solution.

      I don’t think the guy who made mine is making them any more. But you can find similar things online and I think you can even find directions for making your own.

      Here’s a video that shows how it rolls up and down:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5h5S52oOts&t=1s

      Anne

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    1. I might have a difficult time parting with this one, even though blue really isn’t my color. I think it might actually be the “prettiest” quilt I’ve ever made. I make a lot of bold and colorful quilts. But none of them are as pretty as this one.

      Anne

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  40. Hi Anne, I’ve been following you for quite a long time and have finally found the courage to contact you. First, I love the Blues quilt. And I want you to know how much I have appreciated the knowledge that you share in addition to the beautiful quilts and bags. I absolutely love Kaffe fabrics, but like many people, am often intimidated as to how to combine them. When you first posted a Blues block, I couldn’t imagine the finished quilt. Now that I’ve seen the blocks together, I get it. And I love the shark teeth fabric turned into blocks. Thanks for sharing your ideas, thoughts, and beautiful work. You have helped me feel more confident when using Kaffe fabrics. Sincerely, Joette Traver

    Sent from my iPad

    >

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    1. “You have helped me feel more confident when using Kaffe fabrics…” You really couldn’t say anything to me that would make me happier! I love this! Earlier in my quilting life I was tentative to cut into my fabrics. But now I can’t wait to start cutting on a new project! I’m so glad you’re feeling more confident!

      thanks so much for your wonderful comments and thanks for reading!

      Anne

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  43. Just gorgeous – I could look at that all night and not see it all it’s so interesting. The pops of colour really compliment the busy pattern. I find Kaffe fabric intimidating but I love it. You do give us courage to dive right in!

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  44. love your quilts and color schemes. I have an issue on how much fabric to purchase. I want to make a similar quilt and wondered if I purchase a yard of one fabric will that be enough for where you used the sharks tooth fabric or the gorgeous blue that is around every block. It may take less but I’ll start with a yard of each color. Would that work? 
    thank you

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    1. It all depends on how big you want your quilt to be. you could probably get by with a yard of the blue sashing fabric, but I doubt a yard of the sharks teeth would be enough. I can get 7 squares out of a 5.5 inch WOF strip of fabric. So in a yard, I could get enough squares out of one yard to make half the blocks for this quilt. Two yards should be enough for a quilt with 80 8.5 inch blocks like mine.

      I used 8 different fabrics for the center strips, 1/2 yards each and didn’t have too much left over.

      Anne

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  45. Your blue Kaffe quilt is beyond gorgeous! I noticed that you have one of those pull down quilt walls. I have wanted to purchase one for a long time – about 3 years now, and I’ve always wanted to find someone who has one. I have only found one company on line an they are aroound $500.00. Would you mind sharing your experience with it, and any pros or cons about it?

    Thanks so much!

    Sincerely,

    Nancy McFarland

    Fircrest, WA

    253 921 0213

    .

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    1. I love my design wall. My sewing room is a smallish spare bedroom and I don’t have a spare wall for a design wall. This one has two rollers on it so I can have two projects up at any given time. I love that it hangs above my closet doors and can be rolled up out of they way when I’m not using it… which isn’t very often.

      I would love to have a link to the one you found. People ask me about this all the time and I’d love to have a place to send them.

      I’ve had this for 7 or 8 years. I paid around $400 for it.

      Anne

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      1. Settle Inn & Quilt | Settle Inn & Quilt (settleinnquilt.com) [20]

        Good Morning Anne,

        Thanks so much for responding. The only site that I found for the retractable quilt wall is listed above. She doesen’t list any sizes and there appears no way to contact them; which always concerns me. Do you recall if you ordered yours from this company? I am going to continue to look for these online; I wonder if anyone on Etsy sells them? I’ll let you know if I find any. Also, would you mind sharing with me the measurements? And what is the “wall” made from? I know I would want the double one.

        Have a great day and enjoy your walk with the boys!

        Nancy

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      2. I’m pretty sure that the people I bought mine from were in California. this wall looks very similar to mine but it’s not exact.

        My retractible walls are each just shy of 70 inches wide. I’m guessing they are at least 90 inches long, I can roll them way down and they pool on the floor.

        the wall part is a thick plastic backed flannel. So it has some heft to it. It has a bar at the bottom that holds it straight and weights the bottom down.

        Anne

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      3. Thanks so much for the info Anne! It sounds like it is very well made. And when paying this much money I want to make sure it is sturdy. Have a wonderful weekend, enjoy your adorable dogs, have fun with pickle ball and QUILT! I found another one, much less expensive, but just am not sure.

        Easy Quilt Systems ~ Retractable Design Wall 72″ X 72″ | eBay [20]

        Nancy

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      4. Anne,

        There is no contact in on line but I Googled it and I did find some info.

        settleinnquilt.com

        SETTLE INN & QUILT [20]

        2387 Clayton Ave, Mount Pleasant, IA 52641 [21] (319) 931-6930 [22] Closed · Opens 9 AM

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      6. this looks very similar to mine. I paid a little over $400 for it some years ago. So the price for the double roller variety seems pretty in line with what I paid when you consider how much time has passed.

        Anne

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