Good Vibrations!

Niin se - lähes - vuosi mennä tupsahti jonnekin...

... and it's time to say goodbye to 2013 Aurifil Designer BOM, snif!

December's designer is Pat Sloan, the hostess of this BOM. She was inspired by Beach Boys song 'Good Vibrations'... I think it's perfect name for this block... at least I get a good vibrations, when I see a star block ;o)... any kind of star!

I had many months ago decided that the last block's colors are chose after labradorite (known as spectrolite in Finland). WHY? Because it is the most mined precious stone in Finland and it has gained international fame as a beautiful, multi-colored color, gray to black. On the stone's surface can be seen the colors of the rainbow, mostly green and blue colors.

My weak point -

ok, one of my weak point - is those Basic Grey's Grunge fabrics, for the star points I used black Grunge. I don't know how well you see the shades of blue and grey on the fabric's surface... but I tried to imitate as well as possible the play of colors, just like they play on the surface of spectrolite. Hmmm... I would like to have a whole quilt made of these kind of blocks... a great block pattern and lovely colors! Unfortunately - or luckily - I don't have enough those fabrics...

By the way labradorite is known to calm your overactive mind and bring forth new ideas! ;o)

Now it's time to think about a layout of the blocks...

Here's the 'original' setting... maybe not a final... the colors are unbalanced.

... this needs a loooooong thought and a good cup of coffee;o)

Happy week!

Mr. Tambourine Man

Today I hummed with Bob D... 

... take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind

Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves

The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach

Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free

Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands

With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves

Let me forget about today until tomorrow...

... and I sewed Aurifil Designer 2013 BOM.

November's designer is Laurie Tigner. When I read her story and saw her works at the Aurifil's page, I was afraid that she has designed something very complex for us. But she wanted to "keep it simple"... luckily, so I got my BOM finished in no time;o)

The selecting of fabrics was not slow either, because already last month I decided to use these fabrics...

(... and sometimes funny coincidences happen... it seems to me that those flowers are really waving themselves beneath the diamond sky... they look like hands... or do I have too vivid imagination?)

Mr. Tambourine Man

... but first of all I wanted that a topaz will be my precious stone in November!

Did you know this: Topaz is commonly colorless, light blue, yellow or orange-brown, but there is also pink, dark red and green topaz. Most prestigious topaz colors are pink and orange-yellow Brazilian imperial topaz. I remember reading... the warm tone of gold imperial topaz is like a battery that will recharge both mentally and physically stimulating a positive attitude.
Does it have the same effects as Mr. Tambourine Man could have?

Here's my all gems together:

1. Emerald, 2. Ruby, 3. Amethyst, 4. Yellow diamond, 5. Peridot, 6. Alexandrite, 7. Amethyst, 8. Garnet, 9. Sapphire, 10. Watermelon tourmaline and 11. Topaz.

Kiiik! Only one more jewel (BOM) left... which one would it be?

I'll try to NOT to be here tomorrow, because I MUST KNIT...knit...knit...

... wishing you a happy WEEK!!!!

Stairway

Once again... it's that time of the month that we know, who is the designer of Aurifil's BOM.

In October she is Allison Harris from CluckCluckSew! I have followed her blog for a while and I like her fresh, simple and modern quilting style!!!

Her block's name is 'Stairway'... maybe you already guessed it... that a rock and roll song, which inspired her is Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven'.
Oh, Robert! He is so... hmm... young in that video-clip!!!

It is a few years since the last time I heard that song... and listened my collection-cd of Led Zeppelin. I think I must tell you the reason why I haven't listened it... Because it rises all too much memories of my youth and of my friends (especially one) at the 80's. Then we all were young and happy(?)... but afterwards those memories turned not so golden... or actually THOSE memories remained the same...  but memories, which were related to that person blackened after two decades... and it felt that I should forget all, which reminds me of him including a wonderful music of Led Zeppelin!!!
That's life, why should I forget? Life is always filled with joys and sorrows!
Oh, this tale turned very personal outpouring... I didn't mean to... 
BUT isn't the main thing in quilting that we store our memories to our quilts!!!
So I better go and search for a fine precious stone (= a color theme) for my next Aurifil block;o)

... There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold ...

Tadaa, I found it!
I'm gonna introduce to you a watermelon tourmaline!!

Before this week... or block... I hadn't heard of any tourmaline (suomeksi turmaliini). It's a prized jewel. Tourmaline occurs in more shades than any other stone, from pale yellow to black. It's bright and colorful varieties are being used gems. Tourmaline facilitates the fatigue and anemia, as well as it increases the success and love. Hmm... Psychologically it helps to understand themselves and others...
I think a watermelon tourmaline block is an excellent addition to my precious stone quilt;o) 

... When we all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll...

.. and from now on I'm gonna listen LedZ more often;o)

Happy weekEND to you!!!

Mr Blue Sky

Sun is shinin' in the sky, there ain't a cloud in sight.

It's stopped rainin', everybody's in a play.

And don't you know it's a beautiful new day.

Aurifil's September designer is Kimberly Einmo and she designed to us a FABuLOus block called 'Mr Blue Sky'. While sewing her block she listened music by Electric Light Orchestra. I must admit I haven't heard their 'Mr Blue Sky' song before, until yesterday when I popped up on Youtube.

When I made Kimberly's block I learnt many other new things...

First I haven't before sewed HST's using rectangles. I recognized that it's a nice method... I got very precise HST squares!

Then I decided to choose colors for my block according to sapphire... and naturally I first began to think of different kind of blue shades...

BUT when  I googled sapphire I learnt that it belongs to a large group of gemstones called corundum... and it can be any color!... except if it's red, then it's ruby!! How odd it is that!?!

Anyway I decided to use blue fabrics, because this is Mr BLUE Sky block;o)

Before I sewed the pieces together, I checked the fabrics one more time...

Hmm... I think I'm going to fall in love soon... although it's blue...

One more thing, which inspired me to chose a sapphire theme for this block was that I read more about the sapphires:

a round, oval, glossy sapphire is called a cat-eye. The cat-eye effect is clearly seen, when the light hits on the surface of the sapphire. The gem reflect the light like a cat's eye in the dark.

Oh & Ah...   'Mr Blue Sky' ... ;o)

... and all nine Aurifil (gems) blocks...

Oh, I think we'll have now a little time to sing together... all together ;o)

Mr. Blue you did it right, but soon comes Mr. Night,
creepin' over, now his hand is on your shoulder,
never mind I'll remember you this way...

Take It Easy...

... and sew Aurifil's 2013 Designer block of August designed by Jill Finley!
The song, which inspired her to design this block is Eagles'... Take It Easy.
By the way I found a nice presentation of it on Youtube, filmed in 1972 California Jam. In the end of that video is a charming little guitar player... cute;o)

The precious stone, which inspired me to choose colors for my block... is a garnet.
The color scale of garnet is very large: red, yellow, brown, green. They occurs in almost all colors except blue. Out of those color shades I chose red ones...
and if you look the photo closer...
you'll notice I have used more than one background fabric.

The other reason why I decided to make my block 'look like' a garnet...
... was that I read it's name is the most likely derived from the Latin word granatus (=grain), which also refers to the typical structure of the garnet.
I think Jill's block remind me of grain too...

Do you want to know something about garnet's power stone features?
Garnet is said to increase the health, loyalty, imagination and balance the flow of energy. It is also said to protect the bad dreams.
... so if you have a garnet you can... take (it) easy... even at night...

1. Emerald, 2. Ruby, 3. Amethyst, 4. Yellow diamond,
5. Alexandrite, 6. Peridot, 7. Amethyst and 8. Garnet.
Hui, millainen sillisalaatti -työ tulossa!

I'm not sure... at all...
if I'll piece these blocks together, when all twelve blocks will be sewed...
Jill is making a beautiful quilt top with her Take it Easy -block.
... of course another possibility is to change the colors / fabrics of some blocks...

"We may lose and we may win though 

we will never be here again...

... so take it easy..."

Happy Easy Week!!!

PS. I 'finally' got ready (= sewed by hand the lace onto) the 'Gentle Art' -tablecloth.

Chain, Chain, Chain...

... I might be weak, yeah...

Aurifil's Designer of July is Laurie Simpson
and the rock and roll song that inspired her quilt block is Aretha Franklin's Chain Of Fools.

Last time I wrote my addiction of BOMs, so what can be the best way to heal than do a BOM block;o)
and this is the funniest part of this tale...
When I looked for a color theme (= a new precious stone) for my block, I found out that amethyst is a perfect power stone to have when you fight against dependencies!
So I hurried up to my stash boxes searching for fabrics from lavender to purple...

First I found this really deep purple flower print...
and look! It's a fabric by Minick & Simpson!

... chain, chain, chain...
My doctor said, "Take it easy"...

I followed the order of song's doctor, so I took easy...

... and I hand pieced the block - all other parts except cream-colored corner pieces, which I sewed by machine. It was my first time to hand piece such a large block, 12" x 12" finished.

... chain, chain, chain...

After very relaxing hand sewing moments...

...here's my amethyst-colored Chained Star!

By the way amethyst is also believed to repel a negativity and create a peaceful environment. I think the amethyst block is definitely a splendid addition for my precious stone quilt!

1. Emerald, 2. Ruby, 3. Amethyst, 4. Yellow diamond, 5. Peridot, 6. Alexandrite and 7. Amethyst.

... chain, chain, chain...
oh, what a catchy song!

Song-filled Sunday!!!

Every Little Thing She Does...

... is Magic!

The Aurifil's Designer of June is Wencke Wolff Hatling from Norway. Police's song was her inspiration to design block called 'Magic Star'.

I was also trying to make some magic by choosing a rare gem for my block's color...

... may I introduce to you

an alexandrite.

Alexandrite is one of the rarest jewel stones. It's specialty is that it can change the color from red to green depending on the available light source. In natural light alexandrite is blue-green, in candle light it's raspberry red. So it's kind of magic stone... Somewhere I read that it increases the capacity to experience the joy in life. And if you hold it close to your heart, it calls love by your side...

Here's all my gem (Aurifil) blocks together...

1. Emerald, 2. Ruby, 3. Amethyst, 4. Yellow diamond, 5. Peridot and 6. Alexandrite

Hmmm... Are they too tame?

Anyway it was fun to make little sewing thing after a break...

I wish you a little magic to your week!

Rock Around the Clock

Have you ever heard of precious stone called peridot?

I hadn't heard of until yesterday, when I searched for color ideas for my block of the 2013 Aurifil BOM 'Rock Around the Clock' designed by Jackie Kunkel.

Peridot is a gem-like olivine, which color is yellow, to yellow-green or olive-green, to brownish or sometimes  lime-green to emeraldish hue. So I orienteered to the fabric box of green stars...

and I found these fabrics.

Of course I had to find out what kind of power stone qualities it has... 

... peridot opens up new doors, removes the stress, fear and activates personal growth. It also releases old burdens and negative thought patterns.

Hmm... it sounds that I should have it in my pocket...

... but maybe I just admire it in my quilt ;o)

By the way Pat Sloan gives her own tutorial for 'Rock Around the Clock' block here. I cut and sewed the block like she did... but I noticed, that if you cut your HST squares at 4 1/4" x 4 1/4", you will have even more less to trim.

And BY the WAY

 it was very relaxing to visit at Youtube and watch Bill Haley's song!

It's an eternity since the last time I heard that song.

See you soon!!!

I have so much...

... to tell, that I don't know where to start!

or should I now leave something out, without telling and do it later...

Well, I'll start from the most recent 'case',

which is 2013 Aurifil Designer BOM block 'Heart and Soul'. It is designed by Katy Jones.

By the way I noticed that I have totally mixed up terms: diamonds and precious stones. I have all the time written diamond as a general term for precious stones. Sorry, if I guided you wrong... but from now on I'm making Aurifil blocks for my jewel quilt. AND April's block got it's colors from yellow diamond.

When I searched information of diamonds and their colors, I found many interesting things.

1. Did you know that as a power stone diamond brings clarity and ideas?

So no wonder, if I realized the difference between diamond and precious stone;o)

2. Richard Burton gave to his wife Elizabeth Taylor a gift, a heart-shaped yellow diamond. It was the same diamond, which Shah Jahan gave to his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1621. And she was also the inspiration to Shah Jahan to construct the famous Taj Mahal.
But have you heard THIS?
3. The Tiffany Yellow Diamond is one of the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered. And the diamond is known to have been worn only two women, one of whom is Audrey Hepburn. She wore it in 1961 publicity photographs for Breakfast at Tiffany, which inspires me to sew the Aurifil blocks in the spirit of precious stones!
Yes, I know, what a funny coincidence;o)

When I found out about all this, it was EASY to find fabrics for my 'Heart and Soul' block. At least one fabric from Fig Tree Quilts' Breakfast at Tiffany's (roses), few other yellows and grays... and of course one written print fabric.

What a hilarious feeling to see all my jewel blocks together!

And you won't never believe THIS! 
When I sewed the aquamarine block I heard 'Demanten på Marssnön' song twice on that day and TODAY, when I sewed the diamond block I heard song 'Moon River'... very strange...

Shall we now Go-lightly forward...
or are you already bored with my tales?
maybe one... or two... short stories?
... if I promise to be quick;o)

Last week a nice postman delivered me this lovely quilt pattern. It's Joanna Figuero's 'Milky Way'.

Wov! STAR blockS!

I have never fancied making of those kind of stars... but Joanna promised this: Beautiful star blocks created with a simple strip technique make this quilt a joy to assemble . . .  and only 9 blocks.

Now I had to admit that she is RIGHT! This star block with Joanna's instructions was a real joy to assemble!!! I heartily recommend this pattern!

There is only one (or exactly 8) critical points, where the seams should meet properly. The point is near the red arrow on the photo.

The wrong side looks quite pretty too;o)

Do you miss my Oh, my Stars?

 Here is this week's stars...

... and you might already guess that Fenix found his favorite one...

... quickly without any hesitation;o)

I'm not sure, but if you happen to be a fan of Schnibbles, you might heard this already...

Sinta Renee and Sherri started a new year of Schnibbles. This time a theme is something like Vintage Schnibbles.

I'll tell 'Hat Trick' tales (= more detailed info of fabric choises and so on) later...

I think you are already tired and ready to move to the other blog...

So finally one more picture...

Not any serious decision with Mill Girl's border...

What do you think? Should it be squares made of hour glasses?

WoW! THIS was a LONG story, a real test of my English skill too! 

I think it's better leave you now...

if you are still there...

... and wish you

an extremely pleasant weekend!

Demanten på marssnön / The Boxer

As you see I can't stay away from the sewing room;o)

Jeni Baker from In Color Order is the designer of March at Aurifil. 

Her block is called "The Boxer", inspired by Simon & Garfunkel's song.

 If you remember, I decided to use some kind of diamond theme for the color of my blocks.

If you have wondered, why diamond? 

The truth is that Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses and because of that 'Breakfast at Tiffany' is one of my favorite movies. 

In March my diamond is aquamarine, which color varies from the light blue-green to dark blue. In astrology aquamarine is the power stone of Aquarius and Pisces. For the Boxer -block I found some delicious turquoise fabrics from my stash.

And one other thing, which inspired me choosing the diamond theme, is Jean Sibelius' song 'Demanten på marssnön'.

  Hm... quite far away from rock'n roll music, which is needed to inspire Aurifil BOM designers;o)

That idea became to me, when I choosed the fabrics for the first block (emerald).

So här är...

På drivans snö där glimmar

en diamant så klar.

Ej fanns en tår, en pärla,

som högre skimrat har.

On the drifted snow

a bright diamond glistens, 

more radiant than any

tear or pearl.

'Diamonds' on the March snow.

I'm happy that you stopped by here...

roliga veckan;o)

Heavy Cross Block

Aurifil's designer of February is Marie-Claude Picon-Iberti

and she designed a block called 'Heavy Cross'.

There is many patches in a 12" block...

... so for the tiny pieces I needed an extra guardian to keep them in the right position.

But even he (or rulers) wasn't enough!

I wasn't able to avoid mistakes...

...although this may be due to the fact that I have sewn quite a lot of Sawtooth Stars lately.

Because in the block is five different fabrics and the pieces are quite small, I had also difficulties to pick up fabrics. I was afraid that it would be too restless...

therefore I choosed two 'strong' colors - ruby red and very dark  brown. The other colors can be as neutral as possible...

Yet while I was sewing,

I thought of colors and the places of the pieces.

Is the red/gray or white/gray better at this spot?

... so heavy to make a decision...

When I saw my 'Heavy Cross' finished, I got the idea...

... it was like rubies on snow.

Then Jumping Jack Flash...

 would be like a pile of emeralds on snow.

Wov, the diamond quilt is born!?

Ok, I know... I have only two blocks... it isn't the quilt... yet;o)

By the way I AM in the Stitch-along group hosted by Chookyblue.

I'm not sure, if I actually mentioned this, but she allowed me to join despite of... never mind... forget that!

February's challenge is to make a tote bag - True Friends. It's a pattern from Natalie Bird's Red Home book.

This pile of fabrics employ me this weekend...

HAPPY STITCHING Time To YOU!!!

BOM Rehab

Perhaps I must close the internet connection to the quilting pages....

You can't never guess, 

but I sewed a block for the NEW BOM... new bom... yes, you read it right!... NEW BOM!

a new BOM is the Aurifil Designer of the Month.

Designer of January was Erin Russek and I'm an avid fan of her appliques! So how could I resist to make her block, Jumping Jack Flash?

There is a star... 

and it's size is 12" x !2"... 

so it may fit in well with the other star blocks...

Do I explain now too much my addiction for the BOMs?

... and IF I post my block to the flickr.com group, I might win some marvellous Aurifil threads!!!

No way, I'm not gonna be outside of when this fun happens!

Besides Jumping Jack Flash block was very quick and easy to make...

... because I found those half square triangles, which I used, from this scrap bag. These HSTs are all side products from the Designer Mystery 2012 blocks. I'm glad that I have spared them. The smallest HSTs are about 1 1/2".

Past week I focused also to finish block four for Pumpkinville.

 TADAA!

I'm still well in my own schedule! The Pumpkins will be on my wall in the next autumn;o)

And specially for you I'm taking picture of all the blocks...

Fenix, you can't sit there! No one else sees nothing!

Ok, I give up, another day then...

Well, I show you some details of the blocks.

 Isn't the Pumpkin Car cute?

In Pumpkinville is a lot of windows and making them the same size... is VERY hard job!

I haven't yet succeeded... but I improve all the time ;o)

Happy BOMming Time!!!!

PS. If you are doing BOM, Sinta Renee at Pink Pincushion is collecting the news of your progress every Monday here...