Vintage Quilt Revival | Collect Create Circulate

Hey folks!

I know it’s been quiet around here the last few weeks. But that always seems to happen around the beginning of a new semester. Three weeks in to another semester as a full time PhD student, working ~30 hours a week, with a broken wrist –needless to say, things have been pretty busy!

But believe it or not, I have managed to get a few things done this past month! It’s been a great start to 2014, and hopefully I can keep it up over the next 11 months and have an amazingly successful year of quilting and crafting. One project that I have been meaning to tell you all about is the Vintage Quilt Revival Sampler Quilt a Long hosted by Sukie Don’t Ya Know.

I love me a sampler quilt, you never get bored because each block is different! Since, I had been hearing about this quilt a long a few weeks before it got started, and knowing that I would be returning to classes about the same time, I decided to get a jump on some of the blocks. I managed to complete four blocks before the QAL even started, and I even did a little math to make a mini of the first block!

If you haven’t heard about the book yet, it is a compilation of 20 traditional/classic quilt blocks explored in new and modern ways. The book was written by bloggers, Katie of Swim Bike Quilt, Faith of Fresh Lemons, and Lee of Freshly Pieced. Included in the book, are directions for piecing each block and a project utilizing each (quilts, bags, etc.) as well as 3 sampler quilts. Many of the blocks are constructed using paper-piecing so the book comes with a cd with each of the paper patterns. I have really enjoyed the different blocks in the book, but advise you to check the pattern errata before cutting your fabric. I forgot to do so, and have had some grumbly moments as I have constructed my blocks.

Around the same time that I received my copy of Vintage Quilt Revival from Amazon, (I pre-ordered way back in the summer/early fall, but Amazon sure did take it’s time after the book was released) I picked up a fat quarter bundle of Joel Dewberry’s Heirloom. I love Joel Dewberry fabrics, like love in a really big way, and I sure had been eyeing Heirloom for weeks! So the timing seemed like kismet, new book, new fabrics, yes please! (I sure hope a fat quarter bundle of about 10 prints will be enough combined with my Kona Snow background solid to construct the entire quilt top.)

Anyway, Sukie decided to manage the QAL in order of easiest to most difficult, lucky for me I also started with the two easiest blocks. But then later decided to go in order of the blocks in the book, which translated to weeks 1 and 4 of the QAL. The QAL actually began on Jan. 21, so this past week was technically week 2, and I definitely wanted to keep up with the linky party. So yesterday and this morning, I went ahead and finished up the blocks for week 2 of the QAL.

Now, I probably wont be able to keep up sharing a blog post about each week of the QAL, so this week you will get my first six blocks (which by the way are actually weeks 1, 2, and 4).