Small pieces, Spectacular Quilts and a Giveaway.

 l had been a fan of Mary Elizabeth Kinch and Biz Storms first book,
 ''Small Blocks, Stunning Quilts'', and was looking

 forward to buying my copy of their new book ''Small pieces, Spectacular quilts''.
 

l had the opportunity to attend Mary Elizabeth's schoolhouse at

Market in Kansas City, which left me in awe of their quilts, seeing

those small pieces up close. Then a chance meeting in an antique quilt booth led

 to a personal introduction, in which Mary Elizabeth admitted to

reading my blog!! An author reads my blog! l was humbled.
 

 So when Mary Elizabeth asked me to take part in this blog tour,

 l was honoured. Its not hard to talk about a book that you love.



Browsing the book, there are so many quilts l want to make.
 Knowing l had to make a decision, l finally settled on Fourplay.
Those little scraps fairly sparkle!!
 But l know l will be making others in the future.

l started by selecting a pile of fabrics that l love, ( as suggested in the book)

And cut according to the directions.
As is the case with all small piece quilts, time and patience are
definitely virtues needed. Normally one to bend the rules,
l chose to follow them, and allowed myself to just go with the flow.
( hmm! That sounds like a good name for a quilt! )
Each tiny piece of fabric is cut individually. No strip piecing here.
l sorted my colors for ease of pairing, and made a gazillion 4 patches.
( actually, only 64 needed to make 1 block, but it felt like a gazillion)

 

Then l allowed myself to sash a few, just to see how cute they were.

Finally, a lovely pile of blocks, and we are ready to get serious!

Time to play, move this one, move that one, till all is good.

Even choosing the sashing's was fun!!

Its a slow process, not to be hurried. Finally, the last seam.

 

Those of you who know me well, and have sewn with me,

know l like to press as l go along.

However, l had taken on the challenge of making this block,

and so l embraced the directions, which said,

 don't press until you've pieced the complete block.

And you know, it worked!!

Here it is before pressing,

Here it is after. l do love that look of a freshly pressed block.
Those little pieces are  1/2'' finished. The whole block measures 11 1/2''.

 

Then we sent it off to play.

There is something irresistibly charming about these blocks.
And l know l won't stop at 1.
After all, there is a pile of pieces already cut on my sewing table,
just begging to be played with.

Each time l look at my block, l see something different.

And l love every fabric in there.



And so now the real fun begins.

l have 1 copy of Small Pieces, Spectacular Quilts to giveaway!!

 

 

Leave a comment on this post before Wednesday

 evening Australia time,

and l will choose 1 lucky winner Thursday morning.

 

 

There are still several more chances to win a book.

And all past blog tours are worth a read, with tips, tutorials, reviews

 and even a few other quilts from the book.

 

 

July 18 Sew, Mama, Sew
 

July 24 Bemused

 

July 31 Wonky World

 



Aug 11 See How We Sew

Aug 13  Quiltsalott



Aug 20 Amy’s Creative Side

Aug 29 Supergoof
 

Sept 3 Quilts In the Barn

 

Sept 11 Stitch This/Martingale

Sept 17 Quilting With The Past

 

Mary Elizabeth is also having a ten week long giveaway with 10 lucky winners,

 over on her blog.  You will find it here.

 

Thank you Mary Elizabeth for asking me to take part in this tour.

 Its been so much fun!!

And isn't that what quilting is all about!!

 

Hope you have enjoyed seeing my block in progress.

Thanks for visiting.

And Good Luck!!

Linda.