Monday, January 6, 2014

The New Shiny! Sampler

I've been playing around with the idea of doing a sampler quilt, something along the lines of a Dear Jane, a Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, or a Farmer's Wife Sampler. While these are all very beautiful quilts, I don't seem to be able to talk myself into trying one. Maybe there isn't enough creative license when someone else picks all the quilt blocks. Or I could be too stubborn. Either way.

I still want to do a sampler quilt so I've decided to do one On My Own Terms. I selected several (7 dozen so far) blocks that I liked of varying degrees of complexity. I'll be making them in four inch finished size and using my Moonlit Blooms fat quarter packs from Connecting Threads, with tone on tone black for the backgrounds. I'll keep making blocks until I run out of fabric - I have about 7 yards total.



Since I've been doubting my ability to make complicated blocks in such a small size, I was excited to discover that it has already been done! SoScrappy made a midget quilt, with patterns provided by Sentimental Stitches.

So I decided to dive right in this month as my NewFO. Here is the first block! The pattern is called Frayed Four Patch. I'm going to call this quilt the "Shiny! Sampler."

"Shiny: Something that is great, neat, very cool, peachy keen. From the short lived Joss Whedon television series "Firefly."" - From Urban Dictionary
Shiny! Sampler - Block #1

Reducing stitch size was critical for this, because the seams are so short. I also pressed all my seams open to reduce bulk, something I never do. But it looks so nice and pretty on the back I may start doing this on all my blocks.

I think it is going to be a Shiny year!

6 comments:

  1. A quilt named after Firefly can never go wrong. :)

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  2. Wow! I admire you for tackling so many blocks in miniature! Can't wait to see how it turns out ~ keep us posted!!

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  3. Can't imagine ever doing this myself, but then sometimes I surprise myself! Keep us posted on your project and enjoy. It looks nice for starters.

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  4. I made 3 samplers last year and I,love them because I can make them from my stash and give a variety of piecing opportunities. Good luck! I am visiting from Anything Goes

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  5. This will be amazing when it is done. I like the sampler once I'm done, but I'm always impatient and annoyed along the way. I'm still working my way through the 2012 BOM from Craftsy. The little hexagons are still waiting to be stitched. I've got so many other things to work on. Good luck!

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  6. Samplers are great for trying out new patterns. Even with the published samplers like Dear Jane and Farmers wife, I think everyone should feel free to make their own versions. There are lots of my Midgets that were not part of the original quilt. She is still putting out new blocks while I am sewing on my binding. In the end, it is all OK. It's my quilt, whatever I want in it is going to be great. I love the designs you have chosen so far. What a great start! I look forward to seeing your quilt come together.

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