Friday, February 24, 2012

Always Learning New Things


Have you checked out Craftsy yet? So much fun going on there! They not only have tons of online workshops and classes, but also have a vast online community of people who love to make things. You really could get lost for hours on there looking at everyone's projects. And the patterns! I've bought a couple of patterns for knitted headbands since my daughter keeps borrowing the one I got as a Christmas gift. I figured if I make here one (or two) maybe I won't keep having to look for mine.

I've been seeing a lot of blocks posted in the projects from the Craftsy Block of the Month. When I saw that it was a free class, I decided to sign up and see how it went - after all, it wouldn't cost anything and it might be fun, what did I have to lose? A fat quarter bundle was recommended - I had a set of 8. I figure if I need more fabric, I'll just find some pretty solids or tone on tones to complement my bright fabrics - so far so good!

Yep, definitely fun! First we made this Asterisk block! I've seen this around the internet a lot, and it's so much fun to make. Just a square of pretty fabric and some white strips make this one up in jiffy!

The next one for January was a Wonky Pound Sign. A square of white and strips of color. Even more fun - no measuring at all! Just slash and sew. I was a little intimidated because I like measuring. Love precision. Had a ball throwing it all to the wind and sewing this baby up! What a blast!

Since I was on a roll I went right into February's blocks! Half square triangles were the theme of these lessons. The first one used a method I have never heard of before - Magic Half Square Triangles. You take two squares, sew them together around the outside edges and cut in half diagonally both ways - this makes 4 half square triangle units fast as can be. The downside is that they are all on the bias, so a little tricky to handle. My square came out great!
And the last block is a Chunky Chevron. Very graphic! We did this making half square triangles using a drawn line method. It was fun, too. I love the bright fabric in this one! I'm excited about next months lesson, looks like a spiderweb block. It's not too late to sign up, so head on over and join in the fun!

Let me know how it goes, hope you have as much fun as I am!

2 comments:

PersimonDreams said...

I'm doing it too! I finished the first two blocks today!

Sharon-IN said...

Just found you from the dresden plate challenge. Your journal cover is so cute! And, I'm also participating in Craftsy's BOM. Fun!