Monday 7 July 2014

Block a Day July - Week 1

Since my decision last week to make a 6.5" square quilt-as-you-go block each day for the month of July, I've been doing exactly that.  Here are my first six blocks.

Block a Day July - the first 6 

Top row, from left to right:  1 July - Passport photo (imaginary self), 2 July - Hello winter, 3 July - Hand printed fabric and thoughts for a friend who had a sad day.

Bottom row, from left to right: 4 July - Dinner with friends (we talked a lot), 5 July - Scaled down star (and liberty just because), 6 July - Hourglass block for a busy day.

Block a Day July - the first 6

For a tutorial on how to make the speech bubble block, see this post.  The star block is a scaled down version of this block.

So far I'm not finding it too tricky to get the blocks done (although I have annoyed my sister by sewing loudly at 11pm at least once...).  I'm enjoying formulating a loose plan for what I'm going to make during the day, and then each block takes about 15 to 20 minutes to put together.

A few people asked me where I was going to take inspiration and colours for my blocks from.  I'm happy to share my ideas but they are just that - ideas.  This is a rule-less challenge and I feel really strongly that people should do what feels right for them.  My blocks are being inspired by what I've done, felt or thought about each day.  I didn't start out with a colour scheme but I did always plan to include bits of black and white throughout the quilt to add a little bit of cohesion.  I am deciding what block to make on the day I make it - there is very little forward planning involved for me.  I know some people are using this challenge as an opportunity to make progress with a particular quilt they're working on, and following a pattern is totally fine too!

Anyway, here is a linky in case other people who are doing the block a day challenge want to link up.  I'll post my previous week's worth of blocks, and the linky, each Monday for the rest of July.

An InLinkz Link-up


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14 comments:

EM said...

Great start.

Amber said...

This is a great idea! And you're off to a good start. :)

Robyn said...

Do you think you'll keep your blocks in order? I've been numbering mine even though I doubt they will even end up next to each other in the finished quilt. I wonder if Norma Slabbert's are in chronological order?

I like that you are visually representing the events of the day. Your quilt will be a lovely collection of memories. :)

Sarah Goer Quilts said...

These blocks are lovely. Great start. I look forward to seeing more.

Anonymous said...

Hi Adrianne! Your blocks are beautiful! I happened to have the same idea - i try to make one block each morning. I shall join you! Let's hope we can hold on our plan. Have a great week! x Teje

Helen M said...

Your blocks are awesome - very simple and effective. Very inspirational.

Charlotte said...

what a lovely idea!

Gina said...

great blocks and the reasons behind them. I'm still plodding on with the gypsy wife quilt. It's so refreshing just to have to do the one block. I'm actually looking forward to doing it xxx

Wonky Patchwork said...

Lovely idea, especially choosing something connected with your day in some way. Looks like it will turn into a gorgeous quilt.

Anne said...

I love these so much! You probably know that I'm a big fan of a daily creative challenge. :) I really hope you stick with it! You could end up with a really impressive journal quilt this way!
If you end up finding that you're getting stuck coming up with ideas, it helps to add something to work around. "This will be a week of using red" or "stripes only" or whatever. I found that super helpful after the first couple of weeks because I started getting blank canvas syndrome. :)
As an interesting aside, when I first started my daily creative challenge, I found I didn't want to sew much because I was using my creativity already. (Of course you're already sewing, so maybe it's easier to do other sewing. :)) However, after a few [scary] months, the desire to sew came back and now I feel WAY more creative than I ever have in my life. I was chatting with some of the other QDAD long-termers last night and they agreed that they also felt more creative. So if you start getting worried that you're not doing anything else creative, don't worry, it passes. :) Or maybe that was just me and you won't have to go through that!
Um. Enjoy a novel of unsolicited advice. Sorry!

Hettie's Mum said...

These look neat! Thanks for the great links to techniques. Awesome speech bubbles and star! I will have a go at these when I have a bit of spare time. My 15 mins a day is trucking a long nicely and I enjoy the rhythm this creates. 😊

Lara B. said...

You are brilliant Adrianne! Each block is so wonderful, I love your design sense. When the month is through, your quilt will be jam packed with memories and meaning.

Unknown said...

I love these! What a great idea!

Do you mind sharing where that curly text fabric is from? I've been looking for something like that!

sarah elizabeth :: {no} hats said...

I *love* these!! So brilliant. I might totally have to steal this idea for a wintry month -- what a thrill it will be at the end of July when you have 31 blocks all ready to be made into some fab!