I belong to two bees and over the past year have made house blocks three separate times. Seems quilting up a neighborhood of houses is popular. They certainly do make for a very fun quilt. Perhaps some day I'll dream up my own neighborhood now that I finally don't mind making them.
You might remember they weren't my favorite block to make. For my first house block I did a completely improv method with no planning and was not thrilled with the results. For my second house block I used a paper piecing method and was much happier. This time, I used a method from the book Collaborative Quilting by Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston. If you aren't familiar with Freddy and Gwen's books I highly recommend them. I have both books and can tell you they are full of colorful, happy, scrappy quilts.
Now don't get me wrong, house blocks are not hard to make. It's just taken me three tries to get the hang of it. Third time's a charm right? Freddy and Gwen's method is basically improv but somehow it just came together easier than the first time.
These houses are for Wendy as part of our Boulder Modern Quilt Guild Bee. She gave us all a pile of scraps and the basic info from the book with an anything goes directive. When I opened up my fabric pile I saw lots of blue and aquas. The prints and colors had a very beachy feel so I threw in a little island floral print for a couple of them to add some punch.
With the little scraps left, I managed to squeeze out a third block too. For this last one, I just had to add some water. In retrospect a bit of beach between the house and water might have been good. With the flooding we had around here earlier late last year it just might be interpreted wrong. Maybe I'll still go back and try some sand. What do you think?
Here they are all together. Hope Wendy likes them. It will be fun to see everyone's houses in a couple of weeks when we have our next sew day with the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild. If you are anywhere near Boulder, CO we'd love to have you visit us. Check out the link above for more info.
Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. Hop over and see what's going on in blogland.
Lovely houses with pretty colours.
ReplyDeleteHi, I love your house blocks. I find myself wishing there were at least 3 of me so I could do all the designs I'd like. I've made some houses, too, using paper piecing. I understand your concern about the association from flooding, but it looks great. Stopping by from WIP, Julie @ RunningHen.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI love all the houses!!! I'm glad this third time was easier. Can't wait to see them in person.
ReplyDeleteYour house blocks are beautiful! I think you've completely mastered building them. I like the house on the water. From my perspective, on the boat, it just looks like there's a big wave rolling in and it has momentarily hidden the beach. Great job with these!
ReplyDeleteLove your houses!!!!
ReplyDeleteVery fun! Houses are a great idea for the swaps. Such personality : )
ReplyDeleteLove the houses! These books are among my very favorites - love all of the improv, and love the colors too.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun little houses! I own both of those books myself...they are favorites!
ReplyDelete