MY TURN to PICK FOUR!!

SEW TODAY is the DAY!!  Day EIGHT of the Pick Four Blog Tour…MY TURN!!  YIKES!  The pressure is on….

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First of all, let me tell you that I was shocked when Sue of Quilt Time invited me to join her ‘Pick Four’ Blog Tour Team!!  Thank you Quilt Sue!!  What an honour…but to be honest my first thought was ‘I hope I don’t screw this one up!!’ 

When I received the book, ‘PICK FOUR’ I flipped though it quickly and scanned the quilts…yup…I like that one…and that one and THAT one…whew!!  I could breath easy…I liked the book!! 

Then I sat down and READ ‘Pick Four’…and discovered that I LOVED this book!!  I’ll be honest with you…I’ve been making quilts for less than ten years…I haven’t taken any classes…I have gleaned my knowledge from books…books like PICK FOUR!  PICK FOUR is the perfect book for a beginning quilter…like me!!  I learned tons…it’s also the perfect book for the experienced quilters out there who know what they are doing!! :o)

As you probably learned on the other SEVEN Blogs…the title ‘Pick Four’ is all about picking four or less fabrics for your quilt.  Sue said  the easiest way to choose fabric is to use an inspirational fabric, photo or picture from a magazine.  Well, how’s this for inspiration?  No, it’s still Summer here on Vancouver Island…but soon this will happen……and when it does I want to be ready!

I had a hard time picking my FOUR FABRICS…I’m a ‘more is better’ kind of quilter…I had to reign myself in…and it was HARD!!  I looked at my stash…and couldn’t pick just four…I even had a hard time choosing in the shop…so using this Fall photo for inspiration…

This is what I ended up with… Salt Box by Moda…Perfect don’t you think?

 

In choosing a Fall Theme…I needed a focal print (who knew?!  Not ME!) which is the fabric with the trees. I picked the orange because it wasn’t as busy and the dots because I LOVE dots!  I needed a neutral to tone down the lot…(did I just use a British accent?)

I agonized over which pattern to sew and finally PICKED this one…and got busy! (see the swirling leaves….)

I found the instructions clear and concise…any moron could follow them, so they were perfect for ME!  And there were lots of pictures for the visual learners…again tailor made for ME! 

Throughout the book Quilt Sue gives quilting tips… for instance in using this pattern she said to apply spray starch to the fabric and press with a dry iron before cutting.  Why?…because I would be cutting the squares along the bias edge and this would help the fabric keep its shape.  I didn’t know this!!  AND to my amazement, IT WORKED!!

Another thing that I REALLY liked about Quilt Sue’s book was that she shows you different layouts for the blocks. 

I tried all three layouts…before I picked the one I went with.. (I don’t have a design wall so I laid them out on my bed…then stood on the pillows to take these pictures…not the best I’m afraid…but you get the idea!  Ignore the BLUE!)

Layout #1  Layout #2

Layout #3

So which layout won….

Number…2 was the winner!

Check it out~

This is the kitchen table where it will hang out this Fall…

Let’s zoom in for a close-up…Yup, I HAD to hand quilt it using Valdani perle cotton and  BIG stitches (beige thread on the brown and brown thread on the beige). 

Let’s hang outside for awhile…catch a few more Summer rays before the Canadian geese fly over…

…and sit a spell while you peruse this wonderful book!  It’s a definite keeper!

Don’t forget you can win your own AUTOGRAPHED COPY of PICK FOUR simply by leaving a comment on this post…or you might win a copy at the other NINE blogs on the tour!!  It’s a win, win situation!!  SEW good luck!!

The Random Generator will be PICKING the winner number on Saturday morning…Sept 3!

AND…if you don’t win…then you can always order your own copy HERE!

Two more blog hops to go!!

Thursday, 1 September - Trudi at Quilting Prolifically

Friday, 2  September - Hazel at Cotton Cocktails

Make sure you whip over to England to congratulate Quilt Sue’s on becoming a FAMOUS AUTHOR!!  Let the ‘Quilt Times’ Roll!!

Have a WINNING Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P