some assembly required

All twelve Jumping Jacks blocks are done! 

Here they are - a dozen Union Jack quilt blocks are ready to be assembled! This is the very first time that they've been lined up! I made each block by pulling my favorite fabric combinations, hoping that they would all work together. I'm super happy with the result. 

Have I already mentioned 5 times that these blocks are fun to sew? And that I love them all?

Now it's time to audition sashing fabric. I think that these Tanya Whelan floral prints will play nicely with a pink dot on cream background from the Pam Kitty Picnic collection. I'm considering white floral sashing posts from one fabric to help unify the blocks. And I've reserved a pretty paisley print for the border, in either white or aqua.

Now I'm just gonna sit back and look at the blocks for awhile!

still jumping

I've had a jolly productive week! Five new Jumping Jacks blocks!

I'm having a great time with the Jumping Jacks quilt along. I can now make the whole block without looking at the pattern. I've been listening to British 80's new wave radio on iTunes while sewing. I've imagined the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) rolling her eyes at my quilt and tossing off one of her icy barbs. How long do we need to wait for the next season of Downton Abbey?!

The most creatively challenging part is coming up with each fabric combination. I am so loving using these Tanya Whelan prints. I think that they bring the perfect, almost-but-not-quite-shabby look to the blocks. And here's where I get weird. You know me and my over-analysis! I love the dots, but I can't let the dots take over the quilt. I really wanted to incorporate striped stripes and plaid stripes, but I needed to figure out how to cut them. Does anybody else overthink their fabric combos?!  And then that little voice in my head tells me to just DO IT. 

And the blocks that I thought wouldn't work ended up becoming my favorites. How did that happen? I'm really surprised by how much I like the huge cabbage rose blocks.

I've got just three more blocks to make! My fabric combos are sitting on my cutting mat. There might even be a red, white and blue flag in the works!

It's been fun sewing along with the group on Instagram. You can check out what everyone has been creating by searching for #jumpingjacksqal. And I'm @greydogwoodstudio.

Breaking news! Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts has just released a MINI version of this quilt pattern! It's available here, along with the original, full-size pattern that I'm using.

Happy weekend, everybody! Hope you have something fun planned!

jumping along

I'm back from my short break! And I'm back to the Jumping Jacks quilt along!

Last week I needed to take a short break from sewing because of work responsibilities. My team met in Delray Beach, FL to begin strategizing about 2015. After the conference ended and everybody flew home, I spent the next few days on the beach. Just me and the sand and the waves. It was blissful. No work, no sewing machine. I was very inspired by the colors, scents and sounds of the beach, and I continually thought about how to capture the experience in a quilt. I'll have some pics of my trip in a few days  - yeah, there I was in the ocean with my Nikon camera.

And by Saturday night I was home and got right back into the Jumping Jacks quilt along!

I've added two new Union Jack flags for my quilt, using a pattern called Jumping Jacks by Fig Tree Quilts. This playful re-interpretation of the Union Jack isn't too literal, but hopefully, it's still respectful of the amazing history and culture of the United Kingdom. I love how easily each block comes together. Tanya Whelan's fabrics sure do make this easy!

After doing three blocks with polka dot center stripes, I wanted to try something new - a heart print stripe! My next block will have a "striped" stripe.

The Jumping Jacks quilt along is currently in progress on Instagram and was started by Joanna Figueroa. Anybody can join, although you'll need a copy of the pattern. Just upload your images using #jumpingjacksqal.

london calling - jumping jacks quilt

It's time for the Jumping Jacks quilt! 

This is perfect for my love of all things British. Well, maybe not all things, but the pretty and tasty ones. Like Liberty of London fabric, Spode porcelain, Cath Kidston kitchenware and those yummy butter biscuits from Harrods (Have you had those biscuits? They come in butter, lemon and ginger. Seriously, have somebody bring back a tin when they visit London!) And don't even get me started on the new wave music from the 1980's or Downton Abbey.

I saw Union Jack quilts popping up all over blogland a few years ago. I loved them - all of them. But I didn't like the patterns that I bought. The most popular pattern had lots of fabric waste, and all the edges were on the bias. Another pattern was paper pieced. I find paper piecing to be too time consuming, and I hate the paper removal process - I'm one of those people who picks out the paper that surrounds each stitch with tweezers. Finally, I discovered the Jumping Jacks pattern by Fig Tree Quilts. It has almost no fabric waste and the finished block is on the straight grain. But first I needed to make a large USA red, white and blue quilt! With the recent finish of my Butterscotch Tart quilt, I felt that I could now move on to the Union Jack quilt.

My fabric is mostly assorted Tanya Whelan prints that I've been collecting. There's lots of Rosy, some Delilah and even a piece of French Hatbox. And I forgot to add the Valentine Rose fabrics into these pictures. I'm sure that they won't all end up in the finished quilt but will be inspiration throughout the project. The finished quilt contains 12 blocks and measures 71" x 84". 

The pattern is very clearly written and the blocks are easy to sew. However, the sub-units needs to be trimmed before they're sewn into the finished block. If you try this pattern, I would recommend that you read it through completely before starting. And then read it again. It's not hard, but I find that I do need to really pay attention to the direction that I'm sewing each piece. There have been a few mistakes that I'm not showing here!

There are a few of us sewing along together and posting our blocks on Instagram. You'll find them there under #jumpingjacksqal. But don't worry - I'll be showing all of my blocks right here, too!

Thanks for visiting. I'd like to let you know that I have a super-busy work week coming up. I've got lots of meetings to attend and a presentation that I need to give this week (how to increase prestige fragrance sales with movie theater and radio advertising!) This means less sewing time. I'll try to post mid-week if possible. But otherwise, I promise to be right back here with you in just one week!