I went to the Illini Country Stitchers bi-annual Quilt Show today. Everyone was able to select a free pattern and a fat quarter. I also bought a few yards of this heart print and black-rainbow swirl coordinate.
Here’s a few of my favorite quilts from the show.
I photojenn, submit this as my current October BOM entry
Well don’t look too closely but not bad for my first block in like 10 years and not doing something like this before 
Edited because I forgot to add the submission text. I think I did it right now.
It is so pretty! Well done!
Great job!
I think it looks good!
Q4 Goal list
I can’t believe we’re in Q4 already.
Open from Q3:
New goals for Q4:
Thanks for sharing those @MistressJennie that Christmas bauble one is fab.
@photojenn that’s lovely, well done
I just love all the happy color quilts! My favorite is mandala one. It is done in colors I am not usually drawn to, but they are quite restful!
Man, those are awe inspiring. The rainbow stars are incredible but my fave is the next pic, the circle flowers. Cool.
-I MistressJennie, submit this as my late September BOM entry.
Well, this sucks. I made a beautiful quilt block. Sadly I was off with my math when I tried to size it up to 12”. It came out exactly 12”, rather than 12.5”. I should have cut my ribbons 1 7/8”, rather than 1 3/4”. Maybe I can work it into something else, or use it on the back of a quilt.
The two circle prints make it look like you pieced circles into the block. I love the colors.
I struggled with thr resizing on the September BOM too. Sizing up or down really stretches the brain.
It is so beautiful @MistressJennie .
Your fabrics are gorgeous and I really like how you placed them in the block.
I think part of the problem is that you just can’t divide 4 by 3, and get a number that you can cut on an INCH based ruler. You just can’t cut 1.33", because that’s not a measurement we use. Thinking over it all night, if I were to do it again, I’d resize to be just over what I need, width wise for the ribbons, because I can always trim the finished component down side to side.
But honestly, I just hate resizing blocks, if I don’t have to. Most aren’t this bad, but I still find it super annoying. I actually went looking for alternatives that were already 12" blocks. I found the Woven Star, but we’ve already done that one, and I found an alternate Ribbon Star on Missouri Star Quilts, but didn’t feel like paying $7 for it.
Our non metric system sucks, but I can accurately pin at 1/4, 1/2, 5/8, 1" etc.
I can also use cm up to about 10 cm, but then lose the spacial “feeling” of it.
I went up to 1 3/8 and then adjusted seam width until it came out right. My walking foot is 1 cm, not 1/4", and that worked out. I did a number of tests.
After I finished the block I rested. 
Say a certain someone getting frustrated with their rulers slipping and wanted to add some “upgrades” to their Christmas list, what would you recommend? Do you have any favorites? Are the stripology rulers worth the $$?
Absolutely! I bought the XL Stripology years ago and I love it! Over the years, I have felt that it was definitely well worth the investment.
As for regular rulers, Creative Grids rulers are pretty much the only type I buy. I got some cheap ones when I got started, didn’t like them, and remembered some quilting ladies long ago saying that Creative Grids were the only way to go and I haven’t looked back since making the switch. Lately, though I have been thinking of adding a suction cup shower handle to my 24.5” rulers just to keep them in place even better.
I have these two simple things that help hold down most of my rulers. I also find that having a rotating cutting mat helps so I don’t have to keep turning myself or the fabric around for small cuts.
The red one is a suction cup that I got from Madam Sew. The wooden one was handmade by a quilter friend of mine in Australia. She sent it to me nearly 20 years ago, but I bet there are similar things to help.
I always recommend an O’Lipfa ruler, which has a lip on the end of it, like a T-Square does for drafting. It sits against the outer edge of your cutting mat, helping it stay straight. You can also get Omnigrid InvisiGRIP, a film that goes on the back of your rulers to keep them more grippy/less slippy.
As for a giant Stripology ruler, I think it’s really going to depend on you. I grew up quilting as a kid, (with an O’Lipfa ruler my mom had), and am used to moving my ruler over to cut strips. I find it very quick and easy to grab my regular ruler & lay my fabric flat to just cut one or two strips. I find it highly cumbersome to fold my fabric into a quarter width, get it all laying perfectly all the way down the table, then grab the giant Stripology XL and position it just right. It takes twice as long for the same result.
BUT, if I were cutting a TON of strips at the same time for the right project, I would absolutely use the Stripology.
Oh, and you can also try using an exercise weight for the end of your ruler. Donna Jordan (RIP Donna! 
) on the Jordan Fabrics YouTube used to show herself doing it all the time. I think it was a 5 or 8 lb weight, that she’d lay on the end furthest from her. Personally I just pause halfway through my cut, and adjust my hand up.
You’re right…the time it takes for me to fold and even out the fabric is what I didn’t like either. I think I used mine once to make something I saw on social media. It is gathering dust now.
I forgot that I ordered the grip stuff and other things from Madam Sew during COVID. I definitely need to stop impulse buying and then not using the stuff!
