the block magazine

My Teacup

| Cindy Anderson

Block Magazine

I was once a subscriber to Missouri Star Quilt Company’s Block magazine. The magazines I received are still resting on the reclaimed cabinet in my office. Shown below are some of them.

Block-Magazine
Some of the Block magazines that I own

I’ve spent many hours browsing the pages of each one of those books. On the back covers I wrote the names of the quilts I might oneway like to make.

Back-of-Block-Magazine
Back of Block Magazine

One of the many quilts I fell in love with was the Teacup quilt, published in the Fall Vol 1 Issue 5 magazine. As you can see by the above photo it was one of the projects I listed on the back cover.

Teacup Quilt Pattern
The Block magazine that has the Teacup pattern

Let’s Make It!

Having fallen in love with the Teacup pattern I set-out to make one for myself. After browsing the Missouri Star Quilt Company’s website I chose a grouping of fabrics to purchase for my project. Buying the fabric, for me, is always the easy part. Finding the time to make it is what’s hard.

I had the fabrics for the quilt sitting in a tub for more than a year. Last summer, on one of my sewing retreats, I finally was able to get started. The quilt was a fun and easy quilt to assemble. Unfortunately the pattern has an error. It wasn’t until I had all of the blocks made that I discovered it.

A Pattern Error!

As I laid out the blocks to decide on their placement I realized I only had half of the blocks the quilt pattern called for. Being puzzled by this revelation I went back to the book to figure out where I went wrong. As I studied the pattern I realized that the quantity of fabric called for in the pattern was incorrect. The pattern listed only one package of 10 1/2″ squares (aka layer cake). In order to make the correct number of blocks I should have purchased two packages.

Letter to the Company

I contacted the company to point out the error.  They thanked me for the information and credited my account for $5. I guess the $5.00 was supposed to make me feel better. $5.00 was not going to make it possible for my quilt to ever be the size I was anticipating.

No Longer Available!!!

Since I waited so long to actually start making the quilt the fabrics had since gone out of print and were no longer available. On top of that I had purchased enough fabric to make the quilt backing to the correct size. Obviously I can use the extra fabric on another project, but that’s not the point. Had I known that my quilt would be much smaller I obviously wouldn’t have purchased as much. Thus, their $5.00 compensation paled in comparison to my level of disappointment and the amount of money spent on this quilt.

MSQC’s Pattern Corrections

Missouri Star Quilt Company publishes a list of pattern corrections for its subscriber to refer to. As of today the error that I found is not listed on that Missouri Star Quilt Company’s pattern correction list. I’m disappointed that my revelation has not been shared on their website. If you decide to make the quilt yourself make sure to adjust the amount of fabric that you purchase. Otherwise you too will be disappointed.

Ok, enough about my disappointment! Let’s get back to my very pretty quilt.

Moving On

In December of 2017 I was able to finally find time to finish my Teacup quilt. Using a straight-line geometric pattern, swirls, a paisley design and white thread I quilted my Teacup project on my longarm machine. Here’s how my sweet little quilt looks now.

My-Teacup-Quilt
My Teacup Quilt Top
Teacup-Closeup-of-Quilting
A closeup of the geometric meandering
Teacup-Another-Closeup
A closeup of the binding, and border quilting
Teacup-Backing
The back of my Teacup Quilt

Conclusion

Throwing aside the disappointments associated with my experience, I must say that this darling little project sits very high on my list of favorite quilts. I am so pleased to have it in my arsenal of finished quilts. 🙂

Thank You so much for visiting with me today. I look forward to our next encounter.

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Note: At the beginning of this post I mentioned that I was once a subscriber to the Block magazine. My experience with one of their patterns and the company’s failure to correct the issue had nothing to do with cancelling my subscription. I made the decision to stop receiving the magazine because I felt I had more than enough ideas for possible quilts to make in the future; let alone finding the time to make them all. I’ve also found improv quilting to be my preferred avenue to follow. I’m not saying I would never make a pattern quilt again; it’s just not as likely as it once was.

Quilt Retreat Day Seven

| Cindy Anderson

Welcome! We are about to start day seven in this nine day adventure. Over the last six posts I’ve been sharing the journey my dog Sadie and I have been taking. We are here, at my little cabin in the woods (LCITW), for a break from everyday life. The goal is to immerse ourselves in the north woods while sewing up a storm. If you have just joined us, you may catch up by following the links at the bottom of this post. Time now to get day seven rolling.

Day Seven

What an awesome change! It didn’t rain last night! This meant Sadie slept peacefully and so did I. Yippee! The clouds have thankfully moved on and the sky is once again a beautiful blue. Nothing like a ray of sunshine to brighten your day!

Before starting my sewing I took time to look at the pile of projects I’ve made during my stay here at my LCITW. I was so impressed–so happy! How wonderful to see completed items rather than stacks of unused fabrics.

A Little Detour

You know how I said yesterday that I was going to start my day sewing on an improv project–well you probably won’t be surprised when I confess that I took a slight detour. Before sitting down to begin I thought I would browse through my tub of projects to see which ones were left. Inside were three items. The first was a kit I bought several years ago from a fabric store that is no longer in business. The pattern is called Lulu’s Garden.

LuLus Garden Quilt Pattern.jpg

The second gem is a pattern from Missouri Star’s Fall Vol, Issue 5, Block magazine. The quilt is called Teacup. I would like to share a photo from the book but I don’t want to infringe on any copyright laws. You will either have to wait until I have mine assembled or follow the link above if you would like to see how it looks.

Teacup Quilt Pattern.jpg

The third little critter is also a kit. Do you detect a theme here? I saw this quilt already assembled and hanging in yet another fabric store. The real reason why I bought the kit is because of the bird fabric. I searched all over the store for the bolt but couldn’t find it. Come to find out it was only available via the kit. I’m really very fond of the other fabrics as well but not so much the quilt pattern they were intended for. Whether or not I will stray and use the fabrics in another way I haven’t decided.

Bird Fabric Quilt.jpg

Which One?

So those were my three options. Want to know which one I chose? The project that led me to establish a new game plan was the Teacup Quilt.

I won’t bore you with all the details but I will share a photo when the quilt top is finished. If you should decide to make this quilt I want to make you aware of a mistake in the pattern. The pattern calls for one package of pre-cut 10″ squares. It should read two. I didn’t realize this until I had my blocks assembled and was in the process of arranging them. If the fabrics I chose were still available I would have purchased more to make the additional blocks. Unfortunately the fabrics are no longer available.

Before Sadie and I turned off the lights I managed to even get the first border added and the fabric strips for the second one cut. By then it was darn near midnight–well past a reasonable bedtime. But who cares!

Catching Up

I mentioned earlier that I would share links to the previous posts. You may find them here: Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, and Day Six.

Thank You

I am so thankful you have chosen to pay a visit. To those that follow my blog on a regular basis I would like to say “THANK YOU!”  A blog without followers would be a waste of time! If you have enjoyed reading my post and are not currently a follower, why not become one. Just enter your email address in the space provided.

I look forward to your return visit!

Cindy Anderson

 

Friday Favorites: The Block

| Cindy Anderson

Friday FavoritesWelcome to Friday Favorites!

Over the years I have tried a variety of magazines with topics ranging from food to quilting to the arts. Some of them I received via subscription while others were purchased on an occasional basis from the newsstand. For one reason or another all but one of my subscriptions has expired. The only one surviving the ax is Block by Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Block by Missouri Star Quilt Company_The magazine, a quarterly publication, is available either by individual copy or via subscription through Missouri Star Quilt Company’s website. The publication has been in print since 2014. I began receiving it midway through that year. Unlike most of the periodicals I have read, rather than ending up in the recycle bin, my shelves contain every issue that I have ever received.

Contained within the front and back covers are patterns for a variety of items such as table runners, totes and of course quilts. Along with patterns you may also find helpful tips for general quilting issues as well as personal stories written by the author. If you were to decide to make one of the many patterns, which I’m sure you will, in most cases the pattern instructions include a web address to an on-line tutorial as well as a link to a set of pre-cut fabrics specifically chosen for the project. Of course you are free to choose your own but for those that prefer to skip that step these kits eliminate the guesswork. Here’s a sample.

Part of being human is making mistakes. The Block, since it’s run by humans, is not immune to this phenomena. If and when a mistake is found there is a website address to follow to find the pattern corrections. You may find it here.

Missing from the layout are the annoying advertisements that monopolize most other publications and there are no annoying postcards to fall out as you thumb through the pages.

Every time I receive my quarterly magazine I’m provided with hours of entertainment. From each Block I find at least five patterns I would love to try. Written on the back cover of each magazine are my notations of the quilts I would like to make. Judging by the number of names recorded I think it would have been easier to record the ones I’m not interested in.

So far I’ve purchased fabric from Missouri Star Quilt Company for two of the patterns. Unfortunately I haven’t found the time yet to make them. Since I’ve declared 2016 to be my year to SMASH MY STASH it’s very possible they will find their way into my DONE pile. When that day comes I will definitely share my experience here on my blog. Until then why not check out the magazine for yourself.

Disclaimer:

The words contained within this post, aside from the provided links, are my own. I have not in any way received encouragement from, nor compensation in any form from Missouri Star Quilt Company. I have featured this magazine on my blog simply because I am thoroughly impressed with its content and felt it might be of interest to you.

 

Cindy Anderson @ In A Stitch Quilting