Gray Matters: a Tutorial with a Giveaway

The thing is, I'm an old soul.  The more smart phones and texting and all sorts of social and digital media become "the way things are," the more I try to fight for a slower way of life.  So while I know there are computerized and online quilt design programs, how fun is it to work out ideas in real time?

Introducing...

Oh yes.  We're turning the beloved half-square triangle - a.k.a. the "HST" and one of the most basic quilt blocks - into a wooden toy.  And I think you're going to want to play.

Supplies:

blocks
painter's tape (the pictured tape is 1 3/8 inches width)
acrylic paint
paint brushes and palettes

Instructions:

1. Ever so sweetly, ask your husband to watch the kids for the evening.  Have your best quilty friends do the same, then take over the kitchen table for painting fun and giggles.

2. Gather your supplies.

I got my blocks from Shauneil Supplies on Etsy. (Tobey is great to work with, and the wood is such nice quality!)  My pictures are showing about 25, two-inch squares ($10).  But trust me, I think you're going to want more.  Especially if you have more than one set of little hands who like to claim and hoard.

3. Grab your painter's tape and set up the blocks so that half of block is covered with tape.

Then, make like Anne and get super-ambitious by nestling some extra blocks onto the opposite side so that you're now using the full width of tape.  "Waste not, want not," they say.  :)

Fill it up really well, okay?

4. Now flip the blocks over, and...

5 Paint!

Paint!

Paint!

Let these dry for, I don't know, maybe an hour while you and the girls chat, then peel off the tape.  Allow the blocks to continue to dry overnight.

6. Clean up the mess. (I know... boo.)

You're going to eventually have to call it a night with the girlfriends.  But you really might want to make plans to meet up again in the morning, because when those blocks are fully dry, it's really going to be time to...


6. Play! It's time to see what types of blocks and designs you can come up with.

Anyone for a bold diamond statement?  I hear they're a girl's best friend...

What do you see here?  Maybe flying geese?

Ahh... a values diamond pattern.  I've really been wanting to make this kind of a quilt.

Everyone loves a good chevron.  What about when the colors break it up like this?

A lovely star pattern using negative space in the middle.

And now, flip those middle tiles over for a bright, yellow diamond.  I'm loving the high-contrast!

Well, those are all the fun patterns I had time to come up with before my two oldest sets of little hands plucked the Quilt Blocks from my possession, labeled the back of the blocks with their initials (fare thee well, pretty wood grain), and stashed them in the never-ending abyss that is also known as their "treasure chests."

However, I was able to put aside a set of these lovely Quilt Blocks in order to give them away to one of you, lucky folks!  How wonderful!  Really, when I was playing with these, there was something so very soothing about pushing around those smooth, painted tiles and trying to work new designs with them.

You might also want to win them for a child in your life.  They've clearly been a hit with my kiddos.

Another swell idea: Remember how we're doing this whole "Gray Matters" series because September is "Childhood Cancer Awareness" month?  Well, I was also thinking that Quilt Blocks would be a really great toy to send with a child as they spend a few hours at the hospital getting chemo.  I know: iPads are great.  But wooden toys?  They've been around for as long as kids themselves!  All I'm sayin' is: tried and true.

The Giveaway

I've set aside thirty, pretty little blocks plus this pretty little drawstring bag in which to hold them.  The rules are the same as the last giveway... get connected, okay?  You have four chances to win (leave a separate comment for each):

1. Follow Charlotte's gRACE for a Cure on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you do.

2. Follow my blog via Bloglovin', email, or RSS feed and leave a comment telling me so. (Just click on the social media buttons at the top of the page.)

3. Follow me on Pinterest and leave a comment telling me you do. (Don't want to follow all my boards? Check out "Gray Matters," "Quilt Love," and "Quilting Tutorials.")

4. Spread the love! Re-post this giveaway via your favorite social media network and tell me how you did.

That's it, folks! Giveaway is open to U.S. and international residents and ends on Monday, September 23, at 8 p.m. EST. Winner will be chosen by Random and announced at the end of this post.

(Also, Ida, if you are reading this, you are the winner of the fat quarter bundle from the previous giveaway. Send me an email at charlottesgraceforacure[at]gmail[dot]com so that I can mail out your fabric, okay?)

*Edit: Comments are closed.  Comment #16 wins - Logan Marriott!  Logan did the quilting on my mother-in-law's quilt, in case you missed it.  She does a gorgeous job!  Congrats, Logan - I'll send these blocks out later this week!

Gray Matters: A Giveaway

 Today I'm kicking off a series called "Gray Matters," and I'm doing it with a giveaway!

So, what is this series all about?  I have to give credit first to my friend, Tracy, for this idea of "Gray Matters;" it's her brain child, really.  Thanks, Tracy!  But in a nutshell...

September is "Childhood Cancer Awareness Month," so I want to do a few posts that focus on raising awareness and raising funds for this awful disease. The National Brain Tumor Society writes, "Cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease for children under 15... and brain tumors are the second most prevalent form of childhood cancer & leading cause of cancer-related death in children under 10, and second for all kids under 20."   Bottom line: brain tumors stink.  And well, my own daughter has a malignant brainstem/spinal cord tumor, so surely you won't fault me for focusing on this one particular cancer, now will you?

It just so happens that September is also "National Sewing Month," so we'll be talking about quilting with gray, too. So I'm calling the series "Gray Matters" due to the brain cancer aspect, but also because I love quilting with gray! It's my new white. Have you noticed?

I haven't shared this next quilt yet, but this is one of my favorites.  It's completely relevant to this series, and oh - I did the backing mainly in gray. 

Tracy and I collaborated on the piecing of this quilt that I named, "We Quilt Gray for Megan." At the fundraising event that we support, I met a young woman who was suffering from a brain tumor. (Her team name is: "We Wear Gray for Megan," hence my naming of the quilt.) I desperately wanted to make her a pretty quilt, and I wanted to make it fast. I'm so fortunate to have great friends who are so generous with their time and talents. First, Megan wanted the angel emblem in the center, so I mailed fabric to my husband's aunt to have that block completed. Then Tracy and I worked hard and late into the night to get the quilt top done, I pieced the backing, and Anne had the quilting done within three hours of it being dropped off at her house! (For the curious quilter: the pattern is the Lattice Quilt by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter and is available for purchase here.)

I don't think I'm the only one obsessed with quilting with gray these days, either. I've found so many wonderful uses of this color that I've started a new Pinterest board called "Gray Matters." 

Alright, it's giveaway time! Here are the details. This is a bundle of 15 fat quarters of quilt shop quality, gray fabrics. (It's too many fabrics to name, but yes, you do see "Pearl Bracelets," a few Denyse Schmidt and Aneela Hoey prints, and Riley Blake dots, to mention a few.) Many thanks to Tracy and Anne who helped me put this together with fabrics from their own stashes. 

We want you to stick around for our quilt auction next spring, so you have to get connected in order to win it.  You have four chances to win (leave a separate comment for each):

1. Follow Charlotte's gRACE for a Cure on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you do.

2. Follow my blog via Bloglovin', email, or RSS feed and leave a comment telling me so. (Just click on the social media buttons at the top of the page.)

3. Follow me on Pinterest and leave a comment telling me you do. (Don't want to follow all my boards? Check out "Gray Matters," "Quilt Love," and "Quilting Tutorials.")

4. Spread the love! Re-post this giveaway via your favorite social media network and tell me how you did.

That's it, folks! Giveaway is open to U.S. and international residents and ends on Monday, September 9, at 8 p.m. EST. Winner will be chosen by Random and announced at the end of this post.

And be sure to come back and visit next week for a tutorial and another giveaway!

*Edit: Our winner is comment #84: Ida!  I'll be sending you an email shortly - congrats!