Blog Hop: Strip Quilt Secrets

Today is my day to host the Strip Quilt Secrets blog hop and I'm so excited!  If you've already got a copy of Diane Knott’s book Scrap Quilt Secrets, then you know she creates some really fun designs in bright, cheerful colors that use up lots of the scrappy stash!  If you haven't been introduced to Diane's designs, then you're in for a real treat and I can't wait to show you how I decided to dive into Strip Quilt Secrets...

I started with this...a scrap basket full of selvages!  Can you believe I have 3 more baskets this full of selvages?!?!  I've been collecting them to make Diane's Gift Baskets quilt (found in her book Scrap Quilt Secrets), but I should have known she would have a selvage pattern in this book, too!  

Selvage Spools, pieced & quilted by Diane D. Knott

Paging through the book, I found the technique section titled "Piecing Alternatives" and it instantly captivated me.  I decided to dig right in to my selvages and start working on Selvage Spools!

I decided to dig right in to my selvages and start working on Selvage Spools! decided to piece my selvages on phonebook paper with a 1.5 stitch length (Bernina) to make the paper easier to remove later.  Diane does not actually use the paper, She just sews selvage to selvage!  I just did it to give myself a size guide to shoot for (and I like the stability it gives for strip piecing).

Diane points out great reasons to start collecting and using selvages, for example, all of the fun motifs - just look at those cute little pies on Brenda Ratliff's fabric instead of 4 plain dots!

And, those clovers from the well known Kansas Troubles Quilters fabrics or the how about the pretty writing on the Betsy Chutchian fabric!

Well, I guess color dots can still be fun when they have as many different shades as the edge of this halloween fabric! Speaking of the selvage edge...I'm wondering how Diane dealt with the long, fringy bits.  I decided to give some of my fabrics a bit of a haircut, while I left some "all nat-ur-al"!

3 selvage blocks trimmed to size

I left the phone book paper on the back of my blocks until I trimmed them up to size and then peeled it right off.  Then came the part I dreaded...mitered corners!  In the hundreds of quilts I've made, I've only ever mitered corners twice (and the pattern I used didn't help teach me how to do it, so I never tried again)!  

1/4" marks on the Bernina 97D Patchwork Foot

Have you ever noticed the little notches on the left side of your machine's presser foot (mine is a Bernina Patchwork Foot 97D)?  Did you know that they mark where your needle pierces the fabric (green arrow), 1/4" behind the needle (pink arrow) and 1/4" in front of the needle (yellow arrow).  These marks are a great help in knowing exactly where to stop for mitering these corners!

I had ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM mitering the corners of my selvage spool blocks with Diane's instructions.  They went right together, just how she said they would!  Her instructions were great!

Wash Day, pieced by Diane D. Knott quilted by Cheryl Ashley-Serafine

And...they were so great that I decided to sew up a bunch of my scraps as leaders/enders as I went along using her instructions for making strips for blocks in Wash Day, another quilt featured in the Piecing Alternatives section!

Just pushing the tiniest of scraps through the machine after each block from my main quilt and building strip sets.  Then I started sewing those strip sets together to begin making my block.  So far, so good, but this is definitely a VERY long term project!

Here’s the rest of schedule for the blog hop (don't forget to go back and visit those you may have missed):
All week long - Diane D. Knott, Butterfly Threads Quilting
Friday January 4 – C&T
Saturday January 5 – Tanya
Sunday January 6 – Val
Monday January 7 – Lori
Tuesday January 8 – Heather <= That's ME!!!
Wednesday January 9 – Audrey
Thursday January 10 – Susan

Now, since you've read all they way through, here's the part you've all been waiting for...please leave a comment telling me some of your scrappy or strippy quilt secrets and maybe even a favorite pattern to make with them!  Leaving a comment will enter you for a chance to win a signed copy of Strip Quilt Secrets (sorry, due to rising international postage rates, this raffle is for U.S. residents only).  I will choose a winner, at random, on Sunday, January 13th.  All winners of the the blog hop will be announced here and on Diane's blog!

For fun stuff happening today in the blog-o-sphere, check out the link-ups on my sidebar!

~ Heather

A Warrior's Faith by Robert Vera

I'm new to the world of book reviews, in fact, this is my first blogged book commentary.  With that in mind, here we go...

A Warrior's Faith, by Robert Vera, tells the story of Ryan Job, a decorated Navy SEAL blinded by sniper fire during a mission in Iraq.  The author, a friend of Job's, recounts Ryan Job's resilience, sense of humor, and determination in facing the obstacles of recovery, rehabilitation, and his "new normal," resolving to live each day to it's fullest and challenging himself far beyond expectations.  From SEAL training to Job's tragic death, this is the story of a real American hero who embodied the true meaning of inner strength and selfless service. 

If you've seen the movie or read the book American Sniper, then you are already familiar with the sniper's bullet, on the rooftop in Ramadi, Iraq, that wounded Navy SEAL Ryan Job.  A Warrior's Faith tells the rest of his story from the point of view of a family friend and confidant.  Actually, that's the beginning of the book...the rest of the book tells the story of Robert Vera and, really, how he was affected by a friendship with Ryan Job.  Often, I wished for the focus to shift back to Ryan Job and his story, instead of the ongoing chronicle of Vera's friendship with Ryan Job and his role as sort-of an extended family member of the Job family.

Throughout the book, Vera often compared Ryan Job to the biblical Job of the Old Testament.  While many of the parallels were apparent and easy to agree with, there were several that seemed to be a stretch.  At those times it felt like the author was really trying to sell the correlations by reiterating his statements time and time again (this mostly happened at the beginning of the book and smoothed out by mid-novel). 

A Warrior's Faith was a quick and easy read.  Through it, I felt like I got to know more about Ryan Job and the Navy SEAL brotherhood.  The author provides a simple timeline, at the back of the book, that would have been a great reference tool for referral (I wish I realized it was there while I was reading).  Several mentions of now familiar Navy SEALs, like Chris Kyle, from the books/movies Act of Valor and American Sniper add to the book's appeal.  As an Army wife, I empathized with Ryan Job's wife, Amy, (whom he married after his redeployment).  This book really appealed to my patriotism and reminded me once again of the sacrifices that our servicemen and women make for our American freedoms.  All-in-all a good read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. They did not require me to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”