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In January, Elizabeth asked us to make improv plus sign blocks.

Elizabeth provided this graphic with color recommendations (Red, Red-Orange, Pink, Violet, Lavender, White, Dark Green, Green, Yellow) and asked for 9 1/2" plus sign blocks that feel graphic and improvisational.

These felt like potato chips to me. So easy to not just make one.

I let the process of each block inform my decisions for the next block.

In my first block I created a green and yellow strip set to use for one stroke of my block. Before I trimmed it down, I really liked the shape of the yellow sticking out farther than the green.

So for the second block I pieced red and pink strips before making this strip sets. Red was my background for this block so this achieved the feature of the yellow pieces being taller than the pink in the finished strip. (It's a different proportion than the strip set for the first block.)

Following the same process I created a second strip set, leaving a larger center section. I pieced this strip into my red background before making a vertical slice to insert my first strip.

Blocks 1 and 2.

Blocks 3 and 4. In block three, I used a scrap of dark purple leftover from creating block one. And my dark green fabric was a small scrap, so I chose to use that with the dark purple to create the plus. Since these were both darks, I chose a lighter color that I hadn't used yet for the background. The plus is intentionally off center. In block four, I had cut a piece of white fabric as the background for a previous block before changing my mind. So I used that for my background. And my scrap of pink fabric was side enough to cut strips to insert across the entire width of the block. I hadn't used improv curves yet, so I went for a simple two-color block with improv curves.

Overall, I was happy with the variety of my blocks and I enjoyed working in the happy colors that Elizabeth chose for us. And now that I think about it, Elizabeth uses stripes in her work a lot. Maybe there was some subliminal inspiration for my first block. I look forward to see what everyone else creates for the prompt.

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I recently joined Silicon Valley Modern Quilt Guild. They have so much going on and I opted in for numerous small groups including the 2026 Design Challenge, run by Rhonda and Rochelle. It's a bit of a mystery, but we've kicked off with month 1. We were asked to choose a palette of at least six fabrics, and to use three of them to create a mini quilt top.

Anything goes for fabric selection. Some folks chose solids, some chose prints. I selected a mix. The palette was based on my main print with solids and blender fabrics that coordinated. My solids are Kona Pimento, Oasis, Breakers, and Pickle, and Michael Miller Peach.

Month 1: make a 5x5 grid of 4.5" x 4.5" squares. I opted for just a few of my main print and filled in with some of my solids and blenders. Unlike some folks, I chose for a random layout with respect to fabric placement.

On March 4, we will get our next set of instructions. Looking forward to playing and to seeing what other people's projects look like.

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I love Project QUILTING season. This week's challenge is Blank Slate. I had a plan for small quilts this season. And thought I would use fusible appliqué for a change. And Blank Slate even lends itself to that since I could start with a base layer of white fabric. But... I am bringing you something outside the box! Today I made this:

I imagine your first thought here is that this isn't a quilt. I do realize I've taken some liberties, but hear me out. Doesn't that open book of blank pages read as a Blank Slate to you? And Project QUILTING has minimal requirements beyond the theme:

"Your project does not need to be a traditional quilt, but must meet at least one of these three requirements:

  • include patchwork
  • include appliqué
  • have 3 layers stitched together by hand or machine."

Do I have patchwork? Nope. Appliqué? None of that. But were 3 layers stitched together by hand or machine? Why yes, yes there were!

The longest part of the process was actually prepping the pages for the book. This started with folding all the A4 papers in half, putting them together into signatures of four sheets of paper (which each become 16 pages of the finished book), punching holes along the fold with an awl, and then stitching it all together with many, many hand stitches.

We learned the French link bookbinding stitch, which would be really pretty on a book without a spine covering it up. Then we finished it up by covering it to have a fabric book cover.

I had settled on a lovely medium blue cover fabric with a pretty floral endsheet paper in soft blues, pinks, and lavenders. It coordinated nicely. But it just didn't feel like me. So I went back to the table in class to see what the other options were. That's when I saw the peacock endsheets. In the end, I chose this cover fabric to go with it for a few reasons. It was actually the first cover option that grabbed my eye at the beginning of class, it felt "me" in color, and it would be significantly easier to find laying around the house than a medium blue cover. And it didn't not coordinate with the colors in the peacock paper.

I loved learning all the vocabulary for the different parts of the book. I was already familiar with signatures (the sections of pages -- you can see them below) from my time as a yearbook student and teacher. That little green piece at the edge of the pages near the spine that you can see below is a tailband. The book also has a headband at the other end (not shown) near where the bookmark ribbon comes out. It's similar to twill tape, but has a decorative little bit for the part that sticks out.

It was a lovely class and I have no idea what I'll use my new book for. Yes, it feels too nice to use. I'll have to get over that.

I learned the process of bookbinding about 25 years ago (and only made a few books). With my foray into mixed media collage in recent years I've been itching to make books again, so this was the perfect re-introduction. This book is fancier than the ones I have made in the past. Huge thank you to Sarí who ran the class.

I'll leave you with one more closeup of the cute little peacocks.

Thanks so much to Kim and Trish for hosting Project QUILTING. I'm linking up with the others who have participated this week. There's already a great variety of projects.

For anyone who wants to play along, I'd argue with 11 hours from the time I'm posting this you have time to participate this week, but in case you don't read this until later, the next Project QUILTING challenge will come out on Sunday, January 18.

Thanks for visiting!