Passing the Days: Day 16

I tell you, this man makes my heart sing.  Especially when he comes home from his solo shopping trip with these goodies for me.  We may have to look for joy right now, but sometimes it just comes along to cheer us on.

I continue to find joy in this daily process of making these 6" blocks.  The block for today is called Letter X.  More Hourglass units to practice on-I do think I am getting better at them.  I also enjoyed the kick off of a new blog hop today which I tell you about at the end of this post.

For this block I went with Cyan which is aquamarine blue.  I used two different values on Cyan and then wanted that center Hourglass to really pop so chose a Blue Red for that.  Red is one of those colors that will steal the show if you let it so using in a limited way adds some "pop" to a quilt.

For this block you will need:
Dark Fabric:
     (cut 1) 3 1/4" x 3 1/4"
Medium #1 Fabric:
     (cut 2) 3 1/4" x 3 1/4"
Medium #2 Fabric:
     (cut 4) 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Light Fabric:
     (cut 3) 3 1/4" x 3 1/4"

As in the past I used a scant 1/4" seam to make the hourglass units and starched my fabrics as well.  The starch is really helping with getting these to look nice in the end.  I pressed towards the plain squares as I put the block together.

And here is my finished block.  These colors are just making me happy today.

I have seen several posts on Facebook lately about declluttering.  There must be something in the air.  I joined up with a great group of quilt pattern designers for a blog hop that gets underway today.  It's the Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop hosted by Cheryl Sleboda of muppin.com.  I am looking forward to seeing how everyone organizes their studios.  I was really encouraged by Sam Hunter's post today-I need to work on that 10 minutes of clean up at the end of the day.  Below is the list of everyone participating and a link to their blog.  I hope you find some inspiration and stop by and encourage these quilter's who could really use some support right now.  Many have lost their incomes and are feeling down and discouraged and wondering how to move forward from here.  They are used to getting out there and teaching workshops and vending at quilt shows and visiting with you all so I think that you could bring joy to their day just by stopping by their online homes and saying hi.

April 1 - Sam Hunter - http://www.huntersdesignstudio.com
April 2 - Marian Pena - http://www.seamstobesew.com
April 3 - Jennifer Fulton - http://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions
April 4 - Martha Wolf - http://Www.pinwheelprodns.com
April 5 - Jennifer Strauser - http://www.dizzyquilter.com
April 6 - Steph Carton - http://www.theelimonster.com/blog
April 7 - Simone Fisher - http://www.simonequilts.com/blog
April 8 - Kate Colleran - http://www.seamslikeadream.com
April 9 - Carlina Moore - http://www.alwaysexpectmoore.com
April 10 - Jen Frost - http://www.faithandfabricdesign.com/blog
April 11 - Leanne Parsons - http://www.devotedquilter.com
April 12 - Becca Fenstermaker - http://www.prettypiney.com/blog
April 13 - Sarah Myers - http://www.quilted-diary.com
April 14 - Mitzi Redd - http://www.reddhomestead.com
April 15 - Jeanette Larson - http://www.Jenonthefarm.com
April 16 - Camille Ainsworth - http://www.stitchinthenw.com
April 17 - Becky Philips Jorgenson - http://www.patchworkposse.com
April 18 - Bobbie Gentili - http://www.geekybobbin.com/category/blog
April 19 - Janellea Macbeth - http://www.janelleamacbeth.com/blog/
April 20 - Lisa Ruble - http://lovetocolormyworld.blogspot.com
April 21 - Debra Davis - http://www.tuning-my-heart.com/blog
April 22 - Rona Herman - http://www.Ronatheribbiter.com
April 23 - Sue Griffiths - http://www.duckcreekmountainquilting.com
April 24 - Sarah Ruiz- http://www.saroy.net/
April 25 - Jessica Caldwell - http://www.desertbloomquilting.com/
April 26 - Tammy Silvers - http://tamarinis.typepad.com
April 27 - Ebony Love - http://www.lovebugstudios.com/blog
April 28 - Cheryl Sleboda - http://blog.muppin.com

Have a blessed day and may you find some joy in this day.