Saturday, November 26, 2011

Orca Bay Step II Start



I wish that I loved making string blocks, but not yet. I don't dislike making them as I did at first, but they aren't my favorites to make yet.   These are my first 16 3 inch finished purple blocks for Orca bay, so I guess that I finally made up my mind and turquoise blues will be my main color.  I feel kind of left out when people talk about how fast they are to make, it seems like I spend a lot of time trying to find a string long enough, or short enough, or thin enough or fat enough.  Only 56 left to go.  They are kind of cute though. 



When I started on Friday and posted on Saturday, I had 16 little blocks.  I have 52 now (Monday), so 20 more to go.  I love how they look, but find the string process a little slow going.   I did get a couple of suggestions though, I'm sorry I'm not sure who from, but I precut lengths and that speeded up the process a bit.   I hope to finish step 2 today and then spend some time on my Iowa (Carolina ) Christmas.
If you'd like to see more cute little string blocks visit Bonnie here .

34 comments:

Michelle said...

LOVE the blocks!!!! You did good!!!

Linda said...

Your stings are so cute. I don't find them fast to make either but I sure love the results. I am working on mine today.

Gerda said...

You use daring colours with the oranges from step 1. I love it!!
And well, wether they're quick to make or not; I always make multiple in one go and divide them after finishing them!
Keep going, step 2 will pass asd well!
Love from the Netherlands

Jan Maree said...

gorgeous colours in those blocks

scraphappy said...

So cute! The purple is truly adorable. I don't find them speedy either, but I love how they look in a finished quilt.

Barb in Mi said...

Wow, this looks perfect! Love your color choice of purple!

quiltmom anna said...

They are lovely Candace- I love purple and these blocks are so rich looking. It is going to be another beautiful quilt.
Regards,
Anna

regan said...

These strings are so beautiful....they would make a fabulous quilt on their own, set just like that! Maybe you should make about 200....then you can whip up a second quilt of just strings!?! lol

Seriously, though.....they're gorgeous! LOVE the colors you picked!

Marcy said...

Nathan said it is pretty and I must agree. We love you!

Kay said...

Well.. since purple is my favorite color, I paid attention right away. This is just so gorgeous!

Ellen said...

I find that they take a lot of time as well but I think they are definitely worth the effort. Just think all those little strips probably would have ended up in the trash! Your little string blocks look great.

Art by Rhoda Forbes said...

Oh my goodness! These are just gorgeous. I started mine using just blues, might have to throw in some other colors. Lovely!

Judy D in WA said...

I love your colors! Mine string blocks went pretty fast-for me anyhow. I was listening to a book so maybe the time got away from me like it normally does.

I make little piles of sizes. when I pick up a piece and it doesn't fit here, it might fit there. And I chained 10-20 at a time.

Michele said...

They look great! I love the color :-)

Ginny said...

Love your colors, purple and turquoise. I'm gonna use blue and yellow/orange. But your's look so great maybe I'll change over to purple instead of the yellow/orange!

http://thankfullga447 said...

I am doing the strings and you are right, they are not my favorite. I love the orange in the squares.

Unknown said...

Loving the colours.

Cyn said...

Nice looking blocks, Candace.
I'm thinking 'greens' for my strip pieced squares... but just need to get started!
You are an inspiration... keep going.
Hugs,
Cyn; -)
ps: did u finish up the BowTie blocks we all did last summer?

Eat Sleep Quilt said...

your blocks are beautiful and you're doing just great! you're clever to separate them into different lengths - sometimes I label a box "first position" "second position" and so forth so I'll know right away if a piece is long enough. I save my 2" and wider strips for the very last edge because I don't want a lot of seams at the edge of the block.

Quilter Kathy said...

Your blocks look great! I find string piecing to be slow going too. I'm thinking about using solid green squares for this step!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

You are so talented! I've enjoyed looking at your quilts! I think I see some shades of lavender in this one! ♥

Chris said...

Ohhh! The purple just sparkles. They are adorable. I love your fantasy story about the Quilt. If you change the name from crazy you could incorporate gold rush somehow.

Linda said...

Oh wow! Love your purple! Lime would certainly pop with your two colors for sure. But whatever you choose to use it will definitely be pretty.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Your colors are outstanding - gonna love watching yours come together!!

Margaret said...

Oooh! I'm loving the purple!

(Purple and orange -- shades of the '60s, when my sister had purple bedroom walls and orange furniture!

Rhonda said...

Ooooo, Candace, The strips look great in purples. I can see a sunset of colors with those hourglasses mixed in. Very pretty. Looking forward to seeing the quilt when finished.

liz said...

Agree with my fellow commenters that string piecing is slow going. I actually preferred making the first step, but being mindful of Bonnie's rule #1, I am going to say that it was nice to finish the strings!
Your colours already look great.

Mrs. DillyDally said...

I love your color choices! Your blocks are beautiful!

carolyn berroeta said...

I really must come back to see your finished quilt ! It will really be stunning !

The Quilting Cat Lady. said...

Absolutely love your purple string blocks. I did my first strings in last years mystery and love making them. They where bigger last year though and that is easier cause you can use wider strings.

Deanna said...

Your colors are STRIKING! I can't wait to see your version finished.

Aileen said...

I love purple. Your blocks are lovely. I let my daughter pick the colors because she will end up with this quilt.

Sue said...

The blocks look fabulous. I love all the purples. Your colour combo is magnificent!

Barb in Smithers said...

These string blocks are tiny. You don't need to sew every seam to the paper. Sew the first seam and then use the paper as a size guide but sew fabric to fabric. Fold the paper out of the way once you know how long a piece to add. By the time you've folded it out of the way a couple times it's really easy to tear that one line to remove the papers.