OPA Sampler Blocks

Whew! I was tapping away on my laptop earlier today and suddenly realised that it's Friday already! When I'm on holidays the days do seem to blur together, but they fly by too. So, I had to have a think about what I've been doing this week ...

I made several OPA Sampler blocks:

Block 26 - Virginia Reel

I dug the tan and the brown fabric from my newly organised fat quarter drawers. I'm amazed by how much lovely fabric I had hidden in the depths of my stash, it will be so much easier to use it now.

For this block I used the freezer paper piecing method, I just love how stable it keeps all the pieces, and this one had plenty of bias edges to tame.

Block 27 - Conundrum

Whew, this block is heavy. With half inch finished strips, so it's all seam allowance on the back too. There were a couple of options for this one, and I chose to make the Chinese Coins version. Additionally, I chose to leave off the super narrow strips that were to be put on the sides, and instead made the two outer coin stacks a quarter inch wider. They won't look quite so obviously difference once the seam allowance is used up. Had I planned further ahead, I probably should have made each coin stack an eighth of an inch wider and made it more even. Oh well!

And this is the final block I made this week:

Block 48 - Cactus Basket

Another block perfect for freezer paper piecing. The fabric I used for the basket is a super oldie - it's from the tub of fabric that lovely Pam Holland gifted me. I took a photo of the selvedge, as it really shows the age of the fabric. Super basic, and before web addresses etc ...

I've been working on other things too, but they either don't seem newsworthy or I haven't been able to take pictures just yet. For example, I've had some lovely William Morris roller blinds made for our bathroom areas, and one is installed in our ensuite (but who wants to see bathroom pictures), and I'm getting the main bathroom ready before the other one can go in. Today I steamed off the wallpaper border in the w/c before I can paint in there (hopefully tomorrow). This job is one of the things I really wanted to achieve in the holidays, so I'm super glad it's getting done.

Also, I've been putting together a few placemats - I'm working toward a placemat medley pattern for my Etsy store. I'm really getting there, and only have one left to do.

So, that has been my week so far. I hope you've been having a great week ... what have you been working on?