Sparkle Pink Top

Sparkle Pink Top
Sparkle Pink Top

The Sparkle Pink top and back are done and at the quilter. I was in a rush and almost didn’t take a photo of this top, but it took 2 minutes, so I am glad that I did. It is a fun top and we decided that an all over design will work fine and not be overshadowed by the bold fabrics. Also, as an added bonus, an all over design will not cost as much.

Quilts Off to be Quilted

My quilter is back and it looks like she will be quilting quite a bit during the next 6 months. YAY! I took a BUNCH of quilts to be quilted on Monday. I kept three (Wonky 9 Patch, Infinity quilt and the Calm Jelly Roll Race) back to quilt myself, just so you know I am not a complete prima donna. I have to say that I took them in one of those blue plastic IKEA (great for hauling quilts) and that bag was heavy!

I also have more space now to store additional quilt tops!

Having the back to the Spiderweb done (as well as all of that %#@&^* paper ripped off) and in the queue to be quilted is great. Perhaps I’ll get the quilt back before 2013 ends and it will end up being a 14 year project rather than a 15 year project! It is last on the list to be quilted, so we will have to wait and see.

Now I feel like I crossed some sort of threshold. I feel like my decks really are clear. I still have projects on the 26 Projects list, but it feels manageable now. Putting my nose to the grindstone last year helped, as I have mentioned over and over, but until yesterday, I didn’t feel a sense of relief. That relief was building and I felt a little more of it and a little more of it with each project, but the Spiderweb was a milestone.

I also feel wary. I know the extreme amount of time I have had to sew the last year or so cannot last. I am really glad I spent the time when I had it and I am going to enjoy the time I still have, but I see the time and the quilts that resulted as a gift.

 

 

26 Projects – A New Year

I still want to work on finishing older projects. I want to continue to move older projects forward. As I said in the Creative Desert post, the longer projects languish, the less interest I have in them. I want to use new fabrics and new designs. I want to create using new inspiration and new ideas.

Still, I can’t toss all of these older projects (some of them not so old), if they have some life in them. I feel like I want to work a piece until I finish or until it can’t be worked anymore.

Yes, this list is back for 2013. I want to make progress on languishing projects and finish newer projects that still need to be quilted. I feel  I have had a strong a start.

Finished 2013 Projects:

  1. Corner Store: Finished on 1/1/2013 YAY!
  2. The Garden. Finished on 1/5/2013) YAY!

I came across last year’s end of year post and realized that I surpassed my previous goal of 9 quilts finished in one year last year when I finished 10 quilts. If I want to surpass another significant goal, I will have to finish at least 11 quilts this year. There is no hope for me now. Oh well, I did make a lot of progress on projects and that pleases me. I also had fun, which is the goal, right?

Still WIPs

  1. Aqua-Red SamplerFrances and I finished our fusible machine applique’ blocks and I am supposed to be preparing the next class on curves.
  2. The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April 2011. I really do need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked. Quilting the Whole Cloth quilt sort of got me back in the swing of quilting, so perhaps there is hope for this piece.
  3. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I think it is a sign that I need to work on this.
  4. See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing.
  5. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair?
  6. Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. I am working at ripping out the foundation paper (what a pain and what a mess!). I need to make a back and then take it to the quilter.
  7. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
  8. Flower Sugar Hexagon: sewed more hexagons together. Sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile.
  9. Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am still in the process of applying fusible. He cleaned out his drawers and found some more t-shirts to add to the quilt. Oh Yay! <– just a bit of sarcasm. He asked me again for another quilt, so I think this one is next in line. I plugged in his heating mattress pad, though, which should keep him quiet for a bit longer.

I still have a few more WIPs than I do finished projects. Again, I have made progress on clearing out old projects and I am pleased.

Ready for Quilting

  1. Original Bullseye: Top and back are finished. Needs binding and quilting. I think loopy feathers quilted in the border will set off the blocks fine.
  2. FOTY 2011: at the quilter, needs binding.
  3. Stepping Stones: currently being quilted, made binding, which she will sew on for me and then I need to stitch down the binding.
  4. New: Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. Not on original list
  5. New* Super Secret Project #2: Top and back are made. It is ready to go to the quilter. Not on original list
  6. New: Super Secret Project: top, back and binding made. Ready to go to the quilter.  Stay tuned. ;-) Not on original list
  7. Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; ready to go to quilter.
  8. A-B-C (A-Z) BAMQG Challenge – top finished, back and binding finished. Ready for the quilter.
  9. New: Sparkle Pink – top finished, back and binding finished. Ready for the quilter.
  10. New: Swoon – top finished, back and binding finished. Ready for the quilter.

Abandoned

Nothing so far

Hunting and Gathering

  • Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. Cutting fabrics as I go. TFQ does not consider this a UFO and made some good points to that end, which is why I have moved it to the Hunting and Gathering section. She says, and I have to agree, that quilts are not ‘projects’ until the sewing starts. OK. I’ll go with that.
  • Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering.
  • Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two blocks, but still on back burner while I decide on the background colors.

I decided to continue this list into 2013, at least for the time being. It is a useful tool for tracking what is done. I, of course, want to create some kind of disposition for all of the quilts and projects on the list. However, as I mentioned, I wanted to think of a new focus for 2013. I feel that I made progress on the most ancient and difficult projects and I want to honor that. I won’t give up working on the projects on this list, but I also will not allow the list to prevent me from starting new projects.

Last update on 26 Projects List

*New – Project started after I started working on the 26 Projects list

More Swoon

All Swoon Blocks
All Swoon Blocks

I pretended for a long time that I was just playing around with blocks, but after posting Swoon Block #13, I had to admit that this was a project.

I decided that I would finish up the last few blocks, put them together, make a back and see what would come next.

I am pretty pleased with the way the blocks have come out. I don’t know if this will be the permanent arrangement. I am considering and will have to see.

 

I am hard on the heels of bordering this quilt top. I had hoped to have the border, the back as well as the back for the Spiderweb done by the time I go back to work tomorrow, but I can see that isn’t going to happen. Life interferes. I have to eat, play chauffeur, spend time with DH. I am fortunate that life interferes. It is work I could really do without, as long as they would pay me not to show up. 😉

Swoon with Framing Border
Swoon with Framing Border

The first thing I did was put a framing border on the top. The variety of colors needed to be contained and the pinky orange did a good job.

Next on the agenda, which I know is going to cause me problems is the larger outside border. I am taking elements from the Swoon blocks (the corner piece, the house shape, or as Sarah calls it: the Turkey Butt) and making them to insert in the corners and middle of the borders. I am pretty sure I don’t have enough of the border fabric, so we will see how that works out.

Lack of planning with rending of garments or design challenge?

You can read about preventing sickly sweetness in the last post about this project.

Swoon #15 & 16

Swoon #15
Swoon #15

I sewed the last two blocks. They look great, I think. I did have some challenges picking the fabrics for the last two blocks.

I had picked out a certain crop of fabrics for these blocks. I didn’t want to add in any new ones that I didn’t have to add, because they wouldn’t be in the rest of the quilt.

If you zoom in you might see that I pieced some of the fabrics to make sure I had enough. That odd piecing doesn’t really show even in person, so I am happy.

Swoon #16
Swoon #16

Block #16 was a bit of a challenge, because I couldn’t decide if I wanted to use more of the blue Sophia fabric that kind of started me on this journey.I finally decided that I liked it enough to use it. I also decided that it wouldn’t scream out of the quilt that I had used too much of it.  The blues are relatively strong in this piece, but I don’t think they overwhelm it. I think the blues keep it from being too sickly sweet with pink.

Now I am done with these blocks. I have decided that 16 is enough.

The last post was about the other Swoon block I made recently.

26 Projects List – December Update

Yes, I rearranged the way this post was structured. You will get to see the year’s roundup soon, but I wanted to highlight the finishes on this list, too.

Finished projects that were on the list:

  1. Stars for San Bruno #2: Finished! YAY!
  2. Pavers. Finished! YAY!
  3. Kissy Fish: Finished! Yay!
  4. Stars for San Bruno #3: Finished! YAY!
  5. Food Quilt: Finished 5/24/2012. YAY!!!!
  6. Renewed Jelly Roll Race Quilt: Finished 9/9/2012 YAY!!!
  7. Whole Cloth Quilt: Finished 10/5/2012 YAY!!!
  8. Flowering Snowball: Finished 10/31/2012 YAY!!!

I came across last year’s end of year post and realized that I surpassed my previous goal of 9 quilts finished in one year last year when I finished 10 quilts. If I want to surpass another significant goal, I will have to finish at least 11 quilts this year. There is no hope for me now. Oh well, I did make a lot of progress on projects and that pleases me. I also had fun, which is the goal, right?

Still WIPs

  1. Aqua-Red SamplerFrances and I finished our fusible machine applique’ blocks and I am supposed to be preparing the next class on curves.
  2. The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April 2011. I really do need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked. Quilting the Whole Cloth quilt sort of got me back in the swing of quilting, so perhaps there is hope for this piece.
  3. Garden: I started this piece in a class with Pamela Allen in 2006. I also used this piece for my beading demo for the 2012 EBHQ Voices in Cloth show (March 17). I made the facing and started to stitch it down. After stitching down the facing, I need to make a sleeve and finish about 2″ of blanket stitching that I noticed wasn’t complete.
  4. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I think it is a sign that I need to work on this.
  5. See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing.
  6. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair?
  7. Spiderweb: Top is together, binding is made. I am working at ripping out the foundation paper (what a pain and what a mess!). I need to make a back and then take it to the quilter.
  8. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
  9. Flower Sugar Hexagon: sewed more hexagons together. Sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile.
  10. Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am still in the process of applying fusible. He cleaned out his drawers and found some more t-shirts to add to the quilt. Oh Yay! <– just a bit of sarcasm. He asked me again for another quilt, so I think this one is next in line. I plugged in his heating mattress pad, though, which should keep him quiet for a bit longer.

I still have a few more WIPs than I do finished projects. Again, I have made progress on clearing out old projects and I am pleased.

Ready for Quilting by Checkbook

  1. Original Bullseye: Top and back are finished. Needs binding and quilting. I think loopy feathers quilted in the border will set off the blocks fine.
  2. FOTY 2011: at the quilter, needs binding.
  3. Stepping Stones: at the quilter, made binding, which she will sew on for me and then I need to stitch down the binding.
  4. New: Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. Not on original list
  5. Corner Store:  Finished quilting the middle and am preparing to work on the borders.
  6. New Super Secret Project #2: Top and back are made. It is ready to go to the quilter. Not on original list
  7. New: Super Secret Project: top, back and binding made. Ready to go to the quilter.  Stay tuned. 😉 Not on original list
  8. Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; ready to go to quilter.
  9. A-B-C (A-Z) BAMQG Challenge – top finished, back and binding finished. Ready for the quilter.

Abandoned

  1. Flower Garden: The flowers were too spiky. This is going to Pam for a cat bed.
  2. Pineapple: will remake blocks at a later time with more care.
  3. Moon and Stars: This quilt was barely a quilt and was not interesting. I realized I didn’t want to devote time to it. So, I finally just decided to give up and get it off the list. I will send it to Pam for a cat mat.

Hunting and Gathering

  1. Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. Cutting fabrics as I go. TFQ does not consider this a UFO and made some good points to that end, which is why I have moved it to the Hunting and Gathering section. She says, and I have to agree, that quilts are not ‘projects’ until the sewing starts. OK. I’ll go with that.
  2. Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering.
  3. Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two blocks, but still on back burner while I decide on the background colors.

I am pretty pleased. I have 8 projects off the list and 9 others with a definite plan.

I am still mulling over whether I want to continue this update into 2013. I, of course, want to create some kind of disposition for all of the quilts and projects on the list. However, I do want to think of a new focus for 2013 and I don’t want it to be the same focus year after year. Stay tuned while I decide.

The Garden Progresses

Garden front
Garden front

I said previously that I thought this piece was finished. I took it out on Friday in order to decide for sure and decided to put a facing on it and prepare the piece for finishing. The photo, left, shows the front with the facing applied by machine. I am sad that some of the edge detail was lost in the seam allowance. I’ll have to remember to plan better next time.

This piece didn’t need as much beading as the others I have done. I am not sure why. Laziness might be a factor, but the riot of color and fabric definitely draws attention to the elements of this piece. I don’t think it needs much detail to draw the viewer in.

I am a little sad about these small pieces. I really don’t have anywhere to display them, but would really like to have wally large enough to hang all of them.

Garden back
Garden back

I am particularly fond of the back. I used different colors to quilt and intended to cover up the back with a fake, but it looks so nice that I could barely stand to cover the edges with the facing.

Now I need to stitch down the facing and make the sleeve. I have a lot of cards to write for Christmas, so I don’t know if I will be able to finish this before the end of the year, but that is definitely my goal.

Now I feel like I can work on some of the other smaller pieces on the 26 Projects List. Perhaps I will do a blog post about each one as well?

Original Bullseye Top

Original Bullseye Top
Original Bullseye Top

I finished the borders for this Original Bullseye over last weekend (12/1). I thought for sure I would be able to finish the back as well, but the headache hangover kept me sewing at a snail’s pace. Also, I had to clear off the cutting table before I could sew.

For some reason, finishing this particular top makes me really feel like I have made true progress on the 26 Projects list.

This top has been hanging around so long (12 years!) that I know I am acting like I finished the whole quilt. I wonder how I will feel then!

Original Bullseye back
Original Bullseye back

I got a bug in my ear to clear out some projects on Friday and made the back for this piece. I am pleased with it and think it matches. It isn’t really very special, but is interesting. As an added bonus my white on black bin has some space in it!

I have to say that I am resolved not to let projects languish for years. In the recent past, I think I have been plowing through projects once they get past the hunting and gathering stage and I hope to continue that practice.

Fortunately, I have friends with better memories than me. Julie wrote a nice overview of our Bullseye project and reminded me that I started this quilt in 2001. Last post on this subject.

A-B-C Challenge Top Finished

A-B-C Challenge Top Finished
A-B-C Challenge Top Finished

I know I should wait until after the BAMQG meeting to crow, but I can’t! I just finished this top yesterday and am THRILLED with the way it came out. The border is much simpler than I originally thought I would make, but I think it brings out all the piecing in the individual blocks. So far, I am in love.

I am planning to work on the back today. I have a large piece of the Martha Negley Mum Toss print (lower right hand corner of photo, below) to put on the back. The main color is the same as the very outer border of the front. Also, that weird gold is included in the Martha Negley print. I have to do a label and a binding, but I think I can do both tomorrow.
New Pieces, October 2012

Oh Dear! #BFSI

I am hiding upstairs for a minute to breathe. I am Miss Popularity down in the dining room (she who brings food is popular) at the moment.

The Black Friday Sew in is on Friday (thus the name). Sandy organized all the things she wants to work on and I realized halfway through the main course that I had not thought about what I am going to work on tomorrow. Yes, I have to sort silver and put the china away, but I am talking about PROJECTS! Sewing projects!

Yikes!

The Spiderweb top is done and I am still ripping out paper, so I will start the back, etc after I finish the ripping. I don’t want to work on that, because I want to be at the machine and ripping out foundation paper is a good TV project. I have to put the borders the A-B-C Challenge, so I will definitely do that. BUT what else? I don’t know. I do hope something occurs to me before I waste a whole day staring at the machine.

  • T-shirt quilt, I think.
  • Patchwork Wheel blocks

Perhaps those two projects will keep me busy and I will get a lot of them done.

26 Projects – November Update

Well, I am pleased with progress. The Spiderweb is well underway and I am nearing completion of that top. The Original Bullseye was found, which is an important step towards getting that completed.

My record for quilt finishes was 9 in one year (mostly UFOs). I thought I might finish that many this year, but it isn’t looking good. There is still hope, though.

  1. Original Bullseye: needs border, backing, quilting and binding, which are all hard to do if you can’t find the project, but I found it recently (HOORAY!!!), so that drama is fixed. I think a plain border with loopy feathers quilted in it will set off the blocks fine. Perhaps this will be a good #BFSI project?
  2. A-B-C (A-Z) BAMQG Challenge – All the blocks are sashed and the first border is on. I am mulling over how to complete the borders for the quilt. I think I will put on a P&B Happy Go Lucky grey and then a pieced border with some of the Art Gallery solids as the main fabric.
  3. Aqua-Red SamplerFrances and I finished our fusible machine applique’ blocks and I am supposed to be preparing the next class on curves.
  4. The Tarts Come to Tea: I haven’t quilted on this since April 2011. I really do need to work on the quilting. I was making good progress and then got sidetracked. Quilting the Whole Cloth quilt sort of got me back in the swing of quilting, so perhaps there is hope for this piece.
  5. Garden: I started this piece in a class with Pamela Allen in 2006. As mentioned, I used this piece for my beading demo for the 2012 EBHQ Voices in Cloth show (March 17), which means that I added some beads. I finished machine quilting this piece, removed some of the beads and have started to put beads back on to it. I think it might be done with the few beads I have put on it. I have to look at it and decide. If it is done, then I need to put a facing and sleeve on it. If I can finish this quilt, I might tie my record.
  6. Pointillist Palette #4: Fourth is a series of 6 quilts; needs tiny square patches sewn together. Mrs. K. gave me more PP fabric and I won some from a giveaway. I think it is a sign that I need to work on this.
  7. See: needs satin stitching. Small, also a possibility for finishing.
  8. Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. I like the piece, but don’t know where to go from where I am. Mouth? Hair?
  9. Spiderweb: Top is together. I need to rip out the paper, make a back and binding then take it to the quilter.
  10. Under the Sea: class project; like the design, but not the colors much.
  11. Flower Sugar Hexagon: sewed more hexagons together. Sewing Y seams is a bit of a chore, so I get tired of doing it after awhile.
  12. Young Man’s t-shirt quilt: have cut up the t-shirts and am still in the process of applying fusible. He cleaned out his drawers and found some more t-shirts to add to the quilt. Oh Yay! <– just a bit of sarcasm. He asked me again for another quilt, so I think this one is next in line.
  13. New: Super Secret Project: top, back and binding made. Ready to go to the quilter.  Stay tuned. 😉 Not on original list
  14. FOTY 2011: at the quilter, needs binding.
  15. Stepping Stones: at the quilter, made binding, which she will sew on for me and then I need to stitch down the binding.
  16. New: Wonky 9 Patch: needs quilting and binding. Not on original list
  17. Corner Store:  Top and back are made. It is ready to go to the quilter.
  18. New Super Secret Project #2: Top and back are made. It is ready to go to the quilter. Not on original list
  19. Infinity blocks: blocks sewn together into a quilt top, borders on. Back and binding made; ready to go to quilter.

Finished or Abandoned projects that were on the list:

  1. Stars for San Bruno #2: Finished! YAY!
  2. Pavers. Finished! YAY!
  3. Kissy Fish: Finished! Yay!
  4. Stars for San Bruno #3: Finished! YAY!
  5. Food Quilt: Finished 5/24/2012. YAY!!!!
  6. Renewed Jelly Roll Race Quilt: Finished 9/9/2012 YAY!!!
  7. Whole Cloth Quilt: Finished 10/5/2012 YAY!!!
  8. Flowering Snowball: Finished 10/31/2012 YAY!!!

Abandoned

  1. Flower Garden: The flowers were too spiky. This is going to Pam for a cat bed.
  2. Pineapple: will remake blocks at a later time with more care.
  3. Moon and Stars: This quilt was barely a quilt and was not interesting. I realized I didn’t want to devote time to it. So, I finally just decided to give up and get it off the list. I will send it to Pam for a cat mat.

Hunting and Gathering

  1. Spin Wheel: really not started, but supplies gathered. Cutting fabrics as I go. TFQ does not consider this a UFO and made some good points to that end, which is why I have moved it to the Hunting and Gathering section. She says, and I have to agree, that quilts are not ‘projects’ until the sewing starts. OK. I’ll go with that.
  2. Windmill quilt: Still hunting and gathering.
  3. Stepping Stones #2 using Bonnie & Camille fabrics Bliss, Ruby, Vintage Modern: made two blocks, but still on back burner while I decide on the background colors.

I am pretty pleased. I have 8 projects off the list and 9 others with a definite plan.

Spiderweb Top Complete

Spiderweb Top
Spiderweb Top

I am really pleased to say that the Spiderweb top is finished. There are still a lot of things to do to get this finished into a quilt, but I am pleased, really pleased, that the top is finished.

The paper is still in most of the blocks. I had to pull out some of the paper as I sewed, but there is still a lot to pull out.

As usual, the piece looks a lot better sewn together. The sewing together brings the whole thing together. I am pleased with the overall look, though I still think the background is a bit dark. I can tell that my tastes have changed, because the new blocks are filled with much clearer fabrics, more pink, aqua, and chartreuse. I do wonder what this piece would look like with a lighter background, but am NOT making another.

Spiderweb Top
Spiderweb Top

I have enough fabric, I think to make a binding. I have been thinking about the binding and wonder if I should make a straight of grain binding rather than my usual bias binding. There are bits of the border on the bias, because of the kite shaped pieces.

Because I couldn’t match up all the bottoms of the webs, there are some that don’t match up. I am going to be ok with the differences.

Spiderweb detail
Spiderweb detail

 

 

Quilt To Do List

“Huh?” you ask. “Why in the world do you need a Quilt to Do List when you have the 26 Projects list?”

“Well,” I say, “there are things on my mind to do that I must write down. Short tasks, nothing big. The 26 Projects list is for big commitments.”

Look at me like I am a lunatic. I don’t care. I AM a lunatic. 😉 These are the small things that I wanted to do over the weekend, but didn’t because I was madly sewing Spiderweb blocks. Why? I don’t know. I am driven to get that quilt together.

  1. Hurricane Sandy blocks
  2. Binding for BAMQG donation quilt
  3. New journal cover (this is an absolute MUST, because I only have a few pages left in my current journal!)
  4. Patchwork Wheel blocks for BAMQG donation project
  5. Borders for A-B-C Challenge

The thing about the 26 Projects list is that none of those projects are time sensitive. The projects above are short. I don’t know why I can’t just tear myself away from the Spiderweb long enough to do them. I can’t seem to. I don’t know what will happen when the 26 Projects list is finished.

 

Spiderweb Progress

Layout according to pattern
Layout according to pattern

I have firmly moved into the realm of obsessiveness with this project. I don’t know what got into me this past weekend, but I worked on sewing the blocks for this Spiderweb piece like a person possessed. I had about 7 blocks (sewn in groups of 4) sewn together last week and now I have about 108 sewn together in groups of 4.

By Sunday night I had all of the groups of 4 done and laid them out on the workroom floor (top photo, left). The piece will be large. The original pattern I drew called for a layout of 8 blocks x 10 blocks. I was glad to have the layout and some idea of what I had been thinking except that I ended up with 20 extra blocks.

Hhhmmm. One of the drawbacks for me of leaving a project to languish for so long is that I can’t really remember what I intended. I am pretty sure I didn’t intend to make 20 extra blocks and not use them. I looked at the quilt and the blocks and thought about adding them or making a companion quilt with the extras.

Spiderweb with added blocks
Spiderweb with added blocks

After much thought, I finally decided to add the blocks to the quilt. I couldn’t add them to the side because of my border blocks, so I would need to add them to the middle and make a couple of additional border blocks.

As I may have told you, my workroom floor isn’t large enough (would it ever be?) for a quilt of any size, so I had to take advantage of a half an hour after work to lay the whole thing out on the living room floor. The furniture and life debris still is in the way. The arrows are pointing to the column of blocks I am adding. I am 4 blocks short to complete the column. I will print the foundations, make the borders in between sewing the rest of the new column together in order.

Spiderweb laid out
Spiderweb laid out

I have to admit that I wasn’t sure my scheme would work. I tried to look at the layout drawing and figure out from that if my changes would work, but I couldn’t tell. I needed to lay all the blocks out.

I can be impulsive. I just started sewing the leftover blocks into blocks of 4 and figured I would work out the details later. This isn’t always the best strategy, though it does makes for some interesting design challenges. Fortunately, as I said, in this case, it worked.

I don’t have all of the leftover blocks sewn together. There is also one block whose seam allowance is a bit off. It is bugging me, so I will need to fix that.

Spiderweb marked
Spiderweb marked

I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough of the background fabric, so I was very frugal while making the border blocks. This fabric is so old that there was probably not even a whisper of a chance that I would be able to find this fabric again. I pieced parts together where I was short. It turned out that I had plenty of fabric in the end, but I am glad I was frugal. I don’t think anyone will notice my frugality.

Because the blocks are different (center and border) as well as oriented in different directions I marked each block with a number in the lower left hand corner. This tells me where to place the block and in what orientation I should position it. I often do this, if I find a layout I like and I want to position certain blocks or colors specially.

In the “Spiderweb marked” photo, you can also see how I added two more blocks to fill in so the gap where the border blocks will go did not look quite so gaping.

Spiderweb new column
Spiderweb new column

I always hope that the quilt will draw up when I sew it together. The blocks have already drawn up a bit, but this will definitely be another monster.

It feels good to immerse myself in this project and I am excited that I have made such progress. I really didn’t expect to have so much done by today. I wish I could just spend a week doing nothing but sewing. I don’t know if that experience would get this mania out of my system, but it might lessen the feelings a bit. Perhaps such a focused time would make the feelings less special. I suspect having a week of time where I didn’t have to do anything but sew would make the mania worse.