Returning To Scrappy Work

 I took a lot of time off from working on this quilt. Click here to see the previous effort, from way back in March of last year. At that point, I thought I was so close to having a finish, yet when I laid it out and saw that it barely covered half of the bed, I was a bit crestfallen. I promptly put that bad boy aside and began working on other projects.

Lately, the urge to return to this scrappy 4-patch has been niggling at me. So here are some snippets of recent process.

From the Nelsonville retreat.

From Wednesday; sewing with Sharon.

A plentiful supply of triangles.

Today I am sewing over at Terry's with some of the Frankfort Girls. I will take my Scrappy 4-Patch and all the parts to see what sort of progress I can make. I figure I need at least 70-80 more blocks, so I have a stretch of work ahead of me.

I should mention that with each stage of triangles, I am trimming to size. This has proved time-consuming, yet very necessary. It is surprising that even when you think you are sewing everything exactly the same, the edges are off, almost every time. The nature of triangles, I suppose. Plus, I think my triangles start out a fraction larger than necessary, which is another consideration. I know every block must be trimmed. I've resigned myself to it, and it's really not so bad.

I need to be getting out of here!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Works In Progress

I think I start too many projects. Emphasis on START.

On Monday I had a full day set aside on which to sew with Frienzies, and when I went to the sewing room ostensibly to get my stuff ready to go, I had a heck of a time deciding which project to work on.

Aaahh!

I could not make myself focus! I truly want to work on them all, and of course that is impossible, so how does one pick? If I would finish one before starting another, I wouldn't waste so much time deciding.

It came down to choosing out of five options - three needed the sewing machine; two required hand-work. I will tell you what won out after I show you the five contenders.

First, I thought about taking the jelly roll squares - a red pile and an off-white pile. They would have been fun to sew together into the quilt top. Above, the individual blocks are laid out on the bed creating a pleasing red chain one direction and an off-while chain the other. Here's when I started it.

Next, I considered taking Diagonal Madness. It is always fun to sew Kaffe Fassett fabrics with the Frienzies, as so many of them have their own Kaffe stashes and quilts. The diagonal placement of the colors and squares requires attention; could I muster that with the Freinzies? Here's when I started it.

Another contender was the Quilter's Planner sew-along quilt. All the individual blocks are made and now the quilt top needs to be constructed. The background comes together in long strips. The directions have lots of numbers/measurements. I knew I would be talking and visiting - not concentrating, in other words. Again, could I muster that? Here's when I started it.

I have been working diligently on my Roman Holiday table topper with my big-stitch quilting. I have every intention of finishing it before Christmas, so it was a definite contender. I did take it along with me on Monday, but I did not take a single stitch on it. Here's when I started it.

The winner was Lake Effect, the 10-year project that I have basically avoided for about 3 months now. I was at a place where a break just seemed right. I am currently all revved up to do some back-basting, and this was how I spent my Monday. And, happily, several pleasant evenings since. *smile*

While I do seem to lose a lot of time spinning my wheels with indecisiveness, eventually, I manage to focus.

Of these five WIPs, I honestly think I can get Roman Holiday completely finished, and quilt tops for Diagonal Madness and Jelly Roll completed this month. I will allow myself to save the Quilter's Planner for December, and of course, this Lake Effect will take years. I have called it a 10-year project; I am just two years into it, so I have plenty of time left. No hurry, for sure. The fabric was purchased in April of 2017; here's a 2018 post about hexies for Lake Effect.

How do you overcome indecision in the sewing room? Help a girl out with suggestions!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

Returning To WIP

I don't know precisely what the distinction is between the WIP (work in progress) and the UFO (unfinished object), but my own definitions mean that the intent is to get back to one (WIP) while the other is definitely off my radar and might be dealt with at some distant time (UFO).

Because the work on this was never far from my mind, and I definitely only put it away because I really did have UFO goals to meet most of last year, this WIP has at last made its way to my tabletop.

The quilt is going to be Stars and Chain from a very old Thimbleberries book. Last year at the Canter's Cave Retreat, several of us took up the common goal to sew a Thimbleberries pattern, or use Thimbleberries fabrics, or both. I wrote about it in this post, if you want further details.

The parts to the quilt have not seen the light of day for a year, and consequently, I had forgotten where I was, what the next step is, and where to direct my focus. I eventually got it all figured out, and made good progress on Monday when Sharon was here sewing with me. She had to listen to a good bit of grumbling and whining while I tried to solve the sewing mystery that came with this revisit.

I still had chain parts to make- brown ones, blue ones, and gold ones. Below are some blue ones in the chain-piecing process - here, I'm ready to cut off the corner triangles.

It feels good to get back to this. I still like the fabrics I chose, and I am excited to see the pieces coming together as well as they are. My sewing time has been rather limited this week, but perhaps this weekend I will be able to get a big hunk of time to devote to it.

Hope you are accomplishing great things!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

First Flimsy Finish for 2018

In the hustle and bustle of Christmas sewing and activities, I ignored a very pretty WIP on my design wall. After finishing the last UFO of the year, I felt a strong desire to just play for awhile, so I pulled out the tub of Roman Holiday remnants and made the center portion of a mini-quilt using HSTs. Fun! 

Then I put it on the design wall, played around a bit with potential borders, but really just left it alone for about 3 weeks. My focus turned to other projects and necessary things - Christmas prepping!!

I came to my senses yesterday, pieced those reds together and attached the border. Easy as can be and OH. I. LOVE. IT!! Won't this be a pretty table topper for decorating next Christmas??

My tub of RH remnants should look emptier, but I still have quite a bit to work with. Can't wait to see what I come up with next!

I will link up today with Silly Mama Quilts for her WIP linky party.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

WIP

My current work in progress is one that I just continue to drag my feet on. But I have made some recent progress, and I figure I might as well share it.

This is three of five long parts that will become Elisa's quilt. I have these three quilted; the other two await quilting. I don't know if it's readily apparent or not, but the middle part is narrower than the two outer parts. This is by design, and the remaining two parts will be one of each width.

I've tried folding under the excess batting and backing, so that accounts for the lump. I wanted to lay them out side by side to see the general effect. I am happy with it and just need to keep going.

These last two picture are closeups that I hope show the quilting a bit better. I have done all vertical quilting with varied spacing between. 

I keep saying I want to get this done; I just have to make myself stay at it.

Happy Quilting, Friends!