Lots of Irons in the Fire as Usual

Still working on my Random Sampler, although more in bits and pieces now. It's right smack in the middle of where I walk into the quilt room, prodding me all the time to work on it. I try really hard not to fall into the trap of working on something 'I don't wanna' because that seems to suck all the creative juices right out of me. That being said, there are ahem!, ways to increase the interest....

More to do on the Random Sampler

And really, it's not nearly as difficult as it was in the beginning. Which helps tremendously. There is a rhythm to the effort that helps take away most of the frustration. Sew a few blocks together, fill in with a couple squares or random strips and then sew together the larger parts. It all works because the more that gets done, the more obvious it becomes that the little bits are just background, and therefore less important.

For something different, I sewed the binding onto my Scrap Attack #2 quilt, moving it ever closer to an actual finish. Just taking this picture though, I saw an area on the binding that needs a bit more stitching. Just a square shape there to the right on the border. It will probably take more time to match the thread than to do the actual stitching!

The first step for the binding 

I've also been slowing pecking away at the applique on these two units of my Fire Quilt. I'm not entirely happy with the flames on the Pateros part, but for now it will have to do. If it keeps bugging me, then changes can be made later. I find it interesting that at times working on this quilt makes me feel agitated and stressed. It took me awhile to realize it was the memories and I don't always want to 'go back'.

The first two parts to the Fire Quilt

I played with ideas for the rest of the quilt, throwing fabric around in wild abandon until I felt comfortable moving ahead. There is already a 'foundation' fabric sewn onto the bottom of the green/blue center of the quilt and next I need to make two foundation panels for the two sides. I say 'foundation' because they will be having more applique pieces stitched onto them too. On the left I intend to do some sentences in reverse applique {some feelings about what took place} and on the right, a compilation of simple shapes. Then there will be more applique work on the bottom as well. Whew! This is turning out to be a very labor intensive quilt. I just hope I can do it justice and maybe even have it ready for the annual town quilt show next year? Fingers crossed that I can sustain the momentum.....