One Out of the Hoop and Another About to go In

All the hand quilting is done on Muddy Creek now. I love the texture and feel of a freshly stitched quilt so very much. So worthwhile to get to this particular point in a quilt! This one has been giving me a few anxious moments, wondering if my light floral border fabric is maybe too 'light' for the murkier center colors. It always seems to be a roller coaster of emotions for me as I reach each different stage of the quilt making. Hopefully I'll find a good binding fabric to tie it all back together and then of course I'll be delighted once again. That's just the way I roll!

Muddy Creek

Next up in the hoop will be Flowers and Flying Geese. It was a small enough quilt top that the dining room table didn't have to be moved out of the way to sandwich and pin. Funny how that could be the deciding factor, but I was quite desperate to get a quilt ready to go. Don't need any down time with that hoop right at this particular moment in my life!

This is a make-do quilt top started a few years back. The flying geese units were leftovers from an old baby quilt that just sort of jump-started what you see on a quiet fourth of July weekend. I used a lot of odds and ends, leftover applique bits, and little pieces of fabrics etc. Always an interesting, but also fun, creative way for me to work. And sometimes I wonder if my best quilt tops start from this sort of challenge? It really is a huge thrill for me to figure out how to make the random odds and ends 'work'.

Flowers and Flying Geese

I can already see this quilt top is going to be a challenge for me to hand quilt. I'm really not that adventurous with pattern, but I'm thinking Perle Cotton and big stitch quilting for this go-round as far as the thread is concerned. It's a good change from the more muted colors I've been working with and this whimsical style seems to suit my current mood quite well.

A bit closer look

So ironic to see some of the same leftover pieces show up in this little mini quilt at the very same time I'm working with the other. I will never understand the way my brain works. Never, ever, ever.

Antique block mini quilt

It's been wonderful to have a slight breather from everything going on around here of late, getting more of a schedule together and less of an 'on demand' situation. Not sure what the next couple weeks will hold for me, but I'm making use of my time as I get it. I spent one evening just digging through my stash totes, emptying everything out and refolding everything well enough that the lids will actually stay on.

A stack of interesting fabric

Can you believe that some of the fabric jumped out to stay? I started with that grayed down green that I am so very tired of--challenged myself to try and find something to perk it up. Here it is in a nice little stack awaiting inspiration and motivation for some day in the future. I find that having it sit out in the open helps me to ponder ideas better and then eventually I'll make some sort of decision to go forward. Or maybe even dump it back in the stash totes. Either way, it's never a waste of time to try and generate ideas!