Always An Excuse Handy to Start a New Quilt

Although the picture is a bit deceptive, please believe me when I say this hst medallion is actually square. Every added border is definitely an experience though. Wowsers! I certainly don't have the most accurate piecing skills these days after playing with so much improv. in the last couple years...

Hst Medallion

Not sure what I think about the first blue hst border, but I'm gonna leave it be until the next couple rounds of pink and blue are added. They are going to be switching back and forth every other row so hopefully it will all make perfect sense eventually.

It was interesting to pull out the next potential quilt tops slated for sandwiching and quilting. There are a couple ones older than these {of course}, but I just couldn't bring myself to care too much. Apparently I am in the mood to work on fallish looking quilts, but maybe not drown myself in browns like the two quilt tops I am steadfastly ignoring. We shall see. For now I am just contemplating.

So many choices

I also jumped into another brand new project. This one is a little different than  what normally happens around here these days. Uh huh. I am mostly attempting to follow a pattern. Yeah, crazy stuff! It's from the Quilt Sampler Fall & Winter 2013 magazine--a very simple and straightforward pattern that should go together super fast with no major design boondoggles and hopefully just lots of mindless sewing.

Straight & Narrow, a new start

I need want a quilt to 'gift' to someone and there is nothing in my quilt stacks or even the quilt top drawers that will work. It needs to be very nice looking but honestly, perhaps a bit bland? Just not thinking the recipient would be pleased with one of my more creative adventures. I went digging around in the binders where I store quilt inspiration from magazines and found this pattern. It's a little modern looking but when it's made up in these particular fabrics, I think it will present more 'formal' than modern looking. And that's okay. Nothing wrong with that.

The cut list

As usual I had to re-write the cut-list. It really helps me to not make weird mistakes and mess up those precious bits of fabric. I'm actually really happy to be using these {mostly} older looking fabrics and look forward to how this quilt might look in the end. And too, I've already made a mental note to make changes to the long vertical strips of chunky crosses. IF, and I say 'if', they remain in the quilt, they will have to be sewn into the quilt in an applique process rather than piecing. There is a subtle, but cool looking reproduction fabric that wants to be the background for that particular strip of fabric. It won't look good with lots of seams so..., I guess I'll be making some changes and not following the pattern to a T. Did you really think that was possible with me? Oh well, I'm getting the cart before the horse because I certainly don't intend to do anything with that part of the quilt until all the rest is sewn together. Onward ho! Still scratching my head that I'm actually making a quilt for someone specific. I don't do that. Like ever.....