From One Phase of a Quilt to the Next

Next up in the hoop is Autumnal Tulips. As most of you know, there is a lot of quilt tops to choose from and most times, I can't even tell you why the current top is chosen. Not the case this time as the seasonal look evidently drew me in! I was hoping to have this top completely quilted by the end of November, but that was a bit overly optimistic. What can I say? My head generally works much faster than my hands...

Autumnal Tulips next up in the hoop

Since I'm hand stitching primarily over the top of the applique pieces, the quilting is a bit tedious. Definitely not able to employ the rocking stitch quite as much as I'd like to! Overall the vibe feels very pleasant though and I wouldn't change this quilt out for any other!

Getting in some good progress with
the hand quilting

The quilt project below, Big Basket #4 finally saw some love in the past couple weeks. All the applique was cut out and pinned to the background, just needed some stitching. Now it's ready for me to address the next phase of the quilt whenever the proper mood strikes. I'm thinking about random sized appliqued 'pear' blocks in a surround border. For some reason that element sounds super intriguing at the present. We'll see. For now, I'm just playing with fabric and pondering.

Big Basket #4

Another project that I was itching to make progress on was the 4-Block Tulip Medallion. It has quite the old fashioned vibe which makes it very fun to take it out of the project tote. There's just something about the fabric blends and colors that make me melt. The scrappy make-do borders needed to be sewn together {tho not onto the quilt!} before I could even start to get serious about the potential applique work. I've drawn up a mock-up for the tulip baskets envisioned in my head and now it is just a matter of getting the pieces drawn up to size and then translated into the most impactful fabric/colors. This step will probably take awhile as other projects keep getting in the way.

4-Block Tulip Medallion

On a whim one day, I decided to go ahead and cut out the first part of a brand new project. This fabric has been stacked up and marinating together for probably well over two years. My concern is that the fabrics will start to look dated if I don't get moving on them fairly soon.  There are just some fabric pairings that appear to have an expiration date attached! You know that I didn't actually go looking for something new to start. Oh no... Me? Why would I purposely start a new project when I already have so many in the works?

The new project

The inspiration came from an old quilt book and is deceptively simple looking. I fully intend to use more oranges than the original quilt shows and also, add some brownish purples. No applique planned at this time, but of course, anything is possible in the future. My quilts definitely have a habit of getting bossy and starting to demand things that I never, ever intended! For this project though, I'm thinking the biggest draw is the fact that it should be a great change-up from all the other projects needing hand work. Maybe if I keep telling myself that??

Inspiration from an antique quilt

The Melon Patch quilt that has been in the works for years and years suddenly took a big detour. Last June I had stitched the melon parts to this point. Not entirely happy with them, I nonetheless determined to forge ahead and in fact had finally placed them at the head of the applique project list. After spending well over an hour trying to get started stitching my first block, I just gave up, ripped out all my stitches and went to work figuring out a different solution.

Freezer paper template for Melon
Patch background

Honestly, if I hadn't spent so very many hours layering the applique parts, I would have just tossed the whole kit and caboodle. They don't look like what I wanted them to look like and quite frankly, I've fallen out of love. Yeah, I'm kinda stubborn though, and now it's become a challenge of sorts. Late that night, just before falling asleep, I conjured up an idea which involves stitching these petals into 'chains'. After that, I will further stitch those chains onto perhaps a burgundy colored background? and then into a row quilt.  So that's the new plan of attack and all the next prep work is ready to go. Whether it will look good or not is totally up in the air, but regardless, I won't be any more disappointed than I already am!

Melon Patch Rows

Of course, that was exhausting. And because I was such a good girl {not ditching the entire project forever}, decided it was time to reward myself. Why stich on the problem child when something else sounded like so much more fun? Coronacrazy is the applique project that has been most loudly calling my name of late. Quite shamelessly bellowing for attention actually! Anyway, it was altogether too easy to fold the Melon Patch project up and move it totally out of sight once again. I can only console myself that it has NOT been neglected. Merely left to marinate and simmer until we all reach a better conclusion!

Coronacrazy

This Coronacrazy quilt looks a little bit busy for one of my quilts doesn't it? I still don't totally understand the pull of this particular, oddball project and I'm not sure that I ever really will. The charm seems to be partly in the fact of using up so many abandoned applique parts and pieces, but that's not the sum total. When I start stitching, there's such a feeling of accomplishment with each new added element, I can't even explain it. It just feels good.

Starting on the bottom right side and moving up

For this particular year, it seems especially smart to work on at least SOME projects that lend themselves to joy. Right? If it ends up being a crazy hodgepodge mess in the end, oh well. Maybe I can turn it into a body pillow cover or something!

Enjoying the quilt on the bed

Thanksgiving was a little quieter here at the home front this year, namely the fact that we did not get to see the grandkids. Very sad. Hopefully we'll get to see them at Christmas! We did have a niece staying with us and I quite enjoyed visiting with her and of course, getting an occasional glimpse of the quilt on the guest bed.*wink  

Lots of family gathered at mom and dads this year {per their request} and many of my siblings came and went throughout the entire weekend. Lots of new happenings including a brand new great-niece {10 1/2 lbs!}. They had Thanksgiving with just immediate family though I did end up spending half a night helping out with the baby just before the holiday and lots of friends/family helped by dropping off food. My youngest sister and children recently, unexpectedly moved back into the area, other extended family were off checking out another state they fully intend to move to, our youngest son is working out of state until lockdowns are lifted here in Washington, we had to get two brand new appliances {why do stoves break down at Thanksgiving?} and on and on. Most of the normal Black Friday shopping was done online and a few ventured out in support of the struggling small businesses. This year seemed to be very tightly focused on being thankful, having good conversations and inhaling lots of food. 2020 has changed many of us in a myriad of ways, some for the good and others, unfortunately, for the worse....