The Applique Adventures Continue

It seems like a good time for an applique project update. Anyone who's followed me for any length of time knows that there is always a stack of hand work lurking behind the scenes, or at the very least, in the corners of my mind.

Applique done on Improv. HST Medallion border

The impulse tulips have been all sewn down onto the Improv. HST Medallion quilt. They were surprisingly quite a lot of fun to stitch, so simple and joyful! I'm leaning very hard toward adding on a very large surround of much larger improv. half square triangles. Still trying to figure it out in my head as I don't want a huge mess of bias and wonkiness to have to iron flat and attempt to square up. Will probably attack it in 9-patch units {or larger}, similar to the center of the quilt. All very 'fallish' colors, so not a huge urge to dive in just yet.

Crazy Daisy ready for stitching motivation

After the Improv. HST Medallion applique was finished, then I realized that whoa.... there was only one project actually prepped, Crazy Daisy. All the flowers were drawn onto the fabric pieces {since last October!}, but nothing was cut out. While cutting out the flowers though, I kept thinking about a project that has been haunting me for well..., forever! 

Starting the freehand lettering for the Jubilee quilt

I've drawn up so many different variations of this particular quilt through the years. Insanity. Or Yearning. You decide! My wastebasket should be full to overflowing if all the wadded up papers were put into it at once. Finally, in sheer frustration at where this other quilt {Melon Patch Rows} was going, Nowhere! 

I desperately cautiously combined the two ideas. It's not like I have anything to lose at this point. Really, Melon Patch Rows is clearly a quilt who doesn't know anything about who she wants to be! Then, after literally hours of prep work getting the first three rows of letters ready to stitch {some of it very grim and determined sort of effort}, it's suddenly the only project that I want to work on. Go figure.

Three rows of letters cut out and stitching started.
Last two rows of letters drawn and ready to go.

Oh yeah. We so.. do NOT want to ignore the muse, do we? This is an 'Augusten Burroughs' quote that resonates deeply with me of late and these stitched words, offset with the Melon Patch Rows, might just end up being a huge mangled mess. Deliberately so if my instincts are steering me aright.*sigh  And... just for the record, this quilt has now become, possibly by default, my Jubilee quilt. Yay me. Instead of the complex and intensely beautiful applique effort I had been imagining, I'll be doing a wordy, utility look quilt that most probably will reveal just a little too much about my eccentric quilting attitude. Ugh! I'm squirming. How is it that solving this meandering, problematic quilt idea ends up being the only answer that feels right for the Jubilee question too? 

Border work on Positive Thinking

Moving on to something a little more interesting, I attempted to work on the border for Positive Thinking. Because of course! It has to have a border! Somehow the ideas have kept coming back around to an attempt at clamshells, something I've dreamed about for a very long time, but kept swatting away as entirely too much work. They are just so yummy though! And why not? It's not like this is a quilt that will only look good with ONE specific border idea. It's fairly open to all sorts of grand ideas.

This time I caved and ultimately gave in to the one impulse that made me smile the most. I think there were about 11 clamshells cut out before I realized that the template needed adjusting just a bit. The bottom of the clamshell is not exactly centered and I'm already nervous about the handwork! It doesn't help that one side of the quilt is already not going to match up 'math-wise' with the clamshells. Yeah. One of those problems that will work itself out one way or another after we actually get there....

Initial phase of the border work for Coronacrazy

Then there's the Coronacrazy quilt which has all the vine stitched down on the border pieces. It's 100% ready for moving and grooving on, and my brain acts like it's stuffed with cotton. What? Huh? Can't even figure out where or how to start on the leaves. I have vague ideas, things drawn out and a fairly good doodle to riff off of, but yeah. Nothing happening here in la la land! So frustrating as there are at least three or four other good applique ideas impatiently waiting their turn for the big start.

It just feels like something needs to happen with Coronacrazy before investing too much creative energy into something brand spanking new. Which is why I will continue working on other things already in the works, all the while letting my mind ponder and mull things over until something breaks. Or maybe I should say 'sparks?' And if it doesn't? Then I will get all the various parts and pieces out sometime here very soon and force something. I know it's all there if only there was this one thing called focus....