A Sweet Finish

This ended up being the perfect finish for February. I was able to get the last stitches in the quilt last Friday and then throw it in the tub for a quick soak. Nope! No bleeding from any of those darker red fabrics. Yay! Write out a simple label and then it was time to hand deliver to my sister on Saturday.

Petra's quilt is finished!

She had forgotten that I had promised to hand quilt it over this winter! Too funny. I was hurrying, trying to get it all done before she left for a month long vacation. Oh well. Now it's done, totally checked off my list and hopefully, just in time for a little Valentines Day lift. 

Love the scrappy 16-patches esp.

I ended up doing a machine, stitch-in-the-ditch grid around all the blocks and in the seams of the inner border. I was hoping this would free me up from doing an intensive hand quilting effort, but in reality, there was plenty to do regardless. This is a big quilt. 82" x 98" before washing!

Surprisingly serene looking

Though the piecing was done years and years ago, it felt like an old friend. So many memories were brought to mind of the time spent making this top. Lots of the fabrics felt very familiar to me too as she had gifted me with the scraps and leftovers afterwards. Those pieces have made their way into many of the quilts made later on though honestly, I had totally forgotten the connection!

Very cuddle worthy...

The Geese Tracks block is still one that I favor, although I can only recall making one other quilt with it. Love the old fashioned simplicity and charm of the block. How different it can look depending on the color/fabric it's made with. 

Lots of sweetness

So very happy to have this quilt behind me and know that finally, finally it's going to be used, loved and appreciated. It's very sweet to know that my sister still loves it even after all these many years! Neither one of us mentioned that it was also used as decoration for her wedding reception, hanging on the wall behind her cake table. That part is just sad as she's now a widow. I tell myself that it's much more useful now as a finished quilt than it ever was as a quilt top. Let the new adventures begin!

I think she likes it!

In other quilt happenings around here, I've been going after the 'Country Stars' quilt project like a crazy woman. I keep making mistakes and then have to make corrections somewhere, somehow. So far I'm not letting it get me down as this quilt really doesn't need to be fantastic, only nicely done. I'm currently working on the applique prep work for the outer borders, with high hopes that the whole thing will perk up just a teeny tiny bit. Still so very bemused to be working with this particular color palette once again. Just doesn't feel as natural as it once did!*sigh

Country Stars before applique

And I'm also trying to keep up with the improv. quilt projects for my quilt meetings. We just finished up with the 3rd meeting and now I've got everyone sewing their blocks or 'slabs' together. Next meeting will be all about trimming and cross cutting for the rows. I'm trying to keep the meetings at a pace to work well with both the beginning sewers and also, the long time ones. Don't want anyone to get overwhelmed to the point of quitting, but as of meeting #4 I'm expecting to lose at least one young mama. Sewing machine problems and too much going on as she currently home schools her children. Really can't move any slower though or the experienced sewers are going to start getting super frustrated. 

Quilt Meeting progress

I've worked it out so there will be 7 meetings in all {ending the last of March}, with everyone potentially bringing their finished quilt top to the last one. At that point we'll regroup with anyone interested in moving forward with hand quilting. Technically I could probably show the basics of machine quilting too, but I just don't feel very good at that part of quilting. I'm very hopeful that our one 'long arm' quilter lady will jump in at that point and offer to help whoever wants to go that route. 

Always finding new inspiration

On a different note, I have been admiring this particular fabric in my latest quilt in the hoop. Just love that flower shape, how simple and easy it looks. Might have to keep something similar in mind for a future quilt!

New Applique Beginnings

 As per usual, the lure of the applique trips me up. No matter which projects are supposed to be 'next' in line, you can guarantee there'll always be time found for applique prep. Gotta make sure the hand work bag stays full!

The start of Orphan Annie

Orphan Annie, the pink tulip blocks {above} are one of those impulse things that I so love to do. The tulip shapes were cut-outs from the AHIQHourglass/Tulips quilt and I just can't bear to throw them away. Ughh! Can you even imagine? So I sewed up some scrappy backgrounds {20 in all}, in odd, random greens and green blues just to change things up. I'm using darker olive green fabrics for the leaves and a dark teal blue for the stems. They look fun to me even though the tulips are going to be very short, shallow blooms!

A Tisket, A Tasket

Then there's the 'A Tisket, A Tasket' project starting to take shape. I wanted to make basket blocks, but not really. Maybe something that tricks you into thinking it's a basket? After dithering over free cut triangles or the wedges for the base of the basket, I finally fell down on the side of the wedges. So much easier. And then of course I had to go ahead and add applique handles because why not? And now it's definitely a basket. 13 of them if you care about the total. Yeah. Color me surprised. Mostly, I've just been hankering to give that dark greenish/brown fabric a play. While not a huge fan of yellow and blue quilts, this is one challenge that doesn't scare me. All you have to do is add a basket or flower element and I'm all in!

The start of Country Stars

Next up is the quilt project that I will be calling 'Country Stars' because I can't really call it by its real name {Mrs. X's quilt}. I don't think she reads my blog, but just to be sure we'll keep it anonymous. And yep. It's brown.... Lots and lots of brown and oldish, sweet, sappy colors and prints. That's what she prefers so I'm gonna rise to the challenge and smile while I'm doing it. Reminds me soooo much of my older quilts. Wait? Didn't I make these stars once before? lol  

Uh huh. I've seen her roam around my living room where all the older quilts live and ooh and ahh. Okay. I give up. Apparently the newer quilts are just too bright and boring. Thankfully there are only 5 of the stars to sew as this is not something I'm terribly good at. In case you think that I've totally lost my mind, bear in mind that there will most definitely be some applique added on to the border surround. Maybe I can spice things up there in that area?

Ring Around

Another project lurking in the background forever has been these Melon Patch background blocks. After getting rid of the original backgrounds {and going in a different direction}, these little medallion 'starts' have been haunting me. 20 of them. Just too intriguing not to do something worthwhile with them! So I gathered some lovely fabrics together and conjured up a plan to make some wedge unit arches. This one is called 'Ring Around', loosely based on a quilt in a Kathy Doughty book, 'Adding Layers'. All the inspiration for the wedges is from the book, but the end result should look a little bit different. The fabrics looked much more interesting before I cut them out than they do now.*sigh  This might be the biggest flop of the year, we'll see.

Lillabelle blocks

Then there is 'Lillabelle'. This is part of a new series I've started with larger circle cut-outs because I just cannot resist the challenge. The siren call is pulling me in no matter how much I try to go do something else! When Gold Crossroads quilt top was finished up, there they were and who am I to say no? Absolutely no will power when it comes to these sorts of projects. And so you can see that this series will just sort of self generate. After these flowers are sewn on, the back side will be cut out and wallah! That will be the start of the next in the series, only this time they will be in the cheddar range instead of cream. And then the next, and then the next. Right now these blocks are quite large, 20" or so, but we'll see what happens as the series continues.

Spring Flowers getting sandwiched and pinned

With the hand stitching on Petra's quilt winding down, it was time to get another top ready for the hoop. Spring Flowers caught my fancy and so that is that. Decision made!

Sweet flowers

I don't think there will be any attempt at fussy stitching, just echo quilting etc. I'm looking forward to having a quilt in the hoop without a deadline, self-imposed or otherwise. Still wondering what in the world happened to make me want this wavy, striped fabric on the outside of this very calm and peaceful quilt. There are times that I make my own eyeballs twitch. Can't even imagine how the rest of you feel following along with all my odd and somewhat unexpected tangents!

When You Start Something Almost Beyond Your Control or Imagining

So here we go, Coronacrazy borders are all stitched down and the top is complete!*whew  This one has been a long slog, in more ways than one. It was started in March of 2020 on a total whim, with the end result always being up in the air. In fact, the end product wasn't even of much concern until later. It was all about keeping busy-hands, mind, body and spirit.

Coronacrazy borders are on

Every decision made after the initial start of cutting and stitching down the 'hills' has been a reaction to what came before. At this point, I'm being forced to call it a completed top. Is it insane that part of me wants to keep going? What in the world could possibly be added {at this point} that would benefit though? It feels done except for the quilting and so that's that.

Looking at a completed quilt top!

It's such a bright and happy quilt to be called 'Coronacrazy', but that is exactly what was happening back in the moment when this quilt was started. Covid-19 craziness. All the beginnings of the stupid lockdowns and turning our world upside down. I wanted/needed lots and lots of distraction.

Love the few areas where the hills stop suddenly

Lots and lots of stitching will do that for you! Later on when it became necessary to think about a border addition, I knew it had to be applique based. With a vine. Lots of leaves. I threw the solid pieced border in between so as to have a good transition. Worried about the color a lot, but went with it because that's what the center of the quilt requested.

One day I was looking at the calendar on the wall in my quilting room and there was the perfect inspiration needed to get going on further applique. According to the information on the back of the calendar, the artist's name is Meera Lee Patel. 

Always trying to honor the inspiration

As you can see, my applique vine is very loosely based on her drawing. Still, why not give credit where credit is due? Her beautiful work sent my mind down the rabbit trail of different sized and shaped leaves and the flowy look that was trying to take shape in the corners of my mind.

Looks like the corners weren't too choppy

I chose the leaf color based on what was going on at the center of the quilt with all those scrappy-look abandoned bits and pits of applique auditioning and prep work. At first it was easy to make lots of different shapes and see the good. Then later on, I wanted to rip several of them off and fine tune them, get rid of the blockier shapes. Nitpicking is not fun because it seems to be terribly contagious. In that vein, I only allowed myself one re-do. That's it. You're done!

Yes it all lays flat

Stitching the leaves was simple, repetitive type work. Just takes time. I never regret any of it afterward though it always makes me feel just a touch anxious at the start. Do I really have enough motivation to finish this? And yet I always do. Even if it's in fits and starts. There's something so wonderfully satisfying about completing the applique on one border side and then the next, checking off the steps until everything can be sewn together as a whole. Then there's the exciting moment when you can start appliquing the various parts and pieces to the corners, over the top of the seams. And wallah! Eventually, there comes the moment when it's ALL DONE! 

Super dark leaves for better value effect

It's just almost magical.*sigh  I came across this little excerpt about creativity by Nick Cave {below} right around the time that I was finishing up and couldn't believe how much it resonated. Though he was speaking to writing, it absolutely can apply to quilting!

The words that resonate

Though I feel a bit down in the dumps these past days, {just recovering from a few days of being sick}, I know adamantly that there are many more quilts in my future. The applique prep work was on a pretty good roll before the sickness and then of course all screeched to a stop. Now my brain feels fuzzy and disconnected and I wonder? What was I thinking? What are THOSE colors and are they worthy? What kind of a design is that? and on and on. All those questions of self doubt and papercuts to the ego. So, so timely to read this excerpt now and just blow it all off. Who cares what anyone else thinks? Yes, I'll be making some blah quilts here and there and so probably will you. But if we keep on pushing forward and paying attention to this 'animating spirit', we're gonna eventually end up with some greater gifts to the world. I think Coronacrazy is one of those gifts. It's such a beauty, totally beyond my imaginings. Which is why it had to start so simply. 'Cuz I'd have never have started it otherwise! I wouldn't have believed in it what it could be. Especially back in March of 2020!