My Current Applique Round Up

I am on complete and total applique overload lately. It's not terribly unusual around here, but once it hits, then it's almost deadly, at least to my motivation. First of all, there is my Sunburst quilt. I've firmly deemed it a 'forever' project by now, so it only proceeds in little fits and starts. A leaf here and a leaf there. Not a lot of progress ever, but I think we're good. Aren't we? It almost always makes me happy, if a bit bored in the 'doing'.

Sunburst

Next up is the low volume Log Cabin quilt, which was very sneaky about inserting itself directly into the mix. I was very happily making my free looking Log Cabin quilt top and then the idea of adding applique just sort of crept into my thought process. Ha! No sneakiness about it now. It's been like a runaway train getting all the parts prepped and on their way to completion. Just a minute there buster, you are NOT a priority concern at the moment! So weird how that happens. I've had to make myself slow down in order to concentrate on a couple of other projects!

LV Log Cabin

Quarter Circles Round #2 has been placed on the back burner for now. It just needs a little sewing done on the machine before I can attack the hand applique, so for now--no pressure. It still makes my heart go pitter patter every time I pull it out though and you know what that means.... It's one that I'm very eager to start working on! Hmm... I could probably just power through this one in no time....

Quarter Circles Round #2

The Eagle QAL quilt is basically in the simmering stage for now. I really want the next border to be an applique border, but have no brilliantly clear picture in my mind. Perhaps a classic looking vine type motif? I'm definitely leaning in that direction, but am fairly content to let it incubate--for now. Deadline is July 4th! Just curious, how long can 'for now' last?

The Eagle QAL quilt

Lately I've also been very intrigued by the Marsala Challenge, if only because I have plenty of that drab, uninteresting color in my stash. Why I ever bought it in the first place is a question that is impossible to answer, but for some reason my mind has seized upon the idea of trying to make something work. This fabric pile keeps growing larger as I wonder, hmmm...? The main problem to starting this particular project {any justification will do} is the issue of what I would clearly want to use for a pattern. It, ahem! has a lot of applique involved.*sigh  Insanity, thy name is woman... But you know, it's not like the applique would be ready right away! The initial phase of the quilt would involve a lot of sewing on the machine???

Thinking about making a 'Marsala' based quilt

And then there is the quilt that is the culprit of all my quilting stress--the 2014 Fire in Pateros quilt. Stress is NEVER, ever allowed in the quilt room, but somehow sneaks in through the back door occasionally regardless. It's a quilt I really, badly want to make {sort of feel compelled to make actually}, but it's driving me insane. The creative stage of figuring out the details was fun and a bit thrilling, but the implementation is so, very difficult and yes, a lot tedious as well. I love and adore words on my quilts. Getting them there is the problem. Arghhh!!

2014 Fire In Pateros quilt

It's also possible that I've bitten off more than I can chew. Why oh why did I plan out such a largish quilt for such a crazy, emotional project? I now have most of two 'thoughts' appliqued onto my first panel, but there are six more to go, plus two or three other areas that have words included. Not to mention a panel of other applique 'shapes' and other various appliqued bits to be placed here and there. It's the real deal, 'whole applique' quilt and would be very, extremely interesting if I could just mix it up. The problem is, this first panel needs to be completely finished before I know for sure how to proceed with the rest. The colors, balance etc. depend primarily upon this first {very wordy} panel that somehow gets me all churned up. It's not like I was at war people! 

I've recently challenged myself to complete one 'thought' per week in an effort to make some real progress, not this namby, pamby, dinking around stuff. If this means all the other applique work gets shoved aside for now, then so be it. It really need to be determined if this quilt is actually 'doable', before it gets shoved in the back of a closet somewhere out of sheer frustration and temper tantrum type antics. Who, me? haha We all know some quilts are very, very difficult to implement, but this one feels like it could be well worth the effort if I can just tackle my antipathy towards sewing on so very many of these fabric letters. {And no, I don't want to do an iron-on type of applique. I don't like how they feel in a to-be-used quilt.}

So there you have it--a complete overview of my recent applique overload. It's important to make quilts we're gonna love, right?*wink

Thinking About the Importance of Quilty Blogging and Some Eagle Quilt Progress

Do you ever wonder why it is that you still bother to blog? It takes up time that could well be spent quilting. Maybe. But would you or I really 'quilt' with that time? Especially if there wasn't the motivation to post progress? I share a lot with you here. I'm a big believer in showing HOW I get from point A to point B. For instance, want to see my latest progress on the Eagle QAL quilt? The dark and lighter blue square border doesn't exactly look exciting so I was, well... reluctant to post.

Eagle Quilt

You know all most of my pain/agony/frustration {or delight} in getting through the process shared here on this blog. Still, there are times when even I hesitate to post. But then I get annoyed at myself. This blog is MY journalling of the quilty process. It is one of the very small, but important ways I connect to all my quilty creations! In trying to explain things to you here, it often clarifies things in my own mind and makes me see more clearly the way forward. Again, for me. Although the way you might go forward is often extremely interesting. Sometimes even thought provoking. Very thought provoking. We are all so very different! I think it's good to be made aware of that difference occasionally, especially if it's done in a positive manner.

Which brings me to the next thing I have pondered. Do I write for positive comments or do I write for my own benefit? And that is the part that can get a little blurred after a long time of consistent blogging. Because, well, lets just face up to it. Positive feedback feels wonderful. And negative feedback feels like garbage. Not that I get much of that that, thank goodness! Quilty people are generally very nice people.

So..., I have had a few conversations lately {and a few happenings} that have made me question why I go to the trouble of actually blogging--writing about the process, sharing my work, my successes and yes, even my failures. Doesn't Instagram seem the way of the future? It's definitely less time consuming!

But then you I wouldn't understand why I ended up sewing and keeping my dark blue/light blue border when it's clearly not a fabulous design element. I really, really wanted {and maybe even needed} the transition between that weird goldy color and the red hst border that was supposed to be next. The red didn't look 'right' nestled up against the gold fabric and everything I auditioned made me want to go throw up. Well, that or go to sleep. So I played and played and played with every color in the fabric totes until I came up with what eventually made it into this quilt.

Because it was important to me that I have this red border! And I like that I figured something out. You get that, all of you who come to this blog and actually read through to the end of a post. I didn't plan on the dark blue squares lining up exactly with the longest straight edge of the red hst's, but it'll do. I'm satisfied enough to keep it and try to move forward.

And another border....

Do you even care? I don't know. Some probably do, some decidedly not! That's the beauty of blogging. The answers are often there embedded in the post. You can click out if you just came to see the pretty pictures or choose to stay awhile and read if you feel more curious {which I often do when it comes to other blogs}.

The deciding factor on whether or not I needed wanted to keep on blogging was an encounter from someone who saw me appliqueing my scalloped borders and thought I was making curtains. I think they were disappointed that the 'fabric thing' I was making wasn't actually curtains, and then the conversation just sort of disgruntled me from there on out. I love quilting! And I love to talk about quilting with people who also love talking about quilting. For the record, I do have friends who quilt, but mostly they only quilt a little bit these days. Not with the degree of um, well... interest that I seem to have at the moment.

So..., I went back and read my beginning blog post from over four years ago. Yep! It still holds true. I personally, need to talk about quilting and not just show the pretty pictures. I'm confident people will click out of any particular post that blathers on for too long. Honestly, I'll never have to know the difference. It's all good! A big thank you to all who share this quilty journey with me. I do so enjoy following yours as well.....

When Plan 'A' Doesn't Work and An Update on Mom's Happy Mail

Believe it or not, I don't always blindly follow my muse where ever it takes me. Part of the time there are real ideas formulated and sometimes even plans scratched out on graph paper in blue ink {at least for the initial phase of a quilt}. The key is knowing when to ditch those plans and move to Plan B, the plan that really is no plan at all.

Auditioning the cornerstone blocks

Originally, I was going to have a cream colored star around my eagle centerpiece. Which then made sense to have cream colored (at least for the background fabric) cornerstone blocks. But, as much as I love these particular cornerstone blocks, they were falling just a bit short of what I expected from them. So I moved to Plan B. The only thing I know for sure about Plan B is that it involves using a lot of this cheddar colored fabric {let me introduce you to the new cheddar background cornerstone blocks!}. The cheddar was definitely intended for use in this quilt, but not quite this much, and definitely not so much in the main part of the quilt.*sigh  We must do what the quilt demands of us or suffer the agonies of something or other. Probably sleepless nights or an endless rehash of what 'could have been'.

Playing with color and bits of applique

Using so much cheddar at this point in the quilt created other issues. Like my pitiful offering of fabric all stacked up together thinking they were the fabrics of fabric for the quilt. Apparently, I now need a strong green to hold down my center. GREEN? Where exactly is this quilt taking me? I never, ever expected to be using more than a smidge of green in my Eagle quilt!

Which led to the next thought: Does my Eagle centerpiece now need a touch more applique work to jazz it up? It IS the star of the show, so to speak. {Please, let's not forget the intent of the entire quilt....} And this is where I remembered my applique parts-and-pieces totes and started digging. I love these part-and-pieces totes. They save me every single week from arbitrarily chopping up bits of fabric and leaving them to die a slow death in the trash can.

Digging for good stuff in the applique parts-and-pieces tote

Luckily, I found these leaves and berries in the proper colors. It makes it all the more apparent if something will or will not work when they are in the appropriate colors to start with. And sometimes it even helps to throw up a fabric that will possibly be used in the next border. Does it all play together nicely? You'll notice that I took the two leaves off from the Eagle centerpiece. This quilt is telling me to have leaves on the border, or leaves in the center--not both. There can be too much of a good thing you know.

Auditioning some more applique bits and a possible border color

So wonderful that for once I figured this out before the entire thing was sewn together as it made stitching down the applique that much simpler. Auditioning applique bits is often a head scratcher for me. Basically, I'm viewing the pieces 'as-is'; ie, before the seam allowance is turned under. I just love how bold the applique looks at this size. The big decision then is this: Do I hunt for similar fabrics in the totes and cut them out this particular size PLUS seam allowance? Or do I call it good and use what I have?

Making the decision to move forward or not...

I used what what was there. Sewed them down and lost a bit of the 'punch' that the larger applique had. Hmm...  Will it work? I guess we'll see!

p.s. For those of you that have been following along, my mom has still been receiving the occasional package/envelope of happy mail! I am just flabbergasted to see them still arriving! Sorry, I'm such a slacker about posting the details, but in the last 2 1/2 weeks or so she has gotten mail from North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Washington, Kansas, Ohio and several from Texas. One woman sent her quite a few older quilt books which has been especially lovely to receive. What would we do without our patterns and inspiration? And for those that ask occasionally, she is still working some on her small economy squares quilt and now she's started a jelly roll quilt too. Better watch out or she'll end up with a pile of WIPS like the rest of us.*wink

Random Sampler Parts and Pieces

I've been not working on this quilt for a very long time. It's probably the UFQ that hangs over my head the most-- like a dark cloud of reproach. I don't have a problem with unfinished projects in general {check out this great post if you want validation that it's perfectly normal}, but there comes a time when it is time.

Working late in the evening

You know, finish it up or send it down the road? So.. since I still love the fabrics, am intrigued by the (un)pattern and think there are still things to learn from this project, I've established a deadline for finishing the quilt top: Thanksgiving weekend. If I still can't get motivated to pull it all together by that date, then I will fold in the towel on the entire project.

Making a couple more sawtooth stars just because I like them....

I also managed to finish up the applique stitching on my eagle centerpiece. I like how the flowers frame the eagle and yet soften it too.

The Eagle Centerpiece

After putting it up on the wall, I spent over an hour trying to decide what my next step will be with the eagle quilt. The colors are not cooperating with me at all! For some reason, everything I thought was happening with this quilt is suddenly in a free fall. Oh well. Some of the best quilts can come about because of re-design. I just have to be patient while it all gets sorted out....

Don't You Want to Make an Eagle Quilt Too?

For as long as I can remember, eagle quilts have intrigued me. They come in all shapes and sizes, but I'm not even sure it's possible to have a favorite! All I know is that every year around the 4th of July holiday, I wistfully think about the possibility of having my own. Then the holiday passes and the idea flits away once again to be lost into the ether.

Net Museum.org

In their 4th of July posts this year, both Barb of Fun With Barb and Lori of Humble quilts showed off eagle quilts they've made in years past. And I am so drooling! I want one too and this time I'm gonna make me one for real. By this time next year it's not going to be a just a wistful thought, but something solid to touch and maybe even throw across my couch too! You should see me scouring Pinterest and pinning like a madwoman! I have a stack of fabric (or two) that I'm already eyeballing and I've roughed out two possible quilt ideas. Both  of them terrible, but I. am. doing. this. Don't even talk to me about my other UFO's 'cuz I don't wanna hear it.*wink

Angie of Quilting on the Crescent blog has been my comrade this week(end) in dreaming up an eagle inspired QAL where we hope you will join us. It's time. We're tired of just talking about making this particular quilt happen and we know some of you probably are too. We planned a year long QAL where everyone can do their own thing, just showing up on the Quilt Like An Eagle blog (I know, I know, it's a crazy name) to motivate and inspire one another. You know that's how it works. I see your progress. I get jealous. I get to work. lol  Okay, maybe not. But we're still doing this with or without you. Don't you want to make an eagle quilt too?