It's a Long Post About 17 in 2017 Progress

Committing to 17 in 2017 was a big step for me. While I personally have a lot of quilting lists, feeling pressure is something I generally try to avoid! Meredithe made it super easy though and just encouraged us to make forward progress with each item on the list. Okay, easy enough! So that's what happened and wowsers, did I even surprise myself!

The Eagle Quilt is a Finish!

I divided the list into two sections, 11 quilt tops with a goal of reaching completed quilt top stage and 6 tops to be complete, true-blue finishes. Nine out of those eleven projects made it to the quilt top stage--82% success, and five out of six tops made it the finish line--83%. I feel pretty good about those numbers because the other two incomplete projects did actually make forward progress {yay!} and the only quilt top not finished yet {in that particular list} is still sitting at my longarm friends.  Good intentions and all that....

It's been a long time coming!

So this Eagle quilt. Yep! It's my very last finish for 2017. Just squeaked in at the last minute. I was pretty determined not to stress over the lists and details-- just let it all play out. I did as always and just picked up the hoop whenever time permitted or I was in the mood. The funny thing is, this quilt has never been one that I've been 'raring to get quilting on'. Once I had the hoop in my lap and had been stitching for awhile, then I would relax into it and really start enjoying the stitching. Thankfully that doesn't happen very often, or I would never get any hand quilting done!

Loving how it looks with the stitching

This quilt was started back in 2014. In fact, Angie and I started an Eagle quilt blog for awhile with the determination to make our own eagle quilts and encourage others to join in the fun. While it was great fun initially, the fire happened here that summer and I abruptly changed my focus. This quilt top took a good long while to come together and then, well... you know me. My quilt finishes are usually lagging a year or two behind the point of a completed quilt top! I don't feel too terribly bad as I don't think Angie's gorgeous quilt top is completed yet either!

I'm glad it was on my 17 in 2017 list though. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure it would still be languishing in the drawers with others that I'm stalling on! The thing that was holding me back was how to quilt it. For some reason this was one of those quilts that I couldn't 'see' and so finally I had to just get it in the hoop and start the stitching. Yes. That means I had times where I ripped out lots of stitching and started over. Mostly though, the more I stitched, the more it started making sense. It's all stitched with Perle Cotton #8 or #12 thread, something I do for all my hand quilting anymore. And I LOVE the texture in this quilt. It really makes the entire quilt come alive in a way that makes it all so worthwhile.

The eagle design was something I drew on paper after looking at lots and lots of other eagle quilts. Then I fussed and fussed with until it started looking the way I wanted it to and also fit into the size square I wanted for my quilt centerpiece. No, I'm not a good artist nor do I draw worth beans. It's just something you have to trust yourself to make happen and keep trying! What's the worst that can happen? That's what I always tell myself at the start when I'm feeling the agonies of inadequacy. You can read more about some of the other design process here or here if you like. As the time drew nearer to putting it in the hoop, I almost took the '2015' off the quilt and replaced it with '2017'. So glad I didn't though. This quilt really didn't have much to do with this past year and that only has to make sense to me!

One last picture!

So back to the 17 in 2017 list, my Peachy Cameo Medallion quilt finally reached the completed quilt top stage as well. Last we talked, all it was needing was the corner bits. You can see that I ended up making the fabric do the bulk of the work and just kept the shape super simple.

The corner work

My youngest son reluctantly helped me get a picture outdoors as the quilt was too big for a full shot in the house. That particular day was freezing cold though and he only lasted about five minutes, before running back into the house like a little girl.*hehe  Just kidding. It really was ridiculously cold to be standing about outdoors, trying and trying for that perfect shot.

Sort of a full-on picture....

 And last but not least was a project that I mentally determined to get rid of at least three or four different times. But every single time I opened up the box to finally put all the {set aside} fabrics back with the rest of the stash, my mind started spinning and nope. Just couldn't toss this one quite yet. Finally here in the last week I decided to actually DO something with it or be done with it forever.

Shattered--The scrap bin quilt

This project has been in the works for a couple years now and the entire center is made totally from the scrap bin. The plan was to make several vertical columns of make-fabric flying geese, but that essentially involved sewing hundreds of them. Ughh.. After making 72, I threw up my hands and decided that I was done. Then, when I was faced with throwing it all away or continuing on somehow, I suddenly changed course and decided what if? What if I took those flying geese and set them medallion style around the centerpiece? When I found an old castoff shirt of my husbands in the stash tote, that decision was set in stone and I was off and running. Still don't know what I'll do with the remaining 32 geese or where this quilt will end up. Mostly for now, I'm resting on my laurels that yes, indeedy, it did make forward progress as well.*whew!  It's been a good year!

Thanks Meredithe and Ann and all my other fellow 17ufosin2017 cohorts for the wonderful encouragement throughout the year and helping to push, nudge and cheer lead each other along. I definitely needed it with some of these projects!

In the Hoop

I don't have much to show for November progress on 17ufosin2017. The eagle quilt is the only one to gain any forward motion at all, and that's only because I need my hoop time like I need to breathe. It's not by chance that this is the only quilt in the hoop at the moment. Way past time for this one to see a completion!

Eagle quilt getting some stitching time

Assuming life would cooperate and one full hoop could be stitched each day, this quilt would be finished in just over two weeks. But we are talking about December. I'd be absolutely delighted to see a finish by the end of the month! And we really never know anyway. Border work sometimes causes its own kind of momentum. Seeing the light at the end up the tunnel sometimes makes us pick up speed or ahem! knuckle down and put in that extra little bit of time. Which always adds up. I had a really, really hard time wanting to stitch in the center of this particular quilt. In comparison? The border just seems easy, peasy.....

17 in 2017 Still Moving Along

Still working on the 17-ufos-in-2017. For the Peachy Cameo Medallion, I have been working on a scalloped border. Couldn't find the right border fabric and then stumbled upon this funky print in the stash. I feel in love with it not knowing how it would end up being used and so this is a surprising choice to me.

Peachy Cameo Medallion

Overall though, the entire quilt has been surprising. It seems odd to still be incorporating more red and blue into this quilt instead of branching off into other colors like usual! Still have two border units left to go before this scallop border will be complete and also the corner blocks--not sure what's going to happen their either. For now I am contemplating a little applique addition to what I already have going on, perhaps add a bit more spice to the quilt...

Auditioning another idea for the border

The solids challenge quilt is on the list as well and finally, I went forward with a plan that's been in the works for months now. I drew this triangle sashing plan out in a rough sketch, but didn't know if I like it or not. Well, you know how that goes. Sometimes you just have to sew it together to find out! And so the first three blocks are up on my wall for all to see. Hmm... I think adding in more of those solids is probably the right choice and I am happy they won't all be the same. Still, am I making more work for myself just because I can? 

Looking at the new sashing detail

 And then there is the Eagle quilt. It's definitely in the hoop and after a very rough start {ripping out thread colors I didn't like}, we are well on our way to something positive. It's often hard to 'see' the best way forward when getting started. This one would have looked fine in many different stitching patterns, but there's always one we seem to prefer, right?

In the hoop...

As usual, we have had very busy times here--a cousin wedding last weekend with lots of family in town. So much fun but now I have been hit with the flu. Ugghh... Will hopefully be back to my normal routine very soon....

The Obvious Dilemma of a Prolific Quilter

I finally got my sewing machine back from the maintenance/repair place and wow have I been antsy to get something ready to stitch on! So yesterday saw me sandwiching and pinning two quilt tops--one for machine quilting and the other for hand quilting. Later in the day I actually started machine quilting the Random Sampler quilt and it got me thinking. Uh oh... Get ready for a long post....

Random Sampler quilt--getting ready for machine quilting!

Why do I always have to have this mental discussion with myself: Am I giving this quilt away? Should I? Who to then? Then if I decide to keep it, why is there {on occasion} this guilty little feeling of possession or even greediness? And yesterday I thought to myself, 'This stops now!'

Julie's recent post and the subsequent comments really brought all this into sharp relief. First of all, if you read her blog, you'll instantly get that Julie is a giver. Some of us give quilts away and some don't. She does. Whether she gives of {what she determines to be} her very best, shouldn't really matter because hello? She always does excellent work. So good for her, coming up with a good plan of attack for how to gift in the future.

And then I thought about another recent post that resonated greatly with me. Debbie talked about when someone determines that one of our quilts has greater value or is better than another one we've made. They can't possibly know 'what lies within' like we do. That can really smart if we have a deep fondness for the one they've ultimately declared less than. I love how she further writes in the post, '.... acknowledge that what we do and what we have is something pretty special.' 

Eagle quilt--finally about to be in the hoop....

Basically, we need to just let people see what they are going to see, but know within ourselves the gift of our own creativity. It's a great post! So back to my original point--whether we give away our quilts or not is absolutely nobodies business but ours. And circling around to Debbie's thoughts and applying them to 'gifting', whatever quilt we give should be deemed good enough and special enough without having to go through these stupid mental gymnastics. We don't do shoddy work my friends! Let's try and put this into perspective. 

I started in with my love of quilting some 20 plus years ago. My skills were extremely questionable in a myriad of ways and I positively wince at some of those efforts! That didn't stop me from lovingly creating {and gifting} anything from baby quilts to what I considered to be great lap-sized quilts--all to people who I knew would appreciate the love. Here! Have this awesome quilt I made you! And as happens with many of us, my love of the  hobby {and more emphatically, my love for the process] grew to a time when yes, I do have quilts stacking up all over my house. There are some amazing quilts and not-so-amazing quilts sitting in those stacks but all are special as they have been part of my wonderfully creative journey. I have reached that pinnacle in time when I always, always wonder if the next quilt will be given away. If it should or could be. What an incredible place to be in. But that's where I think I have recently stumbled and desperately need to reassess. 

This is my love and my hobby. It's perfectly okay if I choose to keep every single quilt made for the rest of my, hopefully, long lived life. Okay, I know--definitely not going to keep them all, because I looooooove giving quilts away. That being said, new parameters probably need to be determined so as to get rid of this creeping feeling of obligation. Prolific quilt-making does indeed have some consequences, thus the gifting. However, it never feels good to give special things to persons who won't appreciate the effort involved. Hmm... 

I'm going to start by recalling a moment when my husband walked in the house with a brand new baby quilt 23 years ago. He went out on a construction job one day, as was usual, and when the elderly woman of the house found out that he had a 1 month baby boy? She immediately went to her stacks of completed baby quilts and gave him one as a gift. She loved to make and also, she loved to give, even to the construction guy who was working at her home for maybe a total of a week. Was I arrogant enough to think that particular quilt was her very best work ever? No. Did I care? Absolutely not. Happy dance everyone! We got a new quilt!! It was an awesome moment. 

Another moment in time that settled deep into my consciousness was when the 2014 fire burned through our community. We stuffed as many quilts {and other important things} as could possibly be carried into our suburban and then drove away from our house. KNOWING that our house was going to burn down and there was nothing to be done. In a very surprising and miraculous turnabout, our house did not burn, but alas, many others did. Will anyone ever know exactly how many quilts burned just from my mom and sisters possessions burning? At one point we guessed well over 40 that they had been fully completed--they were very prolific quilters so maybe even more than that. Plus they had been peronally gifted quilts--I counted 4 quilts burnt just made by me! But the greater point was this: although my sister had gifted many of her quilts, my mom had not. Only one or two people in the entire huge family have one of her quilts!! That hurts so much.

So you see, maybe it's okay to sometimes gift quilts that perhaps we feel aren't our perfect work. Would I even care what the quilt looked like if I could just have ONE of my moms quilts? After that experience I started occasionally gifting an older, gently used quilt depending on the recipient. We give for all sorts of reasons. Why do we have this perception that only newly finished quilts are acceptable for giving? That it has to be tailor-made for someone in specific? That it has to be super-duper special or our intent is somehow suspect. 

I think it all boils down to the recipient and the reasons we're currently wanting to gift. We have to keep in mind that our creativity really is a special thing--from the least {in our minds} to the greatest of our efforts. Finding a way to share that creativity is a gift to ourselves--letting it go into the world-- as well as to the recipient of that physical thing--a  warm, cozy quilt. A close, personal friend or beloved family member is probably a better bet to gift the bazillion hours of hand work sort of quilt to, not the construction guy with the new baby. Just saying! And we all have those relatives and friends who wouldn't recognize a fantastically implemented quilt from a Thimbleberries knock-off. You know exactly who I'm talking about. That doesn't mean they won't positively adore having a quilt made by yours truly. So be it. 

From now on, the plan is this: I'm gleefully keeping all the quilts that I really don't want to get rid of just yet . Who cares exactly why they might tug on my heartstrings at the moment! That is totally beside the point. These are going to decorate my couches, snuggle with my kids while they're watching a movie, hang off my bed at nights and warm my nieces and nephews when they visit. When I finish the next ten quilts in line, which of course will be amazingly better than the ten before, then I'll slowly find the right recipient for the quilts I've grown tired of or feel less of an attachment to now the new, improved ones are currently staring me in the face. {That doesn't mean they are suddenly undesirable to everyone else, duh!! It's just part of the journey!!} And when a brand new finish wants to go live with someone else, of course I'll work with that. But it's not going to be all about someone else--all of the time. I vow to enjoy this creative outlet I've been blessed with and not wallow in guilt for when and why and how I decide to give away the results.*whew! Glad that's all settled. So exhausting to try and analyze all the quirky thought processes we go through...

If you're still reading along, thank you for your patience! I've got a simple giveaway for one lucky, but loyal reader.

A giveaway

Simply Moderne sent me two magazines by mistake this month {my last issue, boohoo!} and it's a great one. Really, Sujata Shah and Rachael Daisy both! Just leave a comment telling me your thoughts on why and how you gift quilts and/or if you even do. Maybe you plan to gift more in the future or keep them all till you die and let the kids sell them at the estate sale. Whatever! I'll randomly choose a winner sometime next week!

Working On a Few of My 17UFOSin 2017

This time of month always gets to me. I look at the 17ufosin2017 list and think, 'Oh no!, another month gone! Did I get anything done at all?" And then it's time to settle down and think things through logically.

Vintage Coxcombs

Vintage Coxcombs, above, now has all the applique blocks done--20 of them! And they were stinkers too. I haven't had that much trouble with applique for a very, long time. I think it was a matter of over thinking things, trying to correctly center the applique and yet not lose touch with the whimsical placement I was striving for. Who knew that imperfect stitching could be so difficult to achieve! I guess I just thought it happened by breathing. After all, it's easy enough to get the look when we don't want to. The best part was working with these fabrics and colors. It's hard to get a good picture of these muddy looking blocks, but they are so soft and mellow looking. LOVE that!

It's been a different kind of month. My nicely stitched borders for Folksy Flowers didn't work out as planned either. I've had to use the seam ripper and take some stitches out. Going to have to extend those scallops and hope that effort will do the trick. Otherwise, I'll have to dream up something else for this border.

Folksy Flower borders

 As I mentioned in a previous post, the prep work is all but finished for the solids challenge blocks. I know if I just pick up one block and get it stitched, the others will follow quickly. For now, they're just sitting in a bag, waiting in my quilt basket over in the corner of the bedroom. Taunting me. Or rather, haunting me?

Solids Challenge

Learning Curves is hanging out over there in that corner too. It's all ready for the hand work phase of the binding. The quilting is very simple on this quilt and I'm not 100% sure it's enough. Oh it'll hold together just fine--it's got machine stitching in-the-ditch around every block as well as the echo quilting around the curves. I'm just a little dissatisfied with the overall look. But not really wanting to invest more in this quilt either? It's a conundrum....

Learning Curves

Then there's the Eagle quilt which was slated to be in the hoop by Independence Day weekend of this year. Yep. That's not happening! I could never find a cheap backing fabric {I refuse to pay full price for backings} and wasn't feeling particularly pressed to get to the stitching. Other quilts seemed more demanding than this one. Then, just the other day, I found some backing fabric at a Quilt Guild yard-sale. Fabric by the pound! The blue fabric is slightly over a yard of 110" wide fabric too, which just makes me smile. Score one for the patient quilter.*wink

Eagle quilt

So no matter what my sad sack expectations tells me, I did just fine in June. Progress is definitely being made, even if it's a slow pace, and at this halfway point in the year, there are already 9 out of 17 items checked off the list! Yay for me!

Of the three remaining projects on the list, one is at my friends for longarm quilting attention. It's not looking real good for a fast finish, but maybe by the end of the year? Nothing I can do here about that. Another item is a love/hate project and I waffle back and forth between ditching it completely or being tenacious and diving in regardless of my trepidation about liking it in the long term. The final item on the list that needs to be addressed is going to require some intensive applique border work. I have the ideas roughed out on paper and a tentative fabric selection in the works. Other than that, I'm practicing extreme avoidance. I don't wanna. At least not right now! But I will eventually 'cuz it's a lovely quilt and no matter how I whine and snivel, quilts rarely get neglected here forever....

Okay! That's the June 17ufosin2017 wrap-up. I feel so much better now getting it all in proper perspective! Thanks to Meredithe for the monthly prodding to be accountable!

Another One of Those Crazy Weekends

It's been one of those crazy, busy weekends that seem to be the new normal around here. Lots of great family time with me going a hundred miles an hour trying to keep up on all the dishes, laundry and cooking. My sister helped me to make nectarine pies for the first time and wowsers, those are the bomb. I discovered that I absolutely adore nectarine pie!

The Eagle Quilt

I managed to work on a little, tiny, bit of  hand quilting here and there, but wanted to show you the applique that got finished up just before the hordes descended. There are over a hundred leaves in the border so it got a little tedious at times, but I love the variety of the fabrics in the fabric print. At first, turning under the seam allowance {and losing that full, larger leaf look}, I started to worry that my leaves were too far apart to look good. Now I can see that it turned out just fine. The berries are not everyone's favorite addition, but personally, I love the little sparks of red.

Another border finished up!

In other news, we have had a very nervy weekend. Much too similar to last years fire experience to sleep well at night. Starting early Friday morning, there was a thunder and lightning storm that started off a bunch of small fires that of course, grew quickly in the high temps we've been experiencing.

Across the river and over the mountain...

The entire county has been on level one evacuation notice with some areas on level three. Oh, it makes us so jumpy. Both of these pictures are taken right here in the town of Pateros. The top pic is from my mom and dads porch and the bottom pic from our own porch later that same night. My mom had to drive past several fires burning directly alongside the highway just to get home that evening and her nerves were totally shot.

Looking in a completely different direction, just over the mountain...

We have not at all been enjoying the feeling of being nearly surrounded by wildfires again, but so far they have not jumped either river that borders our town or directly threatened us. We all have this feeling of impending disaster though which makes it very hard to settle and it doesn't help to know that these same fires have already jumped the Columbia river in two different, more narrow, places downriver.

The town of Chelan however, just 24 miles away, has been experiencing much the same sort of devastation that we faced last year. So scary and heartbreaking for them. It's a much larger town where our oldest daughter works, we do our banking, grocery shopping etc. and do most of the work for our landscaping construction business. Too many wildfires in the state to take care of all of them properly so they are working to save lives and homes first. It's obvious they have made a tremendous effort to save the town of Chelan though and of course, some of us cynically wonder if it helps to have the millions of dollars in tourist money supporting the town to garner the quicker response. Also, two state senators have vacation homes there so I'm sure that helps as well. Not that any of this helps initially {or afterward when faced with lost homes and possessions} as the fires did a crazy amount of damage before they actually started getting brutally serious about trying to stop the inferno from leveling the entire town. 

I think this new way of 'managing' fires instead of trying to put them totally out {at the first sign of fire} is completely out of balance. The wind picks up, changes directions and all of sudden they have huge 'unforeseen' problems. Hopefully with these latest disasters, the state will take a good hard look at communication issues, initial response efforts and fire fighting protocol. There were many, many years during my childhood when wildfires were raging throughout the outlying mountainous areas and never were they allowed to get so out of control that entire towns were at dire risk. And yes, I do know that fire resources get stretched very thin when the amount of fires statewide increase. Okay, off my soapbox and done with my rant! I'm not sure how much quilting I'll get done this week as we all seem to be glued to our phones and computers trying to stay on top of local fire news.

Giveaway Winners, Appliqued Leaves and Why I'm Not Currently a Local Guild Member

Time to announce the winners from my 5 years of blogging giveaway! Very fun that both of them are quilt bloggers who I'm already familiar with! The first winner is Quilting Babcia from Amity Quilter blog. I will be giving her 'The 1718 Coverlet' book. The second winner, Marie from Quilt Bee, will  receive 'The Farmers Wife' book. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone else for joining in on my little giveaway! Emails will also be sent to the winners.

The giveaway books!

The weekend quickly developed into quite the young peoples house party as soon as my oldest son showed up on Friday evening. He brought my youngest son back home from his two week stay in Oregon along with a couple other friends. This annual city celebration always has 3-on-3 tournament that seems very popular with the younger crowd. This year two of the teams were from my very own extended family--one adult team with my son, two brothers and a cousin, plus a high school team including my youngest son, a niece, her twin brother and one of his friends. My husband ended up being one of the court monitors and I just went to cheer things on, apply sunscreen forty-two times and wonder why this could possibly be considered fun. lol   Nevertheless, we enjoyed having our house busting at the seams with all these good-natured kids.

All the leaves appliqued down on half the quilt now!

I didn't get much quilting done as I spent a lot of time at my parents house visiting with all the siblings in town for the celebration. Mostly I pulled out my hand work bag very, very late in the evenings waiting for all the teenagers to show up or making sure the kiddos were actually settling in for the night--boys upstairs, girls downstairs! Lots of late nights for sure and for some reason I was in the mood for applique instead of hand quilting. Working on so many leaves can get a bit tedious, but really, applique of any kind {unless it's letters} can be very relaxing and meditative for me. The more I work on this eagle quilt though, the more I do think it needs another border! And I'm thinking about, uhuh, the addition of words! Such as courage, strength, victory? Stop me. I just can't seem to help myself!

Showing the quilt to some of my family members who couldn't see the
details of the quilt at the show.....

Thanks so very, very much for all of your encouraging words after my last post. For those of you who wonder why I have never joined the guild in the first place, it's fairly simple {at least in my mind}. I moved back to the area in 2004 and just happily joined back up with the same quilting group I was a part of before. We were all friends and/or family, most of us from the same church. I was a very inexperienced quilter and it felt safe, plus it was a fun group! This group gradually disbanded about 2--2 1/2 yrs. or so ago due to people moving away, getting busy with life and/or being disinterested in extra quilting projects.

Ironically, I had been considering joining the local guild prior to this years quilt show. The guild definitely appears to be declining as members are getting older and less productive. They have always been very receptive to our group as far as entering quilts into the show {perhaps because they needed the extra entries?}, but obviously are more pleased with specific styles of quilts over others. In conversation with a few of them through the years, I have deduced that the greatest emphasis is placed on technical precision, long arm quilting, and a careful, 'safe' use of fabric and color--not creativity or exploring personal style. This frankly, has made me a bit wary to be pushy about becoming a member as my focus is not exactly what they take pride in.

I will probably never know the answers to what happened this past weekend but I'm going to be okay. Truly. Ironically, my sister-in-law is the city clerk and she offered to hang the quilt in the town museum for a month if (and when) I decide I want to. Too, the paperwork is already printed out and siting on my desk to apply for entering into the NCW quilt guild show in Wenatchee, Washington.  Big step for cowardly 'ol me, but this is the show that I was supposedly asked to enter my Fire Quilt into by the visiting quilter. I may just have a little steam behind me now.*wink

I also have the papers for application of the quilt into the Washington State Quilters show in Spokane, Washington?*gulp  My husband is not really into that particular idea as he says the quilt will not be quite as relevant over there. We'll see. As I've been reminded lately, quilts have a way of being relevant almost anywhere! I do have a couple weeks to consider the idea before the application deadline arrives. Again, thank you for all the very thoughtful responses to my disappointment with the local quilt show. As always, I will do my best to respond to each one of them personally as I get time and opportunity.

{Almost} Too Hot to Quilt

Wowsers, it has been so very hot around here. And wouldn't you know it, our heat and air system went down on Friday afternoon!!! We're scheduled for a emergency 'fix it' sometime today or tomorrow, but really, we need a new system and can't even begin to afford one right now.

Course it had to break down when we need it the most. Yesterday evening it was 87 degrees inside our house--108 outside. Makes it tough to want to do anything at all and I've been thinking about our days before AC. We used to go sit in the river every evening just to cool down! For now I've been dragging my applique up to mom's and sitting in her lovely cool living room for a few hours every day, nagging the kids about drinking gallons of water and taking lots of cool showers. I figure they can take themselves off to the lake as I just don't do well in temps over 100 degrees anymore.

All the vine stitched down on the left side

I've managed to get all the vine stitched down except for one side on the lower right corner of the quilt. Next up is the leaves--all 102 of them! No way to do any hand quilting right now as even the light weight of this quilt top draped over my lap is making me crazy from the heat. I guess I'm a diehard quilting addict though. I will do other things for a little while, but eventually, you'll find me dragging my quilting back out and doing just a little more stitching....

Working on My Eagle Quilt

First of all,  thanks to Ems Scrapbag and Maryse Makes Things for nominating me for The Lovely Blog Award! Very sweet of both of you, but I'm still trying to catch up around here, so will not have time to follow through. I have both of you on my sidebar link list and enjoy following your blogs very much.

I've been such a slacker, not working on this quilt for eons. Definitely no hope of having it done by July 4th weekend! I've pulled it out several times and just went sort of 'meh', not liking anything I auditioned for the next border. For awhile I seriously pondered not going any farther with it and just calling it done.

Auditioning the next border with applique parts and pieces

The entire quilt has turned out so different than what I first imagined that it's been hard to get back on track. {Or even figure out what track I'm on.} Finally I decided that it would be okay to extend the cream out into the next border if I scrapped it up a bit. Very hard to see in this picture, but I actually used four different cream prints, one quite a bit lighter than the other three. Using a single cream fabric just depressed me for some reason I cannot even begin to explain, so once I realized my dilemma I went looking for ways to spice it up. {Even if I'm the only one that ever notices.} And it's not like any other color played well for the next border, no matter how hard I tried.

Getting the vine figured out

So yes, it does look sort of drab and uninspiring, but when the leaves are added, it just becomes background allowing the leaves to 'pop' and claim all the attention. A good background should never fight too terribly hard for attention. It's just bad juju.*wink

Adding in some leaves, balancing the colors

I cut out all my leaves in a sort of tear drop looking shape and then didn't like them at all. Had to reshape them all to get what is basically the most traditional leaf shape there is. Then I was happy. Go figure.

Adding some berries

I added berries and then took them off again. Then I added them back in again, only larger. All the applique pieces you see are bigger than what they will finish out to be because seam allowances still need to be turned under. I'm mostly liking what I see, but still not 100% convinced. This is my special eagle quilt? Hmmm...

Liking the close-ups better than the whole picture!

I think I'm still blown away by all the green that has ended up in my quilt. Some of it's very bright and almost florescent! Wowsers. How did that happen? All the greens I intended for use with this quilt were looking sickly and/or a bit sour so I kept pulling random greens out of the tote thinking 'could this work? Will this even be okay used with a cream fabric?' lol  And then it worked. And worked some more.

The cheddar print that was going to be the background for the entire quilt has just become more and more undesirable as a color too. Too much pink in the orangey-yellow and I literally cringe every time more of it has been auditioned to be put back into the quilt. And I had such high hopes that this was going to be a very strong cheddary quilt! My taste is obviously changing or something. This quilt would never have been made by me even four or five years ago. But I'm loving the classic, sort of prim simplicity of this quilt so much that I really can't complain too much! Some quilts seem determined to go their own way and it's easier to just give in and let it happen. 

One last thing. Since this quilt won't be finished by July of this year, should I change the year at the top of the quilt? Leave off the '5' for now? I'm not sure it matters as the quilt top itself will undoubtedly be finished up in 2015, if not the quilting/stitching part. Any thoughts?

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.....

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....

Around the World Blog Hop

Welcome to my little corner of the blogging world! Nina, a wonderfully, talented Norwegian quilter tagged me to answer some questions for you. They go along with this 'creative' blog hop currently making the rounds around the globe. This was after Debra (she of the gorgeous pictures blog) tagged me back in July and well, you know how my July and August went. 

1.What Quilting thing am I working on?

Wowsers, do I have a lot going on around here! Never content with project monogamy, I tend to bury myself in enough projects to induce eye twitches in the more practical minded. I believe every project deserves the very best from me and that often takes time. Time to simmer. Time to breathe. Time to talk. And really, the best use of my time during the 'down time' is for me to work on something else entirely. Which often gives me an answer to a /question/dilemma/problem on yet another quilt--and around and around we go.... 

This is my Pickle Dish/Wedding ring quilt, started approximately two years ago. I just recently pulled it out again to start sewing the background fabric onto the melons. Apparently it involves ironing with starch, pulling the foundation paper off the melons and carefully lining up and pinning all the bits. It's gonna take awhile 'cuz I'm definitely not a fan of tearing off foundation papers.

Pickle Dish/Wedding Ring

This next quilt (Geese Tracks) is actually almost finished. A little more applique work on the border and wallah! I will be back here exclaiming over a finished quilt top. I am so very glad I forced myself through the I-really-don't-have-a-clue-what-I'm-trying-to-do-here pains that I kept experiencing with this project. It's starting to feel very exciting in terms of being better than I ever planned or dreamed. Always a good feeling.

Geese Tracks

The lovely little blocks below are a result of following along with Wendy's Basket Galore BOM. After I persevered through some terribly complicated piecing efforts, I wanted to make sure this quilt had a little distraction from my ahem.. (minor!) mistakes. And also that it reflected how special I really think the baskets are. There are still four flower blocks I need to get figured out and sewn together before things can move along toward a completed quilt top.

Red/Green flower blocks and Basket Galore BOM blocks

This orange and blue quilt is made from partial St. Paul blocks. I liked the simplicity of leaving out the added piecing and was really looking for an excuse to use up some of these fabrics. I loved seeing them all stacked together but didn't know quite what to do with them as a whole. It still needs a border added, but so far the quilt is not being very communicative. Talks will resume later.

My St. Paul quilt

I started making these cactus basket blocks after completely blowing the piecing on one of the Basket Galore blocks. I could not believe how badly I had bungled that little 8" block! Being the stubborn sort that I am, I immediately started making plans to 'better learn' a proper technique (in this case, hand piecing). Somehow it morphed into making 13 of these blocks, making other blocks to play along, and now I'm waiting on a pattern from Karen before I move on. I'm seeing applique added onto the quilt top and other fun stuff in this quilts future.

Cactus Basket quilt

Okay, this quilt is still obviously in its infancy but I have most definitely committed to making it. Check out our blog over at Quilt Like an Eagle if you want to play along. By July of next year, each of us on the list intend to proudly display a completed eagle quilt! You are going to be so jealous....

My Eagle quilt

My Sunburst quilt is very much a long term project. The main part of the quilt is going to be entirely appliqued and each step is, quite frankly, a bit mind boggling in our present state of controlled chaos. Mostly because I over-think everything I'm sure. It's a blessing and curse.

The Sunburst quilt

I almost didn't include this UFQ because it's been so very long since I've done anything with it. The thing is, I rarely truly abandon any project and I don't intend to leave this one behind either. The rare times that I actually take the time to reacquaint myself with this project, I always melt at the colors and style. It could be a really great quilt right? That's why I keep it on my UFQ list. It helps keep me accountable.

Random Sampler quilt

2.  How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I'm reminded of the comic where there are hundreds of penguins and the one is dressed sort of clownish--definitely standing out from the crowd--saying 'I just wanna be me'. Everyone of us out here in the big bad quilting world is doing our level best to make quilts that appeal to ME. When other people like them too, that's just bonus! I used to make quilts in a kind of whimsical fashion, making quilts for gifting, from patterns that caught my attention and for other various reasons such as including myself in a group challenge with friends. At some point I realized that I had gotten very far from my original intention--which was to make quilts that were deeply satisfying to ME. Through a lot of trial and error, I have slowly, slowly learned how to include the important elements that make me fall in love with my quilts{often many times over} throughout the process of making. Are they different from other peoples quilts? Sometimes I think yes. Other times, eh.. not so much! And yes, I still include myself in challenges etc. but only when it also coincides with something I'm currently trying to learn/make or do.

3.  Why do I write/create what I do?

I write because I wanted to have a journal of what was being made and the journey it takes to get there. So many of my quilts have an 'emotional' start or maybe an unexpected detour. Then there are the oh-my-goodness-I've-ruined-this-quilt! type of hurdles to get through. After awhile the details start to blur together and I didn't want to forget about those important moments. So mind boggling during the making, but really kind of funny later.

I create what I do because it's important. To my sanity. And to the well being of my immediate family! I'm a much nicer person when I'm involving myself in creating and I'm not the least bit ashamed to say so. I can't even fully explain what it does to soothe the ragged edges of what life does to us just by being a full participant. Playing with fabric and color is incredibly rewarding don't you think? And how wonderful to pour ourselves into something beautiful, then fold it up and give it to a special someone.

4.  How does my writing/creating process work?

I write when I have something to take a picture of. If I can take a picture (of whatever progress I've made) and not feel like I'm 'reaching' to find something to say, then I just go for it. I used to worry that I'd run out of things to say about quilting, but so far that hasn't happened! It must be true love.

My creative process is almost always about DOING. That is absolutely key for me. I keep a lot of projects going so I don't get bored or stuck on any one phase. Apparently I have a low threshold for both of those particular problems and I discovered a long time ago that I can seriously jump through three (or more) quilt projects in one day lickety split--making up really good excuses for why I can't work on any one of them. Having more than three UFQ's makes it much more likely that I'll cue in to my little avoidance issue and finally settle down with something. It does take actual progress to get to a finish and sometimes that progress is quite tedious ie; easily avoidable.

I make time to get in the quilt room almost daily (even if it's only for 15 minutes). I allow myself permission to play with fabric if that's really all I feel there is to give on that day. I try to remember that there's always something to learn. Always! Why not learn before it's vitally important to the outcome of any one quilt?

Occasionally I make a new list about the things that I LOVE to see in a quilt, whether it be a particular block, color, style or feeling. This helps keep me a little more focused and if I get to feeling like I'm just recycling old stale ideas? I find time to lay out every single quilt top waiting in the drawers. Some times I have to do the same thing with my finished quilts--sort of like shaking off the blues. By viewing one quilt after another I can usually see that my quilts are ever evolving and changing, even if it's a subtle thing. It helps tremendously to see that I'm moving forward, ever progressing toward a more personalized style. {See, now I'm being that clownish penguin I talked about earlier!}

The other important thing about my creative process is that I try very hard to make time to include slow quilting in and amongst all the other quilting I do. I always have a quilt in the hoop. And I always have a hand work bag prepped and ready to go. These two things make sure that no matter what is going on in our busy, crazy life, I can also choose to pick up a needle and thread at a moments notice. I sometimes stitch when I have company, in the car, at the basketball game or even when I'm helping out a sick friend or family member. This 'lost' time then becomes cherished time because the outcome (in quilty terms) doesn't matter any longer and I'm able to keep my hands busy and thus enjoy the moment.

Okay, enough with this endless post about me! In order to keep this Blog Hop moving I chose to tag two other talented ladies who each agreed to write a post next Monday the 22nd. Interestingly enough, I met both of these gals through the Bloggers Quilt Festival!

First off, I'd like you to meet Anne who has a fascinating way of making the kind of quilts that I'd love to own. I am always intrigued by her 'process' and her fearlessness in admitting to changing her quilting/sewing plans. Then there is Diane who is one of the most enthusiastic quilters I know. She is the reason I dared to start my Pickle Dish quilt even though I was so apprehensive about it, that I chewed all my fingernails off for steps 1, 2, 3 and now 4. For some reason she thinks Pickle Dish quilts are EASY and they are NOT. lol  So... please go check out these ladies wonderful blogs now and then, hopefully next Monday too. I know you won't regret it.

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?