Just realized something

I seem to be stuck in a pink and brown rut; not intentionally, and not unhappily, but still....a rut's a rut. Ya know?

Between fidgeting with the color placement of the new project I am currently working on, and tinkering with the old quilt squares assembled years ago (and 'unearthed' some time last year), it appears to me that I am looking at an awful lot of pink and brown. Seems the only way to fix the trouble is to dive into something new and different....but of course that would mean not finishing those other lovely projects - and I PROMISED myself I wouldn't do that any more!

[wagging finger in my own face] x x x x x x x x x x x x x No! No more fresh starts with new colors until you've whittled away at the current pile. No, no, NO!

So, I'm dividing my quilting time between those two specific quilts; I've found myself just about ready to assemble the finished squares (old pink and brown) into rows and finish that top. Although I need to put together a few more squares to actually complete the top (which will be a snap). The biggest hurdle is deciding whether it will be sashed, or assembled using alternate squares of plain blocks with the pieced squares.

Originally I was going to place the blocks side by side (as the photo shows), but this would leave me with a single-sized top -- a coverlet, at best.

No, that will not do; I need to make my quilts utilitarian for my family, no two ways about it. In this particular case, larger is definitely better.

This weekend I will piece together the last few squares and then begin the top assembly, hopefully succeeding in completing the backing as well. Perhaps this week will find me basting another 'sandwich' - wouldn't that be delicious!(?)

More pink!

Yes, I did go through my stash and pull out more pink...and some brown, too. It's freeing not to have to subscribe to the rules of the contest any more, and to be able to dip into a broader selection of material to play with. My wall of fabric is wonderful!

Of course that didn't stop me from heading to the store and grabbing a couple of fat quarters to round things out.

XXXXXXA tangle of strips for 1"squares - some new, some old

I can only work on this particular quilt during the daylight hours, as the shading has to be just so. Heading from one color into another requires a good, true light, and fortunately I have that available from the break of day through the fading winter afternoons. By evening I have to find something else to busy myself, but that's alright.

Challenge yourself

Ah, January.

As I was (thankfully) working from mid- to late-November and on through most of December, I haven't quilt blogged in some time, so...HELLO!

My plans to put together a project for the JAF contest - and win - fell by the wayside in short order after the 18th of November. My small-scale, large-content miniature is still perched where I left it (over a month ago) on the top of the one cabinet which is 2/3rds assembled (for the kitchen remod...which is also not finished).

The little quilt is in the same condition as it was with the last photo I posted, so I am giving myself permission to put an hour or two each day towards construction, no matter what...that is, until I land another job (of any sort). In doing so I am hoping to keep from adding to my already overburdened "must finish some day" pile (we all have one, don't we?), because you know that it would be so easy to bag up the cut squares and material selections and simply move on to a new project.

Anyhow, I added several more prints and solids to the stash for this project (from the stash on the wall) - now that it is no longer necessary to use only materials purchased at JAF - so it is making the whole quilt less limited in color selection! I can now make this quilt the way I had wanted to in the beginning, except for one major difference. I originally wanted the finished size of each square to be 1" each, but because of time and scope of available materials, I cut the finished square to 1/2"!!! Yikes!

Now, the only downside is that the piecing will drive me insane! Completely insane.

Drop in and take a peek over my shoulder from time to time throughout the rest of January, and see how this little monster becomes a little beauty. I hope to post a picture of the progress soon!

I have challenged myself.