Last quilting entry for the year

Fell viciously ill yesterday afternoon, suffering from an intestinal bug....so, not much accomplished anywhere on anything for much of the day.  Boo.

[sigh]

Today, I am feeling much improved, but also feel behind the eight ball on so many levels.  I will try to get some (quilty) things done before daylight disappears and needful things get tended to, but I'm not enjoying feeling rushed to experience contentment.

Did anyone understand that?



Anywho - I will post a few last photos of the work completed thus far on Black Widow I, just to finish the year on a high note.  We can mark the progress from there, hey?  I also wanted to remind those of you who may view stashes as an unnecessary evil to reconsider.  Here's why:



The perfect stash item I'd forgotten I had

A couple of months ago, when I got it in my head to create the Black Widow (using scraps), I thought I might also be able to utilize a bunch of material from my stash wall for the backing, too.  Less (-to no) guilt, and a chance to make room in my stash and cull out, using things I probably wouldn't have for any other reason. 

See, I am harboring a good amount of fabric purchased back when the boys were much younger - and when material production for quilters was still rather dreary and calico-y -- not the vibrant lot you can find today (along with the more traditional calicoes and such).

At the time, those material purchases I made were good, current, and a deal...so it all made sense. Unfortunately, I never kept up with the influx of my purchases, and tended to buy more as/when I found it, and moved the older (more banal) fabrics to the back of the stacks.

Then manufacturers began to use designers who were artists and quilters themselves, and the shift to more fun and colorful designs became commonplace!  I thank Alexander Henry for that!  Hawaiian quilting helped to increase the use and manufacturing of batiks in everyday quilting circles, and things just improved overall!  Huzzah! 

Today, quilters have so many design houses and textile manufacturers to choose from, making the selection of fabrics for our beloved quilts - whether miniatures or king-sized - an absolute delight.  Unlimited.  Unimaginably rich!

Can I get a 'wahoo' from the choir?

Well, I had a lovely piece of batik that would have been perfect, except for the holes I found in it when I opened it out for the first time.  As I held it up to the interior border I was making for the back, here's what I found.

I know, I can hear you gasping along with me.

I wish I had opened this beauty sooner, and done the pre-wash just after bringing it home, instead of giddily folding it and placing it into the stash for future use.

Lesson learned.

Oh, sorry. Let's get back to the purpose of my blog today.

I knew the only way to complete the colorful Greek eternity chain border was to marry the black and primary blocks on one side with solid black, and a multi-colored something-or-other to the inside.  But what? 

I first attempted to use pieces of the multi-colored scraps I had been using to build a continuous strip for the purpose, but it looked all wrong - and I couldn't put my finger on why exactly.  All I could tell was that the look wasn't there for me.  So then I went to my stash in hopes of digging out bright multi-colored prints that I could use. 

You know....those blenders we buy just because they're too groovy to pass up. 

"What are you going to use that for?" asks your quilting enabler friend.

"I don't know," you answer hesitantly, "but I'll have it when I finally need it!"

And I am!!!  I am using something that tickled my fancy and was purchased just for the stash!  This Ricky Timms "Oodles of Doodles" was just the thing the Black Widow I needed for the border work.  Don't you think it's perfect?

Now, if I could only find something to swap out for that darned batik centerpiece with the holes in it.