Had to make myself stop working on D7 yesterday to start dinner and get something else accomplished;
CANNOT tell you how wrong that felt.
Surprisingly, a lot of green in this block, and just when I thought it would be primarily yellow.
I simply need to find fewer than twenty pieces to fill in the holes and stitch it up [laughing at the word "simply"]. Elusive little shits!
________________________________
UPDATE: As of 12:30 Noon EDT
Five to go.
Five.
________________________________
UPDATE: As of 3:54PM
Can begin sewing it together any time, now! However, this is the first block that, after making three major changes to color pixels (deliberately placing yellow where I had had the right non-yellow pieces), I am very leery of assembling it.
But, I also felt uncomfortable with the 'correct' pieces in place, too. [shrugging]
Que sera sera, I suppose.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
A little frustrated (has been updated)
Actually, somewhat annoyed with D6.
I have replaced (what feels like) the same 11 pieces over and over again, while still maintaining a hole of four missing bits just to complete the block.
The worst of it has been running out of a material I would have thought to have been utterly useless with regard to this project, and it's been my surprise 'go-to' too many times to count. Ugh!
Just going to swallow hard, head back to that layout board and plop in four pieces as though it were nothing [she said with conviction....and a glass of ouzo].
_____________________________________
UPDATED: 9:12AM
OK, I am ready to sew - and so is D5.
Had to place the last four pieces drinking chocolate milk....I am out of ouzo.
I have replaced (what feels like) the same 11 pieces over and over again, while still maintaining a hole of four missing bits just to complete the block.
The worst of it has been running out of a material I would have thought to have been utterly useless with regard to this project, and it's been my surprise 'go-to' too many times to count. Ugh!
Just going to swallow hard, head back to that layout board and plop in four pieces as though it were nothing [she said with conviction....and a glass of ouzo].
_____________________________________
UPDATED: 9:12AM
OK, I am ready to sew - and so is D5.
Had to place the last four pieces drinking chocolate milk....I am out of ouzo.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
By the way
Yes, it did happen yesterday.Finished D5 with a flourish and went to bed happy. The colors are a bit off in this photo, and the light wasn't terrific....but you get the idea.
Arose this morning with specific plans to work a little on D6, help Karl study for his final test in Geography, maybe squeak out some housework, and return to D6.
75 pieces in place....so, perhaps tomorrow will find me finishing D6. We'll see.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Bright and early [snort]
Will it happen today?
Too busy to post photos or go into much detail. Getting started today 'bright', but far from early - as you can see. Went to bed at a tame hour last night, but our deaf kitty decided an early morning wake-up call - complete with loud, intimate conversation regarding her hunger pangs - was necessary at 4:42AM.
....and again at 5:09AM (because obviously I forgot).
....and again at 5:14 (because I opened an eye to see if she were still there).
She was.
....and again at 5:32 (because she bathed and lost track of her request).
Around 6:00AM, one of the other girls was ill, so I decided since I was already up I would feed them, just so I could go back to REAL sleep.
I know, you can hear the Jaws attack music in the background, can't you?
By a little after seven Hobbes (deaf kitty) was back to tell me "thanks", and to discuss our sleeping arrangements, AND that the odor of the new litter in their box was not to her liking. Mine either, but that wasn't a discussion I wanted to have at 7AM, when I hadn't had a good night's sleep to begin with. Every time I rolled over she scrambled on top of me to perch and continue the cat chat. At some point she got the idea that a sleepy human - while quite annoyed - will actually stop listening, even to very loud deaf kitties, and will go to sleep (sort of).
Anyhow, I am off to the sewing area to finish D5. I made a large dent in one day, stopping last night with seventy pieces in place. I aim to sew it together today and begin D6 this weekend as well. LOFTY GOALS - I love 'em.
So, will it happen today? Let's find out!
Too busy to post photos or go into much detail. Getting started today 'bright', but far from early - as you can see. Went to bed at a tame hour last night, but our deaf kitty decided an early morning wake-up call - complete with loud, intimate conversation regarding her hunger pangs - was necessary at 4:42AM.
....and again at 5:09AM (because obviously I forgot).
....and again at 5:14 (because I opened an eye to see if she were still there).
She was.
....and again at 5:32 (because she bathed and lost track of her request).
Around 6:00AM, one of the other girls was ill, so I decided since I was already up I would feed them, just so I could go back to REAL sleep.
I know, you can hear the Jaws attack music in the background, can't you?
By a little after seven Hobbes (deaf kitty) was back to tell me "thanks", and to discuss our sleeping arrangements, AND that the odor of the new litter in their box was not to her liking. Mine either, but that wasn't a discussion I wanted to have at 7AM, when I hadn't had a good night's sleep to begin with. Every time I rolled over she scrambled on top of me to perch and continue the cat chat. At some point she got the idea that a sleepy human - while quite annoyed - will actually stop listening, even to very loud deaf kitties, and will go to sleep (sort of).
Anyhow, I am off to the sewing area to finish D5. I made a large dent in one day, stopping last night with seventy pieces in place. I aim to sew it together today and begin D6 this weekend as well. LOFTY GOALS - I love 'em.
So, will it happen today? Let's find out!
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Sunday, June 15, 2014
And I should add...
Upon re-reading the amended entry from yesterday, I realized there was one interesting thing - maybe only interesting to me, but...eh.
I am exactly two rows ahead of where I was last year when I made the decision to put it all away for a while! Yup, two rows to the square - isn't that cool? Neat? Odd? A coinky-dink?
Also, when I proclaimed my excitement about arriving at D8, and that being notable because it's the one-quarter mark for the whole quilt - it's also only 500 pieces away, as opposed to the additional 330 it will take beyond that to have the row complete.
Hey, it's my 'woohoo' moment. When you have your little 'woohoo' moments I cheer you on. C'mon and share some love.
Besides, the next big marker won't be for another month and one-half or more. At E10, after assembling eight blocks of E10, I will be officially one-third of the way through the quilt. So you can see, I am taking the milestones seriously. 5,500 pieces is just a squeak over 1/3 of the whole, and that's how close I am to it! Considering the halfway marker isn't for a good long while - and I mean, a good l - o - n - g while, I am joyously celebrating the points of note all along the way.
Come celebrate with me!
WooHOO!!!!
I am exactly two rows ahead of where I was last year when I made the decision to put it all away for a while! Yup, two rows to the square - isn't that cool? Neat? Odd? A coinky-dink?
Also, when I proclaimed my excitement about arriving at D8, and that being notable because it's the one-quarter mark for the whole quilt - it's also only 500 pieces away, as opposed to the additional 330 it will take beyond that to have the row complete.
Hey, it's my 'woohoo' moment. When you have your little 'woohoo' moments I cheer you on. C'mon and share some love.
Besides, the next big marker won't be for another month and one-half or more. At E10, after assembling eight blocks of E10, I will be officially one-third of the way through the quilt. So you can see, I am taking the milestones seriously. 5,500 pieces is just a squeak over 1/3 of the whole, and that's how close I am to it! Considering the halfway marker isn't for a good long while - and I mean, a good l - o - n - g while, I am joyously celebrating the points of note all along the way.
Come celebrate with me!
WooHOO!!!!
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Hello, D4 - alright, I added some stuff
'nuff said.
____________________________
OK, that was a little cheap - maybe.
D4 is cruising along, and it is a whole lotta yellow. Oh, baby! I mean yellow with a vengeance, too. At the end of this particular row there will be around one-hundred pieces of various other colors - that dark, muddier, multi-colored melange we've seen in earlier photos (of the ends of A, B, and C). Are you ready for it? I know I am.
However, it will be a little while before I am there, so I am settling for the happiness I will experience upon reaching D8.
"Why D8?" you ask me, with great curiosity.
Well, because D8 represents the quarter way point of the quilt itself. With that square together, at 4,124.5 pieces in place, one-forth of the quilt is complete! But I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I?
No....I am simply applying a lot of optimism. At this time last year I was questioning what it was I had started - what I had taken on as a project. After several weeks of gathering, cutting, sewing, assembling, searching for, sewing, searching, gathering, searching - well, you get the idea - after a lot of time to think, I began to question if I shouldn't clear away some of my unfinished works before wading any further into this one. It was going to require a lot more than even I had allowed for.
Even though I had given rise to thoughts of "what if I want to quickly sew a garment or work on some FMQ on something else?" I hadn't anticipated the mess I would have to corral first, just to have the space clear and all of my important little puzzle pieces out of harm's way.
Holy katz! I really had bitten off a little more than I could chew (or so I thought). I slowed the progress on it to a crawl when the enormity became apparent, and doubt then crept in.
I stood back from it and swallowed hard.
I teetered...then I vacillated.
I regretted and then I cheered myself on.
I pushed myself forward, then I sat on my heels with doubt.
I did streams of math, figuring out a timeline for completion.
I hated the result.
I recalculated.
I recoiled at those results.
I pieced a little bit more, doubting myself the entire time - then put it all away in a large container.
I breathed a little bit, but in my heart I regretted that decision, too. Not the breathing bit, but the boxing it up and moving away from it for a while.
And well, you know the rest. I pulled it out of its coffin several months ago, and have been working on it fairly steadily for quite a while. I still rue the initial decision to walk away from it for all of those months, especially when I see (think about) how far I could have gotten with it had I just kept working. But, we can't go back, can we?
Here I am....working on Row D, and I am not going to think any more about where I could be 'if only...'
NUTS to 'if only'. It's what I'm doing now that counts. It's all that matters.
If I have to (if I want to) work on something else, I will clean up and move things for a little while, that's all. I am capable of that. I can handle that. Besides, that forces me to straighten up the mounting mess. And straightening up actually is a boon; I have found so many misplaced colors that I knew I had. It's forced me to be better at keeping track and re-organizing and staying on top of my palette in a much better way. A necessary evil.
OK, sermon over. I am heading to the mess which is my latest, all-consuming project.
What are you doing?
____________________________
OK, that was a little cheap - maybe.
D4 is cruising along, and it is a whole lotta yellow. Oh, baby! I mean yellow with a vengeance, too. At the end of this particular row there will be around one-hundred pieces of various other colors - that dark, muddier, multi-colored melange we've seen in earlier photos (of the ends of A, B, and C). Are you ready for it? I know I am.
However, it will be a little while before I am there, so I am settling for the happiness I will experience upon reaching D8.
"Why D8?" you ask me, with great curiosity.
Well, because D8 represents the quarter way point of the quilt itself. With that square together, at 4,124.5 pieces in place, one-forth of the quilt is complete! But I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I?
No....I am simply applying a lot of optimism. At this time last year I was questioning what it was I had started - what I had taken on as a project. After several weeks of gathering, cutting, sewing, assembling, searching for, sewing, searching, gathering, searching - well, you get the idea - after a lot of time to think, I began to question if I shouldn't clear away some of my unfinished works before wading any further into this one. It was going to require a lot more than even I had allowed for.
Even though I had given rise to thoughts of "what if I want to quickly sew a garment or work on some FMQ on something else?" I hadn't anticipated the mess I would have to corral first, just to have the space clear and all of my important little puzzle pieces out of harm's way.
Holy katz! I really had bitten off a little more than I could chew (or so I thought). I slowed the progress on it to a crawl when the enormity became apparent, and doubt then crept in.
I stood back from it and swallowed hard.
I teetered...then I vacillated.
I regretted and then I cheered myself on.
I pushed myself forward, then I sat on my heels with doubt.
I did streams of math, figuring out a timeline for completion.
I hated the result.
I recalculated.
I recoiled at those results.
I pieced a little bit more, doubting myself the entire time - then put it all away in a large container.
I breathed a little bit, but in my heart I regretted that decision, too. Not the breathing bit, but the boxing it up and moving away from it for a while.
And well, you know the rest. I pulled it out of its coffin several months ago, and have been working on it fairly steadily for quite a while. I still rue the initial decision to walk away from it for all of those months, especially when I see (think about) how far I could have gotten with it had I just kept working. But, we can't go back, can we?
Here I am....working on Row D, and I am not going to think any more about where I could be 'if only...'
NUTS to 'if only'. It's what I'm doing now that counts. It's all that matters.
If I have to (if I want to) work on something else, I will clean up and move things for a little while, that's all. I am capable of that. I can handle that. Besides, that forces me to straighten up the mounting mess. And straightening up actually is a boon; I have found so many misplaced colors that I knew I had. It's forced me to be better at keeping track and re-organizing and staying on top of my palette in a much better way. A necessary evil.
OK, sermon over. I am heading to the mess which is my latest, all-consuming project.
What are you doing?
Friday, June 13, 2014
D3 update
Fifty-five and counting.
Perhaps there will be a D4 soon. [insert unbridled joy here]
_________________________________
UPDATE: 1:19PM EDT
Seventy-five down....25 to go!
Perhaps there will be a D4 soon. [insert unbridled joy here]
_________________________________
UPDATE: 1:19PM EDT
Seventy-five down....25 to go!
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Phwew!
At last, happily moving on to D3.
These two squares are D1 and D2, but the lighting was too bright (near an east-facing window), even though it was sunset. Ah well, it cares me not (as an old German boss used to say). I am finally past the hot pinks, lava reds, evil rusts, and combo pains for a little while.
I'll let you know when I reach the quarter mark - roughly 600 pieces to go!
I'll let you know when I reach the quarter mark - roughly 600 pieces to go!
Monday, June 9, 2014
Taking too long
Twenty-eight strenuous, stultifying, and tedious pieces to go. These colored bits are harshing my mellow, I tell ya.
Oh, and if you are reading this from somewhere in Texas, please know that the first definition of the word "stultify" in the Oxford Dictionary is not abusive and insulting....so if you can help it, don't read past the first example. Sorry, but I couldn't find enough monosyllabic words to use this post.
*sheesh*
-----------------------------------
UPDATE:
"Why are you picking on Texas?"
Well, I am not picking on the entire state, simply one (or two) characters living there. See, if I had named them there would be bigger issues, so I simply mentioned where they lived to make my life easier. And if you'd like to read more, you'll have to head over to the other blog, where I feel this story is better told and the insanity best served. And if you DO go over to read it, please keep in mind that the person I am referring to said y'all were simple - not I.
www.youmustbegin.blogspot.com
Oh, and if you are reading this from somewhere in Texas, please know that the first definition of the word "stultify" in the Oxford Dictionary is not abusive and insulting....so if you can help it, don't read past the first example. Sorry, but I couldn't find enough monosyllabic words to use this post.
*sheesh*
-----------------------------------
UPDATE:
"Why are you picking on Texas?"
Well, I am not picking on the entire state, simply one (or two) characters living there. See, if I had named them there would be bigger issues, so I simply mentioned where they lived to make my life easier. And if you'd like to read more, you'll have to head over to the other blog, where I feel this story is better told and the insanity best served. And if you DO go over to read it, please keep in mind that the person I am referring to said y'all were simple - not I.
www.youmustbegin.blogspot.com
Saturday, June 7, 2014
30 - 32
Somewhere between thirty and thirty-two pieces to find before I can sew together D1.
"Why thirty to thirty-two? Don't you know how many pieces you already have in place?"
Yes, I know precisely what I have in place, and I also know I am not happy with three of the bits already laid down, and that I may end up switching them before I am satisfied enough to sew it together and move on.
My satisfaction at the moment lies in the knowing that I have more than two-thirds of this first block in the new row in place, and that I can knock it out today and move on to D2...perhaps by end of day!
____________________________________
UPDATE: As of 11:17AM EDT
Seventy-six pieces down.
____________________________________
UPDATE: As of 1:29PM EDT
Spent the last 50 minutes chatting with the lads, on a run to the bank and a side trip to the PO, but I have a measly seventeen pieces left to place.
"Why thirty to thirty-two? Don't you know how many pieces you already have in place?"
Yes, I know precisely what I have in place, and I also know I am not happy with three of the bits already laid down, and that I may end up switching them before I am satisfied enough to sew it together and move on.
My satisfaction at the moment lies in the knowing that I have more than two-thirds of this first block in the new row in place, and that I can knock it out today and move on to D2...perhaps by end of day!
____________________________________
UPDATE: As of 11:17AM EDT
Seventy-six pieces down.
____________________________________
UPDATE: As of 1:29PM EDT
Spent the last 50 minutes chatting with the lads, on a run to the bank and a side trip to the PO, but I have a measly seventeen pieces left to place.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Nailed it
Totally and completely finished RowC this afternoon, and have been cleaning up (or trying to) for the last good while. Tomorrow I would like to think I can begin accumulating pieces and placing them for D1, but I may well be cleaning and getting the color palette in order for a while, yet.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Holy katz!
In a mere 9.3 squares I will have completed one whole quarter of the quilt!!!
Talk about re-energized...come to mama, baby!
Oh, yeah...and as of 7PM tonight, I began laying out C11 and C11.3. YES, this means I laid out AND stitched together C10. BOOyah!! RowD is within my grasp.
Talk about re-energized...come to mama, baby!
Oh, yeah...and as of 7PM tonight, I began laying out C11 and C11.3. YES, this means I laid out AND stitched together C10. BOOyah!! RowD is within my grasp.
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