Monday, August 31, 2015

Not truly a waste of time

At least, it wasn't entirely a waste of time.  The cleaning helped to uncover a good deal of badly needed color - so that made it a worthwhile use of time.  It's just that I would like to make more progress on the piecing and building of the top...but I can't do one without the other, and I get that.  Truly, I do.

Today will find me in that horrible place for a long shift, and despite the fact that I am scheduled to be in the floral area (I love that portion of it), I will most likely not get to spend any time there.  When my days are scheduled in floral, I am almost always pulled away to cashier at the front end. [unhappy sigh]

When I return home I will dive into F6, hopefully finishing the block.  That will rinse the bitter taste of the day away.  Currently, it is 2/3s laid out - and that is a happy thing.

Happy.  Happy.  Happy.


Friday, August 28, 2015

Wrap-up

The week is nearly over, and it's been eventful (in a tiny way).

Completing F5 put the total of constructed pieces at 6,150!  There's a big 'woohoo'.  Half way is still a bit off - but it is ever so much closer.  8,249 (the halfway mark) is only 2,099 inches away.  Just under half of the way through H4 will see this quilt top at 50% complete.  [deep breath]  Twenty-one squares...I can do this.

As for yesterday's interview: I feel as though it went well, but now [we] have another waiting game to contend with.  The team of three interviewers had several more candidates to interview (which I believe ends today), and then the decision-making process begins.  Only time will tell, I s'pose.  News will be available sometime around the tenth of September.  Please keep good thoughts in your hearts and a prayer on your lips for my success in this.  Thank you.


Thursday, August 27, 2015

Today is an interview day

Please pardon the lack of sewing/quilting words as I prepare for a job interview.

Thank you in advance for your prayers, good thoughts, and wishes.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

And this hot mess is...

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to F5.  One. Hot. Mess.

I'll have it together a little later, but for now I am resting my foot and icing it up.


Fewer than twenty!

Fewer than twenty inches/pieces to go before I am ready to stitch together F5.

Oh, and do you realize that the last image I shared represents four-hundred pieces of 1" squares?  That's right...400.

So, what are you working on?



Sunday, August 23, 2015

Breathing a sigh of contentment

Guess what I have done for the day.
Go ahead - guess!

OK, I think I heard you all say the same thing . . . and you were right.  So, here it is, F1-4, in all its glory!

An update to the update about the updates re: F4

And the UPDATE to the updates?:
As of 2:45 PM (eastern time zone) the joining of block F4 had begun.  Photo in a little while.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

OK, I am now down to three missing inches.  A mere three pieces before the seaming for the block can happen.

Talk about frustrating.

I am supposed to be staying off of my foot, and for the most part I am (also very frustrating), which makes the search and placement process next to impossible...and very slow.  I will elevate my foot quite often throughout the day - and ice it periodically - spending countless hours pseudo-cutting pieces and sorting through much of the mess, but at certain times I just have to stand (one-footed) for a bit so that there can be some progress made.

Sorted through the large box of reserved palette material to find anything that might help move past this current roadblock.  Eh, there was a little here and there.  Mostly, the tidying up has helped to uncover a lot of useable color that was lying buried.  And I even managed to add a bit of new stitchwork to "Peacock" - the CQ project - but all I really want to do is keep moving forward on this postage stamp quilt!

Tomorrow will see my return to 'work' for a shift of all day walking and standing - and will probably undo all of the good that has been accomplished.

Perhaps there will be some good news (and a photo) tonight.  Fingers crossed, people.

What are you working on?




Saturday, August 22, 2015

UPDATED - Whimpering along

With a small update to the count:
Eighteen more pieces to acquire.  18!
It is progressing slowly today.  Taking lots of time-outs to nurse and rest my foot - and it's not helping to complete the laying out of F4.

grrrrrrrrr

Blast it all with thunder and tarnation!


UPDATE:
As of 2:30PM, I still have 14 to go!  Ugh - I think I did more replacing and rethinking than actually finding new.

The magic number is 25

Twenty-five inches away from completing the layout of F4, with a really good head start on F5.

Is someone excited?




Ooooooooh, yes! 'Someone' IS excited.




But 'someone' still need to clean up, too.  That's a boo.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

It's been a bear

This block has been a bit of a nightmare, and I have no doubt - when I begin to really clean up - I will find copious amounts of the very colors I was looking for, right in plain sight.  Wouldn't that just be the way it goes?

Ah, well.

Karl and I have eaten, so now it's time to get down to stitching these one-hundred bits together.  [insert happy dance here]  I'm including this photo to whet your whistle, because the colors are yummy and I don't think it would be right to keep it to myself.   Enjoy!

What did you work on today?


If you ask me -

It's taken too long, if you ask me.  Entirely too long to assemble the necessary bits for F3.  Holy cow.

I seemed to have developed a pretty healthy pattern of late, and it included beginning the layout and finishing the sewing of the blocks (each 100 squares) within a four day period, but this particular block is ruffling my four day feathers.  I suppose I was leaning too hard with my expectations.

And then there's the indisputable fact that not all of the squares are going to be "a piece o' cake" - and I guess I need to face that fact, too.

Not to mention, there is a massive amount of cleaning that needs doing at present; lots of sorting and clearing the decks of colors no longer required.  The searching has become a lot more complicated because of the new colorway - I mean, with all of the older things spread far and wide.

To be fair to myself, I do have an out here for not accomplishing the four day standard.  But...

If you ask me, I need to step it up a bit.  I should have finished this quilt last year - and I could have been a lot closer to the finish line had I not squandered my unemployed free hours.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Oh, yeah, and there will be a photo later today, because I do intend to find those last blasted 15 pieces for E3 and get it stitched together BEFORE nightfall - even with the housekeeping that needs doing.  Stay tuned.

What are you working on?

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Perseverance

You've got to have it to finish the things in your heart which seem to be unrealistic or never-ending.

I was making fairly good progress, finishing a new block about every four-to-five days, but this block has me spinning my wheels.  It doesn't usually happen until I reach the middle of a row, but F3 is kicking my fanny.  Lots of brown tones mixed with the deep orange-yellows (and green overtones on top of burnt yellows and oranges), and so I have had to dig into the stash crate and search.  This has created a sluggish sort of forward movement.

I am so eager to get into the reds and vibrant blood-pinks, that I am sorely tempted to drop the current block and just use the little bits accumulating in the periphery.

And then there are the soft greens, greys, blues, lilacs, and creams of the lower background that beckon to me - they lie just below the current block.  What a change those will be to assemble. [insert squeal of childish glee]

Is it any wonder I love working on this quilt?  It's just taking too long to search and amass the necessary components.

What are you working on?


Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Not my best work

Over the many, MANY hours spent working on this quilt I have learned a few things.  First (and first-part-B) do not do any piecing while extremely tired, or while sick.  Do not!

I really should have waited to put these together until I had had some sleep.

Ah well.
Once the other 16,400 pieces are in place around it, the poorly matching corners here and there will never show.

I think.




I hope.


Sunday, August 9, 2015

Know when to say "when" [yawn]

Went to bed last night, bleary-eyed and disappointed.  Disappointed with being SO close to having F1 (first block) completely laid out and ready to stitch together this morning, but still missing three pieces.

That's right.  I went to bed with three pieces missing.

Rather than forge ahead and choose 'whatever' I could find that would have been 'close enough', I decided to wait until the morning light and sort through additional fabric I could pull from the VG stash I assembled back in April - two years ago.  And I am so glad I did.

I will not sort any further through the stash, looking for - and replacing - a dozen pieces or more (which I could probably do standing on my head).  I will not waste the time.  Instead, I will clean out the cat box, clean up Beana's morning throw-up, then sit down at the machine and whip this fresh pair of one-hundred pieces together before heading off to work.  I will enjoy the fact that RowF is legitimately underway, and that I have a small start at F2 already on a layout board.  Whee!!!

Oh!  I will post a photo tonight (I'm so happy).  Will do so before leaving the house, if I give myself the time.



Friday, August 7, 2015

UPDATED - Renewed vigor

The way I am looking at it, I totally "knocked it out of the park" last night.  Managed to find and place 75 pieces before my eyes closed - and I am beyond excited this morning!  My hope of finishing the first block of RowF over the weekend may just be within my reach after all.

Color me 'geeked'.

UPDATE -
Need to step away from the fun for a while, and get ready for the day.  BUT, I have eighty-two . . . YES! 82 pieces in place!

BOO-YAH!

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Half is good

Complete (or whole...or all) would be better, but in this instance, half is good.

I have half of square one from RowF laid out as of mid-afternoon.  Perhaps I can manage to take that total up to 3/4s before dinner (or bedtime) - but there is a huge palette change from the right-hand side of the image to the left-hand side, so maybe a little cleaning, cutting, and reconnoitering wouldn't go amiss at present.  I am finding it time-consuming looking for things that haven't yet been cut...and there's a lot of that popping up throughout this row.

Yeesh.

Anyhow, I am looking forward to possibly having this first block finished by the end of the weekend, and making progress throughout RowE on a regular basis.  [happy sigh]

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

UPDATED - A mere twelve

A mere twelve pieces are all that stand twixt me and completing RowE.
[happy, happy sigh]


As of 7:00PM EDT -
I have begun to stitch the 130 pieces of E11.3 together.  The full RowE will be joined tonight, and if I don't make it in time for a photo by daylight, I will post an image tomorrow. [insert excited squealy noise]