Just interested to know...

Is there anybody 'out there' looking in from time to time, and is there anything you want to ask or know about any of the ongoing quilt projects?

A-a-a-a-nd good afternoon

Twenty-five inches until H3 is ready for the needle.
64" until I've reached the halfway point!

Goodmorning!

Less than eighty inches to go before the halfway
mark! ! ! ! !

That is all.

Pun-a-rific!

The light of the day may be waning, but my excitement is growing.

I am just over one-quarter of the way done with H3.  I'm inching my way towards the halfway point.  "INCHING."

Did you get that pun?

[happy dance]

I won't be reaching my self-ascribed deadline of halfway through the top by the end of this month... but I am awfully darned close.  [insert happy dance]

Finished laying out H2 today, but will have to wait for the weekend to stitch it together (work before pleasure).  That means there's only 139 inches between me and that wonderful halfway point.  [insert double dose of happy dance]

Five

5 inches to go before H2 can be stitched together.

Yesterday's blog entry

Well, I sort of figured my stance regarding postage stamp quilts wouldn't be the most popular tome I've ever banged out here in the old blog, especially given so many people feel that a quilt made from hundreds of 2" finished blocks constitutes a PSQ ( - because it just doesn't.  Sorry.)  But... my blog, my opinion(s).

Don't even get me started on how I feel about folks fusing a quilt top together and then calling it "applique'" (because it's not.  It's just SO not).

This is what I'm finding

Over the years, in searches of books and other reference materials available prior to the 1990s, and subsequently in searching the internet for "postage stamp" quilts, the selection produced is always a little odd, quite varied, far-ranging, and (at least 50%) wrong. People want to think they are creating a "postage stamp" quilt simply by virtue of the fact they are using one cut size piece square, and nothing could be farther from the truth.

There are a LOT of 'one block wonders' - or, 'one patch wonders' - made with hundreds and thousands of simple square patches, but that doesn't qualify them as "postage stamp" quilts.  The name for postage stamp quilts came about because the diminutive pieces comprising the top were literally the size of a postage stamp - and those were small.

Less than an inch.

LESS.

Any quilt created from the mid-twentieth century and before, with finished pieces exceeding 1" was not referred to by its creator as a "postage stamp" quilt. I've yet to find one.  Those quilters had pride of work, and were not as boastful or in need of [internet] glory and fame as are today's quilters - and they would not stretch the parameters of what should be in order to claim something they made was other than what it was. Their pride came in the form of a neat, precision-pieced and hand quilted end result.  They might allow for modern day quiltmakers to feel special by claiming 1.5" finished pieces to fall within the realm of the postage stamp title, but they'd do so with a wink and a knowing nod shared between them.  So let's be honest with ourselves...whadaya say?

1.5" cut pieces will yield a finished patch of one inch. Likewise, a 1" cut piece becomes one half inch when pieced with its neighbors.  Those are traditional, acceptable, and true sizes for creating a postage stamp quilt.

Cutting and piecing 2" cut pieces (whether by joining strips and cutting, or by joining individual cut squares) does not make a postage stamp quilt.  Not in random placement, not in creating Granny Squares, small Trips Around the World - or larger whole 'Trips' - etc, etc, etc.  Nope, the traditional postage stamp quilt was comprised of thousands upon thousands of postage-stamp-sized pieces.

Does it take patience?  Yes, lots of it.  Does it take a lot of work cutting and organizing and piecing it well? Oh, you bet it does - this I can attest to.  Isn't it time-consuming; couldn't I create and finish a quilt faster (and then move on to another project sooner) if I only used larger pieces and took shortcuts?  Yes, without a doubt, but the huge portion of me that is a traditionalist quiltmaker would have to throw the other portion of me down a flight of stairs for being untrue to the spirit and beauty of traditional quilting if I strayed that far from the honesty of what is right.  If I told a quilt lie, I would totally expect to be called out for it.

What I'm finding is I am becoming (sadly) intolerant of the title "Postage Stamp Quilt" being used so freely by people espousing their non-postage-stamp-sized pieces to be something they're not.  So, if you are making (or have made) a PSQ using any square pieces of a finished size equaling more than one inch... and I am within range... and you hear me scoff or snort or guffaw or bristle noisily at your lovely quilt, please know it is only because your quilt doesn't deserve the honor of the title "Postage Stamp."

Just wanted to add

As of last night, I managed to whittle the missing inches down to a manageable fifteen.  A little deflated with not being able to finish the task (H2) on Sunday, but there we are.

I will conquer it Tuesday!

H2 progress

UPDATE - 7:02 PM:
By the time I shut off the lights and walked away for the day, there were only thirty missing inches to find!  30?  I can do thirty.  C'mon, Sunday!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Don't know why I am wasting ANY of the glorious sunshine working in my favor today.  So, if you will excuse me, I need to walk away from everything else until the sun goes down.

But, before I go, let me leave you with an image of H2.  This was from much earlier in the day, and I am pleased to say it has grown since.

Less than two-hundred inches before the halfway point.

Lotsa beautiful light; minimal progress

Although, H2 is just about half there.  Yea!
I will complete it over the weekend. [knock on wood]

I forgot to say

239 inches from the halfway point!

Happy update

No, I am not finished with H1.... BUT, there are only a mere four inches to find.

A frustrating four inches.

An aggravating four inches.

An impossible four inches.

Stupid four inches!

Stick with me, daylight, please.  Together, we can make it happen.

UPDATE: 
As of 5:03PM - Two missing inches.
There's always tomorrow.

So close

Something akin to a dozen inches to find before I can sew together block H1.  If disappointment was a flavor, it would taste like H1 - at least for today.

Here's a horrible thought bouncing around in my brainpan:
If I am having such difficulties with the mellow mossy greens and blending blue-greens of the light lavender background on this block, I can't imagine the next two are going to be much a picnic, either.  [groan]

H1 update

I haven't been able to work on (and I mean
r-e-a-l-l-y work on) H1 since Sunday.  What a depressing thought, eh? A stolen moment here and there, but no real forward momentum. [sigh]

But, today is a play date, and I intend to make such a dent.  Maybe even finish it - or come very close in the attempt.  There are a total of twenty-five missing inches - and this is my starting point for the day.  H1 is the first of three solid (OK... very nearly solid) background-only blocks.  Don't you love the colors?

Update to the 'bummer'

As sunny as it is outdoors, and as lovely as the light is to work with, I need to curtail piecing H1 for now and help Karl with studying for a test.  But, I'm happy to report the total has gone from 31 to 50 pieces in place.

Bummer for the day

Didn't quite reach my goal, although I did find my misplaced 2.5" square ruler.  Got as far as one-third of the pieces placed, but that's a long way from 100.

The things I lose when I clean, I tell ya.  Today it was time and a necessary ruler.  Sheesh.  There are some things to be said in favor of never straightening up - am I right?

On the bright side, getting one-third of the new block pieced is better than never having begun the block.  So all in all, it was a favorable day.

No patience

I have absolutely no intentions of letting grass grow under my feet, especially now that I am 'this close' to the halfway point.  So, I decided to use some daylight to put a few pieces on the palette for H1.  BUT...

...that was after having cleared the decks and making a huge clear space to work at on the table.  AND after changing a dead lightbulb - wow, what a difference that made.

Anyhow, before I fled the house to run to the bank (in a blind panic, and at the last minute), I managed to get twenty inches in place.  Now, like the greedy little pig that I am, I am heading back to the sewing hole to see how close to 50 pieces I can get before the light grows too poor to work.

A promise is a promise

Happy day

Began the day with a little laundry (and I still need to patch the knee on a pair of Karl's jeans, too - darn), but then I got to work on the fun part of my day!

George is cleaned and oiled; bobbins are wound; fresh needle on the machine - and I've 330 pieces to join before RowG is officially at the finish mark.   Hoping to have an image of the three current rows before daylight is gone today.  However, if I miss my mark, don't worry...you'll be as happy as I am by this time tomorrow.

I did it! I DID IT ! !

Managed to amass all of the bits necessary for G11.3 before having to leave the house for the evening.  Cannot tell you what a relief that was... and I've promised myself I will NOT go back and question any of it, as I am prone to do (especially since I already wasted about two hours this afternoon playing the "Maybe This One Will Look Better" game.  In truth, it's more likely a wasted three hours, but who's counting?).

Needless to say I will be enjoying the next couple of days enormously!  There's a real treat in store for you.