Hey, I get to add this quilt to the "finished" category!

Happy Birthday to me - I can add this quilt to the 'finished column.'

Ocean Waves: Baby Boy Schaffer (Scrap) - 33.5" x 47"

Reverse

I rinsed the lovely little thing today to eliminate the marker lines, but the residual quilting pencil marks will have to eventually wear off with use over time - no big deal. I am looking forward to delivering it to the new owner some day....soon.

Photos of the baby quilt progress

Here are the additional photos of the Ocean Waves baby quilt progression.

The safety pins are my method of basting the backing/batting/top 'sandwich' together for the quilting process.

I went from stretching and pinning the quilt on Wednesday morning, to stenciling and quilting the majority of it over Wednesday evening and on through Saturday afternoon.

As an area is stitched, the basting pins are removed, and voila!

Cut and applied the binding Saturday afternoon, then began to slipstitch it to the back the remainder of the evening and through Sunday morning while the laundry did it's thing in the dryer.

I still have the four corners to fill (to the inside of the quilted border) with some sort of pattern to keep the batting stable (they are large triangles - about 10" on the longest side, and 8" along the right angle sides), and then two smaller triangular shapes to fill (along the center of the two longest sides).

After returning home yesterday afternoon, I easily pieced two separate stencils together to come up with exactly what was called for in the largest areas. The two smaller spaces will be taken care of shortly. I will be able to accomplish the remaining quilting tonight, after a busy day of catch up.

Introductions aside...reality sucks!

I am happy to report that progress on the "Baby Boy - Ocean Waves" has been pretty quick.


I worked my cha-chas off these last five days to stretch and pin, mark, quilt, bind and finish it (as much as I could). I still have a small bit of quilting to accomplish, but it will be done this evening. Stuff got in the way.

Not unlike anybody else, I can get sidetracked...weigh-layed and simply hung up on a project by some sinister problem. You can get halted by 'situations' that crop up; a temporary gig or familial obligation steps in the way, and poof! Work stoppage. I find myself away from my stash and tools and habitat, and without my things to turn to (if I don't pack it), I am sunk.

In all honesty, sometimes I lose interest and/or momentum somewhere around the completion of the top and next steps. I let my fabric wall whisper too loudly about a new color combo that would be really cool in the same pattern, and I step away to explore the color choices, [smacking forehead] then I am left with finished quilt tops, but no actual quilt!

I have at least two full-sized basted quilts (and one wall hanging) who have suffered the lost-momentum fate, and while I use one of them on a fairly regular basis, I am nowhere near ready to put it on the table and quilt it...finish it. I don't know why.

I should, I know I must. Perhaps, with my personal challenge in hand, this summer that lovely quilt will meet the sewing machine for it's final phases!!!

Oh! I feel so empowered! Prop me up, you quilters out there in the 'verse.

And still, there is a lovely pile of tops I have completed and who are ready to be mated with batting and a back...but in what order will I complete these? Aaargh!!

The saddest part is that it all means I should really stop starting new projects and only concentrate on finishing what I've already got started. [sgnort!] Yeah, right, that's gonna happen.
Waaaahhh! [sob] I am gasping at the reality.

Reality sucks. So, let's quilt!

Intentions

I hadn't intended to create another blog page, but here it is.

Lesson 1: Never drink (even weak) white russians while you are blogging.

I've been blogging for right around two and one half years now, but for other purposes beyond (or including more than to) purely write or photograph or share quilting ideas/stories/ideas/etc.

And, I have noticed/found many other quilters who blog, and have been sent several good links to other bloggers out there in the 'verse.

"Hello" to one and all.

I am not exactly certain of the purpose for the creation of this new blog (and the white russian isn't talking at present, so I can only guess that), perhaps my slightly innibriated psychie reasoned it's existance was to purely get you to the quilting portion of my blog entries faster (for those purely interested in the quilting aspect, and not the rest of my entries).

Understood.

Not long ago I decided I would create one new quilt each month.

No, let me amend that statement. I didn't simply task myself with the monumental chore, but...rather... I "challenged" myself.

Dared myself to be creative and commit my time lock, stock and barrel to planning, cutting, sewing, patching, assembling, ironing, toiling and agonizing over, basting, stenciling, quilting, questioning...and ultimately regretting (several times over) the inception, creation and completion of one new project twelve times over for 2010.

Once I took a step back and reasoned through my folly, and the unreasonable nature of the desire/task, I scaled it back slightly to allow for finishing several objects already underway (in leau of beginning a number of those twelve new projects) in order to sufficiently fulfill my personal obligation.

Oh, my Lord, I am an idiot of some proportion!

[heavy sigh]

At any rate, it's April already (nearly mid-way through the month), and I have been at work on a baby quilt for one of my many cousins - it is for their first son, so the quilt was given the dubious title of "Baby Boy Schaffer." It is an Ocean Waves pattern where the elongated hexes are set into color two-tone patterns, none of which repeats. To finish it off I've decided to use a good number of the remaining triangles in the border by assembling half-size pinwheels (it also makes me feel a little better about having stepped into my stash and cut from so many pieces), and alternating those blocks with muslin tone-on-tone blocks. Originally, the pinwheels were to completely surround the quilt and a subsequent smaller border, but sanity stepped in and helped me realize the enormity of that task, and from there I was able to rethink the use of nothing but pinwheels.

Phew!

I reduced the number of pinwheel blocks from 80+ to a more reasonable number, and get the border completed much faster.

Now I can turn my laborious over-analyzing (perfectionist tendencies) to the task of choosing and using the right stencils for the quilting process. LOL

To date, I am finishing the construction of the quilt back, which incorporates autograph squares from family members. I hope to stretch/baste it tomorrow, and have it with me at Gram's to quilt and (hopefully) finish while I am there.

Welcome to my quilt world!