Underestimating

Yes, I believe I underestimated the scope of this odd quilt.

I knew it would require a great deal of material resources to make the quilt work, but I hadn't really chewed and tasted the bitter pill of reality until a few days ago. Thought I had enough to work with, but found out very quickly that there is an undeniable requirement for each color value that hadn't quite been met.The purples aren't quite this blue, & the reds aren't as pink as they appear.

If I could have worked from my stash alone I probably could have managed it, but with the restrictions at play for the contest I have had to fill in with spats of new material here and there.

Holy cow!

To my delight, I am speeding through two sections (mostly layout, with one large completed square sewn) and am prepared to move on to a third area - transitions and all!! While laying out the blocks I have begun to think about the quilting pattern(s) I would like to use once I get to that point. It's nice to be able to envision that far ahead at this stage of the game.

How are your projects going?

What's up?

Maria, you know this is not aimed in your direction.

If there is no more interest in the 'fat' fat quarters, then I suppose that's the end of it.
http://truenorthquilter.blogspot.com/2011/08/regarding-fat-fat-quarter-giveaway.html
and
http://truenorthquilter.blogspot.com/2011/08/out-with-old.html

Geez, try to do something nice.......

That only took three hours

A little over two, actually, to stitch and press the seams just for one ten inch -by-ten inch block. Three hours if you take into account laying out the color squares in the desired configuration prior to assembling - and I am - and ripping out two small areas of seaming to re-sew where my corners weren't 100% .

Let's just figure three hours per ten-by-ten block, and I have roughly forty-one more to make. I can reasonably make two per day...but let's just count on one to make this little game seem realistic.

;)

Yikes! I am going to have to push it and seam these bad boys like crazy, just to keep ahead of the game. There may possibly be a day or two, here and there, where I may not get any sewing done at all - and that's the reality of it. So (realistically), I hope to have the squares compiled by the end of September, and be knee deep into assembling them in to rows by early October.

If I keep myself on task I should be able to attack the quilting process by mid-October.

Ambitious? Yes. Foolhardy....oh, yeah.

Of course, there are still all of these little squares to cut yet [smacking forehead].

Not to mention, on days like today (where the clouds are thick and daylight is minimal), I am going to have to have a bunch of prefabbed blocks all ready to assemble, because laying out a very specific color schematic is difficult to do (if not downright impossible) in bad lighting. That's the only way I'll be able to keep making hay after the sun stops shining - is to keep several 'prefabbed' blocks layed out and ready to assemble.

Well, I hope we have some sun tomorrow, because today was a natural light disaster, and I am already falling behind!

Can you see it?

The migration of color.

Can you see it? It's there, but because the colors are so 'electric' to the lens of my tiny Pentax, I think it 'blows the color reality meter' of my little digital friend. :^)There are 42 such sections to construct, and I am trusting that the handicap of very little room in which to maneuver and work in will not prove detrimental to the entire project. This is totally forcing me to work in an entirely different mode from how I am accustomed to building a quilt (and it is driving me nuts).

My fear is in looking at the larger assembled patches later, and seeing where I should have mixed the cut pieces differently to achieve the effect I am ultimately after.

More another time, for now I need to get back to it. This is 100 squares needing to be stitched together, and with 4,125 to go, I mustn't procrastinate any longer.

Eureka!

Managed to scrounge up several red-to-violet/purple fabrics from the stash, but boy - did I have to dig! Sorry to say that they were mostly solids, but I will make do.

:)

Then, of course, I found a couple of neat prints on "a shelf," so I bought just an eighth of each. It will have to suffice, but at least I have the necessary ingredients now.

Color pickle alert

Oh boy.

I am now knee-deep into cutting pieces for the challenge quilt, about one third of the way through it, with the selection of blues, greens, violets and yellows still ahead of me to dig in to. And I have realized for the sixth time (an estimated figure) that my collection of usable material for the red-to-violet portion of this particular challenge is about as thin as Donald Trump's comb over.

Thinner, maybe.

Sadly, because the rules state quite clearly that all products used in one's entry must come from a specific place, I am in a color pickle. I have been to several stores, hunting for my elusive quarry (remaining within the contest specifics), and have had very little success...but I am not giving up!

I suppose I will simply leave that section to last, and hope to come across something (or, several "somethings") that will work for my purposes (in small quantities) over a short period of time.

This is one of those moments when I wish I liked pickles - even a little bit. Blech!

Re: the 'fat' fat quarter giveaway

Dear Folks Not Residing in the US:

If you're interested in taking part in this giveaway, too, read on.

If the winner of one of the bundles (living outside of the US) is willing to pay for postage, I will cut the pieces as HALF YARDS instead of 'fat' fat quarters!

Of course, if you simply wish to receive a 'fat' fat quarter packet instead, that's your choice.

Color inspiration + 4,200

'nuff said.

Stayed tuned.

Out with the old

There is a new way of co-habitating with your space and your stuff, and I am not certain of the phrase or name for this concept, but the idea is that you don't bring in anything new without getting rid of something old (to make room for the new item, ya dig?).

Makes sense, doesn't it?

I believe most women apply this "rule" to their clothes closet, but in my domicile I will be putting it to work on my quilting stash.

I've been sorting through the material I already have to find colors that will work for my project (for an upcoming quilt contest), but that will also fit the perimeters of the contest. While working on this task I realized I have a lot more fabric than I (most likely) will ever use.

[Gasp and egads!]

How is this possible?

Some of it (OK, a healthy portion of it) I purchased just as quilting was becoming more accepted as a way of creating fun and useful end products, and not thought of as just a hobby for Grandma or that lady from church.

Manufacturers began creating a much wider palette of colors and patterns - and there were a growing number of designers and manufacturing mills joining the fray! It was an exciting time. But, because these fabrics were still only available in limited quantities and at limited local sources, quilters still had a long way to go before we actually had a tremendous selection at our fingertips to pick and choose and buy from.

This was a mere twenty-something years (or so) ago! That's right...just a stone's throw back to the eighties!

Fast forward those twenty or more years to:

- everyone having an Internet connection,

- area quilting shops springing up across nearly every state....

- and a pretty good supply at your nearest JAF or SoFro (now defunct) and Hancock Fabrics (on the decline in neighborhoods)

It's been a fun ride! Sorry to say, I did tend to buy more of some materials to build up a stash, but never quilted enough to keep up with the influx. Now, I am looking at a wall of beauties that I most likely will never fully use.

Which brings me to the reason for this post. [drum roll]

I would like to encourage those of you who look in to take a moment and say "hello," and to help you build up your own stashes.

I am proposing a giveaway. That's right...I want to give away several fat quarter packs. These are all 100% cotton materials that you will not find anywhere, but I'd wager you would love to add them to your quilts. They are a vintage-y look at where we've been...just since 1982 - the colors, the patterns. It's a chance to add a little 'old-fashioned' variety to your newfangled works of art & love.

If you're game, let me know. My goal is to (hopefully) 'meet' those of you who look in from time to time, and find out a little about you and what you like, what sorts of quilting activities you're up to, that sort of thing. I know that I have readers that trip in here from all around the globe - whether by accident - or because they saw (or read) something they liked - and then return periodically.

I would like to open this giveaway up to everyone, but because I am currently unemployed, posting a parcel to a foreign country will be cost-prohibitive. So, unless you can cover the postage for shipping to areas outside the US, I am unfortunately going to have to limit the giveaway to the contiguous 48.

If you are interested in receiving one of three fat fat-quarters, each pack comprised of no less than seven (7) random pieces of these (20) different materials [see above], please leave a comment on this entry and let me know who you are and where you are, what you do. Tell me why you think you would be the best recipient for one of these little gifts. Don't leave any personal information in your comment just yet (no last name or address, no phone or email, etc), and I will make my selection as to which three persons will 'win' a fat fat-quarters packs by the end of September.

At that time, I will notify the 'winners' via a blog entry (here, at True North Quilter) and give you an email to send your contact info to. From there, I can mail out the packs.

Let me hear from you...I know you're out there! :)

It's b-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ck

Uh-huh, that's right. It's back, and soon you will know more...

see more...

read more.

It's back, baby - and so am I.