Completely (& utterly) done with red

Today, somewhere around three in the afternoon, I finished with the reds! So I bagged up the remaining piles of color and set the baggy bundles aside, astonished at the amount of work that has gone into this particular project thus far.

It feels good to be clearing the decks and making space where once there were piles of standby material. Progress, progress, progress!

I had time to think back to a few short months ago and remember the selection process. Then I began to recall the rinsing and the ironing... and the calculating and the cutting (multiplied by 5,000) and the recalculating. OMGosh!!

Blissfully, I am now laying out and assembling Row 5, astonished at just how far I have come, and amazed at how well it looks as a whole (despite the things I wish I could do a little differently). Can't wait to share it with you.

What are you working on?

Gratified

I knew I must be on the right track when Brian said to me that he can't wait for the top to be together. He is hoping to help me stretch it!

Every day I have been able to work on the quilt - for large spans of time (since the last film wrapped) - he has managed to wander in to the area and question me as to how much more there is to go and, when do you think it will be finished?

"Will you be done in time for the first of the contests?" (which is coming up very soon).

It's nerve-wracking enough to bear down with my own sets of pressures, but his constant reminders of how much - or rather how little - time is left before the deadline, "...and you're not even quilting it, yet" is driving me to distraction.

I am now beginning to allow reality firmly in 'the door.'

"No," I reply. "Most likely I will not be done for mid-November."

This is a large change from my last response of "I'm still shooting for it. It could still happen."

In all honesty, there is really still too much to do, and I utilized too much precious time over the last three weekends doing other activities instead of keeping my head down, my eyes on the prize and keeping my nose to the grindstone. Foolish!

But I am very gratified that Brian wants to see this one finished. Even more so that he wants to help me get it to that point!

Puzzling

I chose to participate again this year in a bazaar that I sold children's books at last year. Why, with the project I have at hand, did I decide to take the time to spend an entire day away from the quilting process (which is already tedious and behind enough) to try and sell books as I did last year?

Well, I'll tell you why.

I truly thought the numbers would duplicate themselves, or at least come close, making the day worthwhile. Instead, I spent those hours wishing I were at my sewing table, whirring through seams of 1.5" squares, shaping several blocks and completing a good deal of Row 5.

The longer the day grew on without people visiting the bazaar - and the spartan sales each customer generated (despite attempts to satisfy them) - only served to amplify the dread of having spent the money on the tables (and the fuel to get everything there) and the time and energy to get it all set up and to just be there....left me with a bitter taste. Not to mention, I took two friends hostage to make the day happen (sorry J&B).

Of course, you don't know until you do it (whatever it may be), right? But I had great expectations as last year was so sweet.

All of the vendors said the same thing. Too few shoppers - surprisingly too few - and nobody willing to spend any cash.

So, today, I am poised over the last of Row 4, setting the final colors together, and I will be stitching the pieces together shortly. Row 4 is a done deal, and Row 5 is on the horizon. Tantalizingly close. Teasing me on!

I was struck by how much like a jigsaw puzzle I was going at this final block for Row 4 - almost like I had lost the picture of the final product, but if I keep fitting this piece and that into place, I would eventually find the one right piece, and so I keep maneuvering them so I can be happy with the final configuration.

I have come to realize, over the past several weeks, that I will always regret something about the way I laid out certain areas of the quilt, but overall it will look as it will - despite my finagling and fussing - and I am the only one who will see "imperfections" and have regrets as to why didn't this or that happened 'here' instead of that (colorwise).

It's just all too puzzling. It is what it is - live with it and move on!!

Here's something!

Here is a quilt I made back in 2008 for a fellow student at Specs. An aunt of hers had made the Sun Bonnet Sue blocks decades before, and Denise had them stored, just waiting for an opportunity to have them turned into a quilt.
Then I happened along.

The majority of the work was in making them evenly (equally) squared and true, and in figuring how to assemble them - to do the adorable vintage blocks justice.
I think the resulting quilt was appropriate and perfect.

Please ignore the quality of the photos, as I was in a hurry to get them taken that day to get out the door.

The aunt who made the original blocks had appliqued the Sun Bonnet Sues onto muslin, and that was how Denise handed them to me. I added the window pane frames from material I had in my stash, and then selected the lovely green material that was used for the sashing and border.

The backside shows the integration of one SBS block that wouldn't work in to the configuration on the front. The goal with that touch was to make certain to center it with another SBS facing the right direction, so that when I finished the quilting, the stippling worked around the character as well as could be working blind from the top side of the quilt. As you can see, I was pretty darned close when working with the imperfections of the handmade SBS blocks.

The film is wrapped and I AM BACK!

My hopes of completing a square or two a week during the filming was all for naught. I actually only managed to complete sewing two 100-piece squares over the last three weeks....although, I did manage to lay out four additional full squares. Not a bad thing.

So, my objective today is to sew my brains out and finish row three and begin laying out row four.

DREAM BIG!

This is the LAST of the orange, and the last of the yellow is next!

1,300 down

2,925 to go (not including the backing and binding).

At this point, I am just under 1/3 of the way through the top.

Moving on

Drifting out of yellow and into green. What a happy feeling.1.5 squares to assemble and then it is on to row 3! One-hundred-and-fifty pieces until I can move on. Wahoo!

Can you tell what I spent a portion of the day doing?

A little something

When I am stuck waiting with (or for) Karl for any reason - hospital stays, doctor's appointments, dental appts, while he is in class (rather than wasting gas driving back and forth) - I always have handwork to keep me occupied.

Handwork of the quilting sort (or sometimes a book to read).

Here's a little CQ something I have been needling on for the past good long while.

Out of pure frustration (and middle-aged-lady determination) I decided to devote some measure of time this year to finishing the Statue of Liberty, at least, before the toilet paper it was drawn on tatters any further.Yup, you read that correctly. I drew Lady Liberty on several sheets of toilet paper, stitched the sheets together, then basted the drawing to a section of the crazy quilt top.
After many failed starts (and many more successful retreats), I put the pieces of this quilt away in storage, meaning to someday get it out and finish what I started.

Well, someday is here!

In a few short hours I will have finished the embroidery, and will be able to remove the remainder of the toilet paper and basting stitches to reveal the entire work. I was too eager this afternoon to leave much of the unnecessary paper in place, and thus began removing some of it while still working on the crown and the hand holding the tablets.As you can see, it's not turning out too shabbily. I am very pleased with the results.

Update

To date, I have assembled 950 cut squares in to nine-and-one-half finished squares. By the end of today, I hope to be 200 pieces further.

Wouldn't that be wonderful?!

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Oh, lawsy, I forgot! I need to cut out more reds and oranges first! Dagnabbit!

I am now on row two!!!!

I wish I could show you a photo of it thus far - I really do. It is looking so cool!! If you live nearby, come take a look, or I will meet you for an iced tea somewhere and bring it along to "show-n-tell."

Maria, I will call you soon to arrange a play date at your place...I want to see your sewing space with the new cabinet, and all of your ongoing projects.

Hope you are happily working on something you can enjoy this much.

P.S. That 'fat' fat quarter giveaway is almost at it's deadline....where are your inquiries? I have one wonderful friend to give some material to, and there are two more bundles that need a place to go.