Quick Patchwork Top

I intended not to start anything for the baby until I had other projects to a certain 'breaking point' but... I busted through that intention already.

I would like to say I got so excited about this that I just couldn't wait to start. Not quite true. I'm still too worn out for actual excitement. Really, I just wanted to accomplish something, and all my other projects are in the million-hours-to-go stage where progress feels turtle speed or slower. One block to show for three hours of work? Not tonight. Tonight I needed lots to show for less than two hours worth of effort.

I've had some Autumn Woods (Kate & Birdie Paper Co. by Moda) sitting in my precut drawer for longer than I want to admit to -- and tonight seemed like the perfect night to pull it out and see if I could accomplish anything in the amount of time I had set aside (two Daily Shows and half a Fresh Off the Boat).

A few minutes of patchwork layout play:

which is still not my strong suite, but I think it turned out alright. I wish the charm pack had come with a couple more yellow prints -- five wasn't quite enough -- but overall I'm very happy with how this layout came together.

A little bit of quick sewing -- made quicker by the painter's tape seam allowance guide still on my machine for working with the CQG log cabin beads blocks:

And within the designated time period, I wound up with a completed quilt top.

The critic in me says that I should have cut down the yardage print piece a little bit more for proportion's sake -- but I love that print and couldn't bear to lose any of the grey/tan sky. So, the sentimentalist in me is telling the critic to shove it! And that little proportional issue aside, I am thrilled with the top. The colors aren't quite as bold as my flash makes them look, the patchwork layout picture is probably more true to color, so it's a muted beauty, things I usually don't work with -- but I'm loving it. I'm also thrilled to make some real progress instead of a few nit picky steps on a bigger project.

A run through with the iron and it'll be ready for basting -- I already have a fairly matchy grey/orange/yellow print ready for backing. This one might be in the contender's list for my fastest finish -- at least in terms of actual work time. Woohoo!

CGQ Bead-style Log Cabin Quilt (Progress)

I cannot believe the progress we made on this quilt top last week! These little offset log cabin blocks are fairly time consuming, finicky blocks -- especially when so many different machines and workers are involved -- but last week the quilt top nearly doubled in size in a matter of hours. 

We are making a few adjustments to the plan as we go along, specifically, deciding to center all the beads into a top much like what's pictured above rather than having the rows of beads running off the top (using partial beads). That's cutting down the size a little, and cutting down the number of blocks to make, but I think it was the right decision for our group. This means we'll be able to assemble the top as a group, rather than handing all the finished log cabin blocks off to one individual, which seems like a much better way to proceed at this point.

I have one more block to make -- our checklist said we were doing it all right, but somehow we wound up one purple short and one orange too many -- and then it's on to the next steps. I think we'll end up with a total of 3 extra log cabins, so if I make two more blocks that would give me a whole 'circle' to use on the back side to dress up the backing just a little. I am looking forward to seeing what we come up with.

Working on quilts with a group is very different, but I love the challenge and the community of it.

Random Reflections 2 of 2 Update

I managed to push through making the strips -- even more strips than I thought I really needed because I wanted to have a choice in terms of colors and patterns, and if I'm going to be hauling out the iron and the cutting board, I might as well make it worth my while. I even managed to catapult from that success into finishing up the long 32 strip stripes that make up the top.

Random Reflections 1 of 2 came together really quickly from this point -- because I lucked into having almost no issues of the same print in the same location as I tested the stripes for layout. 2 of 2 was not so lucky. My first four attempts at an initial pairing met with multiple issues. Fortunately, with a total of 9 stripes to choose from, I did manage to find a layout that seems to avoid the issue.

I will say I'm still a little disappointed with the high number of oranges, yellows, and whites. And I even pulled out the oranges and most of the yellows, so there are 1-2 less pieces of them than there should be. I wish I had worked harder to find more blues and greens.

Okay, so it doesn't really match his painting as much as I'd hoped it would. I should have addressed that when I first began to suspect, but I kept telling myself the grey would count and it would all work out. I don't think that happened. All that aside, I'm still pleased with how things look so far.

I did find one little issue I need to fix before I start sewing the stripes into the top, but I think this could be dealt with fairly quickly. The harder part is going to be convincing myself to take on that much ironing -- my least favorite, but very necessary, part of quilting.

I am a little nervous that my seam allowances weren't as consistent through this top -- since there was a 6+ month hiatus between some of the 5-wide blocks and the rest -- but I'm hopeful it will still come together fairly smoothly. I do wish I'd been able to complete it all at once, but there's no use browbeating myself over that now. This is a simple top to make, but it can be a little tedious and I should have taken a break between the two tops instead of interrupting work on 2 of 2.

I'm hoping to get this top assembled on my next weekend off -- unfortunately, that's not until sometime in mid April! Good thing I gave up on my dream of finishing these before baby gets here!

Scrappy X+ Block Update

I almost can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think I'm finished making scrappy X+ blocks for this quilt top! I don't think I'm done working with this block -- though next time I think I'll choose something a little bit more methodical and a little bit less wonky than I let myself be for this quilt.

Even though all my blocks need a going over with a hot iron and trimmed down to square again, the moment I finished my last block I had to see them all laid out together.

I didn't put any energy into choosing a layout, I just put them down and snapped a photo. That's kind of an encouraging thought, because I don't see too much that would have to be rearranged if I wanted to start sewing the top together right now. Oh, I'm sure I'll play around with it a little more before I decide on anything, but it is nice to see that there's enough going on that random placement doesn't look too bad. I do see a couple blocks that might require re-sewing -- I'm really hoping the top right block looks off because it's not square on the ground, not because I managed to sew it that wonky!

I haven't been too hard on myself about finishing things up -- but I really want to push myself to get some things finished in the next few months. It feels like it's been ages since my last real finish and it's time to get some crossed off the list before life gets in the way for real!

I had hoped this one would be fairly gender neutral, but looking at all those florals and berries and cupcakes and pinks and purples, I'm wondering if this isn't a little more 'girl' than I'd intended. I can pick out some less specifically girly prints, but I'm just not managing to convince myself it's 'neutral' at all. What do you think? Neutral acceptable scrappy fun, or a very eclectic scrappy 'girl' quilt?

Random Reflections 2 of 2 Update

My second Random Reflections quilt top is finally back on the table. It has been waiting for attention for way too long, and I really want to get these two big quilts basted while I still can! Finishing these before things get too challenging is going to be a struggle, and I have piles of fabric waiting for smaller, cuter quilts I also want done before it gets too late...

So, maybe I will only be able to finish the tops on both before I set them aside to concentrate on baby things. Yet I fear once there is another person in this house finishing these up is only going to be harder than ever. 

Each of the two tops I am making require 288 strips of 2.5" x 10.5" made up of the neutral back and my chosen fabrics. I assemble these into groupings of five (45) and seven (9), then begin building larger until I have nine rows each with 32 strips. 

Here are the initial 54 five-by blocks, waiting for nine of them to be turned into seven-by blocks. 

I managed to finish the first three additional two-by pieces before I ran out of paired strips. Pairing up and cutting a few more pieces won't take long, so I hope to have the block building aspect done before lunch tomorrow. The sew, iron, cut, sew aspect makes it a slow project but I refuse to be distracted when I'm this close to being done with that part -- and so close to being done with this top. 

March Goals

March Goals

Read 5+ Books
Average 13000+ steps per day
Prep for April/May family events
Order 2 family photo books
Begin on the 2015 photo book?

New Projects / Pinterest Challenge: 

Anything new I start this month will be focused on baby stuff, either for myself or the various Welcome Baby gifts I need to be finishing up -- thankfully I'm somewhat ahead from my extra work last year! I wont' say 'no' to new recipes or anything, and I'm sure lots of my ideas will come from Pinterest, but for now, it's time to focus on other things.

My Projects:

Finish 1 quilt top: Random Reflections 2 of 2
Baste quilt group wonky star top
Wash my wonky star quilt
Welcome Baby Projects (for mine and others):

• Complete bibs -- figure out what is wrong with snap installer 
• Make 2-4 hooded towels
• Begin on a couple quilts
• pick out fabric for Hazel Hedgehog quilt?
• pick pattern for Wee Wander fabrics?
• Determine what else (if anything) I want to make in advance 

Grown Up Junk:

Schedule next cat/vet appointment

House Stuff: 

Continue sweeping every other day, cleaning bathrooms once a week
House prep for baby:

• remove broken orange chairs (1 or 2)
• begin plans for changing table/storage area in master bedroom
• clear off porch
• build deck box
• move extra holiday storage from guest shower to deck box
• move household chemicals into one cabinet -- put a lock/latch on it
• swap out washer/dryer for newer set (when weather is good enough)

Obviously that's more than I'm going to accomplish in one month -- even with some wonderful help from friends and family -- but it's the beginning of the between now and July list... Yikes!

February Wrap Up

February Goals 

Personal: 

Read 5+ Books

• "Deerskin" Robin McKinley
• "Quilting with a Modern Slant" Rachel May
• "Exquisite Captive" heather Demetrios
• "The Circus Fire" Stewart O'Nan
• "Cut the Scraps!" Joan Ford
• "I Love Patchwork" Rashida Coleman-Hale
• "Dessert Roll Quilts" Pam & Nicky Lintott

Average 13000+ steps per day -- Nope, I've been lucky to get 10,000 most days. The energy levels are just not bouncing back as much as I'd like (so much for that second trimester boost I was promised). I can make it if I have to for work, but if I'm at home pacing out my last mile or so, I'm lucky to make it to 11,000. 
Weekend trip to see family
Plan March family/work trip

New Projects / Pinterest Challenge: 

1+ new recipe -- Actually, yes! Except that my husband (wonderful creature) did all the work while I was still sleeping. So, I got to experience the benefits without any of the work. Still, if you're looking for a delicious little bite, try king cake bites from Plain Chicken. So delicious. 

My Projects:

Finish 1 quilt top: Random Reflections 2 of 2 -- I am 9 lines of stitching away from being done with the top. It's so close it is frustrating, but I just haven't managed to iron yet. I should have ironed before working on the layout. Now I'm afraid I'll mess it up if I take it out of the pile. 
Finish piecing quilt group wonky star top -- Yes! 
Master a log cabin block
Wash my wonky star quilt -- Instead I put a brand new box of swiffer sweepers through the wash. I'd like to get all the cardboard crumbs picked out before I put a quilt in it. Which at this point requires help since bending over like that is no longer comfortable. 

Grown Up Junk:

Schedule next cat/vet appointment  
Replacement windshield for the car (if the weather gets better)

House Stuff: 

Continue sweeping every other day, cleaning bathrooms once a week
Start mattress shopping


I feel like February kicked my butt! My grand plans for accomplishing things really fell apart before the month even started properly, and I just couldn't get back on track. I'm supposed to be feeling more energetic than in first trimester, but so far I think it's less. I'm not going to go into the details, but being pregnant is hard work. I'm struggling to balance my desire to accomplish things with my new real need for sleep (what happened to sleeping 4-6 hours and being okay?), putting up my feet, and staying hydrated. My desire to accomplish things is still high, but my actual ability to do so is pretty low. A visiting friend last week told me that I have now joined the rest of the world, now that I can no longer accomplish twice as much as any of them. I'm afraid his statement is truer than I'd like.

That said, I still have some high hopes for March...