Monday, March 24, 2014

My March Madness

I love college basketball.  I am in Kentucky.  You pretty much have to love basketball and horse racing --- and maybe bourbon.

I'm happy to say that I have another Lollypop block done, thanks to a few hours of great (and not so great) basketball this past week.  It's actually very helpful to be focused on stitches and not plays and then count on instant replay to get you up to speed.  There are some "tension" issues on a few of the elements in this block and I'm blaming it on close games.
So -- six (of 16) are done, along with six (of 36) small border blocks.  The border blocks that you see here will finish at 4"x4" or 4"x6" and were a great way to use random scraps that were left over from the larger blocks.
I certainly need a break from appliquéing to let my fingers heal a bit.  But there is more basketball later this week. For Kentuckians, it's a big game. Louisville vs. Kentucky. And there are not many people in this state that are neutral. You bleed red or you bleed blue when these teams play. Once the winner is decided, there is a very small population that will cheer on the winning team that just happened to be your opposition in the previous game. I fall in that camp. I will vehemently root for the team that beat my guys.
For those of you who live in states where baseball or hockey or football are important, you know what I mean.  When we were in Chicago -- you were either a "southsider" (White Sox) or "northsider" (Cubs) but in the 10 years that I was there, I never heard "both"! I certainly knew people that didn't care either way -- if someone cared -- they cared about a particular team and often in a big way.

How wonderful for quilters that we often have a completely different approach ---

Applique or piecing?  Both

Batiks or cottons?  Both

Hand quilting or longarming?  Both

Brights or midrange?  Both

Machine applique or hand applique?  Both

Flannels or homespuns?  Both

Modern quilting or precision piecing?  Both

Solids or prints?  Both

We are happy to play in multiple sandboxes and -- if we don't -- we do not judge others who do.  Instead, we appreciate them and often want to learn from them.  So -- as much as I love some sports, I love quilting even more, don't you??

I hope you are having a great week of March Madness full of things that you love!

Jan

27 comments:

OPQuilt said...

I'm busy quilting my Lollypop Trees. Fun to see yours pop up on my Bloglovin's Feed (where I follow you).

Have fun stitching!

Elizabeth
opquilt.com

Lesley said...

Your lollipop block is gorgeous! Well done!

katie@stvital said...

I love the Lollypop trees! I agree, sports are a great time to get some hand stitching done.

Michele said...

Just adorable!

Mary Huey said...

That pattern is on my "bucket" list -- love the symmetry of your fabric choices!

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

I like your lollipops! :)

Angie in SoCal said...

Your lollipop tree is wonderful as are the little side blocks - they're so cute! I like to stitch before the tv, too.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

love the pattern - is this a Kim McLean pattern? I have one of hers that I have not made yet and it reminds of her work

dq said...

I love your colors and admire your work. This is one heck of a project! Way to dig in.

Plum Cox said...

Another fabulous block! I laughed when I read that you had tension issues because of tension about the games!
Keep up the good work,and hope that you get the sports results to you want later in the week!

sherry said...

i am not from kentucky...but i love horses, horse racing, horse show jumping, and played high school ball...i also love your appliqué...the little cactus are cute

Jehnny said...

Haha- my team was out the first round! My brother (a big Kentucky fan, who schools me on the correct pronunciation of Louisville) can't wait for that game!March madness does provide an excellent time for me to sit down and cut up all my scraps while I watch. Your applique work is beautiful!

One Wee Bird said...

Your hand applique and needleturn is awesome....I wish I had the stamina and/or time to follow through on a project like this!

Teresa Duryea Wong said...

Is this Kim McLean? I made 2 of her quilts. Love this. I am also a big football fan - NFL!

Karyn said...

Lollipop trees is next in my plans. Lovely to see yours.

Esther Aliu said...

What a fabulous block! love the shape and colours

Shari - a prim and (not so) proper quilter said...

Beautiful block! I've thought a lot about adding this quilt to my bucket list.

Leanne Parsons said...

Your applique looks great! I love to play in lots of quilting sandboxes too...and really admire the work of those playing in sandboxes I haven't explored yet! Thanks for linking to TGIFF.

Snowcatcher said...

I haven't done any hand applique for a while, so words don't even express how impressed I am with all your circles! This is going to be an incredible quilt! Love your thoughts on playing in multiple sandboxes, too!

M-R Charbonneau said...

Could not agree more about quilters. Your block is gorgeous. Can't wait to see them all together!

MulticoloredPieces said...

Dropped in from Sarah's blog and I must say that the lollipop block is to die for. This is going to make a sumptuous quilt. And I thought you made a good point with your questionnaire at the end.
best from Tunisia,
nadia

Marni @ Haberdashery Fun said...

Love this. The colors are amazing

Schulz Family said...

visiting from sew many ways. This looks amazing!!

Cathy Tomm said...

Great applique. I keep thinking I would like to do that quilt. So far I have not working on KF Hexagons in front of TV this winter.

Dar said...

What a happy looking block. Your lollipops are so cute. Can't wait to see it finished.

Susan@Organized31 said...

I'm hockey and hockey fan, but I uderstand what you're saying. Gorgeous quilt block, by the way :) Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday on Organized 31.

sonia said...

Your applique looks amazing! I definitely agree with you, I love each and every technique. I am a "both" person too ;)