Well -- let's be frank. Procrastination can be fun when you're a quilter. There are lots of dips and turns and creativity that can come as you work on one project and are distracted by another. I am certainly guilty of that this week.
The cover quilt for the October issue of American Patchwork and Quilting came at just right time. I needed to make a quilt for a special friend's son who is getting married and most of my fabric is in storage. Lucky for me -- I brought all my FQ and smaller pieces for our foray into temp living and the bride loves all things Autumn -- particularly the colors.
So -- with the blessing of her soon-to-be-mother-in-law, I started cutting 2.5" and 3" squares out of my browns, reds, oranges, deep yellows, greens, and a few purples -- and every scrap of "neutral" I had that fell in the buttercream family. This quilt requires 50 blocks and each block requires eight HSTs at 2.5". I am one of those quilters who cuts the squares at 3", does the double seam, and then after pressing them open, trims every single HST to 2.5". I could have avoided this "fun" by cutting the original square at 2 7/8" but I prefer the accuracy. The tiny little pile with the red paisley on top is the stack of "trimmed" blocks -- the mountain still needs trimming and squaring up!
This has been a marathon of sewing and sewing and sewing followed by trimming and trimming and trimming -- not to mention pressing seams open. You get the idea. The pile felt insurmountable. The wedding is in mid October. I need to be making stars and stars and stars.
But -- instead, I got sidetracked and started playing with the scraps. I have never been taken by the "crumb" fever that has been prevalent since Bonnie Hunter made the very valid point that scraps still cost $9 per yard (and now $10) and need to be used. Jo at Jo's Country Junction has been hosting a "Crumb Along" and I've been reading along but not crumbing along. Until now. And I just had to make one 6.5" block which took much longer than the star. This is not good. My scrap bin exploded and I know how big the basket of scraps is that is packed and coming in three weeks. I do not need to get started with this -- but it was kind of fun and it's so rewarding to be using little pieces that are too small/thin for strings. Oh, dear......One down and 49 to go! Keep piecing -- no matter how small! Jan
PS -- I'm linking to Lily's Quilts Small Blog Meet (button to the right). She regularly sponsors this as a way for smaller bloggers to get some new readers and possible followers. Check out her blog as well as the Small Blog Meet! Both are worth your time!
