A Prairie Home Quilts

I decided on this quilt [and on I'm Not Martha] to challenge myself to complete so many sets of flowers per week in hopes of having this quilt top together a year from now.  Hand piecing 10 flowers a week seems reasonable.  *smile*

The first ten flowers sewn together.

This is the reverse side showing the pressed seams. (My apologies for the blurry photos!)

These are pieced using a running stitch so the seams need to be pressed to lay flat.  I’m pressing as I go so that I don’t end up with an overwhelming ironing job at the end.

I’m house sitting for a week starting next weekend and I plan to do a bit of sewing while I’m there.  I won’t have computer access so I’m just going to enjoy my time working on quilting projects — sort of like a quilting retreat only I’ll be the only one there.  LOL   I’ve got the next 2 sets of 10 flowers for this quilt ready to be pieced.  I need to get a few more hexagons cut and marked for “my retreat.”

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes [singing an old David Bowie song off key]. Only half way through the first month of the year and I’m updating and changing my goal lists. Yeah, and adding to it. I have accomplished some stuff though! That counts, right?

I’ve decided I cannot bring myself to baste hexagons to paper pieces any longer. I’ve been spoiled by the ease of printing and piecing using Inklingo. That leaves me with two options for my GFG quilt, Field of Flowers. I can either put all the 2″ squares I have cut (probably around 2000) into my leader/ender pile and begin again using printed hexagons or figure out a way to piece them without basting them to paper.

I opted for figuring out a way to piece them without the paper. Since coming to this decision, my new options are: 1) I can cut each 2″ square into the proper shape or 2) get creative. I opted for #2 as I cannot see myself cutting out .75″ hexagons from 2000 2″ squares! Now I have to figure out what to do with the paper pieces I purchased.

My new plan involves printing out some freezer paper templates using Inklingo Collection #3 and ironing them onto the 2″ squares. Then I hope to be able to piece them together with a running stitch instead of a whip stitch. All this sounds like a good plan but will only be effective if the freezer paper stays in place while I’m stitching. I’ll update you later.

Next dilemma. . .  I cannot decide upon the perfect layout for my Hey Diddle Diddle project and because of Cathi’s sweet little project using 30′s reproduction fabrics I’m conflicted as to embroidering the characters in red with red & white fabrics in the alternate blocks or embroidering in colors with 30′s repro fabric in the alternate blocks. Since I have no large stash of either color way, it doesn’t matter which one I choose, I just need to choose!

Moving on. . . I thought since I have a couple of hexagon projects in the works I’d join the Great Hexagon Quilt Along, you know. . . just for inspiration. It didn’t take me long to decide to start work on my own version of the mosaic hexagon quilt that first inspired Robyn to start the quilt along. [sigh] I cannot help it. Have I told you I plan to live forever? Quilting will be allowed in the Kingdom of Heaven — I’m sure of it.

My list of WIPs grows each week. . . up to 16 now and 2/3 of them are hand work. [You have my permission to fall down in a fit of hysterical laughter at this point.] I figured since I was printing .75″ hexagons and 1.5″ diamonds from vintage looking or reproduction fabrics I might as well print out some 1.25″ hexagons for the mosaic quilt. I can print 16- 1.25″ hexagons, 16- .75″ hexagons & 24- 1.5″ diamonds from one FQ. That gives me pieces for three different projects from one FQ. I like that. Now I need to purchase more reproduction fabrics.

Off to print more diamonds and hexagons and humming, “Bring on the Day” by Charlotte Martin from the “Sweet Home Alabama” movie soundtrack.

In 2008, I completely finished only 1 thing. Yup, only 1 project. Mom wanted a lighter quilt for her bed than the heavy comforter that she uses in the winter. Oh there was a flannel rag quilt that I finished up so that brings my total up to 2.  I finished 4 other projects to the “to be quilted” stage.

• Standout from the Crowd wall hanging
• Caddy Corners lap quilt
• Goose on the Loose lap quilt
• Grandmother’s Flower Garden table topper

All of my money went towards moving so there wasn’t any left to pay to have any tops quilted. So the “to be quilted” list grew in 2008.

I managed to do a number of things start to finish this month for Christmas gifts.

• Purse from Indygo Junction pattern for Heather’s mom
• 8 placemats for Heather’s grandmother
• Tote bag for mom to carry her knitting
• Small tote bag for Jessica to carry her bible
• 3 fabric baskets filled with sewing notions for Rachelle, Koren & Heather
• Fabric basket for myself for snipped threads

I’m thinking that my list for 2009 is a little ambitious but if I don’t at least *plan* to accomplish some of these things — I know myself — then nothing will get done. My list of projects in the works has grown considerably in the last 2 months.  I am inundated with inspiration & ideas.  *smile*

Goals for 2009

• Complete Christmas table topper that uses Inklingo LeMoyne Star pattern
• Complete Autumn table topper as above
• Post updated pattern for table toppers
• Complete & post Redwork BOM pattern “Hey Diddle Diddle”
• Complete & post Potted Star Flower wallhanging
• Complete & post “Love in a Mist” wallhanging pattern
• Complete “By Wisdom a House is Built” wallhanging
• Finish quilting GFG table topper
• Get DWR to finished top stage
• Make progress on paper pieced GFG quilt
• Make progress on Civil War reproduction fabrics mosaic hexagon quilt using Inklingo to print hexagons
• Make progress on “Four Part Harmony” diamond & hexagon quilt using Inklingo to print diamonds & hexagons
• Design center medallion & put up on design wall for hexagon medallion quilt
• Piece “Oklahoma Backroads” as leader / ender project
• Design “I Remember Grandmother” as future BOM project
• Color tutorial with projects finalized

So far I’ve resisted joining in on Bonnie’s Double Delight NYE mystery quilt.  I *did* check out my fabrics because I knew I had enough indigos and shirtings.  I didn’t have enough pinks nor dark brown and no cheddar and no MONEY.  That is the drawback to buying fabric only for a particular project instead of stashing it away for “someday.”

and a bit of blog housekeeping. . . I needed to get straight in my mind where I am on certain projects and what comes next. It was making a little nuts to not have a good list of works-in-progress and the next steps to complete for each one. *smile* I updated the project lists on my blog sidebar and made a new WIP Page. Hopefully this will be enough motivation to keep me working at a steady pace on my projects. (I can dream, can’t I?)

I’ve been busy organizing other areas of my life and haven’t really done much on the quilting home front. [sadly] This week’s goals are a repeat of last week’s as I didn’t do anything quilty. I *did* make good progress on getting organized so that I can tell at a glance what needs to be done next for each project in other areas of my life. In other words, I made lots of lists. LOL If you’ve spent any time browsing around this blog, you can tell I like to make lists…

I haven’t found the CD of an OOP book that I was revising that started this whole “mission organization” process but I now have an “action board” that lists each step of my projects (quilty or otherwise) and a new notebook for keeping notes and outlines for each non-quilty project. (Call me obsessed.)