Sunday Stash and Stitching , week 10, 2014

I've found the pattern for this quilt, and I've figured out where I was when I abandoned it years ago. Even more important, I've gotten some hand stitching done on it, and have figured out how to proceed from here. The centers are on the 2 small compasses, and I've done some of the red tear drop shapes onto the parts that have already been pieced together. So, from here, I'm going to piece together the corner sections of the quilt. Then, I'm going to piece together the long sashes that need to go between the long center section that is already done and the corner sections. I'll hand sew the long sashes to the center section, since I don't want the machine stitching to show on the back. Then, I can machine piece the corner sections to the long sashes. After that, I can machine piece more fabric to the backing, and get some batting into those sections. Once that is all done, I can load it onto the long arm to baste for the hand quilting. It's still going to take quite a while to get it done, but at least I have a plan of attack. It was the lack of that plan that had this sitting in its box for so long. My plan for today is to bet some of the green leaf shapes prepped and more of the red tear drops done. onto the sash sections.

I missed last Sunday's Stash report, so this is for 2 weeks this time. I added some fabric that I simply couldn't resist. Two yards of this really fun fabric.

I have no idea what I'll do with it, but it was impossible not to come home without it. Maybe I'll make some pillow cases for camping, or something like that.


Used last 2 weeks:                        3.2 yards
Used this year:                              26.7 yards
Added last 2 weeks:                        2 yards
Added this year:                           14.25 yards
Balance:                                     12.45 more yards used than added.
I'm linking up to Judy's Stash Report and Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.

Design Wall Monday, Feb. 17, 2014

As planned from yesterday, after pulling this very old UFO from the plastic bin, I put it up on the wall today. I needed to remind myself how it went together, and how much is left to do on it. This was a four part pattern from Quilters' Newsletter, starting in November 2003. It's called "A Few Compasses Between Friends". This is an example of a love at first sight quilt that got worked on intensively for a couple of years, and then got replaced and set aside. Yes, I'm fickle when it comes to my quilt loves. It started out as a variation on the quilt as you go technique, where I started quilting the center panel and planned on then quilting the large side triangle areas, and then joining them with the two long diagonal sets of sashes. I think I stopped working on this because I became unconvinced that doing it this way would work, but couldn't figure out how to salvage it. The center diagonal section is almost finished hand quilting. There are just the end triangle compass sections to finish the hand quilting on,  and I got about a quarter of one of those done yesterday, during my Sunday hand stitching. I think once I'm done that, I'm going to finish piecing the rest of it, and then assemble it into a whole and finish quilting it that way. I can't remember right now why I even decided to quilt it in sections. It would have made sense to do it this way if it was being machine quilted on my domestic, but the reasoning for hand quilting it this way has me stumped. And that's pretty bad, because I'm the one that decided to do it this way. But, then again, it was over 10 years ago. I have to get into the boxes that have my old patterns in them, and find this one. I know I went through all my old magazines before we moved, and tore this one out and put it into a binder. Just need to find the binder. I need to know the finished sizes of these blocks before I can assemble it. It is still going to take some staring at it, in order to figure out how to finish it. I have to add the backing to both sides of the center panel that is already done, and then add in the batting, probably whip stitch it together so there aren't any bumpy areas. I'll probably have to hand stitch the length of the red sashes all the way down the length of the center section in order to attach the side triangles. I don't want machine stitching to show up on the back as if it were quilting. In the meantime, I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday. and then plan onwatching the olympics and knitting on some socks.

Sunday Stash and Stitching, week 7, 2014

I've switched up what I'm stitching. I've had enough of My Tweets for the moment. I think I'll put it away until the summer, when it can become my enjoy the outdoors project. So I pulled out an ancient UFO that's been on my mind ever since I found it while getting organized for moving last year. And I've come across it a few times since moving here, and each time I've thought that I should get it out and maybe try to finish it.The final incentive to haul this out was Kathy saying that the quilt she is working on is seven years old. She asked if we could beat that.

This one dates back to 2003. It's a pattern from the Quilters' Newsletter magazine that was given in four parts, starting in Nov. 2003. I only know that because I had to do a search online to find out. It's called A Few Compasses Among Friends. I do have the pattern from the magazine in a binder around here somewhere in a box. I'm going to have to find it before I can finish this. Most of this quilt has been hand pieced, and I was hand quilting it. I think I got stalled on it because I was doing a modifies quilt as you go, but couldn't figure out how to actually put it together after I got the sections quilted. I think I know how to do that now. I haven't done any hand quilting since this one got packed away, so it's going to take some time to get the callus on my finger built up. But the actual mechanics of the stitching came back as if it was second nature, and the stitches from 10 years ago don't look much different than the ones I've put in today. I'd forgotten how soothing the rhythm of hand quilting is. I'm sitting in my comfy recliner chair, quilting and enjoying the view out the window beside me. That weird shape in the picture is the screen. It's frozen in place, so I couldn't move it out of the way to take the picture. Our guild is having its quilt show in October. I think it would be kinda neat if I could have this done by then and enter it. So, I'll set that as a loose sort of goal. I'll try and get the rest of the components of this quilt sorted out, and get it up on the design wall by tomorrow.

As far as stash report goes, there is more out from the pinwheel blocks, and from the whites cut for my February UFO project. 

Used this week:                                  1.8 yards
Used this year:                                 16.1 yards
Added this week:                                 0 yards
Added this year:                                   0 yards
Balance:                                        16.1 more yards out than in.
Those 0 yards numbers will be changing this week. Gail went on a road trip this weekend, and made a stop at Mad About Patchwork, which is actually an online store, but Pam will occasionally let people "shop her basement" as she calls it. So Gail had a shopping list from a few of us. I had a Kona cotton solid that I wanted, and then told Gail to pick out some stuff for me that is outside my usual box. It will be fun to see what she comes home with.
I'm linking up to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching and Judy's Stash Report. After I finish here, I'm going to go mix up some bread. While it is rising and baking, I'll go back to more hand quilting.