New Adventures

I have been scattered lately.  I have been trying to finish off a show quilt that had been doing it's best to put me in a grave, and my focus on all other things has suffered.  Usually I only have a couple of projects going at a time, but I've completely let myself go recently.  I have a pieced split carpenter's star all in it's diamonds, ready to make the last 16 setting blocks, then it can be assembled.  It is getting a good bit of applique, which I have been sketching out the last 2 months, but the basic background of the quilt is pretty far along.  I have another mostly all applique quilt that I started a couple months ago in the works too.  I just about have 3 of 4 primary blocks finished.  You haven't seen any of this.  It will probably get worked on this summer when I can't go downstairs to my studio on account of having 3 kids in the house.  Then at MQX I bought some silk and started designing a 40" (or slightly smaller) quilt.  I started that one this week.  If you neglect the fact that I miss-cut one of the fabrics, it probably would be done before next week.  Today I put the center, a Mariner's star together.  It's in 2 large pieces.  Well, the entire star block is only 10" square, so large is clearly relative!

But 2 weeks ago, it would seem I went through a mild mid-lifer and decided I wanted to make another mosaic floor quilt.  I thought I might get more of it pieced before kids are home, but, I always think that.  I am happy with the quality of the piecing and that is what counts.  The mosaic on point is 24" square.  With the additional 4 corner triangles added (and 4" more of the coral fabric) the block will be up to about 35".  The entire quilt is really fun and repeats some of these motifs. It will be around 68".  

I love to design piece-work, but sometimes it is just much better accomplished with hand applique, as is the case with these triangles.  The scallops are all hand appliqued.  They are about 7/16" wide, finished.  Each of those florettes in the triangles will be outlined with the wide bias in ivory as well.  This is a great task for me because I can sew this in the evening.  The only thing done on machine on the triangles are the paper pieced black-white-brown florettes (seriously, they are not broccoli, but what is a better name??!).

Though I like the intricate details of lots of piecing, I have to think hard about leaving some open space for machine quilting.  My preferred style of quilts is hard to be competitive in machine quilting shows because I don't leave enough "show off" space.  It is a happy medium.  I don't want to make a large quilt out of minimal piecing because to me that is boring to make, even if it has plenty of room to be made beautiful with quilting.  But I want all of my efforts to be rewarded at the shows I enter too.  Happy middle ground...always in search of it.