The Oldest UFO

Generally, I like to call my unfinished projects WIPS, or Works in Progress, not UFOs.  This is because I actually like having a catalogue of things to pick from when I get the chance to sew. It doesn't stress me out - usually.  But this, this project must definitely be called a UFO.

I've been quilting for 16 years now. This project is 15 years old.

Going again into the Way, Way Back Machine this project started in 1999, when people were all up in arms over Y2K. Quilters, of course, put their positive spin on it and started swaps. Put 25 mini charms in an envelope, repeat that 80 times, and swap them out. Bang, 2000 charms!

These days people call it Scrap Vomit. I call it a bag of envelopes I found buried in my garage.

(To find out what else I found in my garage check out my

Instagram

feed. Oh boy. #thingsifindinmygarage)

The smart people with their Y2K swaps took the charms as they came in and sewed together the 25 into one block. Then they were able to quickly put the quilt top together, and keep things manageable. I, of course, wanted to get all fancy. I have sketches and math on trying to figure out creative ways to put my top together. And that's why they are all still in envelopes.

Now it is time to move this into the WIP stack. But me, being me, I need to catalogue all of this first. Into my sketchbook will go the addresses as I unpack. And then I think this will become my next Leader/Ender project. Let's hope it doesn't take another 15 years to finish this!

Update: I found a book where I wrote down all the people I swapped with! Now to just get these organized in piles.

Did any of you participate in a Y2K swap?

Workshop in Progress - Inspired by a Little Boy Painting

Sometimes inspiration hits and you just have to run with it. Regardless of what the to-do list looks like. The moment I saw this photo I knew I would translate it into fabric. There was just something about the energy of his painting, the colours, the shape... It all combined into a flood of Must Make That Into a Quilt Now!

My friend here in Calgary, Katrina, is often inspired by an artist friend of hers, Shimon Kate, so I find it kind of interesting that I was inspired by art in her family. Overlapping circles formed everywhere.

Here's where I'm at now (thanks to a random afternoon with school/playdate and sick baby taking a long nap). When I first started I envisioned it with four blocks. Something about emphasizing the notion of a quadrant. Now that I see these together I still like that. But it needs to be sized up and filled in a bit. Right now this would only make a wall hanging. And I want those red strips to be floating between each other more.

Or, I could make more... or not have such a precise layout. (I am a bit worried about the defining lines that would be created when these become 4 actual blocks. I think I can manage that with judicious fabric placement, but maybe not.)

Any other thoughts? I'm open to any and all suggestions.

The Start of Mountain Meadows

Hmmm.... I'm not sure about these.

I had a chance to play with my green scraps recently and this is where I started. I did sort the scraps by value/colour to begin with. This is the first go around, with predominantly light greens. My overall concept is to have light and dark areas, to mimic the race of light across the mountain meadow. I don't want each area to be a solid block though, that's why there are some dark bits mixed in. The dark blocks will be the opposite.

This is also the beginning of adding in the idea of flowers in the meadow. In a real meadow the flowers are small and scattered across the hill, that's why there aren't many here. I've got some pink, yellow, orange, and white scraps set aside to make more flowers.

However, I'm not sure about these. Maybe the green chunks are too big? Maybe it is too random? Should I stop being so literal with my interpretation and make these blocks instead of one giant slab quilt? What I do know is that I need to play a little bit more before I make any more judgements.

Coming Along...

I will not complain about the noise. I will not complain about the mess. I will not complain about all the people in my house.

That was my mantra during a very loud, messy, and hectic month.

And I will not complain because it means that the electrical is so, so close to being done, the framing finished, and insulation has been sprayed in. Progress is being made.

Of course, it has been silent for 3 weeks now because Hubby is working out of town. And I will not complain about that.