Another One

I need another new project like I need a hole in the head. But I just couldn't resist. Of course, that's what I thought months ago when I actually started this project. This week I think I've gone insane.

Oh well, what else is new?

I finished almost two weeks of single parenting and the only good thing about it is the quiet at the end of the night. It means I can write or quilt without listening to whatever crap on TV Hubby is likely watching. And I can do it without guilt because I'm not not spending time with Hubby. 

Most of the projects I have on the go are ready for basting and quilting. But that single parenting thing combined with the knee thing means no basting is getting done. Oh darn, more piecing. So pulled out this project and got myself sorted. All my squares are pressed, cut, and paired up. Another quiet evening and my half square triangles are done!

Hmm, where can I find another quiet evening?

Colour Blocks

A while back I shared with you an improv colour block I made as a sample for my Improv Class. That pile of scraps has developed into a full-blown obsession.  So far I've made 16 blocks (at 16 inches square).  A good dent has been made on the scraps, but I still want to make more. I'm aiming for 25 in total.

Here is the first round of blocks.  I took these photos on our plain white new curtains, hence the stained glass effect.

My goal is to get the blocks together and the quilt finished in time to submit to the Quilt Canada 2010 Invitational.  I see lots of late nights sewing in my immediate future.

Bits and Pieces

Life is a bit all over the place right now.  I'd hoped to have wrapped up the Quilt Along by now. My sincerest apologies.  But if you've been following along then your top should be done. And if you've been following, but not keeping up, then you are probably happy for the break to catch up. Or, the break to actually deal with a hectic holiday season. We'll return to wrap up the Quilt Along (or start it) in January.

Lately it seems like everything I do - whether it is life or quilting - is happening in bits and pieces.  We're knee deep in dust and noise as the basement reno is in full swing - new furnace and water system, walls, and concrete Oh My! Between work, writing, and family there is only time for snippets of life and creativity where one can get it.  That explains the above picture.  I was sorted small scraps while the girls played in the tub. I thought it was bad enough sharing those stylish, but horridly coloured bathroom sinks, so I spared you the charcoal/mustard combo on a 50 year old bathroom! But don't my piles look pretty.

I've been turning those piles into these blocks.

Single colour blocks of scraps, with that one bit of white thrown in for fun.

These blocks are so cathartic to make.  I can simply sit and sew, grabbing as I go. There is no plan to them.  I trim pieces relatively square and start sewing them in pairs.  Then I trim the seam allowances, press, and keep adding pieces.  After I have a couple of sections made I square them up and start playing with overall block layout.  Then I add or trim as necessary until I have a block big enough to trim to 16 inches square.

I say they are cathartic because there is no prep to them.  No cutting, no precision, no purposeful thought.  It is simply sewing.  And when life is throwing you so much it is nice to break down your creativity into simple processes to nurture the soul. No pressure either, just action. Little bits when I can steal little bits of time.

SCRAPS!

Okay, like I need another project.  I have a project yet to reveal, a baby quilt started that will probably be late, my water quilt, and a million ideas racing around in my head.  And those are only the active ones, not the pile of UFOs hiding under the bed (literally). But I really, really like the Values quilts that Katie does over at Willy-Nilly.  And now she is hosting a quilt-along.

Shocking, I'm already behind.

  
The other day Hubby had The Monster our running errands so Smilosaurus and I played in my stash.  I decided that this Values quilt would only be scraps.  But in truth, my definition of scrap has changed over time.  Originally, anything smaller than 6 inches was a scrap.  And everything else got thrown back in the colour-coded bin as stash.  For this project, however, I was going to need bigger pieces.  So I refined my definition to anything I'd used before and might be less than a fat quarter.  A pretty generous definition if you ask me.

I must confess that this pile was not even close to everything that fit my refined definition.  I want to really like this quilt so I picked out only those fabrics that I still really like.  Or, at least the fabrics that I really liked that day.  I'm going to cut one of each and see where that gets me.

Let's see where this one goes...