Friday, March 20, 2015

Feeling Stuck... just for awhile.

My last post was about feeling victorious and successful as I completed the bitty blocks.

I also hinted that I was beginning a project for the Addicted to Scraps group through Quiltmaker.  All those blue and brown scraps were slated for a quilt, that in my initial idea was only going to be throw sized.

I have changed direction with the layout and plan to make a queen-sized quilt for us!  It is looking lovely!  Again, you will just have to trust me because I cannot reveal a picture at this time. But I really, really want to!

This quilt requires a total of 108 blocks. I started with gumption! I should have approached it as a marathon, not a sprint.  It seemed that after daaaaays of cutting and sewing I still have 40 blocks to complete.  Ugh... However, I think I have reached a steady pace and a plan for cutting and piecing the blocks.  I have broken down the layout and will approach the whole thing in sections. 

Yesterday I completed 20... The day before? 12. Today I hope to get 20 blocks done... well, at least 8 more... the cutting takes a looooong time!

One thing that I can say?  This project is certainly a scrap buster!  I am running low on brown "scraps", but thanks to a couple of kind and generous quilters in the group who have offered to pass on their brown scraps I know that I will make it. (Quilters have to be among the most caring and sharing people I know!  Even when it comes to sharing some of the most coveted things a quilter can have... fabric!)

But none the less, while I was indeed running low on browns, I pulled out some of the larger pieces of fabric (some fat quarters and 1/2 yard cuts) that I had from a collection that I inherited.  Success!

Now all I have to do is more cutting... :( cutting of the whites/lights... just 240 pieces and I can sit and sew... and sew and sew and sew... to my little heart's content.

I definitely see the "light" at the end of the tunnel!  Whoohoo!

For now I will take a break from piecing blocks and "piece" another scrub top for my daughter and get back at it on Monday morning.

Happy Spring!









Thursday, March 12, 2015

I Stopped Whining!

I was picking through my scrap bin over the weekend finding fabric for the Bitty Blocks... you know those blocks that had tiny little pieces... and the whining that occurred while working with them.  Ugh! It seemed that I had worked for hours just to finish 3 blocks. 

You can learn more about the Bitty Blocks here... Quiltmaker Bitty Blocks

On Saturday I must have had a better attitude or more patience or something because I managed to complete the required number of blocks (12) and still had interest in moving on to the #3 Bitty Block... a cute and fun little house.




More recently I picked through my scrap bin for blues and browns... 


 



but I can't reveal what I'm doing yet... you will just have to wait and see. :)

But good golly!  I stopped whining!  Yay me!  Of course, this doesn't mean that I prefer working with tiny pieces of fabric... I will always navigate toward the larger blocks. BY NO MEANS! But working with the itty-bitty, teeny-weeny pieces has certainly improved my piecing skills.  By the time I got to the last block my bitty basket blocks were laying flatter and there were fewer points cut off and seams mis-aligned. Go Melva!








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