Saturday, August 13, 2022

I got sick of looking at two full containers of 2.5" squares and decided I'd better try using some of them. It's not my favourite size, it seems too big and clunky after I've been working with things like 2" QSTs. But why was I keeping them, if I didn't want to work with them?


I kitted up about 40 of this block, to be my leader-ender. I'm really trying to use everything, so some of the blocks are dingy and random, but it's going to be a scrap quilt, so that's only to be expected. I didn't really have any ideas for what I would do with these blocks, but quite a few ideas have occurred to me along the way.


I thought this might be an option; make large 14" blocks. But That was way too large a scale, so I dropped that idea pretty quick.

This has merits, but it's a 12" block, and I wasn't keen.

I like the idea of a Barn Raising setting, with diagonal lines of scraps around a centre block.


But I also like this idea of an on point setting, with vertical bands of colour.One block isn't oriented the right way; I'd have to be careful to keep it all in the right order.

So now I have lots of options, and things to think about why I go on steadily making the blocks. It will take more than 100, so I have plenty of time before I have to make a final decision. And I could just make more than one, because those boxes of squares are nowhere near empty yet.



Monday, August 01, 2022

Catch Up

6 weeks since my last post. There should be lots of news to catch up on, but unfortunately I've spent those 6 weeks under the weather. The cold that Finn shared with me morphed into the one that Isla brought home from school, and then Thomas added to it with another viral thing from childcare. So I've been pretty unproductive, just trying to wait it out and get better. The physical symptoms are bad enough,but the mental exhaustion leaves me not wanting to do anything at all. Oh well, as Forest Gump says, That's all I'm going to say about that.

I spent a solid 3 weeks with the grandkids, including nearly a week here with Isla, so I felt like I'd earnt some time at home. I'm now into the second week of my staycation, and enjoying it except... Mereth and her son's family caught Covid, so I haven't seen her for more than 2 weeks. She has a cold now, so she's still not game to come visit in case she infects me with a new lot of germs. We talk most days, and text each other, but it would be lovely to have a cup of coffee with friends and catch up.

I did manage to get all the blocks for the Blue Ridge Beauty put together; it's now down at the shop waiting for that last long seam to be ironed. The picture is three quarters of it, taking up most of my design wall.


 I have a border fabric picked, but the sheer size of the quilt is putting me off. I don't want to have to wrestle with that much fabric just yet.

More Maymont blocks have been made. I'm trying really hard to leave this as a cot quilt. I still have heaps of pink scraps, but that just means I could make 2 cot quilts, not one big quilt. It's a lovely leader-ender, so once I'm done with the pink scraps I'll switch over to some other colours. I love squares, so simple, so many patterns.


After the triangles in Blue Ridge Beauty I needed something simple to play with, so I laid some squares out as 49-patch blocks. I love these so far, but I came to the end of the scraps that were suitable for this, so it will have to wait till I have the energy to cut more strips.

There was time spent clearing tables and packing fabric away, and sorting out all the mess that accumulated while I was busy elsewhere. I'm glad I finally put the room to rights, so I could work on my projects, except I don't seem to have done that. I'm just drifting around, not able to settle to anything.

Oh well, a bit of sorting here, a few seams sewed there, it all adds up.