Adapted Jelly Roll Quilt (now titled the Four Corners Quilt)

The tutorial I had originally written for this quilt top did not have enough details. So, it is under construction. Please feel free to leave a comment with your email address if you want to be alerted when I finish the tutorial.  The new tutorial is finally up!  Check it out here.

Keep on stitching...

I have a resolution to finish all of my quilts in progress from 2011.  With three current quilting bees and nine old projects to finish, I have my work cut out for me.

 

I love my Sparkling Pond quilt (top right), but every time I think I'm done with the blocks for this quilt, I end up deciding that I need more blocks to make it a little better. I had twelve blocks from the bee members in It's Sew Easy Bee-ing Green Bee. I made four blocks to add to those. And then 4 more, then 5, and then 11 more.  And now I have finally finished the last 6 blocks of the quilt top. Now it is all put together and has a border.  If I get tempted to make it any bigger, I just won't.  No more string blocks for me for a l-o-n-g time.

Here is a shot of the top folded in fourths.  The snow and mud are not conducive to photographing this enormous beast.  

It will be nearly queen sized when done.  The top alone weighs nearly 3 pounds.  There are over 8 yards in the top when figured by weight.  String blocks sure do suck up the fabric.

Here is the start of the back of the quilt.

In the process of finishing the top, making the back, and putting on the borders, I had a lot of extra Nicey Jane fabric plus a ton of pistachio green solid that did not work for the border at all.  I hope to try a new quilting pattern on Sparkling Pond, so I thought I'd make a few baby quilt tops to practice on.

I'm in a straight line piecing phase right now, so it will be some time before I gather the guts to quilt these.  I'll keep you in the loop, though.

(I must also add that this post was brought to you by my most patient husband.  Not many men would be willing to stand out in the cold to photograph a bunch of quilt tops while someone bosses them around to get the best lighting.
I'm glad you weren't late to work, Honey!)

My first finished block for the Pastiche Bee

Marilyn's theme for January was An Ode to John Keats. We chose quotes from separate poems and designed blocks using the poem's imagery. Marilyn plans to stitch lines of the poem directly into the quilt.

This is my portion of "Fancy" by John Keats
Freckled nest-eggs thou shalt see
Hatching in the hawthorn-tree,
When the hen-bird's wing doth rest
Quiet on her mossy nest;

I did a little thread sketching on this one.  It took a long time to find the motivation to make it, but I did savor daydreaming about this block.  I'm excited to see what Marilyn does with these blocks.  You can see some of the other Pastiche Bee creations here.

One day at a time

Thank you to all that sent supportive messages after my last post. It makes a big difference to get sweet notes on rough days. Thank you.

I'm trying to take a little time each day for some hand stitching.  I'm participating in the Rose Star Block Party with the tutorial from selfsewn.

Days 1 and 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

So...even if it feels like I'm getting nowhere with the phone calls and trying to find appointments, I am making some progress every day. 

Adjustments

So, the knitting has been in full force.  I finished the shawl last night, but it needs blocking before I get full photos of it.

I've been continuing with some simple block sewing.  I'm nearly done with my Sparkling Pond quilt top.  I'd love to get it fully finished in time to put on our bed for spring.

But...no block design lately.

I'm still in my funk.

We've had to get Henry tested for developmental delay.  He's been lagging behind in some physical skills and now we've noticed a decline in his speech and social skills.  He saw some school therapists this week.  We'll know more about the plan for treatment in a couple of weeks.  But it is a lot to take in and adjust to. 

So, for now, I may wrap up in my shawl and get back to knitting the green mittens and watching Jane Austen movies.  Thanks for being patient with me.