thisclose

When I started working on floating colors, I set aside my liberty quilt.  I was SO close to being done with the blocks, I even cancelled my monthly Liberty subscription because I knew I had enough diamonds left to finish the blocks.  And so to find some motivation again, I laid out what I have so far.

There are a few blocks that are not going to make the final cut.  Since I need several half-blocks to fill out the edges, I may unpick the center seams on a few of them to use on the outside.  And some may just be worked into the back.  Or destined to end up in the orphan block bin...

And I have made a couple more blocks that I love.

Seeing how close I am to a top has motivated me, sort of.  I've made a deal with myself that I need to sew at least one of these blocks a week, but I'm aiming for two.  Especially because these eight sets represent the last blocks I need to choose a final layout and start stitching together the top.

#floatingcolors

The longer I quilt, the more I find that hand-piecing is my true love.  I love the rhythm of it - having a bunch of teeny pieces of beautiful fabric always near, the feeling of the fabric and the needle in my hand, my little leather thimble...

When I first started quilting, hand-piecing took too long.  I needed to make, to complete, to finish.  I would find inspiration in beautiful hand-sewn quilts, but I didn't see how I could possibly spend so much time on just one top!

But now... well now I am sewing these teeny tiny pieces of fabric together with the plan of making a king-sized quilt.  Because I love them.  And because not everything in life needs to be rushed.

my new obsession

Recently on Instagram Paper Pieces posted a photo of "Floating Colors" by Willyne Hammerstein and I knew it would be my next quilt.  Since I finished HexyMF, and since I'm almost ready to piece the top of my liberty hexy stars quilt, I figured it was ok to start another hand-pieced top.  I like to have things in various stages of progress so that I can switch between projects as the mood strikes.  And then of course a day later paper pieces had a 30% off sale... so I bought the pack, made some templates, and got started fussy-cutting my AMH stash.

These pieces are TINY!  My plan for the quilt is to use the AMH prints for the flowers and to make them "float" by setting them with low-volume crosses.  Fussy cutting is really fun but really time-consuming, so I'm cutting a bunch of the flowers in one sitting, working through my AMH in color order.

it is SO FUN to see the patterns emerge as I sew the flowers together.  I haven't done much fussy cutting, and it's fascinating how some of the fabrics that I like least end up making designs that I completely love.  It's definitely changing the way I look at fabric!

Once they are cut, these flowers come together fast!  Hah I guess that's the advantage of tiny pieces -- tiny seams!  

some progress and a sewing space update

I've been plugging away at my Liberty Hexy Stars quilt in between other projects (I may have started another EPP project that I am completely obsessed with) and I'm thisclose to being done with the individual blocks!  So far along that I actually started to work out layout - 6 or 7 more blocks should do the trick to make it a nice lap-size.

Home stretch! 

In other news, I got a beautiful new cabinet for my fabric and supplies!  Our second bedroom had been slowly taken over by my sewing stuff, so I did a HUGE reorganization and clear-out - there was so. much. dust.

I decided to sort all my precious Anna Maria Horner fabrics by color - they've been hidden in a closet and it's time to put that beauty on display!

Such a pretty mess

My cabinet isn't completely organized yet BUT I did successfully put it together - I've never had to put on doors from IKEA before but it was really easy!  Now to finish sorting and organizing my display!

#smittenkittenquilt

I decided I needed a general color scheme to pull from while working on my cat quilt -- when I cut the first two blocks it took me hours to choose the fabrics - and one of them is just blues!  After a bunch of digging and comparing and black and white photographs to ensure contrast, I decided on this gorgeous group of fabrics.

I have never fussy-cut a quilt before, so it's been a learning process for this one.  I'm very glad I took the time to make plastic templates, but I'm still surprised by how long it takes me to choose just one block!  Because the pattern calls for several different blocks, I made myself a little notebook to track my status -- I copied the picture from the pattern and made little boxes to check off as I go.  I make an "x" in a box once I've cut a block, and color it in once I've sewn the block together.  I'm hoping this will keep me from getting too confused and running out of paper pieces!

I cut a few more blocks this week, and they're basted and just waiting to be stitched together.  

this and that

My sewing mojo has been in full swing lately and I've been working on various projects at what sometimes feels like an almost manic pace - not enough hours in the day or days in the week when you account for working, cooking, and sleeping... if only I could just keep sewing!

I've finished blocks 51-58 of my libertyhexystar quilt.  

It's been so interesting working on this quilt with the rules that I've made for it -  each fabric will be used only once, and I really want to use EVERY fabric that I receive in my monthly bundle, which results in some blocks that are not completely my taste (I'm looking at you, bottom right!) but when I've done a test run to lay them all out I love the combined effect. 

I've also been working on a swap with my sister - she made me a pouch with cats on it, and I made her an hour basket with some economy blocks that she had loved in a baby quilt I made last year.  

I had never made an hour basket so I did a test run first

And then I made hers -- I mailed it yesterday and loved it so much I wish I had made two!  

Liberty Hexy Stars

Sometime last fall, I decided to start buying Liberty fabric.  I had the chance to actually see and feel some in person over the summer... and it really WAS everything that people rave about.  But because I have a *bit* of a hoarding problem, and because it's really hard for me to cut into my "special" fabrics, I didn't want to buy any until I had a plan to use it.

I knew it needed to be English Paper Pieced.  The fabric is soooo soft and silky, it screams for hand piecing. And I wanted to branch out from hexagons...So I googled, and I pondered, and I agonized.  And then I came across this quilt.  

A quick order from paperpieces.com and I had a template and hundreds of paper diamonds.  I joined a Liberty fabric club so I'd get 10 pieces of Liberty each month - a surprise to see and cut and pair together. An ever-evolving supply of options that would keep it interesting.  I know myself, and my attention span... almost every quilt I have ever started with a specific plan has not been finished.  I can't choose fabrics in advance - a general idea, yes.  But an actual plan with all the fabrics picked and cut?  I never finish them.  I mean, I plan to.  Someday.  Really.  

I've worked on this here and there... slowly piecing together my hexy-stars.  And now, suddenly, I have 50 completed blocks.  Using 100 different Liberty prints.  And I can see the finished project taking shape, and I am in love.

  

because 4 EPP projects isn't enough...

Years ago, I bought one fabric that started an idea, a long-term plan for a future quilt... and I've been collecting fabrics slowly, keeping them all to one bin as I waited for enough variety of fabrics.

  

And then I had enough fabrics for a start, but no pattern that fit.  But then I saw the Smitten quilt by Lucy Kingwell.  And THEN I saw that there was a paper piecing pack available... so now my templates are cut and I'm ready to start fussy-cutting.  

And because every project deserves a good home, I picked up this adorable little lunchbox to store my beginnings and remind me of our recent trip to Door County

Where we also saw some surprise Alpacas at a craft fair :)