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Monday, November 12, 2012

The Holiday are Coming! The Holidays are coming!

I"m sure everyone has noticed that the holidays are creeping right up on us. What does that have to do with quilting? For most people it means less quilting time. For me it means a promise to myself that I will not start any new quilts for the balance of the year. 

I have a big project to finish before Christmas. And it is not a new quilt. It is repairing an old one. I made a quilt for my son probably about 26 years ago. And then a few years ago my grandson, who just turned 18 took possession of this quilt. It went to wrestling meets and all of the kids activities. Earlier this year, at a wrestling meet, I said "I should take this quilt home and repair it." And so I did and here it sits. Here's a poor picture but you can see it has been well loved. (The spots are from the camera lens, not on the quilt)


My dilemma is this. How much do I repair it? Originally I was only going to repair the one seam that has pulled loose. But then many of the ties are missing so I should replace those. And I had used poly batting, should I replace that? AND the binding, whew!, I do much better bindings now; smaller, with good mitered corners. So between now and Christmas, I have some decisions to make. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It does fill my heart with joy that this quilt has been so loved and cherished. What more could you ask for?

As for my other projects. I am going to let the flannel quilt sit idle for a while. I'm just not into the dark colors plus I have to find more flannel to match the leftovers that I've used.

My black and pink quilt top is finished. Remember, this tutortial can be found here:http://www.dontcallmebetsy.com/2012/01/star-crossed-block-tutorial.html

I have all the blocks done for my baby Crossroads Quilt,
  
I'm just struggling with arrangement possibilities. I say "struggling" as many people think this is a fun part. While I don't. Here are some possibilities, thrown up pretty casually on the design wall. So, blocks of the eight colors? Rows of the eight colors? Diagonals either way of the colors? What?



 
 
Then there is the scrappy quilt rows I am doing.
 
 
These are from "scraps" versus strings. In my definition, scraps are USUALLY pieces less than 2 1/2 inches in width and less than 6 inches in length. Outside those dimensions they become strings or blocks cut to a predetermined size. Just waiting for the next scrappy project.
 
Then there is the Row Along on Flicker:http://www.flickr.com/groups/beeinmybonnetrowalong/ 



 All too cute, but what is wrong with this picture?  I will be unsewing this morning.

All in all, I'm sure you can see why I've said "No more quilt starts this year!"  Visit other quilters at:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/ and Design Wall Monday.

I hope you all are finding time to quilt!

Enjoy!
Toni



4 comments:

  1. I like the diagonal placement of the link blocks the best -- each color is emphasized -- the diagonal gives it extra energy. Those scrappy rows could be the border if you made a row in turquoise.

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  2. I had to look hard to find the missing strip of white in your row. I WOULD have missed it in a finished quilt. Your row of mugs looks great ... but what is going on with the mug-connection this month? Maybe the universe wants us all to take a break for a cuppa tea or hot cocoa?

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  3. And I like the Crossroads (I call it Crazy 8 block) with random placement the best. The blocks in any color order just appears elementary to me.

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  4. Why replace the batting? Has it gotten all bunched up or melted in the dryer...or do you just no longer like polyester?

    I'd fix the seam and ties and let it go. It may not be how you'd make the quilt now, but it's -not- a quilt you made this year.

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