I Think I'm Getting Close

Periodically I've been picking up a little hand stitching while sitting out on the deck and it's finally starting to pay off. I've just been stuffing finished segments for Minnie into my little black bag but when it overflowed I took it as a sign to press them and see where things stood. I couldn't believe how much came out of that little bag!

There are now several quite long setting triangles for the sides...

and I've just finished up the last round of one of the shorter setting triangles that will run across the top and bottom of the quilt.

Because I believe that I'm close to being able to lay everything out, I've been attempting to incorporate fabrics that I really love or maybe have been under represented in the quilt so far without having to head to the cutting board. 

I've got two more prepped and ready to finish up - this one with the purple polka dot border...

and this one with the blue. With any luck at all they will be finished this week and then I will give myself the luxury of seeing how everything looks together and what might be missing. Fun!...M

Happy Canada Day!

Wouldn't you just love to spend your Canada Day lounging here, sipping something cool as you stitch the day away? Sandy finished up her Postage Stamp beauty just in time. I can't believe that it's a quilt already! She started cutting her scraps into 1.5" squares at Christmas time thinking that it would be a project for years to come. 

Enter the novel coronavirus. In between making a couple hundred face masks for family and friends she has been happily stitching and watching Netflix - no worries about a particular pattern, just pick up a square and sew.

The huge variety of fabric was a fun walk down memory lane. She's not certain that there was a size in mind when she set out to make this quilt, but it finished off at 48" x 60" - that's 2,880 tiny squares! Apparently there are enough squares to make at least one more quilt, but not right now... 

For the backing, she stayed with the idea of the blocks but changed the scale (just a little 😉). Love it! And that scrappy border is just perfection.

Each square is quilted in the middle with several stitches, which is fun too and just reinforces the size of the tiny pieces when you look at it from the back. It reminds me of a tied quilt. Again, that's 2,880 squares; talk about patience!

There's lots and lots of puckering, and that's before it has been washed, so she's looking to enjoy even more texture after it's had a good soak. 

Our Canada Day will be spent on the deck as well. With everyone keeping to themselves it will be a bit quiet - no get togethers, no fireworks - but the Official Cookie Tester isn't letting that get in the way of his celebrations. He's donned his Made in Canada tee and has already enjoyed breakfast on the deck. It is a beautiful day so we plan to spend it lounging here, reading, stitching and enjoying the birds; maybe BBQ a few ribs. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? Hope you have a wonderful day, too!...M

Closing in on a Decision

I've hinted at the speed bump that has crossed my path on my yellow houses and I think it's time to get some feedback. I've put a few blocks up on a small design wall just outside our bedroom and pass it several times a day thinking that the penny will drop, and I think that it's getting there. Slowly.

Let me start by saying that what I thought was my relatively good memory has failed me lately. I found this inspiration quilt online some time ago and loved it, but I only saved the image and totally missed tracking the quilter (if you recognize it, please let me know so that I can give credit where credit is due). I love the mix of yellows and its simplicity.

After having lost and found the image several times, I finally tracked it down for another look at the border. Two things. Notice anything about the blocks? All of the houses aren't yellow - half are white! And, in my mind's eye, the border was made of HSTs...

...as in THIS red and white version from Margaret Mew's Quilt Station blog. Sheesh, was I confused. Talk about partial recall.

So now the question becomes what to do about the blocks and the border. The yellow inspiration quilt is wonderfully graphic because it's all solids but I'm using a variety of yellow prints and the more I look at it, the more I think that if I make the negative version of the blocks in prints as well it just won't have the same impact, it will just become muddled. But take a look at the red version again - it's totally scrappy and works.

The border decision is easier. Once I saw the 'ribbon' border I knew that was going to be it, I just need to figure out the spacing so that the design works at the corners (the inspiration piece almost works, but not quite).

So what do you think? All yellow houses or a combination of positive and negative versions of the block? As I'm writing this I think that the answer is staring me in the face, but let me know what you think....M

p.s. BTW, can I get a round of applause? I think I've finally cracked the code of how to place images in the new Blogger. Yay!

A Little Time to Think

I hit a bit of a speed bump on my yellow houses so I picked up Minnie in the hopes that a solution will present itself as I do a bit of hand stitching.

Several set-in triangles still need to be made so I set to work on finishing a couple. There's lots of hexies cut but somehow not necessarily the colours that I want or the quantity I need, so maybe it's time to dig into a few fabrics.

After a few iffy weather days it was really lovely to be able to sit on the deck and enjoy the sunshine.

And, since rhubarb is still in season, it seemed like a good day for Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble; I wasn't wrong.....M