More Violet

More blocks for my violet quilt. I think I may have tweaked the color a bit too much -- these should be the same as the previous block, oh, well, take away my Photoshop license!

The top block is 6", bottom block is 12". The seam intersections aren't perfect, but done is good. :-) I'll mix in some 4" and 6" blocks between the larger blocks to fill the space, then add coping strips to bring it to the correct size. How fun is this???

VIOLET!

I don't remember my violet crayon being exactly this color, but the block background is the color I'm trying to match, so violet it is! 12" foundation pieced block--one I've wanted to do for a long time. I've got a second block ready to assemble but the untrimmed sections aren't very photogenic... A few more stars to make, then some fillers. I quite like this color in all its variations, but it is a hard one to find in the stores.

Bad Computer, No Donut for You!

Busy busy busy, and my computers are not helping! (No, not when Poppit beckons, but when they freeze up and don't cooperate at all). First the laptop, then the desktop... Oh, well, avoiding the call of Facebook and Pogo has meant more time for sewing. Which is a good thing since class samples are due Feb. 5!

The top above is a sample for my ongoing Scrap Therapy club. I gave the students several choices and they really wanted to do this one. Me, too--I dove in as soon as I got home! Quite a bit of the fabric dates to some of my first quilts (early 1990's) so it was fun to work with old friends again. I want to get this quilted before delivering it to the shop, but I'm already off on another project: Color Quilt #2 -- Violet.

Since they will hang side by side, I wanted Violet to be very different than Blue-Violet; where Blue-Violet is raw-edge applique and full of curves (and a wee bit outside my comfort zone). Violet is all about points and accuracy, with lots of foundation-pieced stars. Fun fun fun!

Random Scraps

I'm working on two different scrap/scrappy projects at the moment (class samples, natch), and that has resulted in some interesting insights.

First, it is hard to be truly random. One project is string-pieced with strips in a variety of sizes and angles. It takes more effort than one might expect to avoid cutting the same angle every time or getting overly "matchy-matchy."

Which leads to the second observation--I am a wee bit obsessive and can take scrappy to extremes. If a block has 97 pieces like this Triple Irish Chain, I want 97 different fabrics in the block... Fabrics can (usually) repeat in the quilt, as long as they are in different positions. HA, I take that as evidence that I'm not completely out of control!

Mess-Maker, Mess-Maker, Make Me a Mess...

No photos today--there are piles of stuff everywhere! There are 8 distinct mounds--samples under construction for Quilter's Affair, next quarter's Stitchin' Post projects, color challenge projects, a top for my "Starry Night" lecture next month--lions and tigers and bears, oh, my! I handed off 4 small project for quilting yesterday and have two more in progress, so maybe a photo later today or tomorrow...

The Beads Have It...

Ta-Da! I just finished this bangle a few minutes ago. It is done in tubular peyote with a range of bead sizes, from eensy-beensy size 15s to big, fat 6s. I quite enjoyed the project--once the pattern is set, each round is same but offset one bead so it spirals. Very meditative, except when one is dumb enough to try to sew the ends together in a busy airport!

Hooray--my first completed project of the year. Now it is back to work on quilts...

Happy New Year!

We've been running all over visiting Chris's relatives so no time to work (except New Year's Day on my bracelet -- about an inch left to go!). I did have time to think about resolutions for the coming year. Besides the usual "lose some weight, finish up the UFOs", my goal for the year is to improve my quilting: hand stitching, free-motion and on the longarm. Now that I've said it, I guess I'll really have to do it!