Playing with scraps

I am taking a break from my current quilt project. No, it is not put aside to be a UFO yet. But I need a little break from it, as I am getting frustrated. So, today I played with some scraps.

To be more specific, just the triangles that get cut off in the speed technique of adding a corner triangle to a block. In this process, you place a square of fabric on the corner of the piece that needs a corner triangle and stitch diagonally across the square, trimming the excess off. This leaves a couple triangle pieces of fabric that most people throw away. But not me. I have been saving mine and using them as leader and ender pieces as I sew. And I have been accumulating lots of little half-square triangle blocks as a result.

So, as a bit of a revolt against the tedium of trying to precisely stitch those corner star blocks in my current quilt project, I made blocks with my scrap triangles. No pinning, no trimming, no precision- just kind of a free-form, go with the flow kind of thing. And it felt great! Sorry, I have no finished block pictures I can share at this time.

One note of progress I can make is this: I have my January UFO project layered and pin basted.It is ready to be quilted!!! :D I'm still deciding how I want to quilt it, but it is on my list to start this weekend.

Today's wall

On the design wall today are my completed blocks from my two-block nightmare. I am going to try a different marking technique on the cornered star blocks and see if that helps me get a block that I am satisfied with. If not, I will be putting this one aside for a while. Can you say future ufo? ;)

To see what other quilters are working on, Check out Judy's blog.

This one is a struggle

This is an EQ drawing of my current quilt project. I showed a few of the finished blocks on my last design wall post. I like the color combination and the pattern of this quilt. It was part of an experiment I was doing with combining two quilt blocks to make a quilt. But, I wish I had paid more attention to the actual blocks I chose to use as one of them is proving to be a challenge to make. I have all of the mosaic blocks finished. They finished to the correct size and look great. But the cornered star blocks are not going together as well. First they wouldn't lie flat, and now I can't get them to finish the correct size. I don't normally have an issue with seam allowance, but these blocks are finishing too small. UGH! I'm glad I went with a simple border for this one, because once I get these blocks right, I'm going to want to be finished with this one quick. Next time I'll remember to make a test block first, before I cut my fabrics.

I feel like I'm in high school again

Recently, I had an opportunity to join an Internet quilt swap. It has been a while since I have done this form of swap but I usually enjoy it. And the particular swap I was signing up for is one that I had wanted to do for over a year. When I saw an announcement that sign-ups were being taken up to a limited number of swappers, I sent in my information and waited to see if I made the cut off.
I got an e-mail reply from the swap hostess questioning my qualifications for the swap. It wasn't my quilting ability that was in question. The swap required active participation in a certain Internet sharing network. I have an account on this network. I use it occasionally. The swap hostess was afraid that I did not post often enough on the network in question. She was concerned that my low chatter and activity on the site would spoil my swap partner's fun. She suggested that I watch from the sidelines this round and try to post more often. Then maybe next time I could join in the swap. Seriously? I feel a bit like the fat kid in gym class that gets picked last. Or like the girl in high school who is shunned by the "in" crowd for not having the right clothes. I don't need this.

It's Monday! Do you know what that means?

That's right! It's time for a peek at my design wall. I have made a few more block parts for the Carolina Christmas quilt. There are still so many more to piece, but there is some progress, so I am counting that as a positive.

But that isn't the only thing on my design wall today. I have also made a few test blocks for a quilt that I designed last year. I have been wanting to make this quilt for several months, but I've been putting it off. I got a bit carried away and cut out all of the block pieces for this quilt on New Year's day.

But now I'm not sure if I like the fabrics together as much as I thought I would. They look a bit different in the blocks than they did sitting together as a pile of fabrics . Plus, what was I thinking with those set-in seams?! UGH! The first of that test block turned out a bit wonky and wouldn't lie flat. Of course, I failed to pin the pieces before I sewed them. Will I ever learn that lesson? Let's hope so.

If you are a regular reader, you know that I am trying to finish up old projects. You also have probably figured out that I lack a certain amount of discipline in that area. Please don't judge me. I really am trying. But, sometimes the urge to start something new simply overcomes me. And who doesn't like a new project?

What about my UFO #4 from last post? It is still waiting for a turn. And I will finish it this month. Just not today. :P

To see what other quilters are working on, go check out Judy's blog.

UFO focus for January

I guess it is time for me to get serious about the UFO challenge I joined for this year. Nancy has declared that the UFO to complete for January will be number four on our list. For me, that means I will finish my OP quilt. This is a complete quilt top, and is one of the newer ufo's from the list, as it is less than a year old. It would not have been my first choice for a finish, but I think it will be a nice lift for me on the grey January winter days here. I need to piece the backing still, but then I'm ready to go.