Gee...it's been a while

I seem to have left my poor blog unattended for a while. Life has been a challenge lately and although I have been doing some sewing, I also feel like I have not accomplished much. So, I suppose writing this is a way to prove to myself that I have been productive.

My last post was the start of my participation in the Splendid Sampler. I'm sure that you know at least one other quilter on the internet that is doing this one. I'm amazed at how many there are. I've done the first 28 blocks and am up to date (the 29th was just posted this morning). I confess that my mother who is visiting me did the rabbit and the sewing machine - my tolerance for applique is very low. The last block also needs a stitched thread from the spool to the needle which I'll do sometime soon.

I'm please with most of the blocks, although a few of the earlier ones could use a bit more contrast. As I pull fabrics out of the scrap pile, I am discovering a more diverse range of colors that still fit in my palette. Throughout this project I am trying a variety of techniques - so the applique is done differently on different blocks. I'm just trying to choose the method that I think will work best at the time. I did some free-motion machine embroidery (first time) and have done some hand embroidery (it's been a while). My one complaint is that the 6" finished block size is small which makes some of the pieces really tiny.

I finished the Monday Modern brown challenge. I was a bit late for the deadline - I had the front pieced and quilted but didn't manage to get the whole cushion cover done. I like the way it turned out and also liked the fact that I didn't try to hide the ugly brown and made it the center-piece of the design. The cushion now shares the slightly-crowded day bed with all of my other cushions.

I really enjoyed quilting this one. The back of it shows the quilting detail.

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A few months ago I thought I needed a hand sewing project. Hand sewing really isn't my thing, but I found that there are times when I want to have an on-the-go project to work on. I purchased a Fiskars hexagon hole punch a while ago, so I started an English Paper Pieced project using scraps. These hexies are pretty small (1-1/4" straight edge to straight edge). My 12-year old likes to pick out the colors and scraps for the next batch, but it's slow going.

There's no grand plan for this project, I will just carry on until I decide to stop. I've started preparing some light neutral pieces to go between the diamonds. I figure about 100 of the diamonds should do the trick!

Finally, I am once again working on the Cotton Robin round robin. Unfortunately, this one is all done in secret, so you will have to wait for the big reveal sometime in July.

A (big) new project

Against my better judgement I have joined in with The Splendid Sampler that started two weeks ago. I can't remember how I found the website - surely I clicked there from somewhere else. The project is for 1 year with 100 blocks designed by a wide range of quilt makers and designers.

I confess that I don't like samplers and I don't like quilt-alongs. So why did I decide to do this? I'm still asking myself that question, but I think I have come up with some answers:

1. I was feeling bored.
2. I was out of the habit of sewing regularly and wanted a project that would encourage me to sew most days, even for 15 minutes.
3. Scrap-busting - all of the blocks are small (6"), so many of the pieces are small.

Although 100 blocks over a year is a big commitment, I haven't signed up for anything and can slow down if I want to. After delaying my decision to get started, I had 5 blocks to make today to catch up. I had the day off, so it was the perfect opportunity. As I admired my 5 blocks, a new one was posted so I finished it after everyone else went to bed.

My color scheme is pretty loose - basically blue with green. Any blues will do - I'm just pulling them out of the scrap basket and the stash. There will be some neutrals too but I'm not limiting those to anything specific - beige, grey, white, whatever.

Here are the first 6 and already there is quite a bit of variety. I'm not a huge fan of applique and was thinking about skipping them, but decided to go ahead and do them and was glad I did. I especially like the little pot of flowers and the dark background really works well.