"quilts"

Running (on Fumes)

Oh to have the energy.

My first week as a freelancer/stay-at-home mom/housewife/lazybones/artist and I'm sick as a dog. So much for much in the creating, cooking, and fun department. Shh, don't anyone, but the girls watched a lot of TV this week. And ate graham crackers for breakfast. In my defense, they were homemade.

Somewhere in there I did manage to finish my little quilt top. I had grand plans to make this bigger so it was at least a good nap size for an adult. But to do so would have necessitated buying more fabric and I already have that habit down pat. I didn't want to buy anything more for this quilt; I even used stash for the backing.

So it ended up at 48 inches on all sides. I really do prefer to make larger quilts, but I'm fine with it. This was one of those quilts that just had to be made. I'll tell you why another day.

Now to find the time and space to baste it because I already know how I'm going to quilt it. But for now, it must be added to the pile of UFOs. At least it is a pretty pile.

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More Catch-up

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Managed to get a little naptime sewing in.  Actually, I think it might have been Friday night sewing while Hubby watched Inside MMA. (Side note - I can't wait until I have my own sewing space!)

So I cranked out some bee blocks, a quilt top (to come later this week), and a binding. And no major mistakes at that hour!

This is Jess' block for our Mid Mod Bee.  It seems simple, and I really, really wanted to do a funkier block.  But if you look at her inspiration sketch she has a number of blocks like this. I was worried that she wouldn't get any of the simple ones because the others are too fun to make. Hopefully I'm not the only one who thought this way.

This one is a Valentine's themed block for Samantha of our Pieced Together 2 bee. I could have done hearts, but it seemed boring.  Or maybe I needed a challenge after the previous block? I chose some pieced letters a la The Unruly Quilter. And this was loads of fun to do. I see more letters in my future...
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Inventory

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Now that I am home full-time I thought it best to take inventory of the projects on the go. This pile represents what I would call active UFOs. That is, as opposed to the ones that have long since been abandoned... From the top to the bottom:

The crayon rock inspiration quilt. I now have the top done and backing cut. On to basting. I might get to it this weekend, if my knees are up for it.

My Slaveship quilt. Inspired by the novel The Book of Negroes it got to this point and I stopped. Then I picked up some African fabrics to add to the top at Quilt Canada, but I haven't put it together.

Water quilt.  Oh the water quilt. I haven't touched this in a year, but I think about it constantly. As soon as I get a semi-permanent design wall up and a full day to myself with no interruptions I plan to get the top done.

Values quilt. This was my first values quilt using HST, a la Katie. I love, love, love it and really wanted to get it basted. I already know how I'm going to quilt it.

Improv Sampler. This is one that should be at the top of the pile. I want to teach Improv again and this quilt should be finished. To be honest, I might bite the bullet on this one and get it done by a long armer.  Maybe.

The Low Volume Circles. This top came together so quickly in the late winter, and I even got it basted quite quickly. And I know how I'm going to quilt it, but I just need to actually do it.

So, now what? I refuse to pressure myself to finish, nor do I give in to the pressure to have something new to blog about. If you've read here for a while, you know that I like to talk about quilting as much as I like to quilt!

I do believe that it is good to stop, take stock, and prioritize every now and then.  Considering that I'm doing that in the rest of my life's activities, it only seemed appropriate that I do it here too. And I'm happy with where I am.  Sure, I wish the pile was a bit smaller or I had the ability to get through the basting process a bit easier. But it is what it is.

And really, it means a little time to stop and savor the process along the way.