Saturday, July 10, 2021

From One Extreme to Another!

 On November 21st, 2017
I showed this 'lifetime' project for the first time 
and here is my progress to date.
Sunrise Scraps by Edyta Sitar.
I fell in love with this quilt when I saw it in person 
at Road to California.
Admittedly,
I have not worked on it consistently for quite awhile.
All those hourglass blocks finish at 1 1/2" each 
and I only need to make 672 of them.
If I would have done the math back in 2017,
I may not of started this quilt.
Construction involves putting 8 hourglasses together with sashing into a unit.
There are 84 units needed.
I have 34 done.
My goal for the summer is to get 50 sewn.
However, I underestimated how many different fabrics I would need to bring with me.
So my quilty friend, Deb,
 sent me a wonderful collection of 4" squares 
of fabrics I did not have.
To make this quilt interesting and special,
I may ask my other sewing circle of friends to cut 4" squares
 of their favorite, reproduction fabrics to add to the mix.
Not that I don't have enough fabric to finish it up!
It would just be fun and give more variety.

In the meantime,
my flannels arrived.
This is a panel by Riley Blake.
I should have added an inner stop border,
but it is too late now. 
Put the borders on in less than a few hours 
and now I have a potential Christmas gift.
Because, who does not love gnomes!

I also pieced this big block, 60" x 72" quilt using
Primitive Gathering Farmhouse flannels.
Cut and pieced it in just a few days 
and I have enough squares for a second one.
It is a completed flimsy, 
but this is the cutest picture of it.

So the last few weeks my piecing has gone from one extreme to the other...
precision small scale piecing to quick, large scale stitching.
Flannel is so difficult for me to work with!!
I cannot for the life of me keep it from stretching, 
therefore very few of my intersections went together nicely. 
I resorted to using my walking foot late in the process, pinning and lots of trimming;
but eventually I just had to accept the imperfections.
Personally, 
I prefer the challenge of small scale, precision piecing,
even if it takes years to complete!

Oh, I forgot to report on the quilt shop I visited in Durango.
The Stitch a Quilt Store on Main St. was recently featured in
BHG Quilt Sampler Magazine.
Lovely, light filled shop with brights, batiks, beautiful color wall,
a Bernina dealer, longarm services and a sweet shop dog. 
Although they did not have what I was looking for,
I will go back!




2 comments:

  1. Sunrise Scraps is a wonderful lifetime quilt. Love how it is coming together. Will there be applique around the compass?
    If you want more 4" squares I would be very happy to send you some, and hope there will be some you haven't already used in the mix. Just say the word.
    Very cute gnome flannel.
    Love the photo of the canines curled up on the flannel. Just proves how cuddly that fabric is.
    I am with you on enjoying the challenge of small scale piecing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the challenge of your lifetime quilt. All those tiny pieces and such a wonderful idea to include fabric pieces from your friends. It's nice to work on a variety of piecing projects, big and small. There's a time and a place for all. I usually use a walking foot when working with flannel too.

    ReplyDelete

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