Burgoyne Surrounded – APQ Quilt-Along

When I saw the APQ Quilt-Along (#APQquiltalong) back before Christmas, I was all about it.  I found the magazine at Barnes & Noble a few days before it was supposed to be on shelves, and I did a squeal and happy dance as I went through the store with it clutched to my chest.  I was even gushing to the cashier as I checked out. 

Why the love?  I had fallen in love with the Burgoyne Surrounded block in my copy of America’s Heritage Quilts back four years ago, and had even gone so far as to start cutting some strips and piecing sections with random scraps and a white background.  But I never got very far and wasn’t sure about the random scrappy look, so it sat in a project box.  The APQ Quilt Along was perfect for inspiration and getting me back on the wagon with that project.  I was able to figure out I wanted all white/low volume prints for the background and scrappy reds for the blocks.  A red and white but still scrappy quilt for our bed.

I went through and ripped apart the little pieces I had already sewn (thankfully there weren’t many) so I could reuse the already cut white pieces.  I had actually pieced a couple red/white strips, so those I kept.  I gathered up all the reds and all the whites I had, found a couple more white/low volume prints, and began cutting.  I did the math – I needed something like 4,017 pieces for a quilt to fit our bed.  Plus, it was December – can you say Christmas sewing?  You see where this is going. 

I rang in the new year cutting up charm packs (yes, I cut into all the reds and white background prints from my precious Fig Tree and French General charm packs!)  and later started to try and get one block together, just to keep me motivated. 

Finally I realized this was NOT going to be finished by February but would be a little longer term.  This is where I am now:

Fabric to be cut

Strips cut and ready to be pieced

Pieced strips

Sub-cut units and baggies of pieces

Most of a block (blurry because I zoomed in on an existing picture)

This is one of the projects on my UFO list – I pretty much put everything on that list except my Gypsy Wife since that’s a monthly quilt-along that I plan to keep up with.  I am committed to working on Burgoyne Surrounded/APQ Quilt-Along, and I’ll keep that block and any others up on the design wall just to keep it in my mind.  I’m thinking I’ll try and piece all the little pieces in the baggies and my strips into sub units and then into blocks.  Hopefully I’ll complete it this year. 

A girl can dream.  

**Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced**