Stripping

I've been spending my time cutting strips for Farm Gal's Folly.  They will eventually be cut down into red and green squares and cream rectangles.  Aren't they pretty?

Focus

I need to focus. I am bored with all my projects and want to jump into new ones, but that is against my goals for the year. I’m not doing so swell on my goals. So this post is me re-working my plan for the rest of the year.

 

• Farm Gal’s Folly – Oi! This is so much work. I still don’t have anywhere close to enough material. I’m way behind on my daily quota of geese blocks. I love the thought of the project, but I’ve decided to scale it back by one quilt (one of the recipients I’m not so close to anymore). So 5 quilts instead of 6. Still a LOT of work. I may not make it by Christmas. But I do want these ladies to have these quilts. So I keep chugging along. What I really need are some awesome sales or a trip to a quilt shop to find some fabrics I haven’t seen yet. At least I don’t hate the geese yet. Did you see the pretty plastic containers I got for my current projects? It’s nice to have all the pieces in one place.

• Remember my Double Star Creams quilt for the master bedroom? Mary said I should think about scaling it down somewhat so I could just get it done (since I’ve been working on it for, like, 3 years or so). I was resisting, but I’m thinking now about a table runner and maybe some other small projects with the blocks. I have 13 blocks complete and several cut out, so I guess first things first is to finish sewing up the blocks and then go from there.

• A Punch of Piccadilly is coming along as a leader-ender project. I am almost finished with the 4-patch blocks and will start on the 16-patch blocks after that. I love seeing the pile of finished blocks grow. It’s fun to grow a second quilt just from a seam here and there. 

• I have a green floral skirt cut out and sitting. The lining is finished, but the skirt itself, well, I’ve been putting it off. It won’t take long, and the hardest part will be inserting the zipper, which isn’t all that hard (at least, not when I’m well rested and in a good mood).

• The gray floral dress that I cut out this weekend is waiting patiently. It really won’t take too awful long to sew up, but I am procrastinating. I tend to procrastinate on clothes because I’m scared I’ll do all this work and they won’t fit. I made alterations to the pattern based on my measurements, so I’m doubly nervous this time. I just need to suck it up and get on it.

And now for new projects I have on taps for the rest of the year (in addition to those WISPs above).

• The Summer Star Sampler Quilt Along – I totally am going to make this quilt; it just isn’t going to be at the same time as everyone else. I came up with the bright idea to bribe reward myself for exercising with fabric for this quilt. I did well the first two weeks, but have sunk into the abyss since then (see previous post about sick baby, dog recovering from surgery, and overflowing garden). I will get back on track and get the fabric and make this quilt . . . at some point. I got my first bribe reward this week in the mail, and it was so pretty! Love, love, love, love, LOVE! The custard toile is gorgeous!

• A throw quilt for a Christmas gift . . . I can’t give details because she may pop in here from time to time
• A themed quilt for our friends’ little one scheduled to make his/her arrival late this year. I have the fabric, but I am beyond frustrated on the design. I thought I had it all figured out, but now, I am back at square one. Gah.
• A gray jacket to go with the gray floral dress – have fabric and pattern
• A blue work skirt – have fabric and pattern
• A black work skirt – have fabric and pattern
• A (different colored) gray work skirt – have fabric and pattern
• Random Christmas Projects
• Other WIPs that have been languishing

Okay, this list is getting scary. And this is just what I’m hoping to accomplish the rest of this year! I totally know I can get it done (except maybe Farm Gal’s Folly). But, I think I need a retreat . . .

Tonight, I will get the sewing machine into the kitchen while canning carrots and work on that green skirt. It would be great to knock that one out.

In a Flitting Mood

I can’t help it; I’m a flitter.  I get bogged down in projects, and I have to have several going on at once. 

Right now, I have the Farm Gal’s Folly project (which may be doomed to failure), A Punch of Piccadilly (leader-ender project), my Double Star Creams quilt for the master bedroom (this may also get changed), a skirt, and a dress in the works.  That doesn’t include some other projects I haven’t started but need to work on soon.  But I’m tired of all of them. 

What do I want to do?  Why, start on The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt, of course.  I got the book for Christmas last year, and I want to work on it NOW.  Alas, I know I shouldn’t.  But I really, really, really want to.  I’m going to try and be a good girl and leave it be until January 1, 2011.  I’m going to make it a project for next year.  Two blocks a week, some weeks three, finishing it by the end of the year. 

For now, I guess, I need to get back to making flying geese, 4 and 16-patches, and double star blocks.  And finishing the skirt and sewing the dress.  *Sigh*

Farm Gal’s Folly (aka – the insanity project)

I bought the Winter 2008 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting for the quilt on the front cover.  I have always wanted to make that quilt.  

Then a week or so ago, I decided it would be great to make matching quilts for my ladies at work (there’s six of us that are very close, we have become good friends in addition to being coworkers) as a Christmas present.  I needed something fairly simple, but still wanted the Christmas look.  Ta Da!  The Fly Away Home quilt from the cover (designed by one of the Fig Tree Quilts designers)!  I made my decision after checking with just one of the girls (who had also been my sorority sister in college), who promised to keep it a secret.  

Here are the details:  one quilt contains 348 flying geese units.  That means for 6 quilts, I need 2,088 flying geese.  I also need border fabric, binding fabric, and batting for 6 throw size quilts.  And to make them special, I decided to add a row of variable stars as signature blocks, so each lady will have all 6 signatures (her own plus the other 5).  So I need fabric for the back of 6 quilts as well.  I was able to shop my stash, but only found a piddling yard or so of fabric (2 FQs plus a BIG scrap of red fabric and some cream scraps) that would work.  This means I’ll have to accumulate another 79 yards or so of fabric.  I found 2 FQs at JoAnn’s and bought them with my 40% off coupons, plus I got a yard of cream fabric for 30% off.  So far I have spent $5.44 total on fabric. 

 

My plan is to work on this as leader-enders with a couple of other quilting projects in addition to piecing a couple geese a day.  Hopefully that will help it go more quickly and less stressfully than forcing myself to work on it as my only project.  When I did the math, giving myself until Dec. 1 to complete the quilts and leaving 60 days in there for quilting and binding, I have 136 days to sew.  That amounts to about 15 flying geese per day.  If I set aside a dedicated hour for sewing, that’s not bad, and on the weekends I usually try to get a couple hours a day in, so I think I can do it.  Now that I’ve committed, I have to!  I may lose my mind in the process, but if I can pull it off, it will be great! 

 

I’m going to put a stats box up on the sidebar for those who want to keep track of my progress.  Hopefully it will help keep me motivated as well.

Here's the first goose . . .

. . . and I'm stitching an extra seam to make little HST's as well.  I'll probably make a secondary project out of them later on.