Still Stitching

I have spent the last two days working on stitching up more these scrappy blocks for the Scrapaholic quilt I started in the workshop our guild had about a month ago. I know I am not very fast getting these blocks done but that is just me, I pin my fabrics together and I rip and re-stitch mistakes. I try to leave tiny goofs and just hold the pieces together without pins when I sew but it just isn't in my nature I guess. I will leave a mistake for a while but in the end I go back and rip and re-stitch as it bothers me too much. Besides those things to slow me down I take a lot of breaks to do other things as I have a tendency to hunch over my machine and end up with a back ache if I don't get up and walk around or do another task once in a while.

Here is what I have done so far. Each of the piles has 6 of the 6" blocks using the same 12 fabrics. When I get ready to put them together I will make sure I only have one of each set in a block to really mix up the fabrics. This is a huge project for me as I have mostly just made miniatures and small wall hangings for several years.

When I get the last 4 sets made I will start putting the 12" blocks together. As I was sitting at the computer this morning getting these photos ready to post I got to wondering how many different fabrics will be in the 30 12" blocks when I get done. If my calculations are correct I will have used 240 different fabrics.

OK you math whizzes you can check my calculations. Each set of 6 blocks is made with 12 different fabrics, 6 dark and 6 light. I will have 20 sets of blocks after I finish the last 4 sets today, so if my calculations are correct that makes a total of 240 fabrics right? Wonder if I would have started this if I knew I would be using that many different fabrics!

Bonnie Kucera, our teacher for this quilt, had us cut 9" squares of fabric to start with then cut them in half on the diagonal. We then kept one half of our fabric triangles and traded the other half with other class members so we would have all different fabrics. Of course we only got a good start on making the blocks in class and I am making many more so cut more squares and traded with two friends who were also needing more variety. I did dip into my stash more to get the final number I needed but the last ones I cut were just triangles as I didn't need anymore to trade as my friends are making a little smaller quilt that I am. You know it is scary to think how much fabric I have - it doesn't look like I even touched it with the exception that it is a jumbled mess right now.

To refresh your memory this is what 4 of the smaller 6" blocks look like laid out to make the larger 12" block.

I will want to put borders on the top when I get the blocks together but will have to purchase some fabric I am sure as I don't think I have any large pieces of fabric in my stash. (I am a fat quarter girl!) Will see what the quilt looks like when I get the blocks together to decided on borders.

Another day at home for me - guys are still harvesting but they don't need me. They are not started yet this morning as it is damp and misty out but looks like it might be getting brighter so there is hope it will dry off soon. John is estimating that if we don't get any major delays we should be done with harvest maybe by the end of next week. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Happy Quilting,
Lynn