Happy Holidays

Well, the holiday crunch is on, so I'll take a moment now to wish everyone a great holiday season, no matter what your holiday is. I'm still sewing in my spare moments, and I hope I'll be back between Christmas and New Year's.

I'm taking a "wait and see" approach to Week 4 of On Ringo Lake. I'm not sure it will look good in my fabrics (blue and red), and I'll have to see a bit more of the big picture before I decide on that. Maybe it will be ok, maybe I'll add another colour (pine green?), maybe I'll tweak the design. In any case, it's a busy time, so I'm happy to have an excuse to wait!

So, be happy, be safe, and take a moment to appreciate the successes of the past year. And maybe make a plan or two for next year. That's what I'm doing!

Daydream Baskets

"Daydream Baskets" is the name I have settled on for this quilt inspired by a daybed at Windsor Castle. I think that hits the right tone -- it is a potential minefield!

All three of the blocks I shared last week have gone into the reject pile. I realized that it is crucial that the centre triangle be darker than both the basket and the spikes.

I also realized that five blocks would not be enough, and added another round to bring it up to thirteen blocks. Thirteen allows for a better exploration of the block and its variations, and it just seems to make more sense.

So, here they are:

Way better, eh?

Now I am debating the setting triangles. I have been thinking about sewing together the crumbs from the piecing for some "made fabric" triangles, but I'm not sure there are enough. I've also been see-sawing on the issue of sashing. But, now that I am studying the photo, I've had an idea about that.

We'll see how it pans out! In the meantime, please check out the rest of the improv at AHIQ #27, right here.

Life is Good

So, in my last post I said that I was going to pass on Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt this year. But, first thing Friday morning, before breakfast, I was downloading the clue. It looked pretty easy, and even better, it wasn't the HSTs I was expecting. (Although I am sure they are coming!)

One of the many colour schemes I'd considered was primary colours -- red, blue and yellow. As soon as I saw Bonnie's nine patches I knew that would be the best choice for me. I put on the coffee and got to work.

In September I stocked up on white prints, specifically for that pattern I won in August, but also for this mystery. So I decided to rough cut both quilts at the same time, and I was stressing about how best to optimize the fabric, and then I thought...relax. I have plenty of fabric!

And then I came across that perfectly framed piece of selvedge for The Good Life, and I realized that I can stop worrying about all of it. Yes, I have more WIPs than I want to count. Yes, I want push my artistic boundaries more than I have been. But, there is time for all of it. This is not an "or" situation, it is an "and" opportunity.

Everything that needs to be done will be done. Right now I'm just going to relax and enjoy the ride. Life is good!

So, here are the first twelve, and the rest of the strip sets are cut and ready to sew throughout the rest of the week.

AND I'm ready with all new baskets for AHIQ tomorrow!

But in the meantime, check out the rest of the On Ringo Lake participants in the Week 1 link up, right here.