Looking back, looking forwards

2016 was the first time I ever set down even vague quilting aims for the year ahead but it has proved to be an interesting exercise and since Yvonne is encouraging us to share our plans for 2017 I thought I'd use the opportunity to reflect and maybe lay out some tentative goals.

It has been a bizarrely productive year for me: I have completed 5 quilts, which I know doesn't sound like much to many people but is a lot for me, and made another 5 tops which are now waiting their turn in the quilting queue.  

Some of my resolutions fell by the wayside pretty quickly but the one I stuck with best was my resolve to 'green' my stash as much as I could.  I had a brief moment of panic about what the implications of Brexit would be (prices have gone up and my favourite fair trade fabric source is closing down) but apart from that I have concentrated on organic lines.  This has its disadvantages (lack of choice, especially if you don't want lots of 'look at me' prints or cute stuff) but also an unexpected upside, which is that I have definitely bought much less fabric.  I looked a lot, to start with, and then talked myself out of things, but after a bit I didn't even look.  It has also pushed me to use the bag of old shirts I had accumulated.  

The other aim I expressed that has worked for me was to keep looking for opportunities to interact with other quilters.  Last year I tried Stash Bee; this year I had a go at joining in with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but gave up after about three months. I love the idea, but the reality was that my scraps just didn't seem to work - not enough of them for a start, so I acknowledged defeat.  Quilty 365 on the other hand really sparked something. I didn't imagine at the start of this year that I would spend an entire 12 months making circles, but look at the tops completed this year - there's definitely a bit of a theme going on.

So, aims for 2017:

• Work on finding rhythm.  I've been productive this year but somehow it has often felt scrappy and haphazard and sometimes downright unsatisfactory.  It's down to me to work out how to juggle things (time and space)so that this feels better.
• I will try to keep up my approach to fabric buying.  I can't bring myself to completely give up on non-organic lines, but will keep up the focus on organic, fair trade, and recycled stuff. 
• There are a couple of things I've done this year that I would like to revisit or rework.  I've thought this before and not followed up the idea, but maybe writing it here will encourage me. 
• I still like the idea of finding ways to collaborate/link up with others. If anyone out there has the inclination to play around this idea with me, do feel free to get in touch.   I wish I could find a satisfactory real life option, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. 
• Finally, I just aim to keep going, keep trying, keep recording what I do, keep learning through my interactions on this blog and by seeing what other quilters are doing.

A final note - the AHIQ linkup will happen next week, just in case some of you are still sewing.  I'm secretly hoping I might sneak a bit of time in between now and then!

Build Me a Wall - the finish

Here, as promised, is a proper 'finish' post for Build Me a Wall.

The front:

The back:

The details:

This was started on 6th March 2015, in response to a challenge from LeeAnna. I finished piecing on 13th May 2015 and its at in the quilting queue until February this year.  I started quilting  on 14th February, finished Monday 23rd May.

Finished size: about 60" square.  I used Hobbs Wool Wadding again, quilted by hand using various shades of perle no. 8.  I couldn't decide on a binding so used a facing instead (a first for me but something I would definitely consider again).

I'll link up with My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday and with TGIFF

AHIQ- share your improv #9 (and a finish)

Welcome to the 9th AHIQ linkup.  We had a particularly great group of posts last month, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you share this time round.

I'm feeling very chirpy this morning, on account of having finished Build Me a Wall.  I'll do a post later in the week with all the details, but for now, here's a quick pic:

(As a side note, if you are interested, pop back tomorrow for my turn on the Crafted Applique blog hop.)

Speeding up a bit

I always do this when an end is in sight...start trying to sneak in more time for the quilting.  Build Me a Wall is, if not nearly done, definitely heading in the right direction.  I laid it out on the floor so you can see the bits round the edges still to do.

Of course these things always take twice as long as you think they should and I don't need to hurry, but still...obsessive?  Me?

Smaller tops are quicker to quilt

Okay, I'm sure you've all figured that one out for yourselves, but I just lay Build Me a Wall out to take a quick photo and saw that somehow it is about three-quarters done.  This is a lovely surprise, but then it is about half the size of the last few things I've quilted, so if I'd engaged my brain I might have guessed it.

It looks like this.

One thing at a time

This is my new motto (at least for this week...) so today I am just quilting.  

Build Me a Wall is not very big, just small lap quilt sized, but that means that a little bit of quilting seems to go a long way.  Happily I am starting to like it much better as I get back into the swing of it and have a clearer idea of what I'm doing.  

It's all slow here

Everything I am working on at the moment involves hand work - lots of applique, simple stitching and quilting, but today, I think, I'm going to quilt.  

It's the turn of Build Me a Wall, which has been pinned for a while and in the hoop for probably a fortnight.  For some reason, though, I'm not feeling much love for this project right now.  This hasn't happened before at this late stage in the process, so I'm reserving judgement.  I'll keep quilting for a week or two and see if I'm happier.  If not, I'm not sure what I'll do.  I've never left something unfinished before so I guess it will get done.  I can't even put my finger on what is bothering me, so maybe I'm just being moody.  I guess we'll see.

At least I enjoyed taking the photos, though.

An end in sight - definitely!

Today's task, hand sewing as usual for Slow Sunday Stitching, is to finish attaching the backing to the denim.  I've used some lengths of flannel so the back will be nice and soft, toyed with the idea of adding wadding to make it the world's heaviest quilt, but decided against it, and just machined around three sides, right sides together.  So now I'm pulling it right way round and doing the last side by hand.  I considered machining half and then hand stitching the last bit, but a) it is pretty bulky and b) this is the edge with the kind of stepped bit and I want to do that by hand.  

If I get that done, I have the next quilt ready to go in the hoop.  I'm still working in chronological order, so it's Build Me a Wall's turn now.

Built me a wall

It seems like I've  been working hard for a while now without much to show for it, but this week it's all coming good.  Today I have reached a stopping point with Build Me a Wall, which will now go into the queue for quilting.

In the end I extended my lines of holes into the borders, but only in three places.  I tried this out before I did any cutting: the sun has messed up the colours here but I think you can see one square on the right and two on the left.

Here's a picture with the holes cut and the backing fabric in.

It's a little bit crease-y at the moment, but I know that there are places where my basting stitches have pulled a bit tight and caused this.  Before it is quilted, at some point when I want something mindless to do, I will come back and stitch the holes and the orange backs properly into place.  But for now, this one is done.

Slowly doing rather a lot

Yes, there's loads of hand stitching going on here today...

A bit of quilting:

A bit of holding things temporarily in place:

And yes, a bit of binding too.

And since all three of these happen slowly, I'm off to sew.  Enjoy your Sunday.

Time for a last round

Just this one last lot of holes to go, I think.

I've added 3 more along the bottom, am extending the top row just a little bit and  will probably add one more little half row at on the top left (close up in the second picture.)

I've have been to-ing and fro-ing on whether to take the holes right out into the borders.  The jury's still out on that one, but one way or the other this will be done soon.

Bigger holes now

One of the nice things about this challenge piece is that I feel I can play around with things a bit, so the most recent holes are a bit bigger.  I could pretend this was a decision based on perspective or balance or something, but mostly I just fancied trying it.

Even at this size, they don't show up quite as much against the African fabric as against the others I have used, but they are a bit more obvious in the flesh.

Still more to come, I think.

In the meantime, I'm linking up with Patchwork Times today - loads of good stuff to see there.

How to grow a wall

This piece has definitely been a challenge for me, in good ways.  Using the holes has been an interesting exercise, but I am also being forced to think about my need for everything I make to be useful.  I have been aiming at 60" or thereabouts, because that is a feasible size for a lap quilt.  And I am now at 56" square (ish) and happy to stop working outwards now.  

The question is, without that self-imposed requirement of functionality, would I have stopped before this?  Probably.  Would the piece have looked better if I had?  I'm not sure, and to be fair I haven't finished with it yet, but it's all thought-provoking stuff.  How do you decide on the size of a quilt?  Up until now I have just kept going until I felt it was "done", but if it is for a bed, for example, then there are clearly some basic requirements.  How big is too big, how small is big enough?  I don't have any answers.

Anyhow, this is where I went...

Needs to be longer, so add to top and bottom.  I like the bottom; top not quite right..

Added one new row at top then a second.  Added little orange-yellow strip down right-hand side.

Auditioned fabrics for sides...right-hand side seemed too heavy and this is my last piece of the green...

Four sides done, and I am happy enough with this.

Now, I think, for some more holes!

Holes done, what next?

Holes all filled, so I am feeling pleased with myself this afternoon.  It didn't take long in the end; once I got into the swing of it, and I really like how it is looking. 

Still not quite big enough, though, so that's the next thing to tackle.

Linking up with Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.

Holes and edges

 Little Elephant is out of the hoop.  Sadly this doesn't mean finished: I use a circular hoop but this leaves quite a bit around the edges that has to be done at the end.  Also, next time I start to use any version of blunt-nosed triangles in a border, please someone remind me that they are a bit of a pain to quilt!

These edges will get done, an hour or two a day, but I'm also working on attaching the little oranges squares to go behind my holes in Build Me a Wall. This is going quite quickly, mostly because I'm just trying to hold them in place at the moment.  I cut four or five at a time and try to get them all done in one go.

I really like how these are looking, which is a great motivator for what might otherwise seem like quite a tedious job.  The stitches, rough as they are, are also helping me think about quilting/stitching for the top once it's ready for such things.

Filling in the holes

Finally a decision, and I have started to fill in the holes.  If I had a lot of this fabric I might have just slung the whole piece behind what I have already, but my scant half metre doesn't allow for that, so it's a slow, slow process.

I am also adding slowly to the bottom of the piece (still aiming at something a bit bigger than I have now, if I can manage it).  

Still full of holes

I have been playing around with more options for my holes.  This time I tried things I didn't even think would work, just for the fun of it.

Only two of them sparked my interest: this one

and this one.

Time to make my mind up now.  (And I'm always interested to know what others think, so if you have an opinion, do feel free to voice it!)

Linking up with Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.

Cutting and sewing, humming and hawing

Having finally dealt with all those facings what did I do?  Yes, added more squares, created more facings.

 This time, though, I just got on and sorted them straight away.

This now measures about 50" wide by 35" long, so I need to add a bit more to the length.  At the same time I'm working on making a decision about what goes behind the holes.  Lots of people have liked the turquoise stripe, which I too really like and which I happen to have a whole metre of (I was buying in the Oakshott factory sale and the lengths were already cut).  The extra length might be useful here.  I have looked at it top, and bottom, and played around with adding in more of the African tie dye too:

It's okay.  Right now it's not doing much more than that for me, although maybe the 3rd picture is going somewhere.  But I keep coming back to this:

Only half a metre of this one though.  

Time, I think, to go back to my boxes and have another dig around.  At least this time I don't have a ton of facings lurking in the background waiting to be turned.

Not quite knowing...

Facings all done so now I am feeling rather pleased with myself.  Now to add some more squares.  I have cut a few out and am lying them on the top and playing around until I like how they look.  It's an imprecise art, since obviously the holes will be a bit smaller than the original bits of fabric, so I have to guess at spacings, but I quite like the not-quite knowing.

Chores on Monday

Once again I am doing the sewing equivalent of housework - which is to say I am turning my facings and tacking them down.  Not, you will notice from the picture, pressing, which they sorely need, but at least I am underway.  The motivation is that I need to add more holes, so feel I must tidy these up first, otherwise the task will grow and grow and I may just lose heart.

I am also quilting as if there's no tomorrow, but no pics of that at the moment.

Linking up with Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.