Friday 8 June 2012

What Next?

For so long I knew what I was focused on. I knew that I wanted/needed to finish Stained, and Emily's quilt. I knew that I needed to do my Brit bee quilt. There was the retreat and the swap items. There was a focus to what needed doing for my sewing. So what now?

All week I have drifted about sleepily thinking of the sewing that was, rather than the sewing that was to come. I need to switch my brain back on and work out what needs doing and what should I work on first.

Here's what I came up with, and I am open to suggestions if you think I should prioritise one of them, or make something completely different.

1. One for the Birds. Time to take this to the quilt top level. So I have a bunch more mini blocks to make and then I need to decide which solid to piece them into a coherent top with. I am thinking that Kona Snow is the only way to go because of all the other colours already involved. Feel free to argue if you think differently. It is obvious from the carpet in the photo that sludgy beige would not be a good choice!


2. The Heather Ross Fan Club Quilt. I believe that I now have a big enough and varied enough collection of Heather Ross fabrics. And the lovely Leanne added to it when she was here with an amazingly generous donation of FFA (I or II? Not sure because I am not good at that sort of thing.) I have been mulling ideas over in my head. I think I need to sketch them out because I am not 'experimenting' with this fabric. I am not cutting it until I am very clear in what I want to do with it. I am thinking Kona Charcoal for the sashing though. Opinions being solicited again. There are a number of darker prints so not sure if my idea of using Charcoal will work. I was thinking mosaics - but with narrow (like in Stained) sashing between the fabrics. Then wider sashing between each mosaic.


3. This next project needs doing but I am sort of putting it off. Okay, no sort of - I have been putting it off. I offered to make my niece a quilt for her birthday. She asked if she could have a cushion instead. You may think I got off easy, but she wants the One Direction logo on it. (For those without young girls in their household, One Direction is a band popular with a certain age group.)

A serious amount of interfacing will be required.

4. I also have the English paper piecing I am experimenting with. Though I think that I will not be focusing on this so much as doing a bit here and there occasionally.


5. Nicky has just set up a framed purses swap here - though I think sign ups are full already. So I had better hope that I actually listened more and talked less in Katy's class than I think I did. Because I will need to pull out the stops and make something fancier than this.


I think I will stop list making now or I will begin to overwhelm myself. Feel free to remind me of anything I may have forgotten or if you think my ideas need tweaking. My brain still seems to be running on half capacity after the weekend. Rather looking forward to Monday and being by myself, as much as I love my family. Right now the girls, and a friend, are hammering on the brickwork outside as part of their game and I think my brain is going to explode.

Susan

27 comments:

  1. Get the cushion over and done with....get it out of the way and then you can really enjoy wallowing in the process of what is going to be 2 amazing quilts!

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  2. thats a few things that you have to do there! Love your epp: its all I have been doing for the past few days

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  3. I was going to ask what had happened to your birdie quilt. I'd finish that first as it seems the one you've done most with. As for the heather ross stuff have you seen the wonderful block that look like polaroids? I'm going to make a cushion with one block but they are perfect for fussy cutting so would look fab with heather ross. Also hasn't Elizabeth Hartman done some great stuff with HR fabrics?

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  4. Well I just found Trudi's fabric in amongst my Retreat goodies and I haven't even thought about Annabella's StitchTease block!

    You seem to have a plan of sorts!

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  5. I really need to assess and take stock too. Trouble is I have lots of unfinished projects but really want to do new things with what I did at retreat. I have some FFA2 (I think) if you are still collecting donations.

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  6. i just finished my granny square quilt so i am going to work on something small for a while

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  7. I'm avoiding all lists right now, on account of them being way too long! I'll aim on focusing on one thing at a time!

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  8. Would you believe I took some bird fabrics all the way to FQ to see if you wanted them and then took them all the way home again!?

    Good list! Don't underestimate the huge contribution of Archie and Helen in setting up this swap! And yes full and some already!

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  9. Well it has to be One Direction doesn't it...hehe....cackle cackle....on the other hand if you leave it a month or two then they might retuen to the swamp they crawled out of and then you'd be off the hook. (And if you think that project is bad, just wait till you see what my daughters got me doing - you'll be glad you've only got a cushion, believe me!!)

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  10. I love your Heather Ross stash! How about an aubergine(purple?) colour as sashing! Sorry to have missed out on the framed purse swap...not in the loop evidently! ;-(

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  11. You can whip that pillow up in no time, those blocks with faces that your bee did were far harder. Then it is smooth sailing through both quilts and into summer holidays to EPP.

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  12. Snow & charcoal sound perfect! Just give me the nod! A bit of bondaweb and clever stitchery magic is all you need for the 1D cushion! You can do it! Jxo

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  13. Snow sounds fab, yes! The cushion will be easy, bonda web and raw edge applique, it'll work great with the logo style! My brain has jammed, but I'll need to sort it somehow as I have 4 bees' worth of blocks and a bag to do by month end (actually the bag by my post on the 21st o.O )

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  14. Love the birds!!!! Snow is good. Drooling over the heather Ross fabric. Nice!!!!

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  15. Snow and charcoal are great neutrals for sashing. Another Aussie quilter has just finished a Heather Ross quilt - look so lovely:
    http://findingfifth.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/fairytale-ending.html

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  16. You could go off piste with the cushion and stencil print the logo onto the fabric and then quilt it to the backing. Ruby does T-shirts for her friends birthdays like this.

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  17. Try this to help you identify the key colours in your birdies quilt: http://letschipit.com/Chip/Create

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  18. birdies look fab, how about a dark purple for the sashing? I was reading somewhere that it makes a good neutral, not tried it though.

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  19. I think you should do the One Direction cushion. I just hope someone I know doesn't see it.
    I like the idea of Kona Snow for the sashing of the birds quilt.

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  20. I don't know the history of your Birdie quilt but when I looked at it.. I thought Snow for the background and they would look good arranged randomly like pictures on a wall.... With hanging wires added...!!! Just thought I'd mention it.... See you in the purse swap....

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  21. Is there something missing on this list?

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  22. I think the suggestions to get the cushion over and done with is a good one - don't forget to reverse the logo before using the fusible web (ask me how I know...). I love Jan's suggestion of polaroids for the HR fabrics. Or how about something like Lynne's MM portraits quilt (the big coral one!) - that way you could put a narrow frame of colour round each one then a unifying 'picture frame' and then a complementary background 'wall colour'...I can't wait to see what you decide to do first!

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  23. All would be lovely to get back to but I would finish either your birds or Heather Ross. I am in the same boat, but with no starts...I need to start something new. Well, that's not true, I have to bind Swoon and quilt and bind Granny

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  24. wowee that's quite a list of project options!
    I on the other hand am completely in between projects. If you don't count quilts I have no desire to finish. Or the 11 baby quilts to quilt and bind.
    But in between quilty projects for me anyway. I need inspiration to strike!! (and time or motivation for that matter...)

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  25. Wow - you have so many great projects going on. I'm totally envious of your Heather Ross stash!

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  26. I'm kind of in the same space you are. Have lots of project ideas, but not one that I'm really working on. You have delicious options here, Susan. Choose any one and you'll be happy :) I'm going to just settle in and go for a few grannies tonight....

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  27. Oh phew, you are working on the birdy quilt, you can ignore my other comment now! As for the Heather Ross..why don't you do them like a comic strip, since all the pieces tell a little story, you could make it like one big comic page, with pale borders between each window..? or is that a bad idea?! .
    ooo just read back and I like Jan's Polaroid idea too!

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