I'm Still Alive (although getting moldy. . . )

I think the lousy weather we've all been experiencing has affected me.  I haven't felt like blogging, haven't felt like drawing- I've just been feeling blah.  And we've had so much rain this spring (???) I'm beginning to feel moldy too.  So, no blogging- who wants to read depressed, whiny rants??

Nothing has changed on that front over the long weekend.  Lousy weather, that is supposed to improve once we go back to work. I have been hibernating in the studio.  I have a smallish- challenge piece that I need to get moving on, but somehow I can't get myself to start working on it until I get this sampler quilt pieced.  I do have a design in my head, really I do!  And I've picked out the background fabric and done some drawing.  Maybe I'll get to fabric choices later today, who knows.

I sewed most of Thursday and Friday morning, then most of yesterday afternoon.  When I got to the final quadrant, I realized I'd made a mistake somewhere in the drafting of the full-size pattern.  I still haven't figured out what I did wrong, but with some tweaking and judicious cuts with the rotary cutter, I think I'm back on track.  I had to re-draft the final section that needs to be sewed onto the quilt, but I think it will work fine.  And glory be, I had enough gridded freezer paper left to use for this section.  So much easier than graph paper with glue dots!

I think I drafted that pattern at night while I was watching coverage of the royal wedding.  Mmm, note to self-you don't do your best work at night, you are usually brain dead.  Do your drafting and work that requires thinking IN THE MORNING!!  Early, with a cup of coffee in hand!!

Here's the quilt, with only the last section of flying geese missing--

 

It has been interesting working on a quilt that I actually started six years ago.  In the interim, I quit working in a block format, and mostly started using my own hand-dyed fabric.  I've also become a lot more confident about my ability to quilt my own pieces.  I think if I'd finished this six years ago, I would have panicked and handed it off to a long-armer to do.  I've been thinking about how I will quilt this while I've been piecing, and I'm really looking forward to it.

If I were to do anything different, I would use the same fabric in the background of the blocks.  I think it is too distracting with those different prints.  One of my goals with the quilting will be to tone down those differences, and make them blend better.

So my goal for the rest of the long weekend is to get that last flying geese section pieced, and sewn onto the quilt.  I should be able to do that this afternoon. Tomorrow, I definitely won't be in the studio in the morning.  My favorite thrift store is having a half off sale all day, and I plan on being there when they open the doors at 7 am.  You never know what treasures could be there!!