My favorite time of the year in Germany has to be April/May... it's when the grey veil finally rolls back, vibrant touches of spring flowers have ushered in the season, and fields of gold are to be seen everywhere you look.The golden canola blooms bring with it the beginning of the best meal that you can find in Germany... Spargel! (white asparagus.. read more about it here)
Living in the country means that such color delights for the eye are just at your back door... literally. I told my husband last week that this field, just a mere matter of steps from our house, is too perfect to pass up the opportunity for a background for a photo shoot. And what could make that field any lovelier, but a quilt in front of it... or is it the other way around that the sprawling blanket of gold is what makes the quilt lovelier?
In any case, Nadelwelt is this week, and in spite of the fact that I've been considerably absent, I wanted to share this quilt top that I finished a while back... perhaps more than that, I just wanted to share the view from my sewing room.
You may have noticed that it got quiet here. Last week I had to decide if I would finish my 2017 wrap up post, or take a spontaneous family vacation. Well, if you checked in last week, then you know which one I chose. But to make up for the missed post, how about if I start out the year with sharing my first flimsy finish for 2018?!? I'll give you all the specs once it's quilted, but at least for now, you can breath in a deep sound of shock when you hear that this bee quilt top won't be as big as I usually go. In the meantime, you can find the block tutorial here.
So, to get back on track with what happened this last year... I did manage two finished quilts in 2017. Do you remember my Tiptoe Through The Tulips quilt? This king size quilt is my biggest quilt ever, and due to it's sheer size and the fact that it was my second quilt pattern, it might actually be my proudest finish of the year.
My Prism Quilt finish was motivated by my self imposed deadline of finishing the first bee quilt before I start a new one. I wanted to get this one quilted before I introduced my new block to my bee mates, which just happens to be my flimsy finish for 2018! (Summer Smoothie)
I did actually I ask myself why I was only able to finish two quilts? Perhaps because it looks like 2017 was..."The Year Of The Pillows". In my defense, the pillows that I made were either gifts or smaller project samples from my pattern releases, not to mention that there is something totally satisfying in a fast finish without committing to a whole quilt... leaves room to try things.
But, 2017 was also "The Year Of Applique". I suppose when I look back, it's easy for me to fall into disappointment thinking that with "only" two finished quilts, I didn't get much accomplished... but I would like to argue that 2017 was my year in Rome... it wasn't built in a day, you know? Applique, specifically starch applique, has kind of become my passion this year... and if you have done applique before, then you know that it's not exactly production line quilting. Every little block with it's tiny pieces IS an accomplishment it itself. My aunt, who is a highly experienced quilter, reminds me that it's not about how fast you can finish a quilt, but about enjoying the process.
Another fun highlight of the year was the #30daysoffabricstacks challenge hosted by Stitched In Color... if you've been around for very long, then you already know that pulling fabric for a new project is my favorite part of the whole quilting process!... and here are a couple of my favorite stacks:
I actually had several flimsy finishes in 2017, and my Lovebirds' Garden is currently at the longarm quilter waiting for the magic touches to be put on. Writing my third quilt pattern, which is currently in my pattern testers hands, I still consider a "Finish"... the official release date is just around the corner in March!
With that being said, my fourth pattern is almost quilted, with my fifth and sixth patterns at the almost finished quilt top stage! More behind the scenes finishes than shared ones, but good things come to those who wait.
Hope you've had a great start into 2018, and as they say in Germany, have a "good slide" into the new year!
Don't you just love it when you carefully and gently pull all the finished blocks from your quilt wall to assemble them into your long awaited quilt top, and realize once it's together, that it appears that it is now half the size? (please note the obvious sarcasm)... the wonder and the mystery of "the great Shrink"
If you've been around here since I've been quilting, then you know that I'm a quilt size debator... usually battling the back and forth if I should make it bigger. (I suppose I figure that if you're going to do it at all, you might as well do it big) Even for this quilt, I seriously contemplated adding more blocks, because I had calculated that it would be a mere lap quilt after "the great Shrink".
So once the top was together, I quickly ran upstairs to take advantage of the bright, sunny day, and the fact that the kids were out of the house. I excitedly threw the quilt over my son's twin size bed and had my first surprise... it was too big and too long for the bed! (hardly a lap quilt!) Then I even more excitedly ran to my bedroom and threw it over my queen size bed... and much to my astonishment, found that it was almost big enough to fit my bed! (not quite, but again… not a lap quilt!)
Well, don’t you just love it when you over estimate, and are later pleasantly surprised with more than what you had originally calculated?
Quilt pattern: Churnstile from Stitchery Dickory Dock, Curn Dash block from the January Sugar Block Club
Started: February 2016
Fabrics: Alison Glass, Carolyn Friedlander, Cotton & Steel, Lizzy House, and various additional prints from my stash. Low volume with color background fabrics
Finished quilt top size: ca. 66 x 82 in. (168 x 208 cm)
What are your “the great Shrink” experiences?
Linking up this week with Let's Bee Social and Sew Cute Tuesday.
Since living in Germany, I've learned to get used to... waiting.
The average worker here usually has about six weeks of vacation, which sounds so strange to the standard two weeks of vacation, three if you're lucky, American ears. If you call a company and need to have a certain person take care of an issue, but they might be on vacation for the next two weeks... what do you do if you need the answer now?... wait.
Grocery stores are closed here on Sundays, like they used be if you are old enough to remember the "good 'ol days" in the States. If a holiday falls on a Saturday or Monday here, or even worse on all three, then you might have to do some serious planning to have everything needed for a recipe, or... just wait.
(raspberry kiss block for a secret project, tutorial found here)
So, perhaps it wouldn't be any surprise what I have learned to live with over the years when it comes to quilting supplies. When I looked at several of the projects on my list, it hit me that many of them were either stopped because I had to wait on supplies, or were started because I had to put that project on hold because I was waiting... hmmppff!
Now that I have my list of things to work on for the 2016 Finish-A-Long, I am more than motivated and have actually made a good amount of progress on a couple of them including finishing my Farm Girl Vintage quilt top, but now I have to... yup, you guessed it... wait. I shouldn't even tell you how long I have had to wait for the batting, because it's almost shameful, but it is what it is.
But since they say that good things come to those who wait, I'll just have to sit on that for right now while I... wait.
How are you FAL projects coming? Do you have any projects on hold because you are waiting for supplies, or do you purchase all supplies before you start on a qult?
Linking up to WIP Wednesday, Let's Bee Social, and Scraptastic Tuesday
