How can the year be 4378 days long and yet July has swooshed by?

 I've been lost in the doldrums most of the summer, it seems.  I'm getting some reading done, but little else to show for my days.  It hasn't helped that today is March 518th, 2020...

A measly bit of sewing got done - here's an Antique Tiles block in dark blues,

and an assortment of Cake Stands in dark blue and various neutrals.

I did a bunch of dark blue sewing back when we were supposed to be doing light and bright blues, so I didn't push too hard this month.

If you would have asked me what quilt I'm currently working on, I would have replied, "My Jack's Chain" but the fact is that I seem to have hit a snag with it.  I got this far earlier in the month -

and stuck, because it still looks exactly the same.  I only thought I was working on it.

When a project stops moving like this, I've learned to take it as a sign that this is not the quilt I want to work on.  I thought back to the last time I'd been excited about a project and realized it was Flutterby, so I grabbed some leftover flutter-bits and a couple of yards of a really fun batik and made a back for it.

I was having such fun planning the back that I finally had to reign myself in a bit before I ended up making a whole 'nother quilt to put on the back of the first one.  (Not that it would be a bad thing, but I'm really trying to prevent myself from Making Things Harder for Myself, which is a true character flaw)

I'm going to be having a good think about Jack's Chain.  For now I'll continue making 9-patches for it, since you can never have too many 9-patches, and work up a good plan that will let me carry it forward without dragging my feet.  

And I think I'm going to baste Flutterby for quilting because that's the one that is making my heart sing right now.  Gotta follow the tune!

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see what the last days of July are bringing!

 

A flimsy excuse

 Huzzah!  Flutterby is a flimsy!

It measures about 52" square, so a small lap quilt or a large baby quilt.  What with the Glitter flimsy last month, that's two Jen Kingwell designs in a row.  Time to file away her book and give another designer a chance, eh?  

Now to decide between finishing a project I've already started or going with one of the umpteen new ideas that are squirreling around in my brain.  What to do, what to do...

In between all the fluttering I got a couple more Cake Stands done.  Our RSC color for July is dark blue or dark neutrals.

I admit the gray above isn't actually "dark", but it's neutral so I'm calling close enough.  I love that feather print.  Since I did a bunch of darkish blues back when light/bright blue was the color, I should probably use this month to scrumble around in my browns, blacks, and grays.  I've got a lovely (though dreary) hoard of those just waiting for a chance to come out and play - maybe it will cheer them up!

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come join the fun!

Wrapping up the purple

 June is starting to dwindle away, taking purple with it.  Here's the last of my RSC blocks for the month -

One last Antique Tiles block,

a purple PSP20-21,

and a nice little batch of chips.

As usual, I'm startled by how many of these little gems I end up with by month's end.  I thought I'd only gotten 8 or 10 of them done, so I was surprised that there are really 18!

I thought I'd cut out another purple cake stand or two, but apparently I've buried them somewhere on my cutting table.  While looking for them, I found the parts for this Jacks 'n Sixes that I'd cut out for last month and then misplaced, so I sewed it right up.  Maybe the cake stands will turn up when I'm searching for whatever blocks I manage to lose next month...

And in big happy news, I've got all my Flutterby blocks done and thrown up on the design wall.

After the successful use of Cathy's Random Method for my Glitter top, I went random again while laying out these blocks.  I'll leave them up to look at for a day or two, but I don't see much that I'd want to rearrange.  Given the size of the pieces and the general busyness of the pattern, I don't think moving blocks around would even be noticeable.  I've already got the borders half assembled (More spikes!  Yay!), so I'm well on the way to a completed top.

And I can hear those squirrels starting to rustle around behind me.  Uh oh....

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come enjoy some scrappy goodness!

I keep losing track of time

 I can't decide if I'm living in fast-forward or extreme-slow-motion...  Either way, time keeps getting away from me.

When last we met, I'd hung up Glitter and was testing a border idea.  To me, the edges of the top looked like they were just frittering off into nothingness, so I wanted a bit of a frame to contain them and hold them into the quilt.

I realize borders don't float everyone's boat, but I'm happy with the way it's turned out.  It's only an inch wide so it won't be screaming for attention, plus there's the added benefit of pushing all those points away from the binding.

So, off went Glitter to join the mountain of tops that are awaiting quilting.  (I'll get to them someday.  I have A Plan.)  (Don't laugh.  Sometimes my plans work out okay.)  (Well, sort of...)

That left me free to start a new Main Project, right?  I reached for those HRTs that I've been cutting for the last couple of months for Jen Kingwell's Flutterby, 

and used them for leader/enders while sewing together all those Glitterbits.  

Once Glitter was fully assembled, I could really buckle up and go.

I think I'm going to like it!

Now if I can just do something about that runaway time issue...

A few more yellow bits, just under the wire

I'm wrapping up the last of the yellows for February's RSC.   (And I just saw that March is going to be green!  Huzzah!)  (My third favorite color!)  (After orange and purple, of course!)

Cake Stands are a happy block, no matter which color.

And I've got a dandy bunch of chips ready to go.

The chips made a good leader/ender for some more Glitter blocks

and since I found the other bag of blocks that I'd kitted up last year, I guess I'll carry on piecing some more of them.  They're tricky enough that I can only make about three of them before my eye starts to twitch and the swearing starts to get almost too loud, but three by three will continue to add up!

I also try to spend a little time each session just cutting pieces for future projects, like my tumblers for instance.

That bin doesn't look very full until I take a photo from the side -

cutting twenty or so pieces every time I'm handling fabric will eventually start to add up.  When I'm ready to start the quilt, it's going to go pretty fast, even if it ends up as a leader/ender.  (This is the same approach I took for my Triangle Stars - cutting pieces off and on over the course of a year or two, then starting the sewing.  That top really whooshed itself right together!)

I also continue to cut strips for 9-patches for my Jack's Chain, squares and rectangles for Easy Peasy, 4-patches just because I like 4-patches, and triangles for my future Ocean Waves and Tree of Paradise.

And then of course, there are the pieces I cut for quilts I'm not actually starting at all, like Flutterby.

I sure hope my great-great-great-grandchildren like finishing quilts, because I think I have enough starts to keep several generations entertained for years...

Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday and with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come see all the pretties!