Design Wall Monday::Almost Sewing Again

On Saturday I finally got to spend a few hours in my sewing room.  Unfortunately, it was such a mess that I needed to spend quite a while just straightening up.  Under a pile of fabrics I had more or less just dumped on top of some project boxes, I came across these 20 blocks all finished and patiently waiting. I knew that I had bought some yardage for the lattice strips.  It took a few minutes to locate that.  Then I remembered that I had set aside something else for setting triangles.  That took a little more digging. I also found the few extra pink strips that I had designated for the cornerstones.

I printed out the plan for the quilt from EQ and started to calculate what I was going to need to cut.  I was scribbling my calculations on the back of an old envelope when I decided that it would probably be better to just put them in my quilt notebook so I wouldn't have to worry about losing the envelope.  It took a few more minutes to find the notebook.

And when I opened the notebook I found that I had ALREADY done the darn calculations.  Do you use a notebook?  This one is a graph paper composition book which I've been trying to keep for the past few years.  If I find a quilt design I like, I can sketch it out.  I also try to write out the plans for each quilt I'm working on so they'll be all together in a safe place.




Armed with all the measurements I needed, I started cutting.  I'm happy to say that all the lattices and cornerstones are cut.  I wasn't able to get to the setting triangles before I ran out of time, but at least I know what size they're going to be. 

And so....

I was finally able to get this thing laid out on the design wall. 

The pattern is Sister's Choice from Bonnie Hunter at quiltville.com.  As with all Bonnie's patterns, it has a nice efficient way of sewing the parts together.  And it's a great way to use a jelly roll, as all the strips are cut at 2 1/2 inches.  I needed a bit of extra yardage for the some of the background fabrics, but I was able to get 20 blocks made from a single jelly roll. 

Now all I have to do is find some time to get it put together.  No promises there...

You can check out what other bloggers have on their design wall today by clicking through to Judy L.'s Patchwork Times.  I think you'll find that others have been way more productive than I have lately, but hey, any progress is good, right?

Not Sewing

It's been a really busy couple of weeks, and I'm regretting that I haven't had much time to stop and enjoy the turning of the season.  April and May are the best time of the year in this area.  After the grays and drab browns of the winter months, it's wonderful to see the trees leaf out, the lawns green up and the early spring flowers begin to bloom.

I'd like to thank everyone who commented on the last post about my changing work situation.  It took me a while to wrap my mind around such a big jump (going from teaching primary-aged students to middle school, if you haven't been keeping up), but I'm okay with it.  More than okay, even.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do much sewing these past few weeks.  There's lots I'd like to be doing, but by the end of the day I'm usually so beat that all I can manage is a couple of rows on a pair of socks it seems like I've been working on for months.  These are being knit with Plymouth Rockin' Sox yarn, a blend of superwash, bamboo, and nylon--which makes for a nice, lofty knit.  And I love, love, love this color which reminds me of raspberries.  The pattern is Wickerware.  I think this is the third pair I've knitted with it. 

I've got a mini-retreat coming up in a couple of weeks, so I need to start looking for something that I can work on.  Should I start a new project, or buckle down and get something finished?