Quilting Update

Have you ever noticed that the closer you get to finishing something, the less you work on it? Maybe it's just me. I don't know. I do know that when I get close to finishing something, it sits and sits in my sewing room and stares balefully at me from across the way, wondering why I'm ignoring it. And you know what? I don't really know the answer to that. I think it has something to do with the fact that I enjoy the process of the work, more than the finished product. And if I finish something I love, then that means I can't enjoy the process on that particular project anymore. I know, crazy-talk.

Well, anyway, my green star quilt has been sitting with this much quilting to be done on it for over a month now. Yes, I know Christmas was fit in that month, but still, this is what, 10 minutes of work? Yeah, it should be done now - I could probably finish this bit faster than I can write this blog entry. But am I finishing it? Nope. And the really crazy part - the quilt still needs the borders quilted! So it won't even technically be finished when I finish this bit! Yeah, I know you can all say it - crazy. Oh well, I'm enjoying the ride :)

I have been spending quite a bit of time surfing the web for new free BOM patterns that are being posted now. I've found 3 that I'm gah-gah over. Beyond the Cherry Trees by Sentimental Stitches, Christmas Row by Row by Fat Cat Patterns (she does awesome BOM's!) and Simple Thymes by Angie's Bits 'n Pieces. I even started to pull fabrics for the Simple Thymes piece - but I need to go shopping for background fabrics - I don't have anything suitable on my shelves. Hmm, I should probably hunt through my unwashed fabrics first - I've got about 3 big tubs of that....

I have been spending a fair amount of time on a quilt I started about 2 years ago on my trip to Phoenix. This is the first wreath block, without the circles attached.

It's from the pattern Winter Dance by Piece 'O Cake Designs. I love their patterns, and own most of them. I was feeling like I needed to start a green and red quilt after Christmas settled down and realized I had one already started! So, I dug it out of the WIP pile and worked on it some more. Not much done yet - I'm only on the second wreath block now, but I never claimed to be a fast sewer ;)

Yes, the Circle Quilt is seeing some work time. This is a shot I took of Felix overseeing my work on tracing the sewing line on the circles. See, I decided that instead of using the Perfect Circle technique that Karen Kay Buckley made famous, I'd just needle-turn them like all the other applique I do. Of course, I haven't gotten any of these circles sewn on yet, but they're ready when I get to that point!

By the way, Felix thinks I'm doing a bang-up job - hehe.