Unlike some people I know, I've never had much blue fabric in my stash. I've probably mentioned it here before, but early in my quiltmaking days, blues were notable for quick fading. And not in a nice, aged, timeworn way. More like everything turning a grim gray. I got into the habit of avoiding it. A few weeks ago, on a day trip in Amish Country, my favorite shop in Holmes County, Miller's Drygoods, was unwrapping new bolts for display. All the repro designers seem to have blue lines out this spring! It all looked so enticing that I added some cuts to my paltry blue stash.
I have lots of large, in-progress quilt projects (of which I'm often reminded in comments) that I've decided to try to finish up this year. But knowing how quickly I often flame out due to boredom (or a decision point), I decided in January to make one small quilt a month, something that would satisfy my urge to work on something fresh but wouldn't chew up too much time. An antique blue & white doll quilt recently caught my eye on Pinterest, so it seemed like a good March project inspiration. Plus, I could fool around with another of my new BlocLoc rulers.
I pulled a variety of blue values and prints and started assembling little 3" blocks. As with the Flying Geese ruler I used in my Valentine piece, the BlocLocs result in extremely accurate units so this went together beautifully. That said, 1" units, aside from sawtooth edging, are too small for my liking. Not only is the piecing fiddly, but the pieces are too small to show much of the print. And I'm all about prints and patterns.
I've always wanted to blue & white quilt, but honestly, this is leaving me a bit "meh". Maybe too many of my shirting choices leaned creamy instead of bright white? In any case, it was a fun exercise ~ got the blue and white out of my system ~ but the quilting will have to wait a bit as I have something else on my hand-stitching plate.
I didn't mean to step away for so long (and thank you for the emails, inquiries and even a phone call ~ it's nice to be missed!). After my last post, I knew I had to tackle a job I'd been kicking down the road, prepping and basting Molly's quilt for hand-quilting.
First, with all of those little squares (what was I thinking?) and repeated displaying and refolding during the wedding week, there were quite a few little threads that needed to be trimmed up on the back before layering. I blithely figured, oh, an hour's work?
Not exactly! A broken back, paralyzed snipping hand and an afternoon later....
...on to the basting! In previous homes, I've enjoyed a nice expanse of berber carpeting on which to pin and baste my large quilts, but here at our new place we have all hardwood floors. So on to plan #2, our spare room and a large (but not quite optimally large) table. Furniture pushed to the walls, I used the clip method to keep the layers taut and after several days of basting and repositioning and more basting (and lots of Pinterest and snack breaks), I finally had it all prepped. Just in time for Molly's visit. Coincidence, huh? *wink*
Do the bloggers among you have a hard time writing that first post after a bit of time away? If I'm posting every few days, I cruise right along, but if I'm away for a couple of weeks, it's always difficult to jump back in. Too many things to write about, or too long past. The last month has flown by, yet it's dragged in some ways, too. Too many gray, snowy, scuffing around in low-gear days.
But things are looking up! House decisions ~ curtains, rugs, paint ~ have been made (some implemented), old projects have been resurrected, new projects are being planned and trips have been penciled in on the calendar. If only the sun would come out.

