Quilting Milestones - Nearly Insane Quilt



Nearly Insane Quilt - Cornerstones

As you may know I have been trying to get all the bits of my Nearly Insane quilt done so that I can start getting it together.  In the past few weeks 'life' has been doing its best to get in the way, but I have persisted, even if it meant just doing a few stitches a day.  My little 2" cornerstones have pushed me the most.  There were 85 to complete, each with 9 pieces, a total of 765 pieces.  As I took the final stitch in the final cornerstone, I was almost deafened by the silence - where was the trumpet fanfare?



Nearly Insane Quilt - Cornerstones

I soon realised there wasn't going to be one to mark this milestone, so my husband opened up a bottle of fizz to help me celebrate.  Everything is now ready to lay out the quilt for the first time.

 

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 16

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 16

OK friends - this is the last block completed!
Actually it is not.  


Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 16

Here is a photo of the original Block 16 in Liz Lois 'Nearly Insane' book.  I looked at it for a long time.  I tried lots of fabric combinations but nothing was working for me.  In the end I decided I deserved to design my own block as a reward for completing the quilt, so the original was abandoned and I created the block which you can see above.  I didn't slouch - the original had 39 pieces, my design has 88 pieces. Yet again I am leaving an indisputable trail of evidence for when the Nearly Insane police arrive ...

I wanted to include some of the scraps which are lingering in my red and white scrap jars which I used for the zig zag border on the block.  To be fair these little pieces didn't make much of a dent into the scraps, so I am going to have to choose a lot of tiny red and white scrap quilts to do in the future.

So what next?
Once all the bits for the main quilt are done I will lay it all out and you will all get to see the full layout for the first time. Maybe in the next few days ...

NUMBER OF PIECES:  88
DIFFICULTY: 2/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 3/4"  (18mm) x  1/2"  (14mm) x  1/2"  (14mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle, 4"  (102mm) x  1/2"  (14mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Cherry Sketch Basic Collection by Timeless Treasures #C8224
Christmas Past  (#14547) by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
Pinking Shears Cream Apple Red, Mama Said Sew, Sweetwater, Moda
Tried and True Raindrops Garnet(04273) by Nanacy Halvorsen, BenartexCream
Spraytime (Scarlet) by Makower #2800-R06
Red fabric scraps
Calico

Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 29

Draw 28 - Nearly Insane Quilt Blocks 20, 32, 84

Progress is moving along steadily as I reach the point where all the quilt blocks are complete.  Here are blocks 20, 32 and 84 of the Nearly Insane quilt.

Here are the blocks for Draw 29

16

Yes, there is only 1 left to do!

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 84

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 84

With all the flowers in this block I thought I would do the photoshoot out in the garden. Here it is resting on some rhubarb leaves enjoying the lovely hot summer weather.  For the last few blocks I have been trying to get as many fabrics squeezed in as possible.  This block uses six different fabrics including an iridescent neutral.


Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 84

I am also making some progress on the other bits of the quilt. There are 20 cornerstones left to make, but only three days left of the Tour de France to make them if I am to keep up with my plan.  I am going to have to pull out the stamina which some of those cyclists use!

NUMBER OF PIECES:  33
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square , 7/16"  (11mm) x 7/16"  (11mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle, 5"  (123mm) x  5/8" (15mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Somerset Shirtings c 1890 by Julie Hendrickson and Nancy Gere, Windham Fabrics # 35205
White floral on red (unknown)
Chantilly by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda
Christmas Past  (#14547) by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
Chloe's Closet 30's Playtime - Red Flowers
Cream with iridescent stars

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 20

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 20

Another day, another stripy block.  As I have said before, I think stripes always add something to a quilt block.  I haven't used this stripe before, despite it lingering in the red and white fabric pile for over a year, so I thought I had better squeeze it in before it was too late.

I have been asked a few times whether I am tired of red and white.  Well, no.  Over the course of this project my red and white collection has grown a lot.  I have had my favourites and I have some that just never cut the mustard - for this project. I wonder what are the chances of Bonnie Hunter doing a red and white colour scheme for her Mystery Quilt will be this year?


NUMBER OF PIECES: 52
SMALLEST PIECE: Square, 1/2" (12.5mm) x 1/2" (12.5mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle, 2" (50mm) x 2" (50mm) x 2 13/16" (71mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Chantilly by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda
Days Gone By for Exclusively Quilters (Cherry Print)
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics
Counting Sheep - Cherry, Calista from Blank Quilting
Polka Party Petite (Buttercream), Lakehouse Dayz Collection by Holly Holderman, Lakehouse Drygoods (LH05037)
Kona Red
Red and White stripe

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 32

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 32

After over eighty red and white quilt blocks I feel I have finally got the hang of these Nearly Insane six inch squares.  The original design of this block had lots of half square triangle in the centre in which there was no specific design, so I have jigged them about a bit to make a nice red pinwheel in the middle.  I also fussy cut the zig zag border from the Mama Said Sew fabric collection - the one that was the original inspiration for the colour scheme.  So overall a  good balance of dark , medium and light fabrics.


Suzi the Cat inspects Block 32, Nearly Insane Quilt

Suzi has been my helper throughout the journey of the Nearly Insane quilt and has had the job of inspecting for quality control.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  40
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square 3/8" (9mm) x  3/8" (9mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle 1 3/4" (45mm) x , 7/8" (22mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Homeschool Mini Mono Floral Red, LB Krueger for Windham Fabrics SKU# 35182-3
"Prairie Paisley II" by Minick and Simpson for Moda (14739 21)
Chantilly by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda
Days Gone By for Exclusively Quilters (Geometric Print)
Pinking Shears Cream Apple Red, Mama Said Sew, Sweetwater, Moda
SSS-Silly Safari, Red by Cheri Strole for Moda
 

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 93



Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Blocks

As I mentioned in a previous post all the edge and corner blocks for my Nearly Insane Quilt are complete.  Here they are in all their glory waiting for the moment when they get sewn into the whole quilt.  Individually they don't look all that special, but with the whole Nearly Insane quilt 'on point' it will be these blocks which complete the overall effect.


Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 93

This is edge block 93 the last one to be completed.  As I have said before, they don't take long to do and this one was no different.  In the picture above they are laid out in 'pairs', so most have been done twice.

NUMBER OF PIECES: 12
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle 4 1/4" (108mm) x 3" (77mm) x 3" (77mm) 
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle 1 (25mm) x 3/4" (18m) x 3/4" (18mm) 
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS: 
Quilters Basics (Memory) Stof
Tried and True Raindrops Garnet(04273) by Nanacy Halvorsen, BenartexCream Bias Check Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda  #5495 11

Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 28

Nearly Insane Quilt Blocks

Suzi the cat is tired of waiting for me to finish these Nearly Insane quilt blocks.  I promise that there has been lots of sewing this end, it is just the blogging that is suffering.  Between us we have hatched some other projects that we want to do and she knows they will involve lots of sewing time in the sewing room - her favourite activity.

Tour de France 2014 - stitching as I go

A few weeks ago I updated you on the other 'elements' of the quilt - the sashing, cornerstones and zig zag border. I set myself a target of getting these done whilst I watch the 2014 Tour de France this year - I meant to tell you about it earlier.  Today it is Stage 13 of 21 and I have completed all the sashing, all the half cornerstones and am now wading through the remaining cornerstones.

To catch up with myself, I will bring you up to date with the blocks from Draw 27 which are finished, which deserves a little link up. The next blocks are

20 - 32 - 84

You may notice that there is not a half block on the list.  It is because they have all been done!

 

Feline Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday Crazy Mom Quilts

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 34

Block 34 - Nearly Insane Quilt

I have often mentioned how much sewing you can do when you have your bag of sewing with you.  My husband is very considerate of this and when I arrived home last week and he said he thought he may have strained his ankle and needed to go to Accident and Emergency, my bag was ready and waiting.  Six hours later and a broken ankle, I manage to complete Block 34. 

It looks like there will be several trips to the hospital ahead of us, so today I have prepped some blocks. Not much blogging at the moment, but the sewing continues and the completion of the Nearly Insane Quilt blocks is fast approaching.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  37
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Rectangle, 3/16  5mm) x 11/16 (17mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle, 3"  (77mm) x  2 1/8"  (54mm) x  2 1/8"  (54mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics
Cherry Sketch Basic Collection by Timeless Treasures #C8224
Christmas Past  (#14547) by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
Prairie Paisley by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
Chantilly by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda
Days Gone By for Exclusively Quilters (Cherry Print)

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 35

Block 35, Nearly Insane Quilt

Block 35 has been enjoying the summer sunshine in the garden.  In these last few blocks I have enjoyed using some of the new fabrics I have sourced lately, as well as the old favourites.


Block 35, Nearly Insane Quilt

In my recent post I mentioned how close I am to completing the blocks for the Nearly Insane quilt, but that I am a bit behind with the sashing and cornerstones.  With a major sporting weekend starting here in the UK (Tour de France - Le Grand Depart, British F1 - Silverstone, Wimbledon Tennis Final), naturally the rain has now set in, so it looks like a good weekend to make the most of the television coverage and move these other components of the sampler quilt forward. 

Joining up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Whoop Whoop Friday!(PS: No cats in this post, but pop along to Feline Friday anyway!)


NUMBER OF PIECES:  69
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 1"  (126mm) x 3/4" (18mm) x 3/4" (18mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle, 2 1/16"  (54mm) x 1 1/2" (38mm) x 1 1/2" (38mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Counting Sheep - Cherry, Calista from Blank Quilting
Tried and True Raindrops Garnet(04273) by Nanacy Halvorsen, Benartex
Wishes Red on Vanilla Doilies SKU# 5531-14  by Sweetwater, Moda
Christmas Past  (14547) by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
Scattered Red Stars on White (Unidentified)
Cherry Sally's Skirt by Sweetwater for Moda #5473
Red with White Dots, Makower
Calico

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 76, visits Giverny, France

Monet's Garden, Giverny, France
Nearly Insane Quilt, Block 76

On the journey back through France to the UK we stopped off at the village of Giverny, the former home of the impressionist artist, Claude Monet.  Behind the block you can see the water lilies, the inspiration for many of his most famous paintings. All I can say is that it was extremely busy.  The poor block had been folded up in my pocket for quite a while and is looking a little the worse for wear in the photo. It was a great relief to get it home and give it a good press.

Nearly Insane Quilt, Block 76

Most of the strips are are just 1/4 inch wide. To make my life easier I should have foundation pieced the quilt block, but EPP is a hard habit to break, especially if you are travelling whilst you sew.

This is the last of the blocks which I completed whilst on holiday. Thinking about it, these photos were taken four week ago.  I am catching up on the posts slowly!

NUMBER OF PIECES:  37
DIFFICULTY: 4/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Strip, 1/4"  (6mm) x 1" (25mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Strip, 1/4"  (6mm) x  6" (152mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Cherry Sketch Basic Collection by Timeless Treasures #C8224
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics
Wishes Red on Vanilla Doilies SKU# 5531-14  by Sweetwater, Moda
Tangled Threads in Apple Red on Cream, Mama Said Sew, by Sweetwater for ModaSSS-Silly Safari, Red by Cheri Strole for Moda
Prairie Paisley by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda

Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 27

Nearly Insane Quilt Blocks 5, 52, 82 - Draw 26

Here are the Nearly Insane blocks from Draw 26 which I completed whilst I was on holiday.  Gauging how much you will get achieved whilst you are away is always difficult.  I would hate to be in a situation where I had run out of sewing!  The build up to the holiday is always combined with preparing the Nearly Insane blocks and the other bits and pieces that go with the quilt, and if I am honest this is more of a priority for me than what actually goes in my suitcase.  I usually cut plenty of cornerstone pieces as I know they can occupy me for hours, but take up very little room.  I usually choose to tack the sashing pieces when we are travelling on the more bumpy and windy roads ...


Zig Zag Border, Sashing and Cornerstones

Along with the blocks are the sashings, the cornerstones, the half cornerstones which go around the edge, as well as the zig zag border.  I have phases where I have a bit of a push of these, knowing I will need them to get the actual quilt together, but I have not kept up with them as well as the blocks.  I hope you don't mind if I use this post to get a grip on this ...
At the moment I have done

162 / 196 (82%)  - Sashings

57 / 87 (65%)  - Cornerstones

18 / 28 Half (64%) - Half Cornerstones

21/80 (26%) - Zig Zag Chevron

So still a bit of a way to go on this, but enough bits to get over half the quilt together.  However there are still blocks to do too.  Here are the next ones in draw

 

34 - 35 - 76 - 93

After these are done there are just 4 blocks left to do of the 85 total.

Linking up with Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 52



Block 52 - Nearly Insane Quilt

Block 52 of the Nearly Insane quilt was one of the lucky ones to travel with us on our tour in Europe.  Sadly, it never got to have its picture taken by a landmark as when I put it together I realised that I was one tiny square of fabric missing.   It had to wait until we got back home to be completed.


Block 52 - Nearly Insane Quilt

If any of you have done the Nearly Insane quilt, I don't expect you will recognise this block.  At its heart it is based on the original block used by Salinda Rupp in the 1870s, but nearly 150 years on it has evolved into this, at my hands.  I won't even go into the details of how I changed it - it is completely transformed thanks to my Electric Quilt Software. If the Nearly Insane Quilt Police arrive - I'm busted!

Reverse Block 52 - Nearly Insane Quilt

It seems a while since I have done a picture of the back of a block, so here is one for your inspection.  The papers are still in.  The papers are still in because I know in the next few months I will be putting this beauty together, on point, and I have a *few* concerns about bias.  The papers will keep it rigid enough until that is sorted. 

It feels like I have been on this journey a long time, but I am still surprised when people write to me only just realising that it is all hand pieced using the English paper piecing method (EPP).  Sometimes it feels like the only way I know.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  85
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square, 1/2"  (18mm) x 1/2" (18mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square, 1 3/8"  (36m) x  1 3/8"  (36m)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics
Cherry Sketch Basic Collection by Timeless Treasures #C8224
Homeschool Mini Mono Floral Red, LB Krueger for Windham Fabrics SKU# 35182-3
Tried and True Raindrops Garnet(04273) by Nanacy Halvorsen, Benartex
Cream Heart Paisley # 14766-15, Midwinter Reds by Minick and Simpson, Moda
Christmas Past  (#14547) by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
"Prairie Paisley II" by Minick and Simpson for Moda (14739 21)
Cream with iridescent stars

Joining up with Crazy Mom Quilts

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 5 visits Mürren and Piz Gloria, Switzerland

Nearly Insane Quilt, Block 5 visits Mürren, Switzerland

This photo of Block 5 of the Nearly Insane Quilt is taken in the alpine village of Mürren, Switzerland.  The only way to reach the village is to take the mountain narrow gauge railway up from the village of Lauterbrunnen.  This means that there are no cars in the village, which makes it a great place to have a drink, admire the view (and take photos of quilt blocks ...) in peace and quiet.

View of the cable car from Piz Gloria, Shilthorn, Switzerland

The block had actually just been on a visit in the cable car up to Piz Gloria on the Schilthorn (2970m).  Piz Gloria is the location chosen in one of the 007 James Bond movies, ‘On Her Majesties Secret Service’ (1969). It is amazing that anyone would think to build something in such a remote area, where there is nothing about besides mountains. Today you can enjoy a meal in its revolving restaurant, and even in May there was some fresh snow if you have the courage to ski down.  I meant to take the picture of the block up at the peak, but forgot as I was preoccupied by keeping warm, and not slipping over on the ice .

Nearly Insane Quilt , Block 5

Back to the block. I have used lots of dotty fabrics in this Nearly Insane block which seems appropriate with the all the snow we were surrounded by in Switzerland.  Again, quite a simple one with just 37 pieces.

I have updated the image on the sidebar, so you can see that there are very few blocks left to do.

Suzi  the cat reducing my WPM!

It seems to be taking me longer to write these blog posts than I had hoped.  Even now I have finally had the chance to sit down and update you on another Nearly Insane block, Suzi the cat is doing all she can to stop me!

Joining up with Feline Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and as usual Crazy Mom Quilts!

NUMBER OF PIECES:  37
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 3/4"  (19mm) x 1/2" (18mm) x 1/2" (18mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square, 1 1/2"  (38mm) x  1 1/2" (38mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Polka Party Petite (Buttercream), Lakehouse Dayz Collection by Holly Holderman, Lakehouse Drygoods (LH05037)
Counting Sheep - Cherry, Calista from Blank Quilting
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics
Days Gone By Exclusively Quilters
Red with White Dots, Makower
Calico