Nearly Insane Quilt - Easter 2014 Update

Nearly Insane Quilt Progress - April 2014

Happy Easter! High days and holidays are always a good excuse to lay out all my Nearly Insane quilt blocks and have a review of what stage I am at.  So far this is 14 months worth of hand stitching, and at the current progress I expect all the blocks to be completed by the beginning of August 2014.


Red and White Nearly Insane Quilt - April 2014

Without a design wall, taking the progress photo is becoming increasingly difficult, but you can get the idea from this photograph that there are just about 13 full blocks to go.  I don't think I have done any sashing this time around, but I have made background progress on the border, and the canoe block cornerstones, just nothing completed to count this time.  In fact looking at this photo, a bit of effort on my part for some extra sashing would have made this stage look even MORE complete.


Nearly Insane Quilt blocks - April 2014

Just a reminder if you are visiting for the first time, the work so far has been entirely hand stitched using the English paper piecing technique.  This stack of blocks are just screaming out to be put together, and I hope that in the next few weeks everything is in place for me to start doing just that.  

Nearly Insane Quilt - Electric Quilt Software

The Electric Quilt layout has been updated on the side bar, and the remaining blocks look very few and far between.  As I said in a post a few days ago, the Electric Quilt software is a perfect partner for this project, especially if you feel as if you have it sitting there and haven't used it as much as you imagined you would once you first bought it, as was my case.  It is a real opportunity to navigate your way around the package.


Nearly Insane Quilt - Red and White

Here are the statistics for the quilt so far ....

Blocks = 72

Edge blocks = 23

Cornerstones =49

Half Cornerstone = 15

Sashes = 135

Border Units = 13

And here are the sums for how many pieces I have done so far. 

Blocks and Edge Blocks = 4101

Cornerstones = 441

Half Cornerstones = 90

Sashes = 135

Border Units = 52

TOTAL = 4819

Joining up at Sarah Did It! for all you English paper piecers at Help for Hexie-aholics , Whoop Whoop Friday (keep 'em coming!), and Crazy Mom Quilts.

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 95

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 95

I think Salinda Rupp (the original Nearly Insaner!) was reaching the limit of her scraps when she got to the edge blocks 95.  There are usually two identical half blocks for the edge, but for these two they are different - no doubt she was at the end of her scrap bin!  I have tidied one of them up to suit my taste, and liked it enough to do it twice.

The little squares are only 1/2" square, and I quite enjoy working with them at that size, but any smaller is a bit tedious.  With this block done, I am ready to move onto the next Draw.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  13
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square, 1/2" (12.5mm) x 1/2" (12.5mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Trianlge 3 1/4" (80 mm) x 2.5" (63mm) x 2.5" (63mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Christmas Past  (#14547) by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
Red and white stripe - unidentified
Spraytime (Scarlet) by Makower #2800-R06


Triangle Quilt Along (TQA) - The Sassy Quilter

Equilateral Triangle - Triangle Quilt Along, Sassy Quilter

With a few days off near Easter I have been in the mood for a different project to my ongoing Nearly Insane quilt. Different colours. Different scale. Different technique. And quick.  Then I saw that the Sassy Quilter has been running a Triangle Quilt Along since mid-February.  I was a bit late to the party, but a determined effort over the past few days has helped me to catch up and join in the Joining Rows - Link Party.

Triangle Quilt Along - Fabric Selection

I spent a bit too much time dithering over the colour scheme.  I felt it needed to all come from my existing fabric stash and I pulled out a lot of fabric to work out what I wanted.  In general, I am not a big fan of grey (too much like school uniform ..), but since I have been blogging I have been surprised how much I like the use of grey in quilts, and I have been quietly picking up various fat quarters.  I also avoid solids (unless it is red ...), as I find for me, that they don't tend to work well in scrappy quilts, and why buy solids when you can have pretty patterns? However, for this project I noticed from the others 'quilting along' that contrasting solids gave the triangles a sharp definition, and really added something to the overall quilt.  I was looking for different - hence the above colour scheme.


EZ Quilting 60 degree  Equilateral Triangle designed by Darlene Zimmerman

I will admit that I spent a bit of money on a ruler.  I have been looking out for a 60 degree Equilateral triangle for a while, and this was the excuse to buy one. 


60 degree triangles cut ready for stitching into a quilt


The triangle ruler made easy work of cutting out the triangles.  The original design suggested by the Sassy Quilter was 12 rows of 17 triangles (204 total), but I have increased mine to 13 rows with 18 triangles (234 total). I managed to get about 12 - 15 triangles from a fat quarter, and used about 17 different fabrics.


Equilateral Triangle Quilt - Triangle Quilt Along at the Sassy Quilter

I have also in-filled the edges with the scraps from my cutting out, so the final size of my quilt top before quilting is 58" x 69".  There was no particular design, just controlled randomness.  Suzi the cat did her best to mix up the layout as best as possible.


Suzi the cat helps with the Triangle Quilt Along

Paula at the Sassy Quilter gave great instructions and photos for each step of the way, with details on how to get your triangle tips perfect.  This didn't always go according to plan on my quilt, but pinning really helped.

Triangle Quilt v. Nearly Insane Quilt

No plans to quilt this just yet, unless I have a wave of inspiration, but it has been fun working with pieces which are nearly the same size as just one of my Nearly Insane blocks.
Joining up with Design Wall Monday

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 51

Block 51 - Nearly Insane Quilt

This is Block 51.  Does anyone know its proper name?  I think I saw it called something related to anvils or hammers, but seem to have lost the reference.


Block 51 - Nearly Insane Quilt construction

For those of you who are doing (or thinking of doing the Nearly Insane quilt), you need to be a bit careful when putting this one together.  There is in an inner border, and the pieces on the corner are not symmetrical, with one having a 1/8" edge which needs to be accommodated.  I wondered why the bits weren't fitting ....

Red and white patchwork fabrics - Nearly Insane Quilt

It has seven different fabrics in it.  It has some 'neutral' calico, which flows through most of the blocks, some medium tones and some solid reds.  It pretty much has it all, and each fabric plays its role to make this block look balanced.

Electric Quilt 5 Software

More and more, I am spending a lot more time on choosing the fabrics for my blocks, and playing around with ideas in Electric Quilt.  Not all of my earlier blocks are pleasing me and I am determined to get the remaining ones spot on first time.  I must say that my Electric Quilt software has been a perfect partner for this project.  With each new block I have needed to return to the software to audition fabric combinations, and through this repetition, I have really become comfortable with it.  My previous experience of using it had been designing a quilt over a few hours, printing out the details, and then not returning to the software until I had finished hand piecing the quilt, months (or even years!) later.  It was because of this irregular use that I never chose to upgrade to Electric Quilt 7.

Also, I have just spent a bit of time tidying up my Inbox, and I was taken back by all the kind and supportive comments that many of you have made about my Nearly Insane quilt blocks since I started my journey over a year ago.  From this end the creative juices don't always flow when I am writing about 'another' red and white, English paper pieced, hand sewn quilt block.  Thanks for sticking with me - we are heading for the home straight!

Joining up with Slow Stitching Sunday and EPP Link Party.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  41
DIFFICULTY: 3/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Rectangle 1" (25mm) x 7/16" (12mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square 1 3/8" (35mm) x 1 3/8" (35mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Bear Essentials by P & B Textiles
Christmas Past  (#14547) by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
Hearts on Red (567-R5) Makower
Little Spots Red, Pierres Famous Travelling Circus, Michael Miller
Red pindot on cream (unidentified)
Calico

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 27 LeMoyne Star

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 27

If I am honest, the star blocks in the Nearly Insane quilt have not been my favourite.  Block 27, a Le Moyne Star, has just 16 pieces, but I still managed to mess up cutting out the asymmetric star points, not once, but twice!  I am hoping to learn by my mistakes ...   Putting it together was fine, and in keeping with the new regime, it has been labelled and logged.


Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 27

You may be able to see that I have also used the pearlescent spot Holly Holderman fabric as the neutral to add a bit of interest.  It had temporarily moved out of my Nearly Insane fabric stash to join my Celtic Solstice stash, and it took the recent sort out to bring it back to the fold.

As you know, I always keep statistics for each of my blocks, stating the largest and smallest piece.  Whilst there are different shapes in this block, they all have exactly the same area, so are all the same size.

I am enjoying a bit of an Easter break, so we all get to benefit from more sewing and more blogging from Fabadashery.  I am keen to do a non-Nearly insane project - I will keep you posted.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  16
DIFFICULTY: 5/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square 1 1/2" (38mm) x 1 1/2" (38mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square 1 1/2" (38mm) x 1 1/2" (38mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Chloe's Closet 30's Playtime - Red Flowers
Polka Party III by Holly Holderman, Lakehouse Drygoods (#03035)
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics 

Spring Quilt Festival 2014 - Exeter Westpoint

'Brick Lane' Medallion Quilt by Village Fabrics

At the weekend I made a trip to Exeter to visit the Spring Quilt Festival at the Westpoint Showground.  It's a small show, but when you need a quick quilt fix it is the ideal tonic.

'Delft Floor Tiles' by Alice Webb

This blue quilt was a small hanging by Alice Webb.  It caught my eye as it reminded me of my on-point Nearly Insane quilt, and little projects that could emanate from it in the future.  I often have a small 3" block in my hand as I construct the full block and think how cute it is.


'Enchanted Garden' Quilt by Rhianon Taylor

Every time I go to a quilt show, I am usually at a certain stage in my quilting thoughts, and different things appeal to me amongst the exhibits. This time around it was quilting.  In terms of quilting on quilts, there was a lovely display of quilts by Rhianon Taylor, also blogging as the Nifty Stitcher. 


Detail - 'Enchanted Garden' Quilt by Rhianon Taylor

Just look at this amazing machine quilting. A full display of her work can bee seen on her blog, and no doubt it will be touring in future Grosvenor Exhibitions coming up throughout the year if you want to see it in the flesh.

'Baby Jane' Quilt by Sheila Lloyd

After my trip to Nantes last year to see the 150th Anniversary display of Dear Jane quilts, it was lovely to see another.  Sheila has pretty much stuck to the style and fabrics of the original Dear Jane quilt by Jane Stickle - it looked lovely.

Naturally I made a few purchases at the stalls.  I added a few fat quarters to my stash of neutrals from a charity stall, and bought the 'Little Black Dress 2' layer cake by BasicGrey.  The Japanese fabric was from a rummage bin - it has a striped design which I though had lot of potential ...

Cat Coaster - Giddy Sprite Designs

Also, whilst I was out and about at the weekend I also picked up this little cat coaster by Giddy Sprite.  Suzi the cat seems to have this expression on her face permanently at the moment - the birds outside are driving her to distraction!

 

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 2

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 2

Presenting Block 2.  In the latest blocks, my Michael Miller Rail Stripe has featured quite heavily.  This is where the regular Draws do their duty in mixing up the fabrics.


Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 2

The number of pieces has increased from 21 to 36. The original pattern has 1" square blocks in the corners.  I have turned the into HST's (Half Square Triangles), and the same in the middle.  I am at the point with this project where if a block looks too dull, I just HAVE to spice it up a bit, to create visual interest.  I am keen to make as many blocks scrappy, so this block has 15 different fabrics featured in it.


Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 62 (Redone)

I have also made some alterations to another block. Whilst I thought I had included dark, medium and light fabrics in the original Block 62, from a distance you couldn't read the light, so the centre square has been changed to a light neutral.  It looks a bit too light in this photo, but once the neutral sashing is lined up beside it, I hope it will calm it down.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced and with Freemotion by the River today.  Earlier in the week Lee at Freshly Pieced was part of Jennifer Sampou's Shimmer  Blog Hop with a chance to win a Charm Pack of some gorgeous fabrics.  I'm in - I'm just spreading the love!


NUMBER OF PIECES:  36
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 1" (25mm) x 11/16" (17mm) x 11/16" (17mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle 1" (25mm) x 4" (102mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Rail Stripe Red, Michael Miller Fabrics
Scraps
Calico

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 86

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 86

Just a quickie to tell you about one of the Nearly Insane edge blocks, Block 86.  I think the flowery 30's reproduction fabric from the Chloe's Closet range really makes it look cute.


Canoe block cornerstones - Nearly Insane Quilt

I have also had a bit of sewing time to catch up with some of the cornerstones and edge cornerstones, and have managed to get these few done lately.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  14
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square, 1" (25mm) x 1 11/16" (17mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle 1 1/4" (31mm) x 3 1/2" (89mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Rail Stripe Red, Michael Miller Fabrics
Chloe's Closet 30's Playtime - Red Flowers
Solid Red, Kona
Calico

Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 23

Nearly Insane Quilt Blocks - 23, 25, 46

Here are the latest blocks from Draw 22 of my Nearly Insane Quilt.  They always look so pretty lined up in a row.  I also love how they all look so different.  Why do they look so different?  Because of my growing red and white fabric stash!



Red and white fabric stash

Since I started my Nearly Insane Quilt blocks back in February 2013, I will admit that my red and white fabric stash has grown.  Even now as I approach the final stages, my eyes are always on the look out for suitable fabrics.  It certainly justifies future red and white quilt projects, and over at SewCalGal she is continuing her celebration of Red and White Quilt Challenges.  The aim is to get this quilt top together for Part 3 - The Make It! Challenge.  Wish me luck!

The next blocks that have been drawn are

2 - 27 - 51 - 95

 

Joining up with Crazy Mom Quilts

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 89

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 89

Over recent weeks I have managed to complete quite a few Nearly Insane blocks, and edge blocks, so over the next few days I hope to give them each their own '15 Minutes of Fame', whilst I catch up with my blogging. These edge blocks are usually quite quick to complete - (this one has just 13 pieces), so they often get overlooked when I blog.  This one shows more evidence of fussy cutting on that Michael Miller Rail Stripe fabric.  Yes, I seem to listening to myself ...


Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Blocks 89

Here is the block shown with its twin Edge Block 89.  When you see the blocks together it is a reminder of how patchwork allows the creation of infinite combinations of fabrics for different results. Today I am spending some time in my workroom preparing some of my Nearly Insane blocks, cutting out the fabrics pieces ready for stitching - a good excuse for playing with my red and white fabric stash and enjoy choosing those combinations. The clocks have gone forward today - for once I have excuse for where the time has gone!
 
NUMBER OF PIECES:  13
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square, 1" (25mm) x 1 11/16" (17mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle 1" (25mm) x 1 11/16" (17mm) x 1 11/16" (17mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Rail Stripe Red, Michael Miller Fabrics
Hearted Vine Red, Midwinter Reds, Minick & Simpson, Moda  14763-11
Mini red flower sprig - unidentified
Calico