Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 75

Block 75 - Nearly Insane Quilt

I think this is the last of the blocks with a gazillion pieces - well, 153 this time.  As I have said before, these complex mega-piece 6" blocks have been my favourite throughout the Nearly Insane Quilt journey - I am almost sad to think that this is the last one.  When I am doing these complex blocks the pattern builds up as you add each stage. It makes me want to embark on a medallion quilt - maybe that could be the next project?

Block 75 Centre - Nearly Insane Quilt

This is the centre of the block.  The cornerstones are just 1/4" square - tiny!  As the border is also only 1/4" wide, I fussy cut a Pinking Shear stripe from my Mama Said Sew collection to add a bit of interest.  Fussy cutting is becoming a more familiar feature in my patchwork these days.

Block 75 Original pattern

This is a photo of the original pattern in Liz Lois Nearly Insane Quilt pattern book.  You may have noticed that I have made a few changes to the original block.  I have altered the direction of the half square triangles ... and the shape of the triangles ... and the squares in the middle ... and have added some some cornerstones. I'm really pleased with the result.

Block 75 visits Caerhays Castle, Cornwall

With so many pieces, it has taken a while to complete the block, so Block 75 is one of the more well-travelled blocks.  Here you can see it visiting Caerhays Castle in Cornwall, as I managed to complete a few more miles on the Cornish coastal path with my sister over the Bank Holiday weekend.

It's Friday today, so time to link up with Crazy Mom Quilts for a Friday Finish, and a Whoop Whoop!


NUMBER OF PIECES:  153
DIFFICULTY: 2/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square 1/4" (6mm) x 1/4" (6mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle 1 5/8" (42m) x 1" (26mm) x 1" (26mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Polka Party III by Holly Holderman, Lakehouse Drygoods (#03035)
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics 
Spraytime (Scarlet) by Makower #2800-R06
Cherry Sketch Basic Collection by Timeless Treasures #C8224
Red pindot on cream (unidentified)
Pinking Shears Cream Apple Red, Mama Said Sew, Sweetwater, Moda
Redwork Rendevous by Alex Anderson for P and B Textiles
Tried and True Raindrops Garnet(04273) by Nanacy Halvorsen, Benartex

Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 25

Nearly Insane Quilt Blocks, 26, 44, 15 - Draw 24

What a set of fine specimens! The sunny spring days have allowed for a photoshoot outside in the vegetable plot.  With a further three blocks done there are only a few  more blocks to be done.  I am still keeping to my lucky draw system and the next blocks have been drawn 

54 - 70 - 75 - 91

 

Keeping rotary cutter blades safe

I am off to prepare the pieces of fabric for the next blocks.  As a treat I have put a new blade into my rotary cutter.  It is difficult to know what to do with the 'blunt' blade, so my solution is to mark it with a permanent marker and put it back in the box, so that when the time comes they can all be disposed of safely together.



Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 44

Block 44 - Nearly Insane Quilt

In her book, Liz Lois admits that she had trouble with this one.  It has four small LeMoyne Star blocks in it, and I knew I had also had trouble with these shapes before.  However I think experience has paid off as for me, it came together first time, and wasn't too much trouble.  Here you can see the completed block resting on some rhubarb leaves!


Block 44 construction - Nearly Insane Quilt

Whilst I often remind you all that these blocks are just 6" square, it is always hard to get the perspective of the tiny pieces I am working on with my pictures via the internet.  Here are the bits and pieces from my travelling sewing bag, which may give you an indication of size.

Nearly Insane Quilt - Cat Assistance

I had the assistance of Suzi the cat when cutting out the pieces.  When she does get involved she is keen to get close to the action - usually the rotary cutting blade!

Nearly Insane Quilt - Cat Assistance

Check out this action shot - such is the fast paced world of patchwork and quilting!

NUMBER OF PIECES:  84
DIFFICULTY: 2/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle  11/16" (18mm) x 1/2" (13mm) x 1/2" (13mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle  2 1/2" (63mm) x 3/8" (10mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Cream Heart Paisley # 14766-15, Midwinter Reds by Minick and Simpson, Moda
"Friendship" (Tonal Red) by Howard Marcus for MODA (Collections For a Cause) # 46130
Red Sprig on Cream (Unidentified)
Pearlescent dot (Unidentified)
Red pindot (Unidentified)
 

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 26

Block 26 - Nearly Insane Quilt

Another quick block.  I have changed the design slightly, adding the red corner triangles, and merging the centre four squares into one to make the most of some fussy cutting, so just in case the Nearly Insane Quilt Police are out there, it still ends up with more pieces than the original.

Block 26 - Nearly Insane Quilt

As a reminder, I have purchased Liz Lois 'Nearly Insane' book for the design of this quilt, transferred the block designs into Electric Quilt Software, where I have made a few changes as I see fit.

Block 26 - Nearly Insane Quilt

Strangely, this block had the same construction format as Block 51 which I have recently done, but this time I was able to take a photo during the construction process to remind me of what to look out for.  It has that same shaped piece on the sides which requires the block to be pieced in a certain order.

"Wishes" by Sweetwater, "Counting Sheep" Blank Quilting

I have been out and about travelling in the car this weekend which has meant a lot of hand stitching has been done.  We travelled through Dorset, and this always calls for a visit to Hansons Fabrics in Sturminster Newton.  I love the selection of fabrics that they hold there, plus the fact that they have a lot of dressmaking fabric, wool and other craft bits and pieces.  I bought a few fat quarters to supplement my stash and also two more red and white fabrics - yes, I know I only have a few blocks left but it is a hard habit to break! The roundels are from "Wishes" by Sweetwater and I hope to use this for some fussy cutting.  The little swirls "Counting Sheep - Cherry" Calista from Blank Quilting. 

NUMBER OF PIECES:  33
DIFFICULTY: 2/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle  3/4" (18mm) x 1/2" (13mm) x 1/2" (13mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square  1 1/16" (27mm) x 1 1/16" (27mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Christmas Past  (#14547) by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
Cream Heart Paisley # 14766-15, Midwinter Reds by Minick and Simpson, Moda 
Red Heart Paisley # 14766 , Midwinter Reds by Minick andSimpson, Moda
Red and White # 14766 , Midwinter Reds by Minick  and Simpson, Moda
Redwork Rendezvous by Alex Anderson for P and B Textiles
Pearlescent dot (Unidentified)
 

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 15

Block 15 - Nearly Insane Quilt

The fabric choice for this blocks went through A LOT of auditioning.  The Days Gone By fabrics are really pretty, but the white background is VERY white, and I have found that it stands out from the more off-white blocks in the Nearly Insane Quilt.  It has been those 'white' blocks which I have considered re-doing.  In this block, I think I have pulled it back by using the Somerset Shirtings which is more off-white.  I also changed the centre square from a rectangle design to a simplified square in a square, to show off a bit of fussy cutting.


Block 15 - Nearly Insane Quilt

Once the colour choice was decided, putting it together was easy.  Sewing progress has felt a bit slow this past week, thank goodness for the weekend!


NUMBER OF PIECES:  37
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 1" (25mm) x 11/16" (17mm) x 11/16" (17mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Rectangle 1 7/16" (36mm) x 1 7/16" (36mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics
Red Hoops (5493-31)"Mama Said Sew" Collection by Sweetwater for Moda Spraytime (Scarlet) by Makower #2800-R06
Days Gone By for Exclusively Quilters (Cherry Print and Abstract Squares)
Somerset Shirtings c 1890 by Julie Hendrickson and Nancy Gere, Windham Fabrics # 35205
Calico

Joining up with Crazy Mom Quilts

Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 24

Nearly Insane Quilt - Draw 23, Blocks, 2, 27, 51

As you have seen from my recent Nearly Insane Quilt update, good progress is being made overall on this project.  Draw 23 was a gift, with just 106 pieces in total for all the blocks.  As you know there have been some blocks which have had at least twice as many pieces in just one single block.


Equilateral Triangle Quilt compared to Nearly Insane Quilt block

Just for fun I took this picture of the Triangle quilt I have recently made and one of my Nearly Insane blocks.  In the right-hand bottom corner you can see Nearly Insane Quilt Block 18, which has 243 pieces in it.  That is just 16 less pieces than this whole quilt!

Looking at the remaining blocks there seems to be just one more 'beast' in terms of pieces (Block 75) but having just made Draw 24, it seems I am safe this time ...

 

15 - 26 - 44 - 97

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