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

I'm a FABRIC GIVEAWAY Winner!

I won a GIVEAWAY! 

 

I am a blog Follower of  Sally T and Tommy at the Objects of Design and a few weeks ago they generously offered a giveaway of fabric and one of their 'kittens' as part of Tommy's 18th birthday celebrations.

Giveaway Prize - 18 FQs of Batik Fabric

Well, earlier this week a package arrived from the USA stacked full of lovely batik fabric, a kitten block, and a note from Tommy himself.  Look at those beautiful colours!


Cat Batik Fabric

Amongst the bundle was this kitten blue and orange batik fabric - how cute is this!

Kitten Quilt Block

My little kitten block is made in Kaffe Fassett fabrics and I have plans of using it as the start of a mini medallion quilt (or rather a mini medallion cat mat).  Let's hope the summer holidays allow me some time to get this done sooner rather than later.

Tommy

 All that is left to say is THANK YOU TOMMY!

 

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

Doughty's Fabric Roadshow

Doughtys Fabric Roadshow - Thornbury

I have started to think about a colour scheme for a Dear Jane quilt.  Lots of ideas have been auditioned and there are lots of ideas that will work, but it is time to settle on something.  I have had my eye on some Kim Diehl fabrics and searching online I found that Doughtys Fabrics had several from her Hearthside Seasons collection by Henry Glass Fabrics.  A little further searching online and I discovered that Doughtys Fabrics do a roadshow around the UK - and guess what - there was one near me this weekend!  Basically they bring their van full of fabric to a local hall, and fabricoholics queue up to get their fix!  Most fabrics went for £7.00 a metre, with the batiks at £8.00 a metre.


'Hearthside Seasons' by Kim Diehl for Henry Glass

Having done some research online I knew exactly which fabrics I wanted, I just had to hunt for them as the range had been split up amongst the colours.  I managed to find ten different fabrics and along with the new Vintage Farmhouse range that Kim Diehl has just released I think I will have a great colour palette to start my Dear Jane once the Nearly Insane Quilt is done.  I still have to choose my background fabric, but have an idea of what I am looking for whilst I am out and about.

Gwent Quilters Exhibition, Newport, June 2014

It seems to be the 'quilt exhibition' season.  A few weeks ago I visited Newport, Wales, to see a display of over 100 quilts by Gwent Quilters.  Here are a few of the pictures I took.

"Scrappy Triangles" by Brenda Edwards

I must have spent at least ten minutes just gazing at this quilt - I think it is amazing.  Brenda has done a great job.  I have seen it on display before and I was mesmerised by it then.  I recognised it as a scrap quilt design 'Strictly Triangles' available in Katharine Guerrier's book 'Scrap Quilt Sensation'.  I have had the book for ages and just can't decide which quilt I want to do, but Brenda has done a great version with great use of bright yellow to give it some zing.  If you are a fan of Katharine Guierrier, she is having an exhibition of her work at Cynon Valley Museum and Gallery, Aberdare, Wales, 20th July until 19th September 2014.

'Rhapsody in Blue' by Pat Cleary (One Block Wonder Quilt)

At the moment I am slightly obsessed with one-block wonder quilts, and there were quite a few to see at this exhibition.  These are quilts where, with the use of fussy cutting, you can make clever quilts out of one single fabric.  My research so far has worked out that you need to be very selective with the fabric you choose.  I love the colours Pat has chosen. Another one for the 'bucket list'.


'Cosmos' by Maureen Packer

This was a small foundation pieced sampler by Maureen Packer.  It is a pattern by George Sigiliano based in the USA.  I like the dramatic impact the black fabric has against the bright colours.

'Christmas Folded Stars' by Gwyneth Proctor

This elegant hanging is by Gwyneth Proctor.  It was part of a Gwent Quilters Challenge, using cut and fold quilting techniques by Carol Nartowicz. The pattern had a subtle three-dimensional design element, which may be hard to see in the photograph.  I would have never chosen this combination of colours, but I think they work perfectly together.


Scrappy hexagon quilt

Finally, for all the hexagon fans out there, here is a scrappy hexagon quilt.  The hexagons were about 1.5", and the overall quilt about 4' x 5' (this is from memory!).

Chantilly Fat Quarters by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda

What is a quilt exhibition without a few purchases?  I bought this little bundle of fat quarters from the Chantilly range by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda.  Do you see that red and white spot - how has this fabric avoided my radar over the past 18 months?

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