Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 54

Block 54 - Nearly Insane Quilt

I have been waiting for a block in my Nearly Insane quilt where I would have an excuse to use my red peppermint fabric again and Block 54 is the lucky one!  I do love a good novelty fabric.  Whilst they don't always reach the sales counter with me, I always take time in a quilt shop to check I am not missing anything special. I particularly like the food ones - do you have any that you look out for?



Pearlescent star fabric

Also, as it was a star block, I felt it was appropriate to use a new pearlescent star fabric that has joined my fabric stash.  It makes a change from calico, and I am hoping that when the whole quilt is finished the little dots of shimmer will add to the overall effect.


Block 54 - Nearly Insane Quilt

BTW - I have added a search button for my blog on the sidebar.  I think it is mainly for me to keep track of these blocks - better late than never!

Another block, another Whoop Whoop!.  Also joining Crazy Mom Quilts!

NUMBER OF PIECES:  41
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle 3/4" (20mm) x 9/16" (15mm) x 9/16" (15mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle 3" (76mm) x 2  1/8" (53mm) x 2  1/8" (53mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Holiday Treats Red Packed Peppermints, Timeless Treasures
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics 
Spraytime (Scarlet) by Makower #2800-R06
Days Gone By Exclusively Quilters

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 - 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 - 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 

International Quilt Day - Report

Suzi the cat on the Butterfly Quilt

This is how International Quilt Day started out here at Fabadashery.  Suzi the cat lay on top of the butterfly quilt, whilst I lay underneath it, browsing quilt blogs and online quilt shops on my iPad.  I had a good browse of  What's New at the Fat Quarter Shop, and enjoyed a thorough read of some of the blogs I follow.

International Quilt Day - The Quilt Show - Free for 24 hours!

Like last year, The Quilt Show was celebrating International Quilt Day by offering access to their quilty shows for free for 24 hours.  It was great seeing quilters in action.  I knew many of the names, like Gwen Marston and Jenny Beyer and it wasn't too long until I was adding their books to my Wish List on Amazon. I also spent a lot of time watching the longarm quilt episodes ...

Nearly Insane Quilt blocks

With my Nearly Insane blocks needing to be done, I felt I could justify a bit of multi-tasking, by watching the TV and keeping up with my English paper piecing, and over the day I managed three blocks, which I will tell you about in due course.

Suzi busy supervising in the workroom

We had such a great time, Suzi says "Why can't it be International Quilt Day, every day?"

Check out all the other crazy quilty cats every Friday at Sarah Did It!

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 24

Block 24 - Nearly Insane Quilt, visits Dartmoor National Park, Devon

I have been out and about again with my Nearly Insane Quilt blocks.  This time Block 24 had a trip to Dartmoor National Park, in Devon over the weekend.   Even with all the rain we have had over the past month, the moors were quite dry, and I even caught the sun on my face. It was a beautiful day - just look at that blue sky.

Block 24 - Nearly Insane Quilt

The block isn't too bad either!  Flying geese and stripes all round.  The flying geese can become a bit  bulky, but the square pattern of this block helped to keep things lined up.  A nicely balanced block.


English Paper Piecing - Nearly Insane Quilt

If you are new to this blog, here's a photo of the back of the block, showing you the English paper pieces, and also to give a sense of scale of these completed 6 inch blocks.  At some time in the future, all the blocks will be sewn together, and quilted together in the quilt, so all this work will be hidden.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  89
DIFFICULTY: 2/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle  7/8" (21mm) x 5/8" (15mm) x 5/8" (15mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square  1 1/4" (31mm) x 1 1/4" (31mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics 
Red and white stripe - unidentified
Designer Beads (Red) Freespirit for Westminster Fibers
Calico

Joining up with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times and Connie at Freemotion By the River.

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 73

Block 73 - Nearly Insane Quilt

This is Block 73 ... I have moved onto the next draw if you don't mind.  Only 25 pieces to this cute Nearly Insane quilt block, so EPP made it nice and easy to do whilst watching Sunday night TV.  It went together so nicely that I can't wait to do the next one.


Block 73, Nearly Insane Quilt

I like the way the fabric patterns are graduating towards the centre.  It will look even better when the green stitches are out. 


Floral Gatherings Shirtings, by Primitive Gatherings for Moda


Also, I have finally managed to get my hands on the Floral Gatherings Shirtings, that go with the other Floral Gatherings selection I already have.  These are lovely tiny prints - there are even a few red and white ones which aren't too late to make it into this quilt.

Linking up with Design Wall Monday.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  25
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle  1 7/16" (36mm) x 1" (25mm) x 1" (25mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle  2 3/4" (71mm) x 2" (50mm) x 2" (50mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Calico
Chloe's Closet 30's Playtime - Red Flowers
"Friendship" (Tonal Red) by Howard Marcus for MODA (Collections For a Cause) # 46130
Red Sprig on Cream (Unidentified)

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 3

Block 3 , Nearly Insane Quilt

No time to stop, I need to get these blocks done.  Block 3 of the Nearly Insane Quilt was a nice little easy one to get things back on track.  I have also been designing, cutting and packing up my little travel packs, so that I have to excuse for idle hands.

Unpicking English paper piecing ...

On my year review I realised that there were a few blocks that could do with a revamp, so if they are not too much trouble, I am hoping to make a few improvements here and there.
Block 36 was the first to be done.  I just had to unpick the four corner pieces, cut out four more pieces of fabrics and get them sewn back on.


Block 36, getting a make-over!

Somehow the red corners seem to bring the block together, more than the original design.  It didn't take long, but I know there are some that need a bit more work than this.

I have also been starting to consider how I will quilt this special quilt.  It has required a lot of research and consideration of how I get my tops quilted in general. Any thoughts?

NUMBER OF PIECES:  44
DIFFICULTY: 1/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square  3/16" (10mm) x 3/16" (10mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square  1 1/2" (39mm) x 1 1/2" (39mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Cherry Sketch Basic Collection by Timeless Treasures #C8224
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics 
Spraytime (Scarlet) by Makower #2800-R06
Chloe's Closet 30's Playtime - Red Flowers
Calico

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 45

Block 45 - Nearly Insane Quilt

I mentioned in a previous post that Block 45 had caused a bit of a stoppage to the progress of the quilt.  It looks like a simple block, after all, it only has 44 pieces.  I  cut out all the paper templates, the fabric, and covered them.  However, once I started hand sewing them together, something was going SERIOUSLY wrong.  The shapes were not matching and were jutting out beyond the edge.  I knew I had to be careful with this block, as some of the edge pieces are asymmetrical, so you have to make sure you have them the right side.  But it looked like I had this correct. 

In the bin!

The mystery led me back to the pattern I had draw up in Electric Quilt, which is where I found the problem.  One of the lines I had drawn was not quite parallel to the others, making some diamonds distorted.  I tried to work out which pieces were causing the problem, to replace them, but it became so frustrating that I decided the safest approach would be to ditch the whole lot in the bin and start again. Is it a coincidence that it is a Lone Star pattern, very similar to Block 43, another previously troublesome block? 

Block 45, Nearly Insane Quilt

To let the dust settle, I  moved onto Block 8, which with its 193 pieces I found much easier!  Then I made sure I had an accurate template, and chose a new set of fabrics.  It still caused a few problems during its construction. I don't know why. Anyway this block has been done (almost twice!). As a result, it gets a rare 10/10 for difficulty.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  44
DIFFICULTY: 10/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle  11/16" (18mm) x 1/2" (13mm) x 1/2" (13mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle  3" (76mm) x 2 1/16" (54mm) x 2 1/16" (54mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Cherry Sketch Basic Collection by Timeless Treasures #C8224
Ivory on Red Cameo Bud Yardage # 14764 Midwinter Reds by Minick and Simpson, Moda
100 Red/White Sweet Hearts Stof - Quilters Basics Calico
 

Nearly Insane Quilt - 1st Anniversary Review

Fabadashery - Nearly Insane Quilt , February 2014

It is exactly one year since I started my journey on the Nearly Insane quilt.   This morning I have laid out all the pieces on the floor, so I can get an overview of how I am doing.  I have done 59 blocks which represents nearly 70% of the quilt. Doing a few sums I reckon I have another 6 months to go on the quilt - so August 2014.


Red and white Nearly Insane Quilt

You would think that I would be tempted to lay it out more often, but it took ages to place all the bits and pieces.  As soon as I can, I hope to start sewing some blocks together, but at the moment there always seems to be a piece of the puzzle missing. For now, just having a photographic record will suffice - I know my photos will be the source of much contemplation over the next few weeks.  

Glass half full? Glass half empty?

You can see from this photo how much I have left to do - all English paper pieced.  I am pretty much up to date with the sashing, but even with my 12 Days of Sewing over Christmas, I still have lots of cornerstones to do.  Part of me is pleased with the progress, the other part is frustrated with how little time I have to work on it, so I can move onto the next project.


Sashing, cornerstones and blocks - Nearly Insane Quilt

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

Blocks = 59

Edge blocks = 20

Cornerstones =44

Half Cornerstone = 11

Sashes = 135

Border Units = 13

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

Blocks and Edge Blocks = 3424

Cornerstones = 396

Half Cornerstones = 66

Sashes = 135

Border Units = 52

TOTAL = 4073

Electric Quilt EQ5 - Nearly Insane Quilt

From the Electric Quilt image, you can see that the quilt is filling up with the blocks.  I have also spent a bit of time adjusting the borders, so that the chevron border appears less heavy. I think this stage is the hardest part. 

I can see the end in sight, but currently I feel in a hurry to get it done.  Lately my sewing time has really been curtailed by my day job, and I am eager to be working on other projects, but I am quite disciplined when it comes to finishing projects, before starting the next.  I could really do with a sewing retreat.

 

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 94

Edge Block 94 - Nearly Insane Quilt

The two most recent draws have both pulled out edge block 94, so I will showcase them together in this post.  In the quilt, a block is split in half to make up two separate edge blocks, which are placed on opposite sides in the original quilt.  

Edge Block 94 - Nearly Insane Quilt

Again, these blocks have been done whilst watching the 2014 Sochi Olympics. With only 18 pieces each, they were quick to do, and after a slow few weeks, I finally feel as if I have moved this quilt along.

Edge Block 94 - Nearly Insane Quilt

It is almost a year since I posted my first block on my Nearly Insane journey. I think we are due an Anniversary review ...

NUMBER OF PIECES:  18
DIFFICULTY: 2/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle 3/4" (18mm) x 1/2" (13mm) x 1/2" (13mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle 3 " (77mm) x 2 1/8" (54mm) x 2 1/8" (54mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Tried and True Raindrops Garnet(04273) by Nanacy Halvorsen, Benartex
Polka Party III by Holly Holderman, Lakehouse Drygoods #03035
Redwork Rendevous by Alex Anderson for P&B Textiles
Quilter's Memory", Stof Quilter's Basics #4517-118
The Block in Apple Red Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda  #5491-11
Apple Line Red Swirl by Alice Kennedy for Timeless Treasures  # C5710
Homeschool Mini Mono Floral Red, LB Krueger for Windham Fabrics SKU# 35182-3
Solid Red

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 8

Block 8  - Nearly Insane Quilt

Thank goodness for the Winter Olympics.  It has been an excuse to sit in front of the television, stay inside from the rain, and catch up on some hand sewing.  I finished this block watching Jenny Jones win bronze for the Ladies Slopestyle for Team GB.  In blogland, there is a lot of talk about the patchwork logo being used for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, and if you pop over to the Patriotic Quilter, she has also given details about the patchwork designs on the USA snowboarders outfits - great stuff!

It feels like a long time since I finished a block.  I will give you the full details when I tell you about Block 45... Block 8 has almost 200 pieces in it - 193 in total.  When I had the whole pile of pieces in front of me, I knew I had a long job ahead of me, but it was fun seeing the blocks within a block emerge.  There are little pieces in this one, the smallest being 3/16th (9.5mm) square.  When designing this one, I have added pieces here, and taken them away in other parts.

Block 8 (reverse)  - Nearly Insane Quilt

This photo shows the back of the block, so you can see the English paper piecing. The blocks with lots of tiny pieces in them, have a lovely malleable feel to them when they are complete.  This block does not feel as if it has stiff paper in it, but as if I have created a beautiful soft new fabric.  I'll enjoy it whilst I can, I know I will need tweezers to remove the paper!



Block 8 - Nearly Insane Quilt

Lots of pieces, but lots of detail  - I love the block like that.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  193
DIFFICULTY: 3/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square  3/16" (9.5mm) x 3/16" (9.5mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square  1" (25mm) x 1" (25mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Red and White Stripe (Unidentified)
Red Garden Pindot by Michael Miller Fabrics 
Cherry Sketch Basic Collection by Timeless Treasures #C8224
Tried and True Raindrops Garnet(04273) by Nanacy Halvorsen, Benartex
Christmas Past  (14547) by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
Polka Party III by Holly Holderman, Lakehouse Drygoods #03035