I Design Quilts In My Sleep...Well, Sort Of.

Even though I haven't finished a quilt meant to be a gift for my godchild for Christmas last year (and I am more than embarrassed about that), I am starting a new quilt that will be gifted to my nephew this Christmas.  Why would I do such a thing, you ask?  Well, I'm taking a trip next week, and I need something small enough to take with me.  My godchild's quilt is rather large and would require it's own carry-on bag.  My nephew's quilt will be 36x50 and will feature some embroidery.  I'll be able to take the one row that will have the embroidery and then piece it to the rest of the quilt top later.

This will be the quilt with his name on it that my sister wanted.  Each of the letters in his name will be inside of a three inch square and the negative space in the block will be filled with french knots.  I know I said I would probably not do another french knot project, but I loved the way it looked so much, I just have to do it again.

Originally, the quilt was going to be navy blue and orange.  I ordered the fabric, the ebroidery floss, and perle cotton for the hand quilting in those colors.  Then late last night, during the space between awake and asleep, I decided that I would rather use a turquoisey, sea foam green color with the navy blue.  I ordered the embroidery floss and perle cotton.  When I woke up this morning, I thought that I had dreamed it, until I saw the emailed receipt proving that I had indeed made the purchase.

Semiconscious design choices and purchases.  I think I need to move my phone further away from the bed.

Overwhelmed

Lately, I find myself completely overwhelmed by quilty goodness.  Two days ago, I asked y'all to make some blocks for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society quilt I'm working on and already I've seen pictures of blocks I should be getting in the mail soon.  I'm so excited  about the response I've gotten so far.  I hope it keeps growing.  Thank y'all so much!

I'm also a bit overwhelmed about all the projects I want/need to make this year.  Last July, my sister got married.  I was supposed to gift her a quilt for their bed.  It's not finished yet.  The horrible part about it is that it's a really simple design, but for some unknown reason, I just haven't been able to pick it up again and finish it. 

It's a row of string blocks like this one across a black background.  I think I've about finished all of the blocks.  Now all I have to do is buy the black fabric, cut and piece the background and figure out the back.  Just can't seem to get it together.  And now my sister is pregnant and due at the beginning of June.  Of course that means a quilt for my new nephew, JC, but have I designed it yet?  Not really.  Do I have fabrics for it yet?  Nope.  I've gotta get on the good foot!

I also want to finally make a quilt for my bed.  I've had the sketch for awhile and I finally cut into the fabric in January.  Last night, I started piecing the string blocks. (Can you tell I love string blocks?)

I'm hoping to finish this by the end of the summer.  I think that's a pretty conservative timeline considering the rest of my list for the year.

Every year, my best friend and her daughter, Little Miss, get quilts from me for Christmas.  For some reason, I always wait til the last minute on these.  This year, I decided that I would make a block each month for my best friend's quilt.  Here is January's block.

I'm still toying with February's block.  No telling what March's block will look like.  I have no idea what I'm doing for Little Miss' quilt yet.

Remember the Cherrywood fabrics I bought at QuiltCon?  The design for that is called "Share the Same Cover" and it features some curved piecing.  I've never done curved piecing before and it scares the crap out of me.  Gotta overcome that fear because I'd like to see that quilt before another year goes by.

I also have a design called "Individual Couple" that should be done this year.  I've worked out the measurements and have the fabric I want to use.  I just need to cut and sew.

Then there's "I Believe in Miracles" which was supposed to be a Christmas present for my mother a few years ago but I hit some serious snags along the way.  Now I'm not crazy about what I produced back then and need to just start all over (especially since I can't find enough fabric to complete what I started).

So many designs in my notebook that I can't wait to see come to life, and for some reason I feel that I need to get them all done this year. *deep breath*  We'll see what happens.

Thanks for stopping by!  Join me next time for "What's my style, anyway?".