Round Robin - # 2 Tami

I have Tami's project listed as Round # 2 but really it was the first one I got to do.  Carol's was the second one.  It doesn't really matter right at the beginning but as we get towards the end you'll see the progress on each project more clearly.

So this was what I got as the very first item to work on for the Round Robin.  Tami had created this beautiful center block.  She does wonderful hand applique work!  I have to admit I was a bit intimidated when I first pulled it out of the bag.  Per usual I hung it on my design wall for about a week or so for inspiration. 

Tami had a piece of fabric from one of our original group members, Mary Jane, who passed away several years ago.  She and Tami were very close.  Tami included the green fabric in the center of the cone flowers.  It was fabric that Tami had purchased on one of their trips to Pennsylvania.  She also added 7 blue circles to represent each of the members of the group and one gold circle to represent Mary Jane.

In her instructions Tami asked us to be sure to use a piece of the green "Mary Jane" fabric in whatever we created.  She also include in the bag some scraps of the other fabrics she used in case we wanted to use them as well.

I took the background and scraps from Tami and pulled some coordinates from my stash.  I  was really surprised to find so many pieces in my stash that would work.  

Doing another applique border at this point didn't seem like the best choice.  And I'm much better at piecing than hand applique!  So for my addition I created an angular border to contrast with the curves and circles of the flowers and leaves.  I was able to incorporate the Mary Jane fabric on the corners.  

Unfortunately, I didn't take enough pictures of the "building" of the border so I don't have much in the way of details on how it was constructed.  But you can see it's half square triangles set symmetrically from the center outward.   


The corners are half square triangles as well, just rotated to create a diagonal line.  Since I was not working with a pattern I had to do the math to get everything to fit.  Yes, math!  Not to worry, I don't mind math and I LOVE geometry :o)  I think that's one of the reasons I enjoy quilting, it's real life geometry. 



Here's how it looked when I passed it on to Jane.

 

Who would have predicted how beautiful this quilt top would become!  The combination of colors and keeping all the same background fabric made it look as if one person had done all the work.

Jane added the pretty appliqued border after me, Deb R added the bottom appliqued panel with her signature beeskeep, Charlene added another pretty appliqued panel at the top, Dutchy added the green border and pretty pieced side panels.  But Carol had the toughest job of all - adding the corners after everything else was in place.  Now that took some MATH!!  

We all loved it, especially Tami.  You can see that we have some very talented ladies in our group.  Learning from all of them is just one of the many things I enjoy about meeting up once a month.

Next weeks post will be Round # 3, Dutchy's signature block wall hanging.

Oh, that's where that went!

Like most people I have many projects that I started but never finished.  Some quilters call them WIPs (works in process) or UFOs (un-finished objects).  I call them "Oh that's where that went!".  I have several areas in my sewing room where I put stuff for safe keeping. 
 
You know the stuff I'm talking about?  That group of fabrics that are just made for each other so you can't break up the set.
 
This one is "Rachel's Basket", so pretty and feminine.  Just about my favorite colors, pink and green, in pretty floral prints.  This is going to be gorgeous!


 

Or how about the one where there's just a few more blocks to go - this one below actually did get finished last September and it's now happily residing on the back of my favorite comfy chair.

Or then there's the that 30 minute project that you're going to do the next time you have just 30 minutes to sew.  I've been wanting to make some mug rugs for ages now!  Isn't this one cute?  These are in my on-line file of table top quilting stuff.

And how about that baby quilt pattern you just fell in love with and had just the right fabrics all from your stash?  This one is called 'Tea Party" and it's a snowball and 4-patch layout.  I found all these pretty pastels in my stash but have I done it yet? NO!  They're all in the green basket near my sewing chair.

My all time favorite is when you bought those special fabrics, in those specific colors, for a particular person . . . .and then changed your mind!  These fabrics were supposed to be for my friend Kim's quilt. 

 

But after several block tests I changed my mind and went with fall colors and these beautiful chickadees from Timeless Treasures instead. She loved it so I guess it was the right choice!  Now I just need to write the blog post that goes with it.

 

 

My method for keeping track of all of these projects is to put them in a neat pile somewhere sewing room.  They could by in (or on) the green basket beside my sewing chair, on the 3-tiered cart near the design wall, in the wicker basket near the window, or even in the bins under my sewing table. 

 

 

All I really know is when I'm looking for a specific project I usually come across something I wasn't looking for that makes me say "Oh, that's where that went!"

 

How do you keep track of your unfinished projects?