I know I’ve written about this quilt before, but can’t seem to find that post. Regardless, this was a quilt I started back in 2016. I pulled the blocks out of their little basket stored with other WIPs I’ve lost interest in. There they were all purple, gray and yellow. Seems like I remember choosing the color palette based on another quilt I saw and loved on Instagram that I’ve long forgotten about. Whatever. The blocks were still pretty even if they were covered in a layer of dust.
While I do love some of the blocks and fabrics I’ve used, others not so much. Still, I’ve got another quilt to gift for Christmas and I’m needing it done within the week, so pulling this from the WIP pile seemed like the thing to do.
I could not have been more wrong.
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While beginning to make more blocks for it (I had 12/25), I remember exactly why I quit working on it. These blocks and their tiny 2.5″ squares are no joke. It is a meticulous kind of piecing job. I’m sure that many of you have made this very quilt and KNOW what I’m talking about. It seems so simple. It’s just basic sewing. NO, it’s way more than that.
The blocks do come together in a creative kind of way to make it a bit simpler, but still. It’s one block at a time kind of meticulous. Not my favorite way to make a quilt, but there is something I find a bit magical about these kind of quilts. It’s as if they are a bit more special than all the other quilts.
I like the way you can turn them anyway you want to and end up with a different design, the way you can colorize them to give them a similar look or like what I’ve done here, everything mixed in together with no real color focus.
It feels nice to get this one completed and ready to gift on Christmas Eve. I don’t think it deserved to be sitting so long untouched by me, but when the interest isn’t there, it isn’t there. I’m okay with WIPs sitting awhile and getting picked up later. And while I had forgotten the time involved in this one’s piecing, once I was committed it went smoothly.
The Good Girl Quilt
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I like pulling out my scrap bins. There’s a pleasure that I get from it that I don’t from just pulling from my stash or buying fabrics specifically for a quilt. I don’t know if it’s knowing I didn’t waste anything, using what I’ve got or just this love affair I have with all things scrappy. Probably the latter. There are so many fabrics used in this quilt that are absolutely scrumptious.
I was a little bummed that I was going to be stuck in this color palette I chose from 2016 that I’m really not digging too much now, but I pulled in a little blue and added a whole lot of low volume and I’m satisfied with it. I’m also thinking I should make another. I’ve got a substantial amount of aqua scraps that are begging for a job to do. So maybe soon.
Another thing, it’s hard to say exactly, but I’ve been quilting since 2008 and back in 2016 I would have considered myself doing everything correct. Maybe it was just this particular quilt or maybe not, but either way when the old blocks were put next to the new blocks made earlier this week, it was obvious that there has been a change to my piecing. The blocks I made a few days ago all were correctly measuring 12.5″. Pieced lovingly with all lined up points. The blocks pieced back in 2016 also had lined up points, but for some reason were coming in a bit shorter than the 12.5″.
They were also tightly pieced, where the new were relaxed. Not sure if my piecing has simply gotten better or if I was just having a hard time of this quilt way back then, but either way it’s nice to feel like I’ve grown a bit in two years, especially at the end of the year when we like to look at what has changed.
The Quilt Maker’s Toolkit Posts:
- The Havel’s Ruler Cutter
- Thread for Quilt Makers
- The Snip-a-Stitch Seam Ripper
- Havel’s Rotary Cutter and Double Sided Mat
- The Warm Company Batting
- Heat n Bond Iron on Adhesive
- The Topstitch Needle for Quilters
- Getting to Know Havel’s Sewing
- How to Make Your Own Starch
- Charlotte’s Fusible Web for Raw Edge Applique
- The Bottom Line + MicroQuilter Threads from Superior
I’ve been making goals for next year and I’ve several patterns waiting to be released then. I’m thinking I’d like to mix the Trip Around the World quilt up a bit and make it into a pattern. It wouldn’t be exactly like this. Is this something you’d like to see? Or is it too old of a quilt pattern to be redone? Or just boring? I’ve got a scrappy series coming that I’ve mentioned a few times and this quilt is just fabulous at using your scraps, plus I’d like to remake it again anyway. Tell me your thoughts. I love hearing from you.
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