I think I need a bigger design wall..

but that means we'd have to raise the ceiling a few feet...
I've been making steady progress on my Orphan Block Soup quilt.  This morning I finished the pink slabs (they measure roughly 16.5" square):

 Then I paired them with the taupe and made HSTs.  I haven't trimmed them down yet but just threw them up on the wall to see how it was going.  I pulled out the blue circle block from the bottom of a "I'll work on this when I have the time" bin and gave it a good press.  Only one of the circles is appliqued.  I really want to use that block, and I'd love to do up one or three more, but I know me and when I start to add on to quilts with hand appliqued plans, they usually end up back in the bin.

I have tons more of the taupe fabric (I bought some years ago, loved it and went back to buy the rest of the bolt), so I guess I could test out a bunch of options, but that's really not like me.  I think I'll look at it for a while longer, make a decision and dive in.  I'm liking it so far though.  Thoughts?

Happiness

warm cuddly quilts on the couch = happiness.
a quilt done in the first week of the new year = happiness.

I love having this quilt on the couch.  The seed of inspiration came a looong time ago on a photo on Luckybeans' blog (which I can't find now) of a basket weave quilt with red center strips.  Thanks Katurah.  Never knew I'd actually make it, but now that I did, I'm glad I remembered where the idea came from.

Inspiration for the flowers came from a bunch of places, this one from the Material Obsession book, and this one by Nifty mainly.  Renewed love of applique thanks to Shelly, as I mentioned before.

the quilting, oh the quilting.. at first I thought I'd try clam shells..but a test piece didn't work out so well, so I opted to play around with flowers and swirls.  It was fun.  Some worked out the way I wanted, but I need more practice with meanders because I didn't always know how to get out of the area I had just quilted.. move up?  move right?  the pattern lended itself to going in a L--> R direction, but then I had issues rolling the whole quilt back up and shoving it under the machine again.  Thank goodness it was a small quilt.

I backed it in a soft vintage (1980s?) purple that I got out of the Atlanta guild's ugly box in 2003.  I had 4 yards of it, taking up space in the stash for years.. It just worked so perfectly with this quilt, I'm happy it found a home.   What is it with me and purple these days?  I think I just have so much of it and I was tired of feeling like I couldn't use it because I live with two guys.  Yeah, whatever.  A quilt is a quilt.  If I buy floral fabric or girly colors, I need to use it!  Enough of my self-imposed rules-- I commit to make what I feel like making~

On my label I used both nengajo stamps-- the bunny from 2011 and the sea horse from 2012.  God it feels good to have a finish in 2012 already...

Welcome 2012!

I have more than a few New Year's resolutions this year, most stemming from the important realization that I do have the power to live the life I want.  So this is my first-- when possible, choose to be happy.  If it means appreciating the things I have or learning to let go and try something new, I am going to make a conscious effort to be happy more often than not.  And in case I forget, I put it on a quilt to remind myself.

My other goals for 2012:

• BUST STASH
• find homes for those orphan blocks
• revisit awesome projects that got shelved for one reason or another
• BUST MORE STASH
• crumb quilt?

Here's hoping that 2012 brings happiness to everybody, at least most of the time..

busy fingers

Which UFO will get my attention today?

The mini-quilt that's so old we used to call it a "wall hanging":

Or the overdue bee block that took way longer than a month to complete?  (but that I love because it reminded me how much I used to enjoy applique.)

Being that it's still only Thursday morning here in New York, and I've got a couple of quilters coming over for a stitch n bitch today, I think the odds are pretty good that I'll have a finish this week for TGIFF!  I'm hosting the party this week (It'll go live in a few hours actually), so be sure to stop back and link up  your finishes!