Friday, August 21, 2015

50 Days: The Countdown Begins ... What was I thinking?

I have been gone a while, I know, but I am back now.  I wish I could say it was for some super overseas adventure, can you say Italy, but no; or some fabulous cross country quilt shop hop, but no; or even some wonderfully productive creative hiatus, but no.  No to all of the above.

What is happening in 50 days you might ask and what is this countdown thing?  

Well, our local quilt guild, Washington State Quilters, hosts a fabulous quilt show every year with over 500 member quilts on display and around 5,000 visitors with a great Vendor Mall, demonstrations and speakers.  This is happening this October for three days, October 16 through 18.

Why the countdown you ask?  Well, as I was thinking about what I have finished this year to enter for display in the show, I had a couple of class projects that I managed to finish and then it occurred to me that there was this free Quilt Along pattern on Craftsy, here, Hillside Houses by Pretty Little Quilts, that had been calling to me since we were first introduced.  I couldn't get is out of my mind.



I love the colors, I love the simplicity, I love the graphic nature of this quilt.

I thought, I know, why don't I make this for the Quilt Show this year, how great would that be.  I would be making something that really spoke to me, something for myself, something that I loved.  At the time, it made so much sense.  WHAT WAS I THINKING!!

I still think this will be great and I still love this quilt pattern but I have 50 days to get this thing together, quilted and bound before it needs to be delivered to the quilt show set up crew to be hung for the show.  I have made quilts for magazines in this amount of time before so I know it's possible but I am going to countdown here to try to keep myself on track so here goes...

Progress to this point:


Blocks 1 and 2 in the colorway of the original design.  These are 20" blocks.

Then, I woke up the next day and felt that I needed to change the colors a bit, of course I did.  I still love the original colors but thought maybe something a little less bright.  You have to see the size of these things to fully get the impact.  So, pull some different fabrics:


Yep, loving these.  Proceed with Blocks 1 and 2 again in new colorway.  So far so good.


Proceed with Block 3, not fully pieced but about half way at this point.


OK, only 10 more to do once Block 3 is complete.  I think I am going to love these colors as much as the originals.

I am going to make a wall hanging size in the original colors as well, just not in time for the quilt show.

I will keep you posted as I progress and welcome any support offered.

50 Days and Counting.


For now, keep stitching,