Yesterday I debated my choices on how to piece the border.  4-patches or Seminole piecing.  Mary suggested square in a square – I did say not too long ago I found away to make them nearly perfect.

I opted for the 4-patches with the setting triangles for a couple of reasons. Seminole piecing would result in a bias edge and I’ll have enough trouble with the border without adding a bias edge into the mix.  Square in a Square blocks would be difficult to line the points up.  That leaves the 4-patches with setting triangles.  I’ll cut them with the Companion Angle Ruler and since they’ll be 4 1/2 inches on one side they wont’ be too bad.

So why the title of the post?

I grabbed a hunk of white/off white fabric from my stash that I had enough of and made nearly all of my 4-patches.  Oops, the quilt center lean creamy instead of bright white.  So now I have to make a decision – do I remake these — meaning I tear these apart — I don’t think I have enough brown fabric to red0 them or do I leave well enough alone.

kwiltnkats asked if a pieced borer was in the works for Candy Sunflower Seeds.  There wasn’t, but admittedly I wasn’t excited by what I was planning on doing or the finished size the quilt was going to be (approx 54 x 71).  So, I started playing with borders in EQ.  This is what I’ve come up with now:

I don’t like the big cornerstones — but I just had a flash of inspiration and if I go with this option I’ll make those the same size squares as the rest of them – 2 1/2″ finished.   The pieced border also makes the quilt a bit larger – approx 63 x 80 and more inline with the size I frequently  make.

Now I’m off to figure out exactly how I’m going to piece that border — 4-patches or Seminole piecing….

It’s a Quilt Top!

This top is from a kit I won from a quilting web site back in 2005 or 2006. The kit is called Building Blocks and the fabrics are from Nancy Halvorsen True Friends line.  The kit came with pre-cut pieces and provided several options.  It measures approximately 50″ x 60″.

So what’s next?

I can either take another stab at sandwiching the Crossword Puzzle quilt, go a head and sandwich and quilt this quilt, add the borders on the Christmas Row Quilt or work on this:

Check back to see what I work on.  I’m guessing it will be a combination of all of the above.

Admittedly the top is not quite finished, but it’s never to early to think about backing and binding.  I dug through my stash and found two fabrics that I think work with this quilt.  The green on the top right is what I originally pulled for the backing and binding.  Then I discovered I don’t have enough of it for both, so I dug deeper to find something to stretch it.

I came up with a yard of the peach on the top left.  Now I’m wondering if I instead of using the green for the binding and stretching the backing with the peach, I’ll just use the peach for the binding.

But that doesn’t mean I won’t dream and obsess over it.

Today I picked up the October 2011 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.  It seems every time I’m at the store I gravitate to this issue.  Occasionally, I pick it up and flip through it, only to set it back down.  I don’t need to start another quilt.  I don’t really want to start another quilt.  But today that didn’t stop me from buying the magazine.

There’s something about the cover quilt — well, the quilt on the cover of my copy of the Oct issue.  It seems there are two different covers.  The quilt I’m drooling over is Star Formation.  It’s simple, scrappy and stunning.  I’m not sure if it’s the color – love the blue and gold – or the quilting.  Whatever it is, I want to make that quilt!

OK, now that I have that off my chest, I’ll go back to work on True Friends.  I finished the extra 5 blocks I needed and have the first two rows sewn together.  I may have even found something to use for the backing or binding.  There’s not enough for both.

Since I can’t make a decision on the Christmas Row Quilt, I decided to pull another slip from my “UFO Quilt Steps” bag.  I’m not sure this is really what I want to work on, but on the other hand, if I get the top assembled, it can come off my design wall.

This is what is on the wall right now. I think I need to make five more blocks so the quilt will be 50 x 60 — unless I try to extend the quilt with the leftover fabric.  There is nothing in my stash that I can use for a border — at least I don’t think there is.  I guess I’ll cross that bridge after I get the center assembled, but first I’ve got blocks to piece.