Four Nearly Insane Rows

Even though I have other things to work on (and I have been dabbling with my Turning 4-T blocks), I still find myself absolutely drawn to my Nearly Insane quilt top.

I've now made 49 of the blocks, which is half of them - yay!! And I've added the fourth row. I will need to make up the triangles for the top and bottom of the row before I can add any more rows - and also make up any of the blocks I haven't gotten to yet.

While I've been making up the blocks I've been really careful not to replicate fabrics from block to block numerically, but I'm finding because the quilt is constructed in diagonal rows, the blocks next to each other can be 8 blocks apart in the book. This has meant I've actually altered two of the blocks in row four to ensure that two fabrics (when they stand out a lot) aren't used together. I think from now on, I'm going to make up blocks row by row, and that way I'll be able to control fabric placement so much better.

This weekend I'll be working on some quilting, and I'm going to get busy on other projects that really need my attention. I'll try and resist playing with this quilt some more ... but I bet I'll be drawn back in!

My Nearly Insane Addiction

It feels great to be right back into my piecing and quilting after my wonderful holiday. Here are a couple of things I'm working on at the moment.

I'm hopelessly addicted to my Nearly Insane quilt. It's all I want to work on, and at all times. I've completed 45 of the blocks, so I'm almost half way, and I recently had the bright idea that it'd be fun to try and put a few of the rows together. This is as far as I got, I have to put some more of the triangles together before I can continue. I LOVE how this top is looking. I'm such a sucker for a vintage quilt with tiny pieces :-)

And even though I thought I'd all but finished the top of my Turning Four-T quilt, I decided I'd like to make it even bigger, so I'm back to making up blocks. I found a nice selection of conversationals while I was in the US, so I'll get busy again.

My reason for thinking I'd like it bigger? Well, the quilt is celebrating a milestone in my life, so I thought I'd like it to be a quilt I use a lot - so I'm going to make it big enough for our queen bed. This necessitates an extra two rows of blocks. One row all around would have meant the border won't fit properly. And because I'm making extra blocks, I'm also going to replace those three blocks that I don't really like as much as the others.

End result: A quilt I'll love for a really long time. Sounds good to me :-)

And Brushes with Fame ...

Part of the fun when we're in Paducah is the 'star spotting', and catching up with friends old and new. And in some cases, friends that I haven't actually met yet.

I knew well before I arrived in Paducah that I was going to seek out Marti Michell. I love her templates and patterns, and when I met her in 2006, I found her to be just delightful. Kate and I stopped by her booth and had our picture taken with her. And soo, there I was chattering away with her, and you can imagine my surprise when I learned that she remembered me ... and here's the thing that had me simply gobsmacked ... she's been by and read my blog! OMG!! Well, Marti, if you're reading this - I had such a nice time visiting with you again, you truly made my day! :-)

And just before I was due to head into a workshop, I ran into Ricky Tims and his partner Justin. My friend Jenny and I took a workshop with Ricky in 2005, and I credit him with encouraging me to try machine quilting. Even though his workshop was to make his 'Chantelle' project, seeing his work and the DVD I purchased at the time really de-mystified the whole process for me. He's a hero! And Justin is always so much fun to talk to, it was great to see them again - even though I didn't have a lot of time to spend with them.

And here is a fun surprise for you - It's our wonderful blogging friend Cheri! Before I left for the USA, Cheri had given me her cell phone number in the hope that we may be able to catch up in Paducah. We texted a couple of times and were able to catch up briefly in Eleanor Burns downtown shop. I wish I could have spent longer with her, Cheri is just lovely and we had a great chat. How fun to finally meet up in person! Next time I shall try and organise for us to have a day together.

And for the last picture, here is Tara Lynn Darr. When Tara saw on my blog that I was heading to the quilt festival, she commented that she had a booth in the Kentucky Oaks Mall and that I definitely needed to stop by and say Hi. She is just lovely (and had some darling fabrics that had to come home with me) and how fun that we share the same first name!

I had the very best time in Paducah, and I travelled with and also met the very best people. Of course I want to visit again, and at this stage Linda and I are talking about maybe Vermont in 2012. I can't wait, as I've never seen the New England area. I'll start saving now!

Starstruck by Kaffe

One of the amazing things that Linda organised for us to do while we were in Paducah was to attend a lecture on the Wednesday. It was an evening with Kaffe Fassett.

Wow! There simply aren't words. Well ... there are actually :-) Amazing, colour rich, stunning! I have to admit, while in the past I had an appreciation for his work - I didn't actually own any of his fabric, or have an inclination to stitch up any of his designs. But after his lecture, I have a new appreciation for the incredible way his mind works. His view of the world and the way he sees colour is simply mind blowing, and I simply cannot wait to begin playing with his gorgeous fabric (I may or may not have purchased quite a bit!).

The next day, Kate and I virtually raced to get a copy of his latest book, and were just thrilled to have it signed. I was almost starstruck meeting him, and didn't think of getting a picture at the time, but looked back afterward, and got a picture of him knitting away.

And here is a picture of one of his quilts in the exhibition adjacent to where he was signing. I think it may be one of my favourites. In the past I may have considered the colours a little jarring, but I'm definitely viewing his work with new eyes.

Such an unforgettable experience!

Where to begin!

I've had such adventures over the past month, it's hard to know where to begin, and how to narrow it all down to blog posts. I had the very best time in the USA, and among the most important things to me were spending time with wonderful friends. I put some faces to the names of bloggers, did a whole lot of shopping, and almost wore my feet to stubs at the quilt show in Paducah. Good times :-)

Even though it was at the end of my holiday, I'll start with Paducah, and the day leading up to it. The six of us left California on Monday April 19, and travelled to Nashville where we picked up our rental car. Instead of driving directly to Paducah, we headed to Bowling Green KY where we stayed overnight before heading to Whittles in Smiths Grove KY.

At Whittles I undertook some serious stash enhancement, as evidenced by my ever growing pile in the above picture. I had a good deal of my items shipped home. It was a wise move, as I was probably on the verge of being over my luggage allowance, having spent a week and a half in the US already. The girls from Whittles were just darling, and I'll definitely be patronising their store in the future.

After we'd all laid down a considerable chunk of money, we all piled back into the rental and headed toward Paducah. But before we arrived, we made a detour to Backyard Fabrics (sorry, couldn't locate a website). An adorable little shop situated on a farm in Mayfield KY. So much more stash enhancement followed ... and when Kate and I had our fill, we took a swing on the front porch and enjoyed the surroundings. Just blissful.





I love this picture of Gerri, Linda, Donna and Karen. I don't think they even knew I took it, and they'll probably be less than thrilled to see it here for the first time! :-)



Next it was on to Paducah, where we settled into the Marriott Courtyard. We could see across Hinkleville Road to the famous Hancocks of Paducah. Eye candy indeed.

I'll leave it here for now ... and fill you in some more next time :-)

I'm home, and my bags are bursting!

I'm home! Have you missed me? Don't feel the need to answer that :-) I'm sure you all thought my blog had been abandoned!

I have been busy shopping, travelling, and spending time with my wonderful friends in the USA. Now that I'm back home I need a few days to return my body clock to normal, unpack my many bags, and float back to earth. I promise I'll share many pictures of my adventures.

In the meantime, I just thought I'd share a quick picture of some of my fabric haul that I've unpacked and folded ready to put away. My goodness I purchased a lot. I also have three parcels being shipped home to me.

I found some conversationals so I can finish my Turning 40 quilt. (Will have to be renamed 'Turned 40'). Lots of nice yellow and cheddar fabrics for the Nearly Insane quilt, and many other 'just because' fabrics. Lots of fun!

I also have lots of books and magazines to find homes for. And many items of clothing, and of course four pairs of shoes. Well, I better get back to my unpacking and sorting. I promise to check back in soon! xox

Stateside

Hi friends - I promise I haven't abandoned my blog entirely. I'm currently on holidays in the USA. I hope my precious family are coping at home without me :-)

Right now I'm with my wonderful friends Linda and Donna in Folsom California. I'm not sure I'm still fully functioning on any particular time zone, but I'm getting there. We've been shopping up a storm, and I've got some wonderful fabrics already stashed away.

Next week we're heading for Paducah, and I'm so looking forward to that. I hope to get back on here soon and share some pictures with you. Be good while I'm away! xox

Busy Quilter = Neglectful Blogger

I've been so busy getting ready for my trip to the USA, that I have become a very neglectful blogger of late. You can expect more of the same, probably until the end of April when I get home I'm afraid. I leave on Friday, and while I'm away, I'm not sure of the opportunities I'll have to get on line.

But in the meantime, here are a couple of the things I've been working on:

I've bordered, quilted and bound all the fruit blocks. I'll hand sew the binding down as I have the chance. I really like these little blocks, and I'm so glad I purchased the patterns last time I was in the USA.

And right now I'm quilting on that scrap quilt I made a little while back. I hope to have it finished tonight, and then I can sew on the binding. If I'm a really clever girl, I may have it photographed before I go, so I can work on the pattern in my spare moments :-) It could happen! It's my plan to make another of these quilts, this time in a bright colourway. This one used such a good deal of my 2" scraps that I'm inspired to work on it again.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, I hope you're all having a lovely time with your families and the people most important to you. This is the start of my children's school holidays, and we're spending some quality time together, as I know I'm going to miss Marty and the kids while I'm gone. They will probably cope a good deal better than I will.

Chatter soon. xox