Sandy Breeze - Guild Project

One of the first quilts in line for Mollie, once I get a rhythm and feel for her, is the guild donation quilt that I started in January.  The quilts will be sent north to be distributed to families affected by Hurricane Sandy.  One of the Bees in our guild spent time cutting and creating the kits so that we could start sewing.  This was my first sewing day, and a lot of fun, but I'm not sure why I assumed that someone else would quilt the tops...  rather than being responsible from starting stitch to finishing stitch (I might have taken on the role of runner/presser/gopher for the day instead).  Previously I blogged about this project in I will never skip starch again!

The basic block - Fat Quarter Breeze

Fittingly, the name of the block is Fat Quarter Breeze. The blocks went together easily (especially once I applied starch and pressed them flat), but combining the 12 into one large top that is pleasing to the eye has me stymied.  Part of it may be the colors - it is scrappy and not a palette I would normally work with. Some of the colors that clashed to me as I was piecing have grown on me. I'm hoping the thread I picked up the other day when I picked up Mollie will work as well, or at least blend.

Discovering the joy of design.

 While organizing my craft room on Sunday, I created a temporary design wall over the closet doors.  My very patient husband's clothes are in this closet as I kind of pushed most of them out of the closet in our bedroom, so I do have to take it down at night.  Gus was fascinated by the idea of sticking the squares on the wall and took over the design phase for the top. He may also have been trying out a "mom-approved" form of procrastination on his science poster. I may try rotating a few blocks before sewing them together, or I may just leave it as Gus designed it.  I found the pattern online (after misplacing my copy from the guild workday while reorganizing) and even the layout of the blocks is scrappy.  I did audition the possibility of sashing between blocks, but didn't like it and am concerned that there may not be enough border fabric included so I don't want to change the dimensions dramatically.

Gus's initial design - which he has since altered a bit, and as I look at it, I can see possibilities for change as well. Back to the design doors we go.  This is the underside of a Florida State University table cloth.  Totally suitable for me.

Monkey is not quite sure what she thinks about the whole quilting process. She typically acts like she is regularly beaten when a camera is present, but she adores Gus.