Out of season

Do you ever feel out of sync with the seasons? I'm feeling a little like that at the moment - we keep hearing about the glorious Queensland weather from Mr Q's family as we cosy up in woollen jumpers and thick socks. And then there is the bizarre and unexpected urge to spring clean - in the depths of winter. To empty out drawers and cupboards, sorting and editing the contents. In the last week or so, clothes and books have all been through this process, and the spotlight is now firmly on my crafting space. It's probably apparent from this blog that I am a serial starter (and a quick look in the kitchen cupboard will also show you that Mr Q and I are cereal starters too!). I have a few unfinished knitting projects, but the largest number of works in progress are definitely in the quilting pile.

I am sure that my Christmas break will involve some culling of fabric and craft supplies, but before that happens I am digging through the box of unfinished quilting projects and seeing what I can complete.

So this week, I have been mostly quilting this quilt.

I started piecing this quilt in the summer of 2010, using a jelly roll that I'd purchased a couple of years before. The fabric is A Little Romance from Moda. I wanted to create a simple quilt using just a single jelly roll and some sashing fabric. The top went together quickly, and then I stalled trying to decide how to quilt it. Finally, a border quilting design in Christine Maraccini's Machine Quilting Solutions caught my eye. Getting the quilting to match up at the corners provided a little challenge, but I am very happy with how this turned out. Just the binding to do now. And perhaps a quick write-up of the quilt as a tutorial?

So what else is in the finishing pile?

To be quilted...

1. A colourwash Irish chain that I started in 2000
2. A traditional red and white "Double X" quilt that I started as a wedding quilt in 2006, before Mr Q told me he's not that keen on red and white!
3. A French Braid quilt that I'm making as a raffle quilt in aid of Friends of Gawthorpe - hopefully I'll show you that finished next week
4. Two Harmonic Convergence quilts made from Ricky Tims' book

Tops to be completed...

1. The daisy quilt I showed you in an earlier post
2. A Strips and Curves quilt from Louisa Smith's book
3. Some curved pieced leaves that I designed years ago and have never put together in a quilt
4. A fossil quilt that I started in a class with Anja Townrow
5. A Single Girl quilt from a pattern by Denise Schmidt
6. A table runner that I started in a class last summer

And my thought for the day? Finishing is fun - even though you sometimes you have to admit defeat and let sleeping cats lie.