Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Quilt along idea

I visited several blogs with quilt along postings recently.  And, while the idea is intriguing--everyone working on the same (or similar) projects, posting their progress and encouraging each other in an online community--I struggle with completing the many projects I already have going.

So I lurk in blog-land and watch other people get things done.  Often the timeframe is daunting: a block a week!?  I sometimes find the block-a-month nature of buck-a-block to be a challenge.

Had an A-ha! moment that transformed quilt along into a way to finish a long-dormant project.

The project: a children's play quilt with a barnyard theme.  Pattern is from the book, Play Quilts: Creative Activity Quilts for Kids by Kristin Kolstad Addison.



How old is this project? Well, if you consider that my youngest child is almost 20... and the play quilt was supposed to be for my children... and the pattern book was published in 2001... I'd say I haven't worked on it in 10 years.

UFO (a decade old)

Where did I stop?  I finished the border with the "random" shape that was recommended by the pattern, and hated it.  (I also strongly disliked the fabric that is the backing, but one can overlook a backing, especially on a quilt that will be played with on the floor and may thus get pretty dirty.)  The next step was to put some quilting details on the surface, before adding embellishments and making the moveable toy parts.  I didn't know how to machine quilt, and didn't think that hand-quilting was where I wanted to go with this project.


Ok, back to quilt along... How does this project fit in with that idea?  Well, there are about 15 small parts that go with the basic quilt.  If I work on one part per month, that's still over a year to finish this quilt.  But, it's better than not working on it at all, especially if I want it to be ready for the eventual grandchildren.  I'm actually excited about working on the little bits of this project, a little bit at a time.

The goal: one "toy" part of the quilt per month--just like a BOTM. 
First month's assignment: the clouds.
Due date: December 15 (same day as buck-a-block; no coincidence) 

And we're off!

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