Plugging along

I think I must suffer from some kind of quilter's ADD. I have so many projects going it is just crazy. I really need to finish something soon, or I may very well go bonkers. I suspect this means starting a new "instant gratification" project. It is a vicious cycle.

Anyway—some new things:

For September's block lotto, my quilt guild has chosen the theme, "Think fall leaves!" I do love fall. And leaves. My husband and I were married in the autumn. So it is a special time as well. Of course I needed to participate.


This block is from the October 2007 issue of McCall's Quilting, from the pattern Ginger & Tea Leaves. I had to add some sashing to get it to measure 12.5". But I think it works pretty well.


This is sort of my own design. I took leaf templates from the October 2004 issue of McCall's Quilting (from the pattern Autumn Luster), but I used them in a completely different way. I've been on a hand applique kick lately, and I really enjoyed putting this one together. All of the leaves are batiks.

I don't think I ever mentioned it, but I was actually a winner in my guild's last block lotto back in June. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to set them, but here are the blocks:


Aren't they wonderful? Some of these are so intricate! The little angel in the center block is wool applique. I even won back one of the ones I made (the one in the bottom right). They are going to make a great quilt. I just have to figure out how I want to do it... I'm definitely thinking sashing will be in order. But that's about as far as I've gotten.

A new guild activity that is beginning with this month's meeting is a block exchange. Participants select a block and then are grouped with a list of other quilters. Each month I'll be making someone else's block while someone in the group makes mine. By the end of a year, we'll all have 12 blocks. We're to include a sample block and detailed instructions in our "block box" along with contact info (in case there are questions). We can also choose to include as much or as little fabric as we want. I've never done anything like this before, and thought it sounded like a lot of fun. Let me tell you, though, it was really difficult choosing a block! This is what I came up with:



And this Katie Jump Rope design is my inspiration fabric. I'm including that and the white background in my box. I'm really excited to see what people choose to do—the colors, whether or not they use the inspiration fabric, how they interpret the block design. It should be a lot of fun.