Trying to keep up with whatever it is I'm working on ...

A few of the projects occupying my spare minutes over the past couple weeks.  Someday maybe I'll actually make a list and keep track of completed stages of everything being worked on, though then that would take up time that could be spent stitching ...

First, I got a good start on piecing a bed-size quilt for the not-quite-12 year-old grandson that will be the major part of his Christmas gift.  When he and his siblings last visited I sat each of them down with paper and pencil and asked them to write down 7 things they liked to do or were interested in.  This guy's list included architecture (building sets), Eiffel Tower in particular, New York City, London, and reading spy novels.  Since his favorite subject in school is math, and they are also  studying world cultures this year. I figured I had enough subject matter (and fabric pieces) for building his quilt top.  As of now nearly half of the top is constructed.  I'm using a slightly size altered version of Bonnie Hunter's Sticks and Stones pattern that can be found under the Free Patterns tab on her Quiltville blog. 

I'm building the quilt top in four sections, the upper left quadrant was completed this afternoon.

The second quadrant (upper right side) is still on the design wall.  Blocks not yet sewn into rows. Fabrics focus on city streets, buildings, lots of numbers representing his interest in architecture and math, and even one spy-related block.  Text in foreign language blocks, etc.  In hopes of keeping this masculine and "grown-up" the sashings are understated with just a bit of color pop in the cornerstones.

Fall is such a fleeting season and with the holiday season coming (sooner than I'd like)  I began quilting the first Christmas quilt that will actually remain in our house, one that has been patiently waiting in the closet since the end of February. 

Ditch quilting all 30 stars 

Do you ever ditch quilt using your free motion foot rather than a walking foot?  I've tried it a few times, and found it fairly easy to accomplish, though my limited eyesight these days prevents ditching while stitching sideways so the quilt still needs to be turned every time I pivot around these stars.  I've found it easier to focus on the needle's path when using a smaller free motion foot rather than the bulky even feed foot and so this is what works for now.   I'll stencil some holiday motifs in the blocks for FMQ in the next couple days and really hope to have both this and the grandson's quilt completed by the end of November.

I still plan to do the Almost Amish quiltalong being hosted by Lori at Humble Quilts.  After dithering about a month because my first fabric selections just didn't gel, when I started cutting all the little sashing squares for my grandson's quilt the fabric just jumped out at me and fairly screamed "use these colors!"  

And so I will.  And hopefully on Saturday if all goes well there will (finally) be about of six uninterrupted hours when this little quilt can finally be stitched.  It's a nice thought, we'll see what happens.

  

Oh yes, one more oldie-but-goodie, wondering if anyone out there also has an unfinished Westering Women top still awaiting quilting!   I finally pieced a back, marked the entire front with my largest Baptist fan stencil, layered and pinned it last week, and am whiling away my evenings in the recliner big-stitch quilting this one.  What a wonderful way to spend the evening.  Especially loving the wool batting I'm using for the first time, so easy to quilt through.  A friend had given me a partial batting a few years back, she had just cut a small piece off, and the remainder was the perfect size for this quilt.  I can hardly wait to finally finish this one, hopefully before winter is over.

This has gotten long and the hour is late, so I'll close for now.  Til next time, happy stitching!