Still growing...

Now that we're well into October, I'm feeling the itch to start decorating for Halloween.  Especially since the littlest one's birthday is coming up, and he wants a Halloween-themed celebration (in his mind that just means pumpkins everywhere).   

In between dreaming up clever ways to transform the house into a Halloween wonderland (I'm leaning cutesy-crafty, though the rest of the family want ghoulish-gory) I've done a bit of work on Marcelle.

I chose mostly prints from various Anna Maria Horner collections (which I own in droves) because of their deep and rich colors.  I added a skinny strip of newsprint after the bricks to lighten it up a bit.  But the next border, which is a big, chunky cut, makes the top feel heavy and I'm unsure whether or not I want to keep it.  The next round will have plenty of low-volume goodness, so I'll reserve judgement until I see the pluses framing the whole thing. 

More maple blocks are in the works.  I hope to have the last of them done today.  I may even have a Modern Maples quilt top by the end of the week!

Linking up to the Marcelle Medallion Quilt-along at penny poppleton and WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

The geese have landed

Now that fall is in the air (in the mornings, anyway), the urge to finish the quilts I have going is especially acute.  Swept up in two quilt-alongs as I am, chain-piecing has been the order of the day.  I've got nine Modern Maples blocks done with three more in progress.  (I do them in threes because I need the instant gratification of seeing finished blocks.) 

But what's more gratifying is that I've got border #4 (flying geese) of the Marcelle Medallion done.

I think this border has cured my desire to make a flying geese quilt (at least for now).  All those bias seams!  I really like how this quilt is shaping up.  I'm aiming for a rich and saturated scrappy look.  I like that the low-volume prints in the center and alternating borders keep it from looking too busy (I think).

The bricks for border #5 are all cut and ready for piecing.  I'm going to put the bricks in a bag and *try* to sew them as I pull them out rather than laying them out beforehand. 

Linking up to the MMQAL over at penny poppleton.  

Marcelle, Marcelle, Marcelle

I am quilter obsessed.  Marcelle Medallion is slowly stealing every available minute not spent on housework or child-rearing.  When I'm not working on it, I'm thinking about the next round of borders.  What prints should I use?  Should I reverse the lights and darks?  Does my stash have what I need? 

On Friday I leave with a few quilty friends for Sew On Northern California (yay!).  In packing up projects for the weekend, I realize I'm subconciously trying to figure out a way to have my whole stash available to me while I'm away from home. As that's not going to happen, I'm consoled with the knowledge that a trip to an LQS or two have been planned for Saturday morning.

Anyway, here is Marcelle, with border #1 in place:

The center medallion was hand-pieced using the EPP method.  The aftermath of finding just the right  prints for the first border has made a mess of my stash.  It's in further disarray after pulling these prints for border #2:

I may sneak in a couple more prints.  Or not, according whatever whim might strike as I'm piecing the triangles that make up this border.

Linking up to the MMQAL at penny poppleton and WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Taking shape

I'm having a bout of quilter's ADD this week.  I'm actively working on these four quilts, going back and forth as the mood strikes.  This means that quilt backs, batting, fabric scraps and sewing paraphernalia litter just about every available surface in the living room and mudroom (aka my sewing room).  There are also a sink full of dishes and an overflowing basket of clean laundry- two loads worth, waiting to be folded.  But what is housework when there's sewing to be done?

Today I think I'll work on Vintage Stars.  The back is pieced:

 
I'm going to try my hand at thread basting this quilt.  It seems like that would go much quicker than pin-basting, and I'll try anything to save my finger tips from getting pricked a hundred times. 

And while I'm shuttling kids to various activities this afternoon, I'll bring along Marcelle.  Progress is slow on the center medallion, which I'm EPP'ing.  After a few false starts where my stitches were showing through the front using a whipstitch, I found Lori's helpful tutorial using the ladder stitch.  The result is much neater for me.

However, sewing and housework both will have to wait.  The little one has decided it's time to put together his large floor puzzle of the United States.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Paper and thread

In between soccer games and thrifting, I began work on the Marcelle center medallion over the weekend.  I opted to go the EPP route to avoid the dreaded y-seams.  It's also nice to have a portable project to work on while the kids have soccer practice and guitar lessons this week.

After the myriad changes I made before settling on this stack, I made a few more changes once the prints were cut and pieces laid out.  The print meant for the outer corners was moved to the center star, and a couple of prints were switched out completely.  Here's my final answer, basted and ready to be hand-pieced:

  
There are helpful tips for piecing the center medallion, whether by machine or by hand, at the MMQAL hosted over at penny poppleton. 

It was a little scary cutting into some of my most precious prints.  I'm happy to have found a project that's stash-worthy.  Now that I've finally cut into them, I don't think I'll be so hesitant to pull them out for future projects.

Now it's to pick up the needle and thread (though I really should be picking up the broom and dustpan).

Finally caving

Earlier this year I made a resolution to refrain from joining bees, swaps and any type of "along."  This week, I came to the sad conclusion that I can hold out no longer.  It's been a good run, but there have been a few flickr swaps that I regretted not joining.  Marcelle Medallion quilts found here, here and here further weakened my resolve.  The Marcelle Medallion Quilt-Along hosted over at penny poppleton was the final nail in the coffin.

So with Liberty Love book in hand, I spent some time yesterday (between spurts of domesticity) perusing my stash for the center medallion prints.  Nothing in my stash was off limits for a future project, all prints previously deemed too dear to cut into were fair game.

Seven prints.  That is all that's required for the center medallion, and yet it took me all afternoon and well into the evening to settle on seven prints.  I even fell asleep thinking about the seven prints.  My stash and sewing area look like the aftermath of a rummage sale, but I'm feeling pretty confident these are "the ones": 

I've decided to let the quilt grow organically with each successive round of borders.  I like the idea of delving into my stash as the quilt grows.  My goal is to use stash fabric for this quilt, but who knows what new print may be in my stash when it's time for the next round?  It's also a good reminder of the wonderful fabrics that have been tucked away for much too long.