Empty hands

One of the problems with working so hard for so long on quilts that are then just finished, is that you suddenly find yourself with empty hands. And for someone who is always sewing something, that feeling is a little bit weird. And I get really twitchy.

Sure I have heaps of projects I could start, or continue (and let's not talk about the amount of dress fabric stash I have waiting to be sewn!) but this time I've decided to concentrate on just one or two quilt projects at a time. Outstanding projects.  L O N G outstanding projects! In fact this year for the Canberra Quilters' UFO pledge, I pledged five quilts to be finished by the end of the year.

Of that list how many have I finished so far?

None.



I started solving the empty hands problem by pulling the Grandmother's Flower Garden out of the UFO pile. Rita from Red Pepper Quilts started it, then she gave it to me (in what may be the best trade ever) and now I get to finish it. I really want this to be a large wall hanging in the spare room, hanging opposite the beautiful painting that Cathy gave me.



I've been making lots of extra blocks, and side filler blocks to make this quilt a little longer and square it out on the sides. Give me a few weeks and I reckon the top could be done. My main problem here is knowing when to stop. The design wall does come in handy when working this out, so at least I know I have a finite number of blocks to make.



And the second project is something I can do when I don't feel like hand sewing. It's a quilt made from Oakshott cottons. I think I finished it almost two years ago, and now my husband would love to have it quilted and hanging in the study.



All I have to do here is mark out the quilting design, make the backing, baste it and get quilting. Should be a doddle. You know, except for that basting thing.

Lee is back from her summer vacation (ah summer - how I miss thee!) and so I'm back on the WIP train at Freshly Pieced.