Three Projects in Process

By in process I mean the ones that are actually started and not just ones that are in fabric piles on the studio floor - more on those in the next post.  You know I'm a sucker for jelly rolls and layer cakes.  I saw this line Thrive by Natalia and Kathleen and loved the gentle graphics and color.  Against this background of a dark cool grey?  I'm in love.  As I put these shapes and colors together, I kept thinking of how I want to hand-quilt this.  So I made nine 29" blocks.  Each center is a 10" square from the line.  There are 5" squares and 2.5" squares.  Circular quilting?  Yes!  But circles are easier to do in small bits, not as a large quilt.  So I have batted each one of these 9 blocks with wool and an Art Gallery fabric backing.  They are pinned and edges have have been zigzagged.  Voila - my next hand project.  Still looking for an 18" template.  And then I will join these blocks in my reversible fashion. 

Another project in process is this grey-black-white log cabin.  So far there are forty-two 14" blocks.This layout of diagonal furrows pleases me, but these blocks are set aside for a day when I'll try another layout.  It's nice to have all the black and white and grey logs put away for a while.

And the last project I just started this morning.  I have loved working with peppered shot cottons - I started accumulating them 4 years ago.  This morning I was trying to explain to John what these shot cottons are and realized that I have three projects in the living room that are all made from shot cottons - see the end of this post.  The pile is dwindling but still sizeable.  I have been thinking about a Rail Fence design.  You can see below what I have so far.  Each block is 10.5".  It's pretty in-your-face - does it need toning down?  All I know is that I am going to keep making blocks! 

As I worked on the Rail Fence, I realized I have almost enough for a full-size Trip Around the World.  So the strips are cut, just waiting to be sewn.

Here's the thing about these meaty peppered shot cottons - they feel great and have a nice weight.  They are a dream to quilt because their weave is very open and looks good with my primitive sashiko quilting.  I know I want to hand-quilt this Trip.  I'm not sure about the Rail Fence.

This was from a jelly roll of shot cottons. 

This Glam Clam was hand-pieced and hand-quilted.  These curves almost made themselves. 

The quilt that started my love affair with peppered shot cottons.