Languishing too Long

I was so good at working on UFOs last year. One a month like clockwork. I felt virtuous and content. Must have used up all my virtuosity last year though, because this year the quilts on my UFO list have languished. Maybe I took care of all the really good UFOs last year, or maybe I have just been more distractable lately. Whatever the reason, it is October already and my UFO list seems to have gotten longer this year rather than shorter. The new carpet is coming Tuesday (FINALLY) and the house is in a state of disarray. In the midst of the organizational transition I pulled out this project that was supposed to have fabulous striped borders. The string piecing went astray and I am going to just add a nice solid border to the edges and call it finished. I don't have anything in my stash that I think will work. I am thinking of something solidish in a darker color. I see a lot of pink and orange in the quilt, but want to avoid anything excessively girlish. I'm thinking that red or lime green would work. A trip to the fabric store may be required. Until then I think I'll cut the failed border strips into some lovely string blocks for later.

The kids have been outside off and on all day working on their new clubhouse. This is the same clubhouse that has already required a trip to the urgent care clinic for stitches. Both Anna and Ryan have invited friends over to join the fun. I'm keeping an eye on them in case medical care may be needed again. I'm hoping they all learned a lesson about tool safety last time.

How Did that Happen?

I was trying to finish off the border for Starlight Starbright in between steps for Crumb Cake. I remember cutting out foundation strips for the rainbow effect and carefully measuring them to fit between cornerstones of wonky squares. Admittedly, they've been sitting and waiting patiently for a while now, but how did they shrink?!? OK, so maybe they didn't shrink, but why do they not fit? Was I planning on piecing two of them together for each side? Did I plan on filling in the empty space with something else? What exactly was I thinking? Maybe if I search through my blog archives I'll find some clue as to what I had planned for these oddly sized fabric strips which I have methodically covered with rainbow colors. Or maybe I'm going to have to make up something creative.

What's Next?

I just finished the flimsy for Starlight Starbright. Traditional blocks are much easier to put together, it took a lot of crawling around on the floor to get everything to fit together. It still needs borders, I'm thinking of doing some diagonal string piecing based on a quilt that Rhonda made a while ago. I think it would add some color to offset the white. That brings the flimsy stack in need of borders to two. Perhaps I'll start working on borders next. I also got the last two quadrants of the Sock Monkey quilt put together so when I get the borders done I can switch to sandwiching mode for a while. I see more crawling around in my immediate future. Mom has also asked me to make a "blanket" for her guest bedroom. I think I'll start working on that one next, maybe using Bonnie's Sister's Choice pattern. It feels good to be getting some sewing done for a change. So moving on, what's next?

In denial

So I know I should be working on lesson plans, or laundry, or something productive. But I had a quilt in my mind and I wanted to play with the idea. I had been admiring Bonnie's Cathedral Star Quilt, but didn't really want to do any HST blocks. So I came up with an Irish Chain variation, and wanted to make a block to see how it would look. I was trying to make the star points in warm colors and the four patches in cool colors, hoping that it would make the star points pop out, but I'm not sure if that's the effect I'm getting. Anyway, it was fun to play.