Free at last, praise the Universe free at last!

*hee* Okay, maybe that was an over-reaction, and truthfully, the quilt has been done for about four days now, but I feel like I've been blogging about this thing FOREVER.

I think that's because "Kinda Blue" has made me feel kinda blue!





Y'see, although I loved the front, I really chose badly for the backing. I don't know why I didn't notice it until the darn thing was quilted, but the back really spoils the whole thing. Why did I think jailhouse stripes were a good idea just because they were the right colour? ARgggHHH!!!!!



So, I ended up choosing something else as a gift for the recipient, and I'll be re-visting this theme at a later date, and at that time, instead of using my stash (since I made myself stick to my promise to use only my stash for quilts this summer) I'll make it in her true colour choices, as she said she likes turquoise and cream. A good trial run, for the both the pattern and the quilting (I've never tried feathers before) and you'll see something similar in the near future.

In the meantime, I've been working on something "fast and simple" although I'm not sure how "fast" it's actually going to be. It requires 500 blocks, of which I've made 144 to date. Now WHY did I think that was going to be fast? *w*



If I'm not done the top by this weekend I'll have to put it aside, because on Thursday, I'm going fabric shopping for my doll quilt - I came up with the idea for it last week, but haven't got the right fabric for it, which means I'll have to break my "stash only" rule and buy something. Too bad. ;)

I've found this doll quilt swap design SOOOOOOOO hard. Every time I thought of something, I went back to check the email for her likes and dislikes and found a reason not to use the idea. This past weekend, I designed nine applique blocks and then, before I started cutting, checked her specs again and found that she really disliked applique. Foiled again!

Clearly, our design sense/tastes are not aligned! Anyway, I've finally come up with something that though it doesn't precisely meet her design likes, it doesn't hit any of her dislikes. I hope that she likes the finished product - it was a toughie for me - but I like that because it stretched me, y'know?

Anyway! Also on tap for this weekend, birthday blocks (I'm behind on those as well because of not having any "frog" fabric!) and then I can get back to work on some ideas in my head. Lots for me to look forward to!

Hope you're all doing well. Is it hot where you are? It's been over a 100 degrees here for the last four days. *phew!*


(And as usual, you can click on the pics for greater detail.)