Hand Pieced

So what is a girl to do when faced with making changes to a garment that she really doesn't feel like dealing with?  Pick up something new, of course!  I started perusing my knitting patterns and yarn to see what I might want to play with next, but nothing was really calling out to me.  

And then I noticed the stack of quilt blocks that have been draped on the back of a chair for goodness knows how long.  Every once in a while I notice them sitting there and feel guilty for yet another abandoned project (though it never seems to motivate me to do anything about it).

But this time I was a good little crafter, and decided to tackle one of my many unfinished projects.

This is actually the second quilt top I have started (not including this doll quilt from my childhood that never actually made it to the quilting stage).  Maybe I will have to pull that other abandoned quilt out and use the appliqued blocks to make some pillows, or something . . . 

This particular quilt was started at a time when I had an intense craving for a whole lot of hand sewing.  I have a ton of cotton stashed away, the majority of which is leftovers and scraps from past projects.  

My first instinct is always to make everything look matchy, matchy, (any excuse to get new items for a project is too good to pass up), but I always love looking at other examples of patchwork that were clearly not part of a charm pack, so I decided to throw caution to the wind.

The wonderful part of working with scraps, is that every time I cut another square or thumb through the stack of semi-completed blocks, I look at the fabric and remember all of the projects that came before, a dress here, a gift there.  And, of course, that lovely feeling I get when I can use some of my stashed fabric is another reward.

Well, I finished the last block and started on the sashing this past week!

Who knows how this will end, and if I will lose interest before I get to the quilting stage . . . but this just may be the year that I learn to hand quilt!