Smitten

This week I've been making a concerted effort to get Smitten put together--I started it some months ago, as a handwork project when on the road and by machine when home.

Here she is stuck on the design wall--the block rows are not sewn together yet.  My first thought is this would be an easy finish, just diagonal rows of blocks, OH, Yes, those are Hexagon blocks and each of those joins is a 60 degree angle--not so fast!  But it's on the design wall so I will push forward and get it done now.

The pattern is Smitten, by Lucy Carson Kingwell, and measures 48" x 61" when done, unless I add another border or two.  I first saw someone doing it on Instagram and I was "smitten".  Lots of people do this by the English Paper Piecing method; I much prefer to do hand or machine piecing.  Perfect Patchwork Template Set H, by Marti Michell, makes cutting the many pieces very easy.   This will be a class this summer and I'll teach EPP and hand and machine piecing, whichever method the student wants to use.

Here is my other ongoing project, The Splendid Sampler for Stella:

Block #2, Wings.  The pattern shows obvious butterflies with embroidered antenna.  I chose to leave those off and altered the color placement.  There are more than 18,000 working on this currently, from all over the world.  It is interesting to see the fabric choices people are making.

As a number person, I am tracking the number of pieces and the number of fabrics, for no good reason other than it's easy to do while under construction--way too much work when it's done.  Here is the spreadsheet I am using:

Someone asked me if I am tracking the fabric designer and manufacturer--no.  For me, it's all about the fabrics I choose to use, not the company or designer who created it.

My photographer/musician son, Joshua Black Wilkins, will be here in town tomorrow night for a show--the first time in many years he has had a gig in Huntsville.  We are looking forward to seeing him play.  And next weekend, Stella, our grand-girl, and her folks will be in town for a couple days--she is crawling now so it will be a busy time for all of us!

Let's Quilt!

Barbara