Basting Some Big Ones!

I basted three quilts this week, and all three of them are king sized. I thought one was closer to a queen, but when I dug it out and measured it's more like a queen sized bedspread, so would definitely fit a king easily. DH took photos of two of the three after helping me lay them out on the basting tables. 

This is the wedding quilt for one of my nephews. I was so worried I'd have a block wrong way around and have to rip, and I almost did have one. I was sewing the first quarter together, but I had already put the second quarter on the design wall. I was comparing the two as I was sewing, and I realized I had made a mistake in the first quarter, but thankfully, I noticed before I sewed that block onto the row. 

DH didn't take a photo of the second quilt I basted, but this is the third one.

I just finished basting this one today. I still have pins left, but I'm going to take the basting tables down anyway. I still have quilt tops that need basting, but I have five quilts basted now, three of which are king sized, and that will keep me busy for a while! I'll have to get back into my FMQ an hour a day routine. 

When I'm basting monster sized quilts like these, which takes me quite a while, I try to be nice to myself and not make any other quilting goals besides basting one quilt per day. I did get some sewing done each of those three basting days, but I only worked on whatever I wanted to. 

I got the border fabric sewn onto the Cartoon dog fabric. I think the paw print fabric is pretty cute on there. This quilt top is now hanging in the quilt closet. 

I finished sewing a bunch of units for another quilt, and once I get those all pressed, I can sew the units into blocks. I also sewed some 6" blocks into four patches to make 12" blocks. My sewing room is still a disaster, but I'm not really wanting to put away any of the projects I have out until they are quilt tops. The cartoon dog quilt hanging in the closet gives me a little less mess in the sewing room. If I can get a few more quilt tops assembled, I'll sew my way out of the mess.

Oh, I did get all the bowl cozies I was making finished last weekend! I think this weekend I'm going to tackle the stack of burp rags that have been sitting cut for months. 

The big fabric purchase I made has arrived.

These are three 102 yard bundles. Marshall Dry Goods tends to make bundles of 17 different six yard cuts. I've bought a bundle of neutral tone on tones from them before, but I was pleasantly surprised that only one print of this batch is the same as the last one I bought. 

The bundle of solids I got went heavy on the browns and greens, which was great because I'm low on those. The blenders were quite heavy on the blues.

Of the 17 blenders I received, seven of them were shades of blue. Considering I don't like blue, you might think I was disappointed by this, but honestly, I'm not. That light sky blue? I was completely out of that color in stash, because I use quite a bit of it in pictoral quilts like the tree house baby quilt I made last year. I was out of turquoise because I used the last I had in the last wedding quilt. I needed more turquoise for another quilt I want to make, and now I've got it. Actually, I think I'll be using blues 2-4 in that quilt. 

Even when I get a color I don't like much, I am still really happy, because those are the colors that teach you a lot. I don't really understand the quilters that only work in a certain color palette. It's probably because I give most of my quilts away, and I know not everyone likes the same colors I do, so I try to make quilts that fit the recipients taste. I find the colors I don't like teach me a lot more about color theory and balance than colors that naturally attract me.

I've made so many blue quilts, I don't hate it as much as I used to. I still have no desire to keep a blue quilt, but I've made a few I can honestly say I think are pretty, even if I don't want them in my house. 

I try to expand my color ideas, but some popular combinations I still can't stand. I love red, but hate turquoise. I will pair turquoise with black or purple, but turquoise and red I've never liked and you won't be seeing any quilts in that combination coming from me. I know some people love it, and think it's cool and retro. To me it's just an eyesore, but that's OK, because I know some color combinations I love aren't loved by others. I love doing Google image searches of a quilt pattern I want to make. Seeing what other people decided to combine always interests me, whether or not it's to my personal taste. 

I'm trying to fold a fabric a day and get it onto a mini-bolt. It's a lot to do in one day, so I'm happy spreading out that job. These six yards lengths aren't even folded in half like they are on a bolt, they came off a roll, so I have to do all the folding. I've already been into the fabrics though, and some of them I'm already cutting for projects. I've had several quilt patterns I've been wanting to try, and if one of the fabrics I'm folding works for a background of that quilt, I may as well cut it while I'm handling it. I need sashing cut for several quilts too, so again, if the new fabric works I may as well cut it while it's out. 

Basically, I'm all over the place as usual. I see progress being made, so it's a win, no matter how disorganized I seem to some.