Wednesday, August 1, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Giant Retro Patchwork Flower


Hey guys! Bit of a slow week quilting-wise - we are really ramping up our wedding planning now that it's a month and a half away. If you knew how much I still have left to do you'd think I was insane. I just happen to think relaxing with a book in the sun, quilting, watching hours of Battlestar Galactica#nerdalert, and gardening are more fun ways to spend my time than choosing napkin colors and centerpieces! 

(I'm finally getting around to reading "Insurgent", by Veronica Roth, if anyone is curious. I've also just finished an amazing book called "Below Stairs", by Margaret Powell. The true life story of a kitchen maid born in the early 1900's. It reads like a funny grandmother is telling you stories about the good old days. If you like Downton Abbey, you would really love this one!)

Many of you showed support for my starting yet another project, thank you. :) I started sewing up the patchwork quilt I was dying to get going on, and out of the blue an idea fell into my head to use The Sometimes Crafters "Retro Flowers" pattern, but huge. (It should end up being slightly larger than throw sized, about 70" square.)


I had to draft it out and blow it up, and print out a large template. If I had thought this through, I'd have realized that it would have been better to make this block out of four pieces, as in the pattern, but I thought I'd save some time and just sew one big curve around the whole thing.

It did work, but I think it resulted in more wrinkles than were necessary.  (I've since ironed it out and it looks much better than these initial photos, and the wrinkles that are left will probably just blend in like usual after the quilting process.) Now I have to decide if I should keep going with this method, or do it the right way for the rest of the blocks. (Always a learning experience!)


And here is an approiximation of how it might look finished, through the magic of photoshop!


So that's in on the quilting front. I've been getting outside a lot more lately, now that the weather has become more bearable. We have so many neat things growing this year! I've made some chamomile (second photo below) tea and it's wonderful. Some of our corn (a special, decorative variety) is over nine feet tall right now! We have peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, bush beans, onions, carrots, peas, and hopefully soon the cucumbers and watermelon will be ready.


And just to get even more off topic...a cat. :)


I am linking this post to Freshly Pieced, though as usual I am late to the game and have a pitiful showing this week! Lol. Thank you for coming by! :)

14 comments:

  1. The patchwork flower looks amazing! I think it will look brilliant when you have all four - great idea! Your outside pics are wonderful. I still haven't read Divergent but it is one of the next books on my list. I'll add that other one you wrote about too - sounds interesting.

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  2. That is very cool!
    Love the colors.
    Carol

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  3. The patchwork retro flower is going to be amazing. I admire your ability to think outside the box!

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  4. I love the patchwork flower!

    Thanks for the book recommendations. "Below Stairs" sounds fascinating (I study this time period, though in the U.S., not England), and I've just purchased it for my Nook. :) I find it funny that the one time I actually take a book recommendation, it still isn't a fiction book-- I'm afraid grad school has decimated my ability to read fiction! Oh well. Maybe someday I'll get back into it--Harry Potter was a step in the right direction!

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  5. I just love your retro flower block! It's going to be a fab quilt. Well done for all your food growing too - you've got a great variety of home produce :)

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  6. Oh, it's lovely. Such a great idea to make it bigger!

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  7. That flower block looks great blown up and pieced from squares! Can't wait to see the finished top.

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  8. Brilliant idea and the giant flower will be amazing!!

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  9. That flower block is so awesome!

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  10. I just finished "Divergent" and now I am third in line at the local library for "Insurgent." I might go crazy waiting! I'm also a fan of Downton Abbey :) so I might have to try "Below Stairs" while I'm waiting...
    I wish I could garden. It looks like you have some great stuff growing!

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  11. I can't believe you have time to do this and still have a wedding coming up!

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  12. Woa, but what a gorgeous picture of your cat. Seriously!

    Your big ole Retro Flower is going to be super cool. Keep up the good work!

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  13. Awesome. I'd keep going the way you did this one if it wasn't too tricky, I don't think it looks wrinkly and it will be fine in the end! If it were me, I'd rather have all the piecing match. Good work, cute kitty!

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  14. What a cute cat! I had a black cat when I was around 9 years old. I loved her so much.

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