Another UFQ Adventure and Some Ideas on Getting Unstuck!

Once again, there is nothing like a deadline to motivate me!

I started piecing Lucy Carson Kingwell's Smitten over a year ago and as is so often the case with me, other projects pushed in and took priority.

This year, I listed it as one of my "goal" projects for the APQ Resolution challenge which helped me get back at it briefly earlier in the year.  Then a student asked me to consider using the pattern for a future workshop and the idea formed to follow through on that for my 2017 Farmpark Workshop.

 

It's too early to book for it at this point, but I can tell you it's

Friday and Saturday, March 17 and 18

at Lake Metroparks Farmpark Quilt Show!

 

So back out everything came and the finished blocks took over the design wall.

Now I have a deadline to motivate me but I need stimulation to actually do the work!

I find that a good place to start is to sort through all that fabric pulled for the project and reorganize it.

Nothing gets my juices moving like sorting fabric into color and value piles!

Another useful strategy for me is to start cutting pieces without making "matching" decisions.  For this set of small blocks I needed a central hexagon.  Cutting some that I thought were pretty is the quickest way to move forward. 

The "visual" of the shape laying there suggests what to use more quickly than other approaches.

And as I was handling a piece of fabric, I cut some extra pieces -- large diamonds for fillers I would need, a set of background diamonds for a small star, triangle wedges.

(A good pot of tea and a lovely teacup help stimulate creativity.)

Soon I was back in the groove and piecing blocks at a productive rate! 

By adding the newly pieced units to the design wall as they were finished, I can evaluate where I need more of the three main color families -- pink, green, and yellow.  If you don't have a design wall, it is such a helpful resource you might want to give it some thought.

Even though I haven't finished all the interior blocks, I stared to create the half blocks needed for the upper and lower edges.  I have a photo deadline I'm trying to meet!!

I've also begun to incorporate ideas from other sources to build my enthusiasm and maintain momentum -- sometimes I get bored with doing what someone else has done and just need to give it a twist!  Treehouse Textiles is a shop in Australia that I follow on Instagram and they often post ideas for using vintage textiles in their quilted projects (such as this). 

I had three of these tea towels too precious to "use" but if I didn't do something with them, they were doomed for a donation box someday -- now they will always be fondled and appreciated!

I've started to assemble the upper left side working in diagonal rows. 

Friday, I'll share some tips on how I manage this part of the process.

Must head back to the studio for now and stitch, stitch, stitch!!

 

Mary Huey