The Smitten Top is now finished and this makes me want to do a happy dance on the ceiling or I would do it on the streets but I'm pretty sure my neighbors would call the police. I started Smitten during the last week in January which was a project my dear quilt friend, Carol, was working on and thought I would join her in this unofficial QAL, as a show of support and I sort of owe it to her since I involved her in a not-so-fun Block of a Month Quilt several years earlier which neither one of us ever finished.
The Smitten pattern was designed by Lucy Carson Kingwell, who is the daughter of Jen Kingwell and I can say the apple did not fall far from the tree when it comes to quilt designs which are made up of a gazillion patches. I've already made two Jen Kingwell patterns (Gypsy Wife and Flutterby) so I knew what I was getting myself into and I think I now deserve to go easy for the rest of the year.
I've posted ten times on the progress of making of the Smitten blocks, what TV shows I was watching and if I were still friends with Carol. All of the blocks were finally finished in mid-August and after a short hiatus, I started assembling the top on September 25th which I am amazed that I finished this in around a week. I was so not looking forward to sewing these blocks together, it wasn't hard just a little cumbersome at times. The last block was sewn while watching the final episode of Season 4 of Blue Blood and I've alluded in my earlier posts that Smitten and watching Tom Selleck seem to go together for me.
This is the ugly side of paper piecing and it took me at least five hours to remove all of the paper pieces and threads. This definitely was my least favorite part of the Smitten project. My dear friend, Dee, offered to remove them if I would help her paint one of her walls in her sewing room which was tempting but she lives over three hundred miles away.
The Smitten quilt measures 48" x 61" and is destined to be a wallhanging. After all of the handpiecing which went into this project, there is no way this quilt will ever lay around my house. I've been looking at the other finished Smitten quilts on Pinterest and it seems that here and there hand-quilting with embroidery thread is the way to sew. I plan to baste this the top this weekend so I'll be ready to do some hand-quilting; I still have several seasons left of Blue Blood to watch and there's new Fall TV shows.
Now that I am finished with this unofficial QAL, I am ready to join Myra of Busy Hands Quilts, Splash of Color QAL (you can read about it here) which started on September 20th. This week, participants are posting their pattern choice as well as their fabric selection. I'm excited to join this QAL because I'll be making a pattern of my own choice, Wonky Tessellating Pinwheels which I've never made before, the blocks can be die-cut while watching TV and all of my fabric is from my stash, a definite plus for my Minus 100 Yard Challenge. Be sure to check the Splash of Color QAL and join the group if you can. I am looking forward to doing a relaxing project.
In September, I was the lucky recipient of two giveaways of patterns and fabrics; one from Sarah Zimmerman of Cedarfork Blogspot (on the left side) and the other one on the right is from participating in the Bloggers Quilt Festival Fall 2017 which was hosted by Amy's Creative Side and the prize, a 24 fat quarter bundle of Riley Blake Garnet and three patterns, is from Nancy Zieman/Wisconsin Quilt Expo which I received today.
Fortunately the fabric winnings do not count towards my Minus 100 Yard Challenge. I finally can post an up-to-date total which shows I'm heading towards my goal with some completed projects, and fabric donations and gifts given.
Minus 100 Yard Challenge
Previous Total: 59.5 yards YTD Total: 84.625 yards
My YTD Total could have been a little higher since I purchased some fabric I needed from my Kaffe Fassett Workshop I'm attending this week but I'm heeding to some of the comments left on my previous post that required fabric needed for a workshop or class should not count. It never hurts to follow good advice.
Linking up with:
My Quilt Infatuation: Needle and Thread Thursday http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com
Crazy Mom Quilts: Finish It Up Friday
Confessions of a Fabric Addict: Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?
Busy Hands Quilts: Finish Or Not Friday
