Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Finally Starting Bramble Blooms QAL

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
~Gilbert K Chesterton

Quilting


Are you as busy as I've been? All summer it was too hot to move. Now there are a multitude of projects to finish {and some that still need to be started} from summer as well as the swell of fall, family, and holiday activities. Additionally, some sinus/allergy issues continue. 

I finished my jacket before the start of cold weather; however,  Ocean Waves is intended as a Christmas present. Lots of quilting still although it doesn’t look different than last time. Forty-one center squares need to be quilted as well as the border and binding. That means five to six squares daily, two to three days for the border with a final day or two for the binding. Having a schedule should help me finish on time. 

I decided to alternate it with Audrey's Bramble Blooms QAL. The first step in this project was to pull fabric. My, oh, my. So many value gaps. The whites are fairly diverse but there is no progression from beige through brown. The same problem with light and dark greens. 


Nevertheless, I divided them into three groups and chose this assortment to start BB1.


Creating a center background was the second step. That lovely piece with printed circles is all that remains of that fabric. I've been determined to find a place to showcase it, so it was the first bit pulled. Everything else was chosen because it worked with that.


FUR (Fabric Use Rate):

This statistic was left off the previous post but November used 9.5 yards and the yearly total is now 58.25 yards. Quite the slow down.

Reading

Originally I thought On Fire Island would concern protagonist Julia's last summer of cancer. Instead, it begins with her death. Julia's spirit follows her husband, Ben, as he works through his grief and learns to live again. A teenager facing adult life and an elderly widower are the main supporting characters. Jane weaves them all into an engaging read.  

Enjoy the day, Ann

5 comments:

Julierose said...

Loving your fabric pull and your panel so far...I am still sewing my crocuses down--need to figure out how to do the flower heads.

It is so interesting to see everyone's "take" on this...Audrey said there are 34 followers so far...she was surprised at the big response--but I am not after following her blog and seeing her works.;))) Hugs, Julierose

Nann said...

Good to read your post today, Ann. (And the QAL is on hold so you'll be able to catch up on that.)

Janie said...

Good progress on Bramble Blooms, that's about where I am too.
And in your previous post your quilted jacket is a beautiful finish!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Marie said...

Yes, busy days indeed. Good idea to set out a quilting schedule for your Ocean Waves. I tend to do that as well when I'm on deadline - just helps soothe the anxiety about whether you have enough time or not. SO looking forward to what you do with the QAL. I bowed out because there's just too much on my plate right now, but I am loving watching how everyone interprets the instructions. Hopefully some day I can go back and do one of my own. Have fun!

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

You are off to a great start with BB qal.