the scraptastical swoon

The swoon along is going amazingly well. So many blocks popping up in flickr. I randomly picked out nine from the group pool to make a mosaic. There were so many to choose from, this mosaic took me forever. In the end I just had to click randomly and stop oohing and aahing over all the amazing work. So many different fabric combos, so many wonderful blocks. I love them all so much - it's amazing that one block can look so different. (click on the mosaic and it'll take you to the credits for the pics).



My own quilt is coming along really nicely, I'm so pleased with how it looks so far. I said I'd be back with one block this week. Well, they're pretty addictive once you start, so I made two. Oops. I also said this was my Friday project, well, I've been doing a bit a day. Just sewing a few more half square triangles, or flying geese. It's fun to do mindless chain piecing. It really is (I think so anyway). My blocks are scrappy. It actually makes my head hurt planning out where the scraps need to go so I don't end up with too many of one fabric leftover for block nine. I've decided I'd quite like to try the regular blocks too, so I might make a couple of pillows for my bed. That's if I don't go crazy making this quilt first.



You can still come and join us over in the flickr group and make your own swoon quilt. You can get the pattern either from Fat Quartershop or direct from Camille's shop. It's a download, so you can get it super fast. The group is almost at 500 members now (can you believe it? I can't!) and there's loads of helpful hints and advice going on. There's no real end date, there's no real start date - just head over and join in if you want to make a swoon quilt and do it at your own pace. I'd love to have you.
Maybe you're daunted by the size of the quilt? It is 80 inches square, so it's a pretty big undertaking quilting wise (I think I'll send mine out, although I'd like to think I'd quilt it myself, in all honesty I know I'm not patient enough. It's my birthday in March so I'm asking everyone in my family for quilting money!) Just a single block framed makes a perfect baby quilt, like this one in the pic below (by Emedoodle). I think I'd like to make a few of these. You could even make them double sided, a block on each side. One side in darks (night time) and one bright (day time). My imagination is running away with me now, possibly. But I think it'd make such a cute baby shower gift all tied up in a big bow (yes, one of my friends is pregnant and I am doing that whole 'what can I make her' thing all the time!).



What have I learned this week from making my blocks? Concentration is required. The beauty of this kind of piecing is you have to think about it. It's not tricky but it's precise and all those pieces fit in a certain way like a jigsaw. I've read and re-read the instructions a million times over. My points are a little squiffy, I could have trimmed down my sections better and made them fit, I could have used more pins and not tried to rush a little. My next block I'll try and be better. I've never managed to make perfect flying geese but for the first time ever I've come pretty darn close with these, and it's an amazing feeling. Like a personal mountain. Half square triangles I can do all day - I love them, they're my favourite type of block unit, all the trimming down and the magical way 2 squares make 4 triangles (yes, I'm easily pleased). Geese have never been fun. Maybe once all my blocks are trimmed and sashed I'll think differently, but I think I'm going to have most of them fully intact - with pointy points. First Time Ever.