Opinions, please!

I've finally managed to muster enough energy to stop staring at the pile of Stained QAL blocks on my sewing table and do something with them...

I cut 48 squares of wadding and used 505 basting spray for the first time:

A not very interesting pile of squares of wadding

And then sorted out the blocks and stuck them to the wadding.  I learnt my lesson about the after-effects of spray basting (tight chest and very sore, itchy hands) and, instead of spraying them in my sewing room in front of a wide-open window, I decamped to the conservatory... I briefly considered donning gloves but decided that would be a step too far - I just washed my hands at regular intervals and then three times when I'd finished!

...where I could stand in front of the open door.  I just brought through one set of squares at a time so I could get out of the room every few minutes and allow the fumes/smell to dissipate and keeping the door through to the house closed meant the smell didn't spread.  Much better!

I ended up with this:

A squishy pile of quilt blocks (in case you're wondering about the scale - that's a 500ml can of spray).

I also managed to get a photo which better shows the colours of the fabrics:

It's still not great but it gives you some idea.

This quilt is for my mam (and therefore not my usual style/colours of fabrics - I do like them, just not for me!) and I'm using the bits left over from this quilt.  I decided that the design of the quilt would be ideal for QAYG, particularly as I'm using a double layer of wadding to make it nice and warm (and heavy!) and don't fancy wrestling the whole quilt through the machine. 

So, here's where I need your opinions!

Here's the front:

Please imagine grey sashing strips between the blocks!

And the back:

Again, imagine the blocks have grey sashing strips between them!

How should I quilt it?!!

At the moment I have two plans.  The first is wavy lines, similar to the border of this wall hanging I made (using Oakshott) for my mam but I'd put the lines further apart.  (You may not be able to tell from the awful photo but it's an allium!)

Sorry, it's a rubbish photo - I think it may have been taken on my mobile!

I thought I'd alternate the direction of the lines so that the quilting on each block went in a different direction to its neighbours.


My second plan (in case quilting through two layers of 'Warm and Natural' wadding is awful!) is to stitch one or two sets of diagonal lines across each (12") block.

Do these plans sound like they'd suit the quilt?   Have you got any other suggestions?!  As the 'between the blocks' sashing isn't going to be quilted I don't want something where the quilting lines are going to have to line up from one block to the next.  And I really don't think I can face quilting in the ditch around all those pieces, even though I would just be doing a block at a time...oh, and I don't do FMQ, even though it could be the perfect solution for this quilt.  I've tried (on the allium wall hanging) and found it just too tiring (and stressful).  Other than that all, suggestions are welcome - please chip in!

I haven't really done much this month but I thought I'd link up to Fresh Sewing Day and make a mosaic to show just how little I've done!

See?  Not a lot!

Clockwise from top left: an EPP Paris pin cushion, some gorgeous Japanese import fabrics from Sarah, the start (finally!) of my Summersville quilt (I've almost finished the first square), my first Umaro scarf (completed), my second Umaro scarf (halfway through), my invisible crochet blanket.


I'll leave you with photos of what Archie was doing while I was spray basting 24 blocks...

What are you up to?  Does it involve food?

You're in and out like a yo-yo and I'm getting dizzy.  And hungry.

Thanks for popping in!


P.S.  If you fancy a laugh at my expense...it was only when naming and saving my 'October' mosaic I realised that for the entire month of October I've been tagging my photos (and saving them in the folder marked) September 2012.  I hadn't even made a folder for October...I knew it was October,I just had linked that fact with the photo tag/folder name...I'm such a divvy!