I've been calling these blocks Vintage Thingamajigs for lack of a better name. They are inspired by blocks in a picture at Flickr. My version appears like it might be an Ohio Star variation and has 29 pieces in each six inch block.
I made 15 blocks this month.
I've been working on them for 20 minutes each day since July 1. If I miss a day of 20 minute work for some reason like a broken sewing machine then I make sure to make up those days by sewing longer on other days. I thought it would be fun to see how long it takes to make a quilt by working on these blocks for just 20 minutes each day. The 20 minutes includes cutting pieces, cutting dog ears, winding bobbins, seam ripping, etc and not just sewing.
The shoe box now has 103 blocks. I'm trying to decide if I should make it 10 x 12 blocks (60 x 72) or 12 x 14 blocks (72 x 84). I'm thinking a twin sized quilt is probably the better way to go. Then that means I need 65 more blocks and will be sewing on this for several more months. And that's okay. It's slowly moving forward and I'm not bored with it and it has become my routine now to work on it first thing each day.
I sew a few blocks at a time in stages and am in the middle of 10 blocks to start out December so December may see more blocks than usual made.
9 comments:
I'm enjoying watching these slowly come together. They are training my brain to think about red as a background color, too. I like red, but almost never consider it in that supporting role.
I need to try to make myself sew on something for 30 minutes everyday, but it will have to wait until after Christmas. All my machine cabinets are covered over with Christmas decorations! Your quilt blocks are looking really good! ---"Love"
If variety is the spice of life, you have that in spades with your quilting projects. I love how you challenge yourself with shapes, colors, sizes and even time. And everything always turns out amazingly - like a well-orchestrated symphony!
Because of you and Gayle, come January, I will be making these blocks as part of my RSC efforts. My background will be dark blue to your red. A little along works VERY well.
I love your idea of sewing in 20 minutes slots. I sew in bursts, when I see 'a window' in my day or when I am determined to find time to sew and ditch something else in favour of sewing. Your Thingummy blocks are great but 29 pieces in each 6" block is an awful lot of cutting and sewing little bits! However, I can see that by making them in 20 minutes bursts works so well - you don't have time in any one session to get bored and by mixing up sewing, cutting and trimming in each session you get added variety.
I love these so much!
I seriously had to hide mine from myself, because every time I started one I ended up not getting ANYthing else done! Maybe I should get a timer and force myself to stop when it goes off...
8)
As usual I'm inspired and encouraged when I visit here.
Thanks for sharing your techniques and process. I think this is
priceless, because my quilts don't magically appear. They take
thinking, dreaming and planning. Then starts, stops, rethinking,
unpicking, etc.
You're refreshing.
Every time I see these blocks I find myself thinking I need a to start a quilt with a red solid. These are so much fun!
What a great personal challenge! And they're coming along so nicely.
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