Country Courthouse

Hello Everyone,

 

If you've been wondering where I've been, this explains it all.  This quilt contains 81 Courthouse Step blocks, and 64 blocks containing five 9-patch units.  The blocks finish at 5-1/2".  I say small yet mighty.

 



I'm going to call this quilt Country Courthouse. She is Cute as a Button's big sister.  I enjoyed making the blocks so much for Cute as a Button that I couldn't stop!  I started this quilt in mid-February.  Considering how hectic my schedule is, I think I did quite well to get it to this point rather quickly.  Now I have to write the pattern, which shouldn't take me too long.

I never tired of selecting the different fabrics for each block.  Every block is unique and beautiful in it's own way......just like people.  I did have a rule that same fabrics could not touch each other.  That wasn't too challenging since I had such a variety from which to choose.

 

My strategy to get this one finished was prepping every night.  I hit the ground running each morning right at my sewing machine, after I made my coffee!  This is the beginning of the 9-patch sections.

This quilt contains 401 of these little 1-1/2" finished 9-patch units.  I think I need to have my head examined.  What was I thinking?

Last week, my friend Sue in England, asked me if I was tired of working on this quilt and wanted to move on to something else.  At the time my answer was no, now I've changed my tune.  The last 10 blocks were so s-l-o-w!  I felt like I was mired in quicksand and couldn't work through it.  I was to the point that I would rather rake pine needles than work in my sewing room.  Now that's BAD!

Every night I review my to-do list, and each day I wrote, "finish quilt".  That was on my list for days, and days, and days.  Now my to-do list says work on borders which is much more pleasing to me now.  I had a dream about making a very intricate border.  That dream has now vaporized, and I'm thinking of just adding a red border which is the same as the setting triangles.  I'll let the interior of the quilt speak for itself.  I think it speaks volumes.

So the question is, did I make a big dent in my stash?  No, nada, zippo, zilch, big goose egg.  I cut 1" strips from so many different fabrics that I don't notice a dent in my stash at all.  I did however cut my way through a ton of shirtings.  I needed both 1" and 2" strips.

I'm off to my guild meeting this morning.  When I get home, I have to start prepping for my lecture at the Tuleberg Quilt Guild in Stockton on Wednesday.  I have to fold and re-pack all of the quilts from my last talk in Citrus Heights.  I'll also print and stuff patterns to fill up my pattern bin.  No raking for me today!  Oh darn, I'm so sad......not.

 

Soon,

Lynn