Still in Lockdown

 I have been getting some sewing done in small increments in between work activities, but it was nice to have a rainy Saturday that meant no work and little housework.

I got the Patchwork City top basted during the week, and quilting has started.

Just a simple geometric boxy design, with a soft grey Aurifil thread that blends into the background.  It gives lovely texture which really allows the piecing and colours to shine.  I have used a 80% cotton/20% poly batting for this quilt so that is a bit experimental for me.  First impressions are that it doesn't have the same cling that a cotton has, although no problems so far.  Fingers crossed for that to continue.

Quarter completed so far:

I had a long length of this butterfly print which I used for the back, you can see how it picks up the vibrant colours in the top, and is a nice contrast to the straight lines on the front.

Because this only covered the 40" width between selvedges, I added on this turquoise wide back that I had purchased in a really weird measurement that turned out to be a perfect match both colour and size wise.  I'll need to remember this trick again of combining a wide back with a normal width as it really suits quilts that are in that 80 - 90" group that is slightly too wide for two widths of fabric but doesn't utilise the full width of a wide back.

Once the design floor was clear I pulled out my neutral toned Sweet Escape quilt and made some decisions on what fabrics would go where for the last 16 blocks.  As I have limited fabric - placement is getting more interesting 😂

It didn't take long to get two blocks sewn (the bottom two).  I wonder if lockdown will last long enough to get these all pieced?

Woohoo! Orbiter is all in one piece!

 Sometimes it helps to NOT pay too much attention to what you are doing.  Or rather, not pay too much attention to how much is left to sew.  I finally got to the stage where I had just one more jumbo unit to sew... and then started sewing the jumbo blocks together into two patches... before sewing first a four patch, then adding a two patch to make a 6 block unit... then added the last three block row to make a whole completed Orbiter Quilt!!

I feel like I have overshared this quilt and everyone is probably sick of it - I haven't taken a photo of the final quilt top, but it doesn't look all that different from the image above, just without the gaps :o)

August has been the month of the Woven Star block for my The Scrappy Star Block Quilt Adventure.  First a 12" soft grey version:

Then a 9" low volume background with an improv log cabin centre:

Then a 6" block which I have added strips of background to make it measure 12".

And all three blocks together.  This has been a fun block to sew - a nice change from the 9 patch stars.

We are currently in Level 4 lockdown in New Zealand.  So a stay at home order has been issued - and we are only to leave home for essential things such as groceries or pharmacy requirements.  I have my work laptop at home to keep up with activities there - but I have been able to squeeze in a little more sewing than during a normal week.  

With the design floor now clear of the Orbiter Quilt, I have pulled out my Patchwork City quilt to baste.  Problem being that I'm not sure what fabric I intended to use as the backing fabric???  I have spent a couple of hours trawling through my blog posts hoping that I mentioned it - but no, it appears not (although I have enjoyed the trip down memory lane).  I have ticked the box on my recording sheet to indicate that the backing is "ready", but goodness knows what I prepared.  I have since found an alternative - so hopefully will get a chance to get this sewn together and the basting process started this week.

Bit by bit

 Patchwork happens over time, repetitive steps... Joining a whole heap of little bits into progressively larger pieces.

I have started the seemingly massive task of joining blocks for the Orbiter Quilt.  Each unit is 6" square.... Meaning there are a lot of units!  

I tend to start by piecing the units into four patches.

Then the four patches are joined to create 16 patches

Then I move onto the next group of units.

I have completed four of these 16 patches so far, and almost finished the fifth one this weekend.  This photo shows the fourth 16 patch partially sewn.

Once I have finished with all the units I will have a giant nine patch left to sew, which seems much less intimidating than sewing all these units into rows.