Almost, but Not Quite

 These are the last four rows of blocks to sew together for the pastel Macnas quilt, which shall be called Opalescence.

The pieces are pinned together, and you can see by the pins I have put on the leftmost edges, which row each one is, so I don't get them mixed up when I go to sew the rows together.

These four rows will be sewn together and fit into that space at the lower right of the quilt. Then I'll sew all the chunks together and the flimsy will be complete. 

I am happier with this than I expected to be, and am pretty sure I have the backing for it already.

Pastel Macnas Grows

 

I've sewn the top eight rows together into four big chunks and moved it to the top of the design wall.

There's also an eight block wide chunk at the lower left that is sewn together. That far left piece represents the bottom edge of the quilt. 

So it's growing.

The Design Wall Limitations

The design wall in my studio is 64" wide by 83" tall. When I show you photos of what's on it, I generally crop out the floor, and extra stuff around the design wall, like the door at left, the wall of the bookcase at the right (that's a long green cutting mat that hangs on the side of the bookcase) and the area above the design wall.

I also try to straighten the photo. This one, above, is a bit crooked. And I usually move the stepladder out of the way.

BTW, Thank you all for caring so much about my safety. I do indeed have to be very careful with the ladder. I have osteoporosis and arthritis and at my age balance is definitely an issue. It's why I am taking Tai Ji Quan, for better balance. It's not the "normal" Tai Chi. It's is designed for better balance. My Mom asked me the other day if I noticed any changes in my body seven weeks into the class.

"Well, my body hasn't changed. I haven't lost weight and I'm not any thinner, but the other day I put a sock on one foot while standing on the other, and no, I wasn't holding on to anything." Granted I was right next to the bed, but still. And it's only one foot. I can't do that quite as well on the other foot, but I'm better.) A few months ago I would never have even TRIED to balance on one foot. So the Tai Ji Quan class is working for me, although the change is gradual. But I am not going to risk anything on the ladder.

The Pastel Macnas quilt uses blocks that are 2-1/2" x 4-1/2". My design requires 30 of them in each row.

30 x 2.5" = 75”. Note my design wall is 64" wide, so I could only show 25 blocks across, like in the photo above. I needed to sew a lot of blocks together to make room for the extra five blocks to fit on the design wall.

Sewn together, those 30 blocks equal 60.5", which will fit just fine.

But trying to tinker with that many blocks while on a ladder is indeed foolhardy, which is why I have not bothered to fill the design wall with blocks. I'm working as high as I can comfortably reach while standing safely on the floor. Then I'll sew that all up and move it higher on the design wall and work below it.

In the photo above, you can see sorta how I'm working my way along. I've also been working to sew blocks together so I can have enough empty space on the right side to continue to add those five extra blocks to the design.

Is this ideal? Hell no. But needs must.

The size of the blocks definitely makes a difference. In the Dancing Jewels quilt, above, the top row of blocks is eight inches tall, most of the blocks are six inches wide and there are only 10 blocks in each row.

There are tricks. You might be able to see a thin sliver of silver on the green cutting mat in the photos above. That's a thin 24" long metal ruler that hangs on the same nail the long mat hangs on. If I want to remove a high block from the design wall, I just grab the ruler and slide it under the block. This disturbs the surface tension and the block loosens from the wall and flutters down to my feet. (It would be nice if I could catch them, but no such luck.) 

I also know better than to go anywhere near the stepladder when I'm tired.

Finally, Nancy: I used to be a 2D artist and I worked on paper. That means I'd put hundreds of hours into a piece of art on paper, (see the first photo in this post. )so I long ago learned to keep foods or liquids of any kind FAR AWAY from what I was working on. My cup of hot chocolate NEVER sits on my sewing, cutting, or ironing tables. I don't eat in my studio either. Snacking is also forbidden. In fact, I make sure to wash my hands BEFORE I got into the studio and get to work.

 

Pastel Macnas

 I'm less than five feet tall and have to be very careful not to fall, so designing the top of this quilt on the design wall means I'd have to use a stepladder, and that isn't a very good thing for me.

I decided to sew the top part of what I have together, then I can lower it to a comfortable height on the design wall and then I can add the  2 rows above what is shown in the photo. Since my design wall is a bit too narrow for 30 2-1/2" blocks so I decided to sew the leftmost blocks together. This will allow me to shift everything over and add the extra blocks to the right.

The Next Thing

 

I finished sewing the jewel-toned Macnas quilt together. Here it is draped over my ironing table. You can better see the fabrics and colors. A random arrangement of fabrics works well many times, but this regular arrangement has a rhythm that I like very much.

Instead of ironing the backing fabric that needs it, I went into the studio yesterday morning with my hot chocolate and looked around, wondering what to do next.

I've got a lot of fabric in the big scrap bins and I've been working my way through that, but working on the jewel toned Macnas quilt had me searching through my stash, and I discovered a lot of older stuff hidden in there.

WHAT IF... I wondered, I used all the small pieces of forgotten stuff in the stash?

So I put my hot chocolate down, (mind you I was still in my nightgown), and looked through the stash. I found several smallish pieces of a lot of light colors - pastels, really.

Something else jiggled in my brain, and I went over to where I have stacks of Macnas-sized blocks resting on trays. I brought them over to the worktable and sorted through them. I had A LOT of pastel fabrics I didn't even need to cut.

I could get started RIGHT AWAY. 

I got out the laser level and set up plumb lines and cross lines on the design wall, putting random Macnas blocks on the wall the to establish a basic grid. The plumb lines help me to line up the blocks so the design  looks more or less straight and keeps the design from going out of whack. The plumb lines are nothing more than crochet cotton tied to a push pin at the top of the design wall, and with something heavy tied to the bottom. Sometimes it's a bulldog clip with a bunch of old business cards, but anything heavy-ish will work.

It quickly became clear that this new quilt was not going to take long. I knew I wanted something low-volume, pastel, spring-ish colors. I also knew I wanted to arrange the blocks randomly, and not pair them up first.

Excited, I picked up my now empty mug and headed toward the kitchen, where I had breakfast, and then to the bedroom where I got dressed and made the bed. (A shower would come after I got home from Swim class.)

I know from experience that I need 540 pieces to make a quilt 60" x 72" and that when I cut I can get a whole lot more really quickly, so I sorted through those pieces and made a stack. Then I went through the stash and found the smaller pieces of pastels and cut some blocks. It was quickly apparent that I had enough blocks to get started, so I put blocks on the wall, and then I'd cut more.

Quite frankly, these photos look terrible. It's dark, and I have every light in the studio pointed at the design wall, and the sun is out, so you have to believe me. It is not this dark, or dull, or unexciting.

This is not going to take long.