Double-gauze progress

My shiny new Briar Rose quilt has been distracting me but I haven't completely abandoned my double-gauze project.

It's been a long, complicated process trying to get all of the blocks laid out- and then making sure I keep track of how the blocks were laid out. 

I've finished almost 12 out of 17 rows (technically I've finished 9.5 rows & I have 2.5 more laid out just waiting to be sewn. 

Hopefully I will finish up soon because my Robert Kaufman Essex Linen (in steel) has arrived and it is so perfect. And I wanted this to be my summer quilt & summer's almost over!

Cutting & Planning: Briar Rose Quilt World's Slowest Quilt-a-Looooong

Giving credit where due, this quilt is completely inspired by Made by Rae & based heavily on this project. OK now that that's out of the way, here's how mine is a bit different: 

1. I'm planning to use every fabric in the line unless size gets completely out of control. I've done a little "A squared plus B squared equals C squared" in my head & I think the project will finish at a large full-sized quilt. 
2. My blocks are going to be 6" squares & I did not wash fabric to preshrink. 
3. I'm planning to do the no-binding technique Rae used on her original quilt.
4. I'm going to change the fabric layout. Necessary because I will be using additional fabrics but also because I think the light pinks/purples blur together to much in the Windham project pics. 

So far I have ordered 1/2 a yard of every fabric (the *official* Briar Rose collectors pack from Heather Ross herself (squee!)). I've cut every fabric into 6" squares, so 21 squares of each fabric. Hopefully I'll end up with some extra squares for my little niece's quilt. 

only messed up cutting 5 blocks with my rotary cutter, not too bad given my skillz

As I've been cutting fabric, I've been doing a bit of issue spotting for the quilt. I am a little uptight about my pattern layouts so I'll have to decide what to do about tilting the blocks on the diagonal. Exhibits A & B: 

A

B

So Exhibit A was to illustrate the issue of trying to make sure this doesn't just look like a quilt turned on its side. I like for all of my patterns to be right side up but that's pretty much impossible since the squares are on point so I decided I would alternate which way the patterns were tilted. As I was testing this, I noticed a 2d issue with pattern placement- I wanted to alternate the frog vignettes, which I pretty well fixed in B. 

This may wind up being one of those quilts that I piece together by putting all the blocks out in order on the floor to make sure the patterns are lined up the way I like. Slow & steady. Next up, figuring out layout. Here's hoping Mr. Itty Bitty takes a nice long nap soon. 

New Project to Try

Total fangirl that I am, I keep Amanda Jean's blog in my Feedly. She recently posted about a project she quilted with a heavy weight hand quilting thread & I lurve the way it turned out. Now I am stalking down that thread so I can try it on one of my quilts! Maybe on my current double-gauze project?

Project List: To Dos To Do

Here are the quilts I am planning to make with my mountains of fabric. List does not include baby clothes, miscellaneous gifts or home dec projects.

Pile of baby clothes projects (minus brown gingham, that is not for baby clothes)

Currently making:

1. double-gauze yellow/white/grey/blue HST full-sized quilt; planning to use no-binding technique & possibly quilt with hand weight fabric, planning to use Robert Kaufman Essex Linen on back  
2. Children At Play balloon bunny crib-sized quilt; another opportunity to practice my appliqué, may do some FMQ on it
3. You Are My Sunshine grey & white crib-sized quilt; made this to practice my appliqué, has a minky back (awesome), currently stalled because I am attempting to hand bind it & I hate sewing by hand

Have started cutting:

1. double-gauze yellow/pink/white small blanket; could be other good option for testing quilting with a heavy weight thread 
2. matching twin quilts- giraffe & hippo rainbow quilts like bitty baby's crib quilt 
3. Heather Ross Briar Rose rainbow quilt for me; planning to make this pattern full-size & make it more in the style of Made by Rae's original Heather Ross Rainbow Quilt & plan to use up all fabrics in the line, not just 17, & will change layout slightly & & & . . . more posts on this coming soon. Feel free to join me for world's slowest quilt-a-long. You'll need 1/2 yard of each fabric + backing. I think it will be a large full-size when finished. 
4. Heather Ross Briar Rose big girl quilt for my niece; will be approx twin-sized, not sure if I will make another rainbow quilt or some other pattern, make mix in some white or these super pretty coordinating solids
5. queen sized Liberty snowball quilt; this is one of those quilts that I think will take me 10 years! I have collected a ton of rainbow Liberty pieces & want to make a quilt with a rainbow/ombré pattern around white snowballs (started this long before Heather Ross rainbow quilt came on my radar) a queen-size quilt is a MAJOR undertaking for me & I will probably have to have it professionally quilted 

Have started hoarding:

1. blue & yellow nautical (Storyboek) quilt; I think this will be a zigzag quilt using the nonHST technique 
2. blue/grey/white mod boy's quilt; lots of Japanese imports, may use HST set on point? 
3. low volume quilt inspired by Red Pepper Quilts; may try using double HST in this quilt? so squares will be made out of 4 triangles
4. Aneela Hoey A Walk in the Woods pinwheels quilt 

Things I want to make but haven't necessarily bought for yet: 

1. gingham quilt; I am hoarding some Riley Blake large gingham for the back of this,  Lurve, Gah, so good
2. herringbone quilt; I haven't seen one exactly like what I want & I keep putting this pattern off b/c it seems like it wastes a lot of fabric
3. lots of ombré things with white backgrounds; maybe I will make a rainbow ombré quilt with white for my niece's Briar Rose quilt 

This Isn't a Real Post, I Just Need to Remember the Plan

Look how far I've gotten on my double-gauze quilt! Time to start piecing my blocks together, but how? I had a moment of panic where I worried my HSTs & fabrics were too haphazard but I think once it's all together and washed it will lurve it. I tried a couple of different layouts & think I've found one I like.

Baby photobomb. Tee hee.

Getting a 2d opinion.

Awesome pin cushion I got from Etsy 4.5 years ago that I am still obsessed with.

Left

Center

Right

I only got 3 rows laid out before we had to do bedtime & I had to put them up. I hope I remember how I had them but if I don't, here's some pics of the plan! Quilt is going to be 16 wide x 17 long, blocks were originally cut 6x6, should finish up at 5" when quilt is assembled.

Squeee!!!!

My new Heather Ross Briar Rose stash has started to arrive. Yay! Just what I need.

My mind is racing with all the possibility! Current plans include 2 quilts with green strawberry backing on one and pink hexagon hive backing on the other. Would love to make myself something out of the purple & yellow hexagon hives. 

And this may become some ridiculously cute frog shorts for bitty baby. 

Still waiting for my official Briar Rose pack from HR herself. 

Scenes Around the Lady Workshop - Double-Gauze WIP

All of my fabric is in & cut so I am slowing piecing my squares together. Usually I fly through this part of a quilt but bitty baby is really slowing me down!

My fabric marker is almost dried up so I used good old No.2 pencil to mark my diagonals

Piecing my HST 2 at a time

Workstation

Need 272 blocks- oi!

Leftovers being saved for my future, girlier double-gauze project

Clain piecing as fast as I can- bitty baby isn't big on naps!

Progress!

Oops! Double-gauze is slippery to work with.

Ugh. Double-gauze is so stretchy. It's pretty tricky to work with.