Moving Forward and Going Back in Time

It's time for a new quilt project. Something not made from the Parts Department or mere scraps. 

I have been collecting historical reproduction prints of late. Prints and colors that put me in mind of the last part of the 19th century and maybe into the beginning of the 20th. 

The three piles in the foreground are the most likely candidates for what I have in mind. Of course, it remains to be seen what actually works and what doesn't. I do like flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to this sort of thing. 

The next consideration is what to do with these fabrics. Which block or blocks? What type of setting, which will determine how many blocks I will need. I like to work intuitively, but a certain degree of planning is useful. 

At the beginning of October I put one of my Footsquare Freestyle (F2F) quilts on my bed for rather obvious reasons (if you live in the northern hemisphere). 

Under its' influence I have decided to make an assortment of 12" blocks. It may or may not turn out to be a typical sampler quilt with each block different from its' neighbor, but it will probably be sashed in the traditional way. Unless I get a brighter idea when the blocks are made. 

I'm going to avoid declaring a goal for regular output of blocks for this new quilt or any kind of deadline. I may make one a month or I may get started and not be able to stop! 

On another note, the second round of the Great Big Little Stitchery Swap has begun. I've committed to making and swapping eight 4" squares, putting them in the mail by 31 December. I made eleven squares in the first round. I may be able to make and swap a few more before the end of December but I didn't want to put pressure on myself what with the holidays and all. Hmm, I don't think I've shown you the squares I received in the first round of the swap. That's something to add to my To Do list. 😉