Can Someone Have Too Many Quilts?

I guess I am having a bit of a quilting binge this fall. Sometimes I'll go months without ever stepping into my sewing room, but with Portland shut down again for the pandemic and the country in turmoil, it's just easier to hunker down and play with fabric. =)

I had meant to spend more time this fall out in the garage working on projects, but it's gotten pretty cold. We are hoping to buy a used SawStop table saw from a friend later this winter; it belongs to his father who is no longer able to use it but isn't ready to part with it. I'm sure if that happens, we'll have a binge of woodworking projects.

This week, while my sewing machine is in for service, I've been cleaning up my sewing room again for the next round of projects. I had piles of fabric sitting around everywhere, leftover from all the quilts I've finished over the past few months. Plus, I had a bit of a fabric buying binge last week (right before Thanksgiving). While I was sifting the fabrics, I saw a cool color palette I rather liked and may have inspired a new project.

In October 2019, I finished a quilt called Queen's Jewel. I really liked the design of it, but I didn't like how scrappy it was so I bartered it to a friend for our mason bees. I'm thinking about sewing another, but with a much more constrained color palette. 

Queen's Jewel from Quick Quilts from Your Scrap Bag
by Patricia Wilens. I reduced the block size from the original pattern.

I haven't decided yet how I feel about the colors. I almost always use yellow as the light color for my quilts so it takes some mental adjustment to get used to a light blue.

Also, when I cleaned out my closet over the summer, I found a big hunk of cotton fabric I bought to make square dance clothes probably 20 years ago; I liked using the square pillow panels to make handkerchief skirts. I'm thinking about making a lap quilt with them. I'm playing with a couple of designs.

These blocks will be a bit of a challenge for me; lots of mitered seams and the flowers have to be cut out with templates. I need to practice making a block before I start cutting them out in earnest. If I can manage the motivation, I'll make both and sandwich them together, if possible.