Block 71 - Tazzie

I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of these blocks - they're awfully cute. And I think they may re-kindle my interest in my 30's Dear Jane Quilt. This one is Block 71 - and I think it's the 8th block I've made now

Though I must sound like a broken record, once again I've used the freezer paper piecing method of constructing this block. The pink fabric I've used is one of my favourite Jo Morton fabrics, I only have the smallest piece of it - so it had to be used for something precious. This is the perfect project. The green is another of my Sturbridge Village fabrics - just love them!

Block #5 - Barbara

Here is Block 5, still putting up photos of ones I did last year. When I get to 16, I'll run out, so I should get back and make some more soon. Maybe today as it is snowing heavily here in Bonn; perfect quilting weather.

Block 73 - Tazzie

Here is my Block 73. I am LOVING this project!! These tiny blocks are soooo addictive.

With 25 pieces, this is another block that I have pieced with freezer paper templates, though this would also be a good candidate for foundation piecing in three sections. I have used one of my favourite fabrics in this one - that Sturbridge Village background fabric just speaks to me. In fact, there are few of the Judie Rothermel reproductions that I don't love.

#8 - Barbara

Here's my #8. I had not worked with such tiny pieces before and I'm doing the blocks in numerical order so I couldn't skip it. The reason I'm doing them in order is because if I selected blocks then I would leave all the hard ones till last and would not complete the quilt - I know myself well. Also, it has the second (or third?) largest number of pieces and I knew if I got it done then I wouldn't be so daunted by the other horror blocks.

I'm not sure I have done the right thing because, of course, later on I would be more experienced in using tiny pieces and would have made a better job of it. As you can see, it went wonky in the middle and a little down one strip but it is a 6" square and so I'm leaving it and have ticked it as DONE. However, I know that when I have finished all the blocks I will quite likely come back and do this one again because it bothers me (or sneak a new middle square into the block!). The only tips I can give are to be very methodical and persevere because it takes ages just to do half of it. I would recommend lots of pinning and also tacking the seams of the triangle strips because they really shift otherwise, especially trying to match the first inner row of triangles with the squared strips surrounding them. The other thing I did was to write down the total number of pieces and subtract how many I had used each time I did a strip - this made me feel I was getting somewhere. Good luck!

Block 67 - Tazzie

This is Block 67, and I think it may be one of my favourites so far.

Once again I used my preferred 'freezer paper piecing' technique. I just wish I'd known about this method of making and using templates when I was making my first DJ quilt - it would have been SO MUCH easier.

This block has 29 pieces, so it's a doddle compared to some of the much more fiddly ones. I'd really like to take on Block 8, but I'm really nervous about it - hints anyone?

#4 - Barbara

I've misplaced my N.Insane book today but I think this is #4!

Block #3 - Barbara

Here's my #3. I accidentally caught a bit of selvedge in one of the triangles but I decided early on that this is for me, not the Quilt Police, and that any small mistakes will eventually disappear when all the blocks are together. I am usually quite fussy but this is a long-term project and if I am too picky I will never get it finished...

Block 13 - Tazzie

Here is my latest block - it's Block 13.

According to the book, this is one of the blocks with the least pieces. Still lots of fun to put together - and though it would have been really easy to simply rotary cut and piece, because I'm loving it so much, I used the freezer paper piecing technique. I love the accuracy :-)

Block 1 - Rosa

Here is Rosa's Block 1. She was a little reluctant to post as English is not her first language.

Isn't her block just perfect? I really love the vibrant yellow and red fabrics. And the tiny pieces have just perfect points too. Well done Rosa!

Don't forget - if you have some blocks you'd like to share, just drop me an email or comment and I can send you the permissions. We'd love to have you!

Block 47 - Tazzie

Last night I made block 47. I REALLY love this block! Super easy with freezer paper piecing, it went together a lot faster than I expected.

I recently joined the Nearly Insane Yahoo group, and this block is a challenge block for either this week or next week. I need to find out if the date on the list is the date the challenge starts, or the date you must finish your block by. So, either way, I've finished the challenge block for one of those weeks :-) I was going to do the challenge block previous to this one also, but I'm not sure I'm ready for it yet. There is only one week left of my holidays, so it may be that in the future I only get to do the challenge each week - lucky this is going to be a long term project.

Block 27 - Tazzie

It was only a couple of days ago that I declared I was going to try and put the blocks together in order. It seemed good in theory, but then I realised that because of the way I'm just using up fabrics from my scraps and stash, it's not really a good idea. I don't have much yellow or green at all, so the same fabrics would get repeated in the first few rows of the quilt and disappear in later rows. So - I changed my mind, and hopefully I'll get a better spread of fabrics across the quilt.

This is block 27, and it could be considered a little intimidating with lots of inset seams. I find this kind of block is easier when you use freezer paper templates, and leave them in place while you're sewing. For me it helps keep the fabric stable, and you can be sure that the pieces underneath aren't wriggling out of the way.

One thing I noticed after I'd cut out all the pieces is that I've put the green fabric where the yellow should go and vice-versa. I'm not going to change it however, and think the block went together really nicely. It doesn't look square in the picture, but that's due to my bad photography skills and not having the block completely flat.

I have a week and a half of holidays left, I wonder how many blocks I can get done in that time?

Block 2 (Barbara)

We're off to England tomorrow for a few days for a graduation (if the snow allows), so here is my Block 2 before I leave. It is more accurate than Block 1...

Block 1 (Barbara)

Hello,
I'm Barbara and I began my 'Nearly Insane' quilt in 2008. A good quilting friend of mine was moving countries and I bought us each a copy of the book so that we could work on our blocks together so that she would still feel part of our quilt group. I got up to Nr. 14 and then other quilts got in the way. I think it is because these Insane blocks often need a lot more focus and concentration than other quilts I've made (and I haven't made many...). I have enjoyed doing them and am absolutely determined to finish the quilt, however long it takes. I am doing it all in red and white because I saw the one which Hanne did (blog: Hanne's Quilt Corner) and I fell in love with it.

Block 2 ~ Kristie

Hello my name is Kristie, and I have decided to join Tazzie! So here is a little background information on my NI. I started mine a year or so ago and only have 16 or 17 blocks finished. At that time I was working on the Civil War Diary Quilt, Civil War Love Letters, Dear Jane and the Nearly Insane! Honestly it was just too much for me at the time, these are all long-term projects. So now I have all of the blocks for the CWLL finished and only need to add the borders, I have 70/121 blocks of the CWDQ finished and 30+ blocks of the DJ. Hubby keeps wanting me to finished the NI so here I am joining Tazzie and I am going to try to get these blocks finished.

Here is my BLOCK #2. So far I have paper-pieced all of these blocks. I really enjoy paper-piecing and find that it is easier for me to use this method when making these small blocks. I am doing my quilt in BLUES.
Have a wonderful day!
Kristie

Block 2 - Tazzie

I can see this is going to be addictive! I've now completed block two :-) It's unlikely I'll be able to keep up this momentum when I get back to work, but while my time is my own, I'm just going with it.

Dee asked some questions in the comments of the last post. I'll answer as best I can. I'm making the blocks in the same size as the book, which is 6" finished. For the moment they're scrappy and I'll match the colours as best I can to the picture inside the front cover. I think this is how I'll continue, as I have so many scraps, and I imagine the sashing is what will tie all my blocks together neatly. For now I don't think I'll be hand piecing anything, and each block will determine what technique I use to make it up. For the moment I'll work through the blocks sequentially, but there are a few SCARY blocks coming up quickly, so I may review that.

In this particular block, I foundation pieced the entire centre section, and rotary cut and machine pieced the outer red and gold pieces. For the foundation piecing, I traced the appropriate section of the block on kitchen paper.

Thank you all so much for your immediate interest and encouragement. It means a lot to me :-)

Block 1 - Tazzie

Yes! I've officially made my first Nearly Insane block. It's block 1 - as good a place to start as any, right?

Not at all difficult and with 37 pieces, I foundation pieced the middle section right out to the red triangles. The balance of the block was easy piecing.

I'm going to endeavour to use my many reproduction scraps for this quilt, and have kept even the smallest pieces. I know it's going to take me a long time, and I'll enjoy the progress.

Would you like to make this block, or have you made this block and others? Would you like to share them here? Just let me know so I can give permissions. It would be so much fun to build up a little NI community.

Welcome

Welcome to the 'Nearly Insane Fans' blog.

This blog is primarily to give myself the impetus to regularly work on this wonderful quilt, and I would like to invite people who are working on, or would like to work on the quilt to participate in this journey with me.

You can simply read along, or I encourage you to get involved and post your progress. I'm not sure how it all works just yet, so please bear with me as I'm figuring this all out.

If you don't have a copy of the book, check with your local quilt store, or visit the Nearly Insane website.