Finally Finished

Five years, seven months since I started.

I finally finished my Nearly Insane quilt last week.  The top was completed last December, spent several months with the long arm quilter, and then a couple of months back home while I -s-l-o-w-l-y- hand-sewed the binding (fighting some repetitive stress injuries in my hands and elbows).  I am still in love with it, and looking forward to taking it to my guild's show in October.

Block #39 - Ann

Back to purple for this block - one of my favorite colors. I was away at a three-day quilt retreat last weekend, and worked on this when I needed a break from my other projects. Relatively painless once I got the center the right size.

Block #23 - Ann

This was supposed to be my easy block after #18. Didn't take nearly as long, but I learned the hard way that I still needed to be just as accurate on the easy ones as the hard ones. The bright colors make me happy, though.

Block #18 - Ann

The blog has been quiet for a while, but I've been working on this single block for the last two months, so had nothing to show until now. It wasn't until today when I was finishing this up that I checked the intro in the book to see if this was THE block, and it is: 229 pieces, the most of any of the blocks. It is paper pieced, and far from perfect. I was thankful that I had taken a paper-pieced miniature class a couple of years ago, as I needed all of those techniques on this one. Still needs to be trimmed and squared up, but I am so happy to be done with it!

Block #6 - Ann

I have not made much quilting progress lately, as we have some remodeling in progress. Remodeling means dust everywhere, which means I have to keep all my quilting stuff packed away in plastic bins. It's just too much effort to dust the room and get everything out again except on a weekend. But today I managed to finish a nice easy block.

Block #95 - Ann

I love the middle border on the top half of this block. The fabric didn't appeal to me that much when I chose it but it really works well here.

I've been rotating through groups of 10 to choose which blocks to make...30-something, 40-something...etc. but picking a random block from each group of ten Having made it through another full round, it's time to head back to the beginning and blocks 1-9 and see what looks like fun for the next one.

Block #87 - Ann

I hadn't meant to make mirror images...I intended to offset the inner four patches. But I didn't notice until it was almost done, and they'll be on opposite sides of the quilt, so I'm satisfied as is. There's not much going on in this quilt, even I won't remember all the ways I have varied from the pattern.

Block #74 - Ann

My progress is much slower than the amazing Tazzie, but I am steadily marking them off

I can't seem to help myself - I must always mix batiks and modern geometrics and country prints and vintage apron fabrics into a single block.

Block #67 - Ann

This was supposed to be a nice easy block, but I managed to make the corner square-in-a-square pieces the wrong size! Oh well, those went into the crumb block bin, and the new ones fit nicely.

Block #55 - Ann

I was in the mood for a green block, and had this all planned out. I penciled in my plan, and by the second piece I had already used the wrong fabric. Oh well. By the end I was tired of looking at all of these greens up close, but now that I am able to stand back and look at the block as a whole, I can live with it again.

Block #48 - Ann

I've had a pretty rough week, but found this block very satisfying and quick. No agonizing over fabric or color choices, just a quick dig through the bin, and presto! One more block done.

Block #38 - Ann

Not a great color combination, but luckily it will be just one of many blocks in a very busy quilt. Since I'm not using any particular theme or style of fabrics, this will truly be a scrappy quilt.

Block #26 - Ann

I really love the colors in this block. I started with the corner triangles circles print, then picked other fabrics to complement it. No cutting mishaps this time, but with two weeks of vacation (and the week to catch up after vacation) it took me a long time to finish it.

Block #9 - Ann

I started this block way back in May. I had all but two of the outer sawteeth sections attachedd, when I trimmed off the orange on the seam line instead of 1/4" away. Rats! I had to take off and remake two orange borders and two sawteeth sections, and then put it all back together again. During that time I also had to make a baby quilt and finish a couple others. And I've still got two more baby quilts to finish so Nearly Insane progress will continue to be slow.

Block #96 - Ann

I've now finished 10 blocks, so that's 10% of the blocks done! This is the first of the half blocks, and they were actually easier than I thought they'd be.

Block #81 - Ann

I haven't had much time for quilting lately, but finally finished this block. I even sort of followed the colors in the book, a little bit. And left my basting stitches in.

Block #77 - Ann

I spent a week assembling another top, but was able to get back to Nearly Insane this past week. I think my piecing accuracy is going to greatly improve by the time I finish these blocks.

Block #68 - Ann

I look at this now that it's done and just think, Wow - this is really bright! But I think it will look fine in the larger quilt, because I have plenty of other bright colors that will work their way into this project.

Block #52 - Ann

This block is a testimony to the fact that I have no plan for this quilt, other than making blocks with fabrics I like. I've mixed fabrics from multiple decades into quite a hodge-podge of styles, not only in this block, but among the other blocks, too. But it sure is fun - I'm really enjoying making them.

Block #47 - Ann

I don't think I chose the easiest method for this block, but I did enjoy the colors and the final result. These are becoming addicting.