Sew I See!

The Christmas Gnome Quilt is a finished quilt top! Originally, I planned to make this quilt in a 6x8 layout, but once I reached that target, I still had so much fabric left over that I decided to make it a bit wider-- 7x8.  (Probably a more pleasing pair of dimensions, anyway-- not so skinny.)  I pieced the extra blocks and decided that the quilt was large enough.  (It will be a couch quilt, so no sense in making it too large.)  Some of the left-over strips will serve as binding, and the rest can either be worked up into a table runner/table-topper or used as strings.   There were too many blocks to fit on the design wall, so I had to put some of them on the table for the final layout arranging.  After it was all joined up, I spotted a cluster of red that I probably would have rearranged, had I noticed it earlier.  It's not really a problem, though, and I'm not sure I could have done much to improve the layout, even if I had noticed in time. ...

I didn't quite finish the Halloween quilt top by October 31st, but it was pretty close!  Here it is hanging over the lighting rail on the quilting frame: And here's a final "in progress" shot of the layout that spilled off the design wall and onto nearby surfaces, including the floor... I'm satisfied!  Just need to get around to quilting it (and another autumn quilt-top that's still lurking in the closet) before next autumn!  (Easy, right?) - - - - - - - Immediately after finishing this quilt top, I dove into some crumb strip piecing, because there were crumbs accumulating and I was in the mood for something spontaneous and carefree.  I already have enough crumb strips saved for the planned quilt, so I guess these will be saved for the next one... They're nothing special, but they were fun to make! - - - - - - - Since I didn't finish the Halloween quilt before October 31st, I thought I'd better start the planned Christmas quilt a little earlier!  I...