Tuesday 9 October 2007

Are you a dripping tap or a waterfall ??

Silly heading I know but let me explain.....
This week I am on a mission to make as many Lady of the Lake blocks as I can. I want this quilt made asap. I am so enjoying trying various colourways together and the blocks are coming out beautifully. I have lots of UFO's ( like everyone else ) but I am determined that this will not be one. As this is going to be a BIG quilt I will not be able to machine quilt it so I plan to hand quilt it - I think. I would love to have the top made and basted soon so I can quilt it through the winter. I have hand-quilted one other king-size quilt ( my very first one ) and it didn't take as long as I thought it was going to.

I have worked out I need to make 77 blocks and so far have made 46. This is where the dripping tap thing comes in. I am working on these blocks little and often. Instead of having a huge chunk of time to sit down and power sew I am chipping away and am surprised by how many I've done. Sometimes if I have a few free hours I think I will just park my bum on the sewing chair and go !! BUT it doesn't work for me - I start getting fidgety and thinking about what else I should or could be doing. So this last week I have been just doing a bit here and there. Chain sewing some HST's together whilst waiting for the washing machine to finish - pressing a few open whilst waiting for the vegetables to cook - trimming some down to size while waiting for the kettle to boil for a cup of tea. All these minutes add up. I am making sure I always have something ready to do in these odd minutes.

At the moment I have a fruit cake in the oven ( I am craving one really bad. ) so while waiting for it to cook and after finishing on here I am going to cut out some more triangles as I am getting low. Here's what my ironing board looked like after the first cutting spree.




I have decided not to post a picture yet of the blocks I have done but will wait to lay them out so you get a better idea. I am toying with the idea of using just one fabric for the setting triangles -as the blocks are on point. In the pattern they are all scrappy and it looks great so I am a bit undecided yet. I have also been thinking - could be dangerous - of a border idea. I love pieced borders and these books I just bought have given me food for thought.


So - I'm curious - are you a dripping tap or a waterfall ??

( or have I completely lost it as my dd will say when she sees this latest heading - lol ! )
One last thing - we have a postal strike in UK at moment so to everyone I have promised patterns and PIF's I am waiting til it has ended before posting stuff out. Thanks.

27 comments:

Joyce said...

I am definitely a waterfall because my sewing studio is in a different building and I have to walk, sometimes through several feet of snow and below zero temps. When I go out there I make it worth my while!

Jeanne said...

I can be a waterfall, but usually I'm a dripping tap. LOL It is surprising how much the work adds from those ten minutes here and half an hour there.
Looking forward to seeing all of your blocks!

Quilts And Pieces said...

I love that pieced border book! I'm a bit of both I"m afraid!

Anne Ida said...

Thanks for a fun post, Andrea :o) I think I'm a little bit of both - mostly a waterfall, but I have a bit of the dripping tap in me :o) Have fun with your blocks! This will make a great quilt! And I love pieced borders, so I look forward to see what you come up with!

Unknown said...

It's amazing just how those 'stolen moments' add up - I think most of us are both dripping taps and waterfalls depending on how much time is at our disposal - but you can get a lot done in little snippets of time here and there in and amongst

swooze said...

Great use of those spare minutes! I use that technique too and am pleased with what I can get done.

Chookyblue...... said...

looking forward to seeing the blocks........sometimes I am a waterfall and nothing gets fed and nothing gets done in the house and other times I am a dripping tap........when life is tooo busy....just read joyce's comment and I would be a waterfall if i had to walk thru snow to get to the sewing room to.........hope she has a big heater there....love the blocks in the previous post......

meggie said...

I am a bit of both! If I lived alone, I would be a waterfall full time.
Have you visited Judy Laquidara's blog?
http://judylaquidara.blogspot.com/
She gives us wonderful patterns & tips. I see you have her book. I would love to have it.

sewkalico said...

Definitely a dripping tap - two small kids means I use whatever time I can get LOL

JanJ said...

I think I am probably a dripping tap, at least most of the time.
You have quite a load of triangles to keep you busy for awhile. That is a lot of cutting!

Quilter Kathy said...

Definately I'm a dripping tap! Short attention span I guess! I like to do several different things, but in smaller time chunks...I don't like to make HST's for hours on end. I think your approach will prevent this quilt from becoming a UFO.

Floss said...

I tend to be a waterfall. Even when I plan to do a little bit, I ever do nothing or a lot. My sewing space is in the basement, so its hard to do a bit while cooking upstairs, I would burn everything.

Colleen formerly of South Africa said...

I think I am most often a dripping tap.Definitely break down the tasks into manageable small time chunks.I find myself doing most things in half hour or less.Can't wait to see this quilt. Love the pattern. Colleen

ldahospud said...

I WANT to be a waterfall, but I can't even be a dripping tap, since a dripping tap drips at consistent intervals. My season of life, I guess -- little ones still at home. I have to be a waterfall on the Halloween costumes, tho'--that is coming right up!

Calidore said...

I have just discovered your blog and I can see I will have to visit often...lol. I am definately a dripping tap. Once upon a time I was a waterfall - but now too many things distract me (along with the children and garden) and I find a bit at a time gets more done than me sitting there for ages trying to sew - but coming up with all sorts of ideas for using whatever stash I can see...vbg.

Catherine
http://calidore.wordpress.com

Marilyn Robertson said...

I'm looking forward to see your blocks! Am I a waterfall or a dripping tap? It all depends. If there is a deadline, even if it is self-imposed I am a waterfall. If here isn't a deadline I can be a dripping tap.

Sarah Nopp said...

I am a drip. And I am not very persistent LOL
But I want to hear about your fruitcake please!

YankeeQuilter said...

Is there something in between...a babbling brook maybe...one that rises and falls with the rainfall. I have small projects around the house for those "stolen moments" but occasionally can get myself focused and am amazed how much gets done in a marathon session...

Chris@Cats On My Quilts said...

I am a dripping tap! Just not enough time and I am like you I get fidgety. That's why I have so many UFO's. I start a new project when I get fidgety.

loulee said...

I'd be a jibbering wreck if that ws my ironing board! LOL

mereth said...

I am definitely both. I love to sit down and just get absorbed in a project so that hours fly past, but if I don't have the chunks of time I do bits here and there. I suppose that's why I feel so weird now; I've been helping set Keryn's place up so much there isn't even time for the 'dripping tap' style of sewing. Back into it soon though, and if Keryn and I were closer we could quilt your top on the Statler when it gets here!
I used to make a gorgeous Currant and Cherry fruitcake, it weighed as much as a cement block but was divine nibbling for weeks!

corry said...

wish I was a waterfall! But I'm definitely a dripping tap! Looking forward to seeing your blocks!

Unknown said...

I am a waterfall but I think it would work great to be a dripping tap, as you say all those minutes add up, I have never thought about it!!!

Rose Johnston said...

Definitely a waterfall!! Once u get me in the studio, just try and get me out!!! lol but there r days when the waterfall dries up (not even a drip)....but it usually returns with a gusto!!!

Helen in the UK said...

Triangles, triangles everwhere!! I tend to be a waterfall, because once I get going I find it hard to stop. But, sometimes I can be a dripping tap and space something monotonous (?sp) inbetween other projects I'm working on :)

Rose Marie said...

I'm both. When I'm watching a program on TV and a commercial comes on, I skip to my studio and do something and then when the program comes back on, I leave. It's amazing what can get done during those wasted minutes in an hour.
BTW, I just made another bucket bag and have posted a photo.

Patti said...

Just now having a chance to catch up LOL . . .

I'm definitely a waterfall - really obsessive when I start a project. So why do I have so many UFO's? I guess the waterfall can be diverted LOL!

This is going to be a spectacular quilt - it is one pattern I've always wanted to make.