More than one way to skin a … UFO!

(I purposely did not say “skin a cat” because we don’t skin cats here! And where the heck did that saying come from anyway?) I sent one of my creative works in progress into the wild yesterday, with everything needed to finish it included: pattern, cutting and piecing instructions, and necessary fabrics (except batting and backing, though I can donate those too when the time comes and not even miss them out of my stash!). Other members of the Black Forest Quilt Guild will finish the quilt, and the Guild will raffle the quilt at the Quilt Show next April. I had a quilt plan for this project at one point, and then when it came down to it, realized that I didn’t have enough of the print fabric to make that plan happen, so I had to call in reinforcements to redesign the thing yesterday, when it’s already partly done. Nothing like designing under pressure!

Hands All Around is a block that I just love, though I don’t think I’ve ever finished a quilt with the block in it, now that I think about it. Piecing-wise it’s a bit difficult; I would call it intermediate, but I’ve been told that’s putting it mildly. The curved seams in the middle have to be pinned every step of the way, and then there are bunches of three way, “Y” seams around the outside edge. I can deal with it and most of the time enjoy the precision sewing, but some folks (students in years past when I taught this block in quilting classes) think I created this block as a torture device just for them. Just for the record, I didn’t design the block, I just modified it to look a bit prettier, and at this late date I can’t remember where I saw it first.

This is part of the setting of the quilt, as I was working with it to begin with. The curved Log Cabin blocks have a large corner hacked off, and then they’re set around the Hands All Around blocks to make one big block. I do know where I discovered that technique: in a book called Start With Squares by Martha Thompson. It’s not exactly user friendly either, though it does look pretty.

So four of the big blocks left the house yesterday, and I get to cross another item off of my Creativity List. Woohoo! I’m keeping one of the big blocks since the revised design only required four, and I’ll make that into a small quilt to donate to the silent auction at the Quilt Show More of the curved Log Cabin blocks will be made to fill out the setting for the four blocks in the large quilt, and some wonderful quilters in the Guild will add some sure to be stunning quilting to finish it up in time for the Quilt Show. I’ll share a pic when it’s done!

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