Thursday, February 06, 2020

150 Canadian Women on the Design Wall

Since it's Valentine's Day this month, and there is a red blog hop coming mid February, I have decided to focus on my red and white 150 Canadian Women quilt.

I really wanted this to become a finished quilt, and I greatly enjoyed the stories of famous Canadian Women that inspired the blocks. 
And then I lost interest. There was not one particular reason why this happened, except perhaps project overwhelm and the brain power to continue. The process is lengthy because I want to read the historical information for each block, and then selecting fabrics for each block, cutting the pieces and sewing the block takes at least an hour. 
Eventually it ended up in the UFO closet.
I have seen some amazing finished quilts that prompted me to get to work on it, and then last week I saw Celeste's quilt top where she used the tiny cutoff corners, sewed them into HST blocks and created amazing borders.
Totally gorgeous! 

Some of my 150 blocks on the design wall
And I decided I must finish this quilt, and I must do ALL the blocks. I had been considering making a smaller version using the blocks already made, but NO... it needs to be the full version. And I need the white sashing like Celeste used to calm down the whole sampler feel.


hand full of 150 blocks
Here is the pile of my blocks sewn so far. 
60 out of 150... not even half way there!
My February goal is to get all 150 blocks made (gasp) and get them sewn into a quilt top (double gasp)!
Linking up to One Monthly Goal.

15 comments:

Sarah said...

Double gasp indeed! Good luck this looks like it could be mammoth but I'm positive a women of your ability will have no problem! 😁

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

It sounds like you have the same competing forces that I have in making quilts like this. One part wants to take my time and enjoy the process and get the most out of each block. Another part gets frustrated by the slow progress and wants to get finished. I wish you well with your goal and hope you enjoy making the rest of the blocks.

Deb A said...

Oh my! That is a lofty goal...... will you be calling in to work 'sorry, must sew today'? Good luck and happy quilting!

Chris said...

So let's do the math. 90 blocks at one hour per block is 90 hours and it is Feb 6 and you have 24 days so that is 3.75 blocks a day. You can do it. Easy Peasy. If you do 4 blocks a day, that will leave you 7 days to assemble it. But then you still have to cut the sashing. No problem. You can do this. the whole world is watching. No pressure.

Dolores said...

I too lost interest with the 150 but I did manage to complete the 52 blocks in 52 weeks. I still have no setting yet so the blocks sit and wait.

Deanna W said...

Love how Chris did the math for you. A lofty goal but we all need something to aim for!! Good Luck!

Jenny said...

I wish you luck on this goal! But......even if you don't quite make it, I'm sure you will be much further along by the end of the month.

Turid said...

You can do it! Good luck with your beautiful blocks.

Susan Earle said...

I first heard about the 150 project from your blog Kathy., I loved taking part in this graat project. I have had my top and back together for over a year, thinking I would hand-quilt it. I’ve decided that will not happen, so am planning to see about having it machine quilted this year. I’d like to have a fairly open design, so that I could have the option to do some hand-quilting later. I would like to put on this top the names and dates of all the women in my family. I’ll look forward to seeing your finished top. By the way, I laid the blocks out in chronological order. I had some discrepancy to move a few blocks around for those women born in the same year. This project really improved my piecing skills and I learned so much amazing history. I’m so glad for your blog. I’ve picked up so much from you over the years.

Jacqui's Quilts said...

You go Kathy! Make yourself a deadline and get 'er done LOL. That is one quilt I have actually completed and I love mine! You will be very happy that you finished it...it is a very inspiring quilt.

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

Oh wow! You've got a bit of sewing planned for this month. Enjoy and I hope you achieve your OMG :)

Janet O. said...

When I read the title of this post I wondered how you got all those women on your design wall--must be crowded! LOL
Go for it, Kathy!!

ButterZ said...

Wow. That's some goal. I'll be cheering you on so let's get sewing. I'll be sewing along with you this weekend as my hubby is away...

Kate said...

Love your new blog header! That's a great photo. Good luck with your plans for the Canadian Woman's quilt. It's going to be a beauty when it's finished.

Patty said...

Happy sewing! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and good luck on your projects.