Monday, July 18, 2011

Criss Cross UFO

I've peeked into my big gray bin, and found another UFO that needs attention.
Maybe I should have titled this The Summer of My Repentance.
Seriously.
I am committed (or I should have myself committed?) to organizing and completing as many UnFinished quilt Objects this summer as possible.
Several years ago my girlfriend Judi Sears and I walked into a quilt store and saw Criss Cross by American Jane Patterns.
Right then we said "Let's make this quilt together!"
Such a good idea.

Judi worked away and completed her Criss Cross and it has been hanging beautifully in her office ever since.
I enjoy seeing her quilt every time I enter her home.

Meanwhile, my Criss Cross sat in pieces, all tucked away in that big gray bin.
Some of the blocks were completed.

Other blocks just had the fabrics cut in strips.

Lots of little piles of 1 1/2" pieces.




And this.

Have you ever come back to a quilt several years later and not had the slightest idea where you left off?

Criss Cross is a large and somewhat complicated quilt that will measure 96" X 96" when done.

It took a little brain work to figure out where to re-start.

The fabrics in one block need to match the fabrics in the block next door, so there is a little coordinating that needs to go on.

It was helpful to throw everything that had been finished so far up on my design wall.

This is one of those kind of quilt projects where I've discovered a design wall is absolutely essential.

You need to be able to step back and see the overall effect.


Especially because the blocks are quite large, with a final measurement of 22 1/2".

They take a little time to put together.

I finished the bottom 3 blocks in the last few days, and still have 5 more to go.

I really like the scrappyness of the fabrics and absolutely love everything that Sandy Klop designs for American Jane Patterns.

17 comments:

Desley said...

What a beautiful quilt. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to seeing it finished.

trish said...

Oh wow. What a *gorgeous* quilt!!
You did a beautiful job! :o)
Sincerely, Trish

Sparky said...

OH MY GOODNESS...me I don't think that I could do this ... you need not only great eyes, color sense...and patience..ohhhh lot;s and lots of patience...lol

Me and My Stitches said...

I love this pattern - can't wait to see it finished! Don't you hate trying to figure out where you left off? I have a heart bargello that is one fourth of the way finished. I really, really want to finish it, but do not want to figure out where I was and what is what in all those strip sets. ugh!!

Lynette said...

OK, this is COOL!! Wow, yeah - without a design wall, it would be terribly frustrating to keep organized. Glad you're finishing it. This will be stunning.

Lois Evensen said...

How very pretty. Yes, I come back to things - usually knitting - and have to figure out where I was when I put it down. Fortunately, I make many, many notes and eventually write down my pattern designs.

Janet said...

I love Sandy Klops designs too but I still haven't done one. Everything you wrote has an eerily similar tone to what I'd say, that's why I have so many ufo's.
Your quilt is gorgeous, good for you getting it to this stage.

Gina E. said...

OMG!! (In HUGE capital letters!) I guess an experienced quilter would see that as an interesting but achievable challenge...I would leave it at the very bottom of that grey UFO Bin!

Needled Mom said...

That really is a gorgeous quilt. What size strips did you use on the blocks? That is a lot of stripping!!!! I can see how the concentration would take some time to get the coordinating block in the right place.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

a lot of work but a great quilt - I have not seen this particular pattern before :)
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

Dolores said...

Stunning. I really like this quilt. Good for you for sticking to your UFOs.

Nanette Merrill said...

I remember Judi showing this quilt. I love it. A lot.

Material Mary said...

Nedra, This quilt will surely be a stunner when completed. Glad you have a design wall...
Mary

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

I have done that; go back to something and have no idea where I was or what I was working on. This is going to be amazing. Keep going!

Anonymous said...

WOW!!!!

That is an amazing quilt...that's a lot of hard work & patience.

Honestly, if any of my projects take more than a week to complete I get all stressed out :-)

xxh

Gayle said...

Whoa! That is a beautiful quilt and I can tell that it takes some concentrating to stitch it together. You're doing a great job Nedra! I like it a lot!

AnnieO said...

Wow, that is striking! Not sure how I knew it, but as soon as you showed the finished blocks, I thought to myself that it must be an American Jane quilt! Sandy's a really good designer and lovely person. I got to meet her at her booth at the International Quilt Festival a couple of years ago. Her husband was using the largest novelty sized calculator I've ever seen!