350 Blocks Project: August and September
Summer was packed this year. I was much busier than normal, so quilting took a bit of a backseat. I visited family in Colorado, went to a wedding in California, took classes with Bonnie Hunter, enjoyed a quilt retreat, and just wrapped up an amazing week with my sister here in Montana.
Thanks to the retreat and a deadline, I was still able to knock out quite a few blocks. First, I completed 90 blocks for this quilt top. It's the bonus project for the top that I finished in June. I already had all of the units made at that point. I sewed them into pairs in July, then finished the blocks and top in August.
Rather than stashing the strings that were left from cutting for these quilts, I decided to use them right away. I made 18 of these string blocks for the back of the bonus quilt. String piecing is a great project for retreats. The lack of concentration required allows for more visiting with friends, and the space there is better than what I have at home.
The last thing I did in August was make these two blocks for the back of the quilt. The blue/purple fabric will surround them, so it will look like the grey rectangles are floating on the background.
In September, I put together this wall hanging for a local quilt show. The show will include a display of a variety of ways to quilt the same top. All of the local longarm quilters were invited to make this project in these colors, then to quilt it as we saw fit. I'm counting this as 6 blocks.
All told, that's 110 blocks in August and 6 blocks in September. That more than doubles my total for the year! I'm up to 220 blocks now. That still leaves me 40 blocks behind, but October should be a good month. I have two retreats and a commission quilt to help me along.