En Provence, Half Way There.

I have been taking it easy and trying to make as few mistakes as possible on this quilt. And when I make one I fix it. I am surely not the speediest, but I am getting there.

I want to thank whoever posted the idea of putting this quilt together in quarters. It really does make it easier to handle and there is a sense of accomplishment as each section comes together. I have completed half of the quilt and have the 3rd quarter together, with the exception of the borders.

Half finished except for outer border

I am saving the outside border until I have the entire quilt together. This is to be sure I have a nice balance in the neutrals. Many of the neutral blocks have a pearly lavender fabric and I want that to be distributed through out the quilt. Waiting till the end for the last border allows me to be sure that happens.

I have limited diversity in my greens, but I have fabric that has lots diversity in the design. This example illustrates what I mean.

One of my greens

As you can see when it's cut there are many options and from end to end it does not looks like the same fabric. I love this kind of fabric.  Although I had limited fabrics I am okay with how it turned out.

Using my greens

I also dug into my stash and found a few more neutrals to add. I had no idea I had this many neutrals, and I did not even touch the creamy neutrals. I loved the paw prints and the fur (second from top). I tried to use these with blocks that have cats.

new neutrals

Working with a quarter of the quilt really works with my process. I may have mentioned in the past, for the most part I don't do production sewing. I like to kit up sections and work through those, finishing one piece or section at a time. This is my 3rd quarter without the sashes. You know I even like this layout. Wouldn't they make neat old fashion Christmas ornaments?

3rd quarter of quilt

Next I kitted up the sashing units. I'll piece them together, attach them to the blocks, and then piece together the last four blocks together. Another quarter will be done.

sashing kits

Hopefully I'll have this all done before Bonnie's next link-up. I'm feeling pretty optimistic. My healthy and energy is holding up. I'm taking my time and doing pretty good; seams are nesting nicely and only a few pieces have been sewn upside down. I'm trying to do quality checks at each step so I can catch miss sews early, and correct them.

I'm am really enjoying this process and seeing what everyone else is doing. There are many interpretations of the quilts, as quilters added their own creativity to Bonnie's pattern. Check out the link to see everyone's posts. http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2017/01/mystery-monday-link-up-part-6-7.html.

My plan, which I always pursue lightly, is to have the quilt together by the weekend. Next week I will work on the outer border, and order wide backing. I'm not sure what color or pattern I want to use. I guess I'll have to do some browsing to find just the right fabric.

Last step is to schedule some time with the long arm machine at Loveland Quilt Studio.
My brain is already steps ahead. Allietare is still a work in progress. I have also had my eye on Crisscross Applesauce and Lady of Lady Erie, two other of Bonnie's patterns. That should keep me busy for a while, and reduce my stash a little too.