on top

i need another design wall. again! s1's quilt has taken priority but i'm not taking down what's already on the boards so i guess we'll just work right over the top of this triangle one.

get ready for another blue-and-orange invasion of this space because i simply can not let this oldest son's quilt go any longer without a finish. it must be done. i'm going in kicking and screaming, dragging my feet yet i've prioritized this quilt above all else. it's the most important project in the que, ranking even higher than the "dreaming easy" quilt, which only needs binding, and the "penny patch 2.0" that is ready to sandwich and quilt. they're just going to have to wait. s1 needs his mama-made!

this project has been on the backburner for so long not because i don't love my son but because i do not love piecing these wonky stacked coin blocks. and i was burnt out on working with these colors after completing s2's "bandwidth," which shares the same color scheme and several fabrics. there were too many other exciting and satisfying projects going on to make myself do something i wasn't enjoying. my original quilt plan called for 36 blocks, 9 of which i've completed, and the mere thought of churning out 27 more was akin to having dental work done.

so i revamped the project. i'd going to do a row of 7 of the stacked coins at the top and bottom of the quilt, which means i only need 5 more blocks. that's not a pleasant idea, but it's doable. i'm adding rows of wonky log cabin blocks beneath and above the stacked coin rows. in the middle i plan to piece "awesome," using the letters from denyse schmidt's proverbial quilt pattern. this reworking has enlivened my interest somewhat. we'll see how that goes.

regardless of how i feel about the actual construction of the quilt, i really do like the design and it absolutely needs to be finished. i can't count the number of times my son casually but rather wistfully said, "oh, are you working on something else?," or, "you're starting something new?," without any further comment. there was always a new baby on the way or something i was burning to make or a last minute quilt for someone that "needed" to be done. so i put his less exciting quilt off. it was painful but not painful enough to make me stop.

 but after a summer off of quilting and some serious consideration of why i quilt and what i want to produce with my limited sewing time, i know this just needs to be done. i've actually had nightmares or small panic moments when i think, "what if something happens to me and i never finish his quilt? i don't want to die without having given him this quilt!" that may seem a little extreme, but it's that important to me. if i knew i had a month left to live, right now finishing this quilt would be at the top of my "to do" list. so i better just go ahead and do it already!

not only am i feeling pressured because it's been 2 years since i started this project and i'd really like to get it done before he's out of high school (which he just started) but i have this crazy idea of using our quilts as props for our family photos this fall. the family photos that are scheduled for november 21st. yikes! everyone else has their quilt, but not this fella. so mama better get sewing!

linking up with lee's wip wednesday at freshly pieced.