Hope's Journey

Hope has reached her destination!

The final challenge for this project was a large Feathered Star centerpiece block.  This one was challenging and especially time-consuming!  ***So many triangles, and they needed to be mindfully oriented in different directions***   It took me the better part of a day to get it done, and I'm usually a fairly adept piecer.  

And then onward to assembling the sections into a large top.  This step of the process is like doing a puzzle -- it all finally fits together at last!  Reminded me very much of working on Long Time Gone and Gypsy Wife Version One  and Version Two.  I guess I enjoy that kind of mental challenge ... probably why I was attracted to this project to begin with!

My sew-along buddy Carol also completed her top this week, and her version is gorgeous!  I'm always amazed at the difference color makes -- Carol's palette is softer and more feminine than mine, and her results are beautiful.  She does have a border in mind, so we'll enjoy her further progress as she completes her journey.

This was a good trip for me, and I'm very satisfied with my quilt top.  I'm not specifically planning any borders at this time, but I'll let it hang on the design wall for a bit and see what it seems to need.  Right now, the top is about 58" x 76".   Since it has a definite blue presence, it'll probably eventually go to Jessica, who uses blue in her home decor.  There are still several small projects in the book that appeal to me, so I will be taking shorter jaunts with Hope again in the future.

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Hope's Journey

More progress with Hope's Journey!

Devil's Claw

Dove at the Crossroads

 Miscellaneous filler blocks

The design wall is almost filled!

I think all I have left to do are a couple more filler blocks, and then the centerpiece block,

 a large Feathered Star.  

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Hope's Journey

My progress this week on HOPE'S JOURNEY:

Arrowhead Star

Double T 

And a couple of filler blocks that I chose 

to represent where I live:

Road to California

Bear Paw 

I'm planning to do three more large blocks from the book, and then some small fillers of my own choosing.  I did get a big section assembled yesterday.  I'm very close to the finish line with this project! 

These blocks and sections are livelier and brighter than they appear here.  Our weather is dark and bleak, so I'm not getting good color in my photos today.  My sew-along buddy, Carol, has been on vacation.  I'm not sure she's had a chance to work on her project this week.

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Hope's Journey

I made some good progress with Hope's Journey today!

I'm skipping around now, no longer working in order chapter by chapter.

Sawtooth Star

 Wheel of Fortune

Basket

 Cake Stand

The layout is beginning to fill in.

 I was especially excited to have enough blocks done that I could finally assemble one whole section!

I'm getting antsy about finishing this project! 

 Maybe next week …

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Hope's Journey

Hope's Journey

Chapter 7: Hope Fulfilled

In this chapter, Ellen Gordon Fletcher and her husband William journey safely across the continent and establish a new life for themselves 'Out West.' 

Prickly Pear

Churn Dash

I really like Churn Dash blocks -- classic patchwork for sure! -- and will probably circle back later and make the small project featured in this chapter.

That big empty spot in the middle of the design wall is slated to become a large Feathered Star block in the layout I'm doing.  I'm thinking about whether to piece it next as scheduled, or wait till the end and see what color I need to use as my focal point.  The blue blocks are kind of sticking out more than I'd expected. 

Carol has also been working on her 

Hope's Journey blocks.  

See what she's been up to HERE 

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Hope's Journey

Hopelessly off schedule this week -- out of pocket, babysitting for the grandsons.

A single block to share from Chapter 6: Crossings.

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Hope's Journey

We enjoyed a couple of stay-at-home days this week, and I was able to make good strides on my Hope's Journey progress -- two chapters this time!

Chapter 5, Independent Women,  discussed strong women of the past.  Then, as now, women often faced daunting challenges as they struggled to find their place in society and make use of their unique talents. 'Conformity was the rule, individuality was not tolerated.'  The blocks in Chapter 5 celebrate the strong women theme, beginning with two options for these subunits:

Old Maid's Ramble

Old Maid's Puzzle

It was interesting to try both ways.

I chose Old Maid's Ramble, just liked it better.

Then we had the choice of Old Maid's Puzzle 

or Double X.  I made one of each.

Chapter 6,  Captivity and Flight, discusses the saga of a woman who was captured by Shawnee in the wilderness.  She eventually managed to escape and be reunited with her husband.

Several blocks based on classic flying geese units were included in this chapter.

Wild Geese

Wild Goose Chase

Rambler

I finally took the time to empty one of my design walls, so I could start locating my very scrappy block assortment and start thinking about color distribution.  I've settled into a red-cheddar-green-blue-brown color scheme, and don't plan to use the other fabric colors suggested in the book.  My layout isn't much to look at yet, but now I can begin to make informed decisions about fabric placement.  I like what's happening so far :)

Click HERE 

to see what Carol has accomplished this week also.

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Hope's Journey - Chapter 3

In Chapter 3, entitled 'Prairie Fowl', we are reminded of the hard work that was necessary for living on the frontier.  Everyone in the family joined in the chores -- even the very young children were able to help by feeding the chickens.

Game Cocks

Turkey Tracks

And this week I finally finished piecing Ships at Sea from Chapter 1!  This was the extra project where I veered waaaay off course -- the original mat was designed to be 12" x 12", but my version has turned out to be 52" x 70"! 

Be sure to click HERE and see Carol's progress this week.  It's fun to see what a difference our choices of color and print are making even though we are piecing the same blocks!

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Hope's Journey - Chapter 2

Hope's Journey continues.  In Chapter Two, entitled 'Forging a New Path',  we're moving from  water travel into the wilderness.  The blocks in this chapter refer to the hardships of travelling over rough trails and settling in remote surroundings.  Despite the many little triangles, the blocks all went together nicely.

The first block is called Forest Path.  It's a variation on a Bear's Paw block, which is a perennial favorite here in Big Bear :)

And another woodsy block, this one is the traditional Pine Tree.

The final block in Chapter Two is Broken Dishes -- a nod to the damage and loss that wilderness travel involved!

I'm not going to begin the Chapter Two small project at this time.  I want to finish up my Ships at Sea quilt from Chapter One first, before I bite off yet another new start.

I took another look at the final layouts offered at the end of the book, and have decided to change my goal.  The largest version of the Hope's Journey sampler quilt finishes at 60" square.  That was the one I was originally aiming for, but 60" square isn't a very useful quilt size for my purposes.  I think I'm going to work toward Setting Two (of four possibilities), which would give me a finished quilt of 52" x 68", a more practical size.  There are only a few less blocks, so I'll still be experiencing all of Hope's Journey.

Carol has been busy with her Chapter Two blocks also.  Click HERE to see her progress.

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Ugh!  I got DOZENS of spam comments here last night, so I've turned off commenting completely until I can clean things up.  Sorry!

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Hope's Journey - Ships at Sea

My weekly progress report on Hope's Journey:  I'm presently working on Chapter 1, Ships at Sea.

This is the project offered in the book, a small mat 

made up of 16 blocks set in straight rows.

Last week, in a frenzy of scrap reduction, I cut
enough parts to make 60 blocks :) 

I started assembling rows today, on point with
teal setting triangles, and this is going to be a
nice variation on the small mat!

Carol has been busy sewing Lost Ship blocks also -- 

visit her HERE

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Hope's Journey - Ships at Sea

It's settling-back-down-to-normal-day after the holiday, and I'm busy again with Hope's Journey.  

This is the small project described in Chapter 1, a mat named 'Ships at Sea.'  Continuing with the voyaging theme of the chapter, the mat is made up of Lost Ship blocks in indigo blues.  When cutting, each large triangle becomes two blocks  --  so the eight triangles that were cut for the original project resulted in sixteen blocks in a 4 x 4 set.

I opted to use the cutting dimensions for the larger-size blocks for my version of 'Ships at Sea.' Some stash rummaging yielded a decent-size piece of light background, and some odds and ends of teal/aqua blues.  Hmm, and  how about if I try to use up ALL those teal scraps and bits?!  So I cut the first eight pairs, and still had plenty of both the background and the teals … so I cut more … and more … and more. (And remember that I will actually be creating double the number of blocks I've cut). 

And before we know it, instead of a small mat my project has mushroomed into a lap-size donation quilt.  Back when I was working in the business world, this was referred to as 'scope creep.'  I did eventually use up all of the background, but (as we knew would be the case) plenty of TEAL scraps still remain.  I'll get the rest of my project figured out -- borders, back, binding -- and then finally chop down the remaining teal scraps into squares, strips and strings.  I'm TAMING THE TEAL!

Pop over HERE and see the beautiful work Carol has done for Hope's Journey this week.  And if you have this book and would like some travel companions, please sew along us on Wednesdays!

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Hope's Journey - Chapter 1

I know that a few days before Christmas isn't exactly the best time to begin a brand new quilt project, but I couldn't resist getting started!  This book arrived a week or so ago and it's been calling to me ever since.  Having dutifully finished the other tasks that I needed to get done, I rewarded myself by sneaking in some cutting and piecing time for this: I easily finished the first chapter's blocks for the large version of the Hope's Journey sampler quilt.

The title of Chapter 1 is 'Setting Sail', and the chapter's theme is voyaging to new destinations.  The blocks are Lady of the Lake and Lost Ships, both familiar traditional blocks.  The book uses blue fabrics for both of the blocks, probably because of the water-related names.  The sampler quilt will be scrappy, and I chose to go with blues this time too.

The chapter also has instruction for making a small mat.  I'm looking forward to working on that next week, after the holiday hubbub begins to settle down.  I'll be sewing my way through the book as time and temperament allow -- likely doing more than one chapter a month.   

Carol, a quilting friend who lives in Saskatchewan CA, is also planning to work through the book.  We're going to encourage each other, and invite you to join us on Wednesdays as we undertake

 HOPE'S JOURNEY

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