Easter Egg

 Created for PQ 13.6 Flying Geese challenge. 

Of course, I did flying geese for 13.5. So my challenge this week was to find something new to do that would work for the remaining space on my hallway wall. It needed to fit next to that 8.5 x 11 piece I did for the last challenge. And since I never want to make pieces that will hang side by side the same size, it needed to be smaller. Why not the same size? Because if they're not hung perfectly, it's really obvious. Precision hanging is not my superpower. Why invite frustration if you can avoid it?

I thought of geese in the round, but didn't want a square. Not the right fit for the space. Maybe an oval with geese in spiral. After sketching, I decided on 2 spirals going outward with lights and colors reversed on the second spiral. 

Not the most fun paper piecing I ever did. Some of those pieces are really small. Also, I will confess, this is not one of my favorite pieces. In retrospect, I think only 2 colors, or 4 with 2 on each spiral would have been more dramatic. No, I am not going to make another.  And, note to self, when you sketch something kind of complicated, always make a copy of it before you cut it apart to paper piece.

Many times with these challenges a name for the quilt has popped into my head early in the process. Not so this time. Not a clue. As I finished it, I thought it looked like an Easter egg. So Easter Egg it is.

I have been staging the PQ 13 quilts together on a spare bed. I forgot to account for the light switch, so my planned arrangement went out the window. Finally I ended up with this. A great memory of this season of Project Quilting. 

Created by Diane Lapacek in rural Poynette, WI.

7" x 10"

Yoyos and Geese in Rhythm

Created for Project Quilting 13.5 Rhythm and Repetition challenge.

When I saw this challenge, I thought it was perfect for this busy week.  Trish has done a really great job with the challenges year. Of course, she always does, but this year she pretty much hit what I needed to meet my goal of a really great display at the end of my hall. And, as you know, it's all about me.

I had some time Monday and Tuesday, but needed to be ready to leave town early Wednesday morning. Rhythm and Repetition! Easy! I grabbed a sheet of paper and sketched some geese flying across it. Paper pieced them in rainbow on black, then looked for a great background fabric. 

OK. So I'm not into one background fabric. Or one of anything. I'm the, "Why would anyone use 5 fabrics when 50 will do?" type of girl. Or, at this point, old lady. And it's only noon on Monday. I need to make this more interesting.  After all, it's for MY wall. So, I took another piece of paper and drew some lines on it and paper pieced a background. 

OK. I'm not out of time yet. I thought some black circles would add some extra interest. I would make them from black fabric and fuse them on. Of course, my iron picked this moment to die. Wouldn't heat. Thought about giving it up, but then I realized I could make yoyos and they wouldn't require heat. Printed some circle templates and threw some black fabrics and bright buttons in a travel sewing bag. 

Today we drove from Wisconsin to Cincinnati. Cloudy most of the day. Perfect for some hand sewing. I made yoyos in graduated sizes. (You know, rhythm and repetition.) 

I attached them with bright buttons for centers. The criteria here was size and variety because enough is enough and all this structure is getting to me. I really needed something random, so I added that one little car I found in my button collection. 

Obviously, my sewing machine was not available in my car, so I had to attach everything by hand. I don't object to some hand work, but if you put these on by machine, you can hold the yoyo in place, add a few stitches, then put the button on top, hold it straight and stitch it on. By hand, the first stich doesn't hold anything straight and you have to fight with every stitch to keep the button the way you want it. Good thing I had lots of free time in the passenger seat today. By the way, it's really fun to sew these things on in your lap. I only sewed the quilt to my pant leg once, after all. I used my phone as a tray to hold the buttons and yoyos and only had to remake a couple that got lost. When I find them eventually and I'll have a head start on another project. Or the next owner of our car (which is being traded in for one that's supposed to manufactured next week) will get a bonus. Maybe they will inspire the new owner to become a quilter. You never know.

I made one row and decided I needed another on the other side. Kind of wanted to put all the bigger ones on the same end, but they didn't fit right there, so I reversed them. Great rhythm. Very happy with the end result and it's only Wednesday night. I'm here in my hotel room texting with 3 sisters, a brother, and my daughter and finishing this up. (And my oldest granddaughter just chimed in, too.) Life is good. Off for sibling time for a few days. Never enough of that.

So, after all of this, I'm looking at my piece and thinking maybe I should hang it the other way. You know, vertical instead of horizontal. For some reason I think I like that better. Sometimes quilts have a mind of their own. Hmmmm. 

I'm not home and can't check out what this does to the arrangement that is now 5 quilts big to go on the wall in my hall. I had thought this would be the last one and PQ 13.6 would be a stand alone project. When I get home, I'll check that out. Some buttons would need to be shifted, but I think I could just turn them a quarter turn, hold them in place and stitch by machine. And 13.6 would probably need to be added to the wall. We'll see. For now, I'm good.

Created by Diane Lapacek in rural Poynette, Wisconsin, and on the road between Poynette and Cincinnati.

I don't have a tape measure here, but I'm guessing the size is pretty close to 8.5" x 11" since that's the size of the paper I started with.