WIP Wednesday: Leftover Charms

Things are on a real stop and start around here. Last week in about a day I made a patchwork quilt top (the pictures are coming in just a few paragraphs!). The weekend was jam packed with exploring markets, grocery shopping, cooking, and planning.

Monday started well, with me beginning to cut out the pieces for the Velocity Girl Bag by SewSweetness, and then we went to our first pilates class. I'm still sore. It was good, but too intense for my still-recovering back. So back to google to find a new class to try.

Then yesterday came, and all the go that had been happening over the weekend died. Just died. I was tired and cranky, and there were arguments. I didn't do anything on my to-do list. I did start watching Craftsy classes I bought last Autumn... And got an idea for a new quilt, which I then mocked up in Illustrator instead of making chilli for dinner. Thankfully it was only me for dinner here last night, so I just microwaved some frozen lasagne and kept right on playing with quilt ideas.

Anyway, I don't really have a point. But I feel guilty for not getting more done, for not replying to emails sooner, and for finding settling in here harder on some days than others. I am not blogging or sewing as much as I'd like, but I'm guessing you can't force it and instead I'm trying to go with the flow.

Here is the quilt top in progress. I started with a bundle of mixed charms that have been languishing in a cupboard for over a year. I needed something simple to get my sewing courage up after 3 weeks of no sewing! So it started off super basic:

But then I thought that was kind of boring. So I cut it up,

rearranged the strips, and sewed it back together.

Then, I thought, why not cut it up in the other direction!? So I did!

And I sewed it back together again, and said, done for now.

It is just less than 30" square. I woke up at 5am last Friday with the idea that I could surround it in a mosaic of 2" squares in various shades of white and bind it in a mauve colour. Then my mother suggested that I quilt it as is and use it to make an enormous cushion (I got an enormous cushion as a teenager and it moved all over with me until I came to the States).

I honestly don't know what to do with it, so it's folded up and living in the corner right now. My quilt idea would keep it on the long finger for a while because I don't have a variety of whites on hand, and would need to wait for off-cuts from some upcoming quilts. The cushion would mean looking for an insert the right size or buying foam or something... Do any of you have an idea??

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced today! And heading off to do some more work on my new handbag - I'll leave you with a picture.