Poor Mr Sunshine Quilt

click photos to enlarge

pattern photo/ original quilt

Poor Mr. Sunshine: He is killing me with tedium. Too bad. Funny how you look at a design and think Oh how cool, how awesome. But THEN. The reality is in the details. Minuscule stars, the large ones here are less than 1".

 

 

 Valium sized dots....look at this! 45 dots to sew on, in this segment in pix!

 

 

I shudder for my future, almost gave up.
But....I am sewing slowly on the Tree of Life block. Plotting ways to get those leaves and all those greens just right.

 hers

 

 

mine, so far

 

 I figured if I left this block til last, when all the more fun blocks are done, I'd never finish the quilt top. And I may not. Eensy weensy twigs and branches, dozens of boring green ovoid leaves. I think I counted 70 leaves, some as amall as a 1/4"

Minute black stars that I decided I must have because the design doesn't ''pop'' without them.

Subbed  the black fabric motif instead...will I regret this someday? How close must you follow  a design and still do credit to its original beauty and artistry? How many shortcuts will make it just not worth your time.

I've promised myself I can do the four moon/ sun/ planet blocks next, as my reward. Big and simple.

I've been driven to consider knitting a sweater instead. "Oshima" by Brooklyn Tweed's Jarod Flood, here    

Though again, how a designer can take such a simple design and make it complex to the point of rocket science is beyond me! What the heck is a...tubular?? cast on? [yes, yes, YouTube here I come.] There was entire page just about the cast-on.
And if we double the yarn as directed, will 12 skeins be enough? I never have knitted a sweater with just 6 skeins of yarn, have you?
Or note this market bag scroll to bottom of yarn page : utterly incomprehensible to me. Too bad because it is neat and I bought the hank of linen thread to make it.

All these modern designs also requite the purchase of many multiple sizes and lengths of circular needles, six sets? eight? at about 16.00 each. The sweater requires 10 different sets of needles, if I counted right.  Not good.

Now I am back mulling over the wonderful sweater, hoping brioche stitch is my my knitting pattern book---and I am making a pair of simple open mittens here with my yarn from the NYC Greenmarket. [so far so good, thank goodness I had the right needles!]
Okay---what shall I not whine about? America Hurrah quilt is back and I am appliqueing the year and my initials to add to its folkiness.  I could have enlarged and downloaded the characters of a simple font, but I wanted the letters to be a bit prim so I drew them myself.

I finished handquilting the two doll quilts from Lori  at Humble Quilts winter 2013 quiltalongs. They are each about 16. 5 " square.

 

Loved this backing, kitties, birds...

...and enjoyed seeing again and up close, the tiny fragments of 1800s fabrics from my antique calico collection. (mixed with modern and vintage repros too.)

 

 

I even have had a few days of sewing down at the beach! Yay. Me and my little friend, and a warm but howling gale today! 

love

   lizzy

gone to the beach....

 

 

photos from patterns of original Celestial Dreams quilt are used with permission.