Well, when you consider the undertaking of 480 half-square triangles, having six of my rows assembled is most definately more than halfway there.
Tonight, as I've laid out my rows on the dirty, pine needle-strewn rug (thank you dying Christmas tree that still needs to be taken down), I am struck with two distinct thoughts. One being that I absolutely LOVE this quilt more and more every day. Really, I can't quit staring at it. It makes the pine needles so much more tolerable.
And two: I can't believe how small it is. I know, I know, the dimensions are listed right there in the book, staring me in the face. But still, it's so SMALL. It just looks gigantic in the book. And heaven knows, with the mere 1495 pieces in this quilt, one would naturally think it would amount to something that covered both your legs AND your feet. At the same time. As it is, it's three-quarters of a way to being a Millennium Quilt. Yes, I realize I'm a decade late, but maybe I should just keep on going.
As I stared at it tonight, ruminating over it's puny size, Keith's helpful (and obvious) suggestion was to add a border. Easy, yes. But no. While many of you have added a border to your own snowball quilt, and they are no less beautiful, I really prefer the old-fashioned charm of the edge-to-edge scrappy snowballs. And I have already envisioned in my head, how sweet they will look all butted up next to a scrappy red binding. Which I will not attach, by the way. I shall call upon my Binding Angel for that. God bless her.
So the situation at hand still remains unanswered. Do I leave it as is, and enjoy it as a small lap quilt? Or take off the outer semi-snowball blocks and add a few more rows? This, of course, poses a whole new problem. I used up most of the reds from my scrap stash in the 99 original snowballs. So I would have to introduce a whole new set of reds for a couple more rows and would it be noticable that the new reds weren't evenly sprinkled throughout the scrappiness of the rest of the quilt?
This quilting stuff is tough business. I need a Diet Pepsi break.
*This post was set on a timer because right about now, I'm standing in line for something fun at Disney World and trying mercilessly to get the song from It's A Small World out of my head.
Looking good, Allyson! I opted not to have a border, either. The quilt is a bit small, but I just wanted it to be finished and couldn't bear to do another HST! It's perfect for lap/nap. I love mine so much more than I thought I was going to!
Posted by: Lesly | 01/11/2010 at 05:06 AM
Your snowball quilt is looking gorgeous. I agree with you about the size. I enlarged my pieces to make a 9" finished block. Not that I've finished ANY blocks, mind you! Hope you are having fun at Mickey Land!
Posted by: Lisa D. | 01/11/2010 at 09:23 AM
Very pretty....you're making me want to go work on mine some more...I decided I'm going for a bigger size -- 93" sq. including a border. I'm also using the border print as the center square in some of the red snowballs. And no, I haven't done the math on how many half square triangles I need. the setting is 13 x 13 blocks plus the partial snowball border before the outer border.....eeeek, WHAT was I thinking?!?
Posted by: LizA. | 01/11/2010 at 10:15 AM
I vote for making more blocks or you'll never be satisfied with this quilt. Would you consider some small donations of red fabric? Just tell us the lines of red fabrics you used and we'll see if we have some in our stashes. You'd do the same thing for us if we needed you.
Posted by: Robin Booth | 01/11/2010 at 10:34 AM
I vote to leave it and not introduce any new reds. Mine is going to be a wall quilt for Christmas. You can always hang yours if it's too small for cover.
Posted by: Christine Thomas | 01/11/2010 at 11:05 AM
Allyson, when you originally opened up the challenge, I remember thinking that if I could do it, I would have to make the snowballs larger because I also noticed the dimensions. Wow, 1495 pieces!!! I'm working on and off on a Millenium quilt with all 2 1/2" squares that without borders it will measure 80" X 120". I am trying to figure out a way to make it wider to use on my king-size bed so I have to put some type of border, or, even if I have to cut more squares, forget about the true Millenium quilt and add a few rows to the sides. It is the project I work on when my health issues prevent me from pursuing projects that require a lot of concentration but I need to sew for the relaxation. Okay, Okay...I know this doesn't solve YOUR problem, but I certainly want to thank you for getting my meager thought processes going and thinking of ways to make my "M" quilt the size I want. I have not yet made a quilt without borders but I have a couple in my small 'projects in waiting' group. Your Snowball quilt is truly gorgeous though and I do hope you can find a way to make it a little larger. Big hugs coming your way and I do wish you luck getting 'THAT' song out of your head. It was stuck in mine for about 5 years and the last time I was in Disneyland, I was 18 years old. LOLOL. Have a wonderful time on your vacation. Sounds like a truly fun filled couple of weeks. I'll be thinking of you and of course, now 'THAT' song is runnning through my head. **sigh**
Posted by: Nancy | 01/12/2010 at 08:36 AM
Just a thought here, but can we do a Xmas fabric swap next time? Maybe a Christmas in july thingy?
Posted by: Gail Sciortino | 01/14/2010 at 11:25 PM