Ten-Year Projects In Progress: Update on Frankenwhiggish Rose, Jingle BOM, + Deco Quilts

So...  I put my Whig Rose blocks back up on my design wall yesterday morning to see how much work remains to be done on them.  I started this needle turn appliqué project in March of 2014 (you can read about it here) and it's been an on-again, off-again kind of thing.  I'm finding it really monotonous to appliqué the same shapes over and over again.  The reason I haven't started any of the Sarah Fielke 2022 Block of the Month projects I signed up for is that I wanted to finish THIS appliqué project before starting on a new one, and this one ain't finished yet!

FrankenWhiggish Blocks on November 12, 2022

Just for kicks, let's compare today's photo to the one from the last time I had these blocks up on my design wall, back in January of this year:

FrankenWhiggish Blocks on January 12, 2022

So it took me TEN MONTHS to complete eighteen of those wretched little tulips!  AAAARGH!!  And I still have ten more to go.  

Well, the remaining tulips are already cut out and I've already reverse appliquéd the diamonds in the center of them.  They are ready to be positioned and pinned to the blocks for hand stitching in front of the television at night.  Except that I've been doing more late-night longarm quilting lately than television watching...

I Am Sick and Tired of These Tulips Already!

In my defense: As mentioned earlier, sewing the same shape in the same fabric over and over again is boring!  I have also discovered that it's a lot easier to needle turn and stitch sharp inside and outside points than the sharp inside and outside curves in my tulip shape.  I can tell I'm getting better at it when I compare my recent work to the first test block for this quilt, but I can tell you that my next appliqué project is going to be a sampler with plenty of variety instead of the same block over and over again!  

Check out my design wall eight years ago, right after I finished the first test block for this quilt and had made a start on the second block:

My Design Wall on October 9, 2016

That big green block was the first block I made for the Nanu Nanu! Retro '80s Building Blocks sampler that I just finished last month, and the quilt top underneath that block was a teacher gift that was the very first "real quilt" I quilted on my first long arm machine.  The sampler blocks on the right are in a project box somewhere.  They are marinating, or hibernating, or maybe their tannins are softening and their fruit flavors are dropping to give them a smoother, fuller flavor, like wine...  No plans for them any time soon!

Time traveling even further back, here's my design wall back in September of 2014, when the very first of these Whig Rose blocks was still in progress:

My Design Wall on September 8, 2014

These design wall photos make me feel better about how long this appliqué project is taking, because I'm reminded of all of the other things I've been working on at the same time.  Those bear paw blocks and sawtooth stars turned into my Color Outside the Lines quilt that I completed last year.  Off to the right, those are the very first two pineapple log cabin blocks that turned into my gigantic Pineapple Juice Nostalgia quilt that I also finished last year.

Only One Block is 100% Complete

I keep working on this project because I have a vision for what I hope it will end up like and I do still like the quilt!  Hopefully once I get the tulips done the last bits of appliqué will go faster.  There are the broderie perse rosebuds that go around the centers of each flower, like so:

Seven Blocks Need Broderie Perse Rosebuds

Looking at that photo now, I am tempted to add something in between the rosebuds, but I think I'll get the rest of the blocks caught up to this block before I start shoveling more work on myself!  After all of the blocks have their rosebuds, the last step is the stuffed berries, like so:

Eight Blocks Need Fussy-Cut Stuffed Berries

Notice the little unintended pointy thing on right tulip tip that is supposed to be an acute curve.  That was my first block for this quilt, and I'm getting better at those rounded points but they are still annoyingly fiddly!  And of course, I still have an even older incomplete appliqué project in progress, my Jingle BOM that I began in 2013:

Jingle In Progress, 2013

Whereas my FrankenWhiggish Rose project is all needle turn, meaning the raw edges get turned under with the point of my needle as I'm stitching each shape onto my block background, my Jingle project was done using a prepared edge technique using starch and heat-safe plastic templates to turn the raw edges under smoothly before stitching.  I much prefer hand stitching the applique when the edges have been turned ahead of time, but I didn't enjoy the prep work with the hot iron and I didn't think it was a fantastic method with intricate shapes.  

Here's what that Jingle quilt top looked like on the design wall before I started custom quilting it in July of this year:

Completed Jingle Quilt Top, Prior to Quilting

Back in July, I got all of the stitch in the ditch quilting and the feather quilting in the setting triangles completed, and started in on a few of the pieced blocks before my sewjo petered out.

Jingle Custom Quilting In Progress, July of 2022

I have one more client's quilt in my queue and then I've got Jingle scheduled to go back on my frame the week of Thanksgiving -- I'm determined to finish quilting it so I can enjoy it THIS YEAR during the holiday season!

Meanwhile...  (I'm starting to realize that I'd have more finishes to show for myself if I didn't have so many "meanwhiles!")

I have made no additional progress on my Deco quilt that I supposedly started last November, but it's hanging out patiently at the end of my cutting table in hopes that if I see it glaring at me I might pay it some attention!

Prewashed Deco Quilt Fabrics, Cutting In Progress as of Today

I've planned out my colors, bought my fabric and prewashed it, and started a tiny bit of the cutting for this quilt.  I also drafted myself some nifty foundation paper piecing patterns in EQ8 for the half blocks on the sides of the quilt, because the pattern instructions call for making full blocks and slicing them in half.  I don't like those directions because I want an extra quarter inch seam allowance beyond the center of each half block, so my points don't get covered up by my binding.  

My Kona Solids Color Plan for 102 x 102 Deco Bed Quilt

I think that, before I chop up all of my Deco fabric into strips per the pattern instructions, I might want to make a couple of test blocks first to ensure they finish the right size.  The fact that I'm using so many more colors than the pattern calls for is complicating things, too, because when the instructions say to cut X number of strips of Color 3, and I am actually using three different fabrics for Color 3, I have to stop and think and try to figure out how many strips I need of each of my own fabrics.  The popular construction techniques in this pattern are geared towards speed and fabric conservation, but I worry that I might be giving up some control and accuracy if I follow the instructions, especially since these are not my usual "tried and true" methods.  I would be so much more comfortable cutting out hundreds of individual squares -- but then this would likely turn into ANOTHER 10-year project!  

So, those are the reasons I'm thinking/planning/researching Stars Upon Stars, but won't be starting it until at least next year!  I think if I ever tried to host a quilt-along, everyone who signed up for it would get really frustrated by my snail's pace -- except the procrastinators!  The procrastinators would love me!  😆. If I didn't long arm quilt for clients, I'd never have any finishes to share on the blog!  Next post, I promise to show you a lovely finished quilt (but it probably won't be one of MINE!)

Have a wonderful week, everyone, and happy stitching!  I'm linking up with my favorite linky parties, listed on the left sidebar of my blog.