In December, I wrote about the online Heartstrings group’s informal annual string block challenge. Today marks the beginning of a new quarter and I’m eager to see how I’m doing. This calculator shows that 90 days have passed, including the start and end dates, so I don’t need to check my calendar to count the actual number of days. I was recovering from a short stint in the hospital after Christmas and didn’t do any sewing in January. So I wondered, did I still manage to make at least 90 blocks??? 🙂
THIS photo from 2007 on the Heartstrings Quilt Project page has always inspired me. When I need motivation to start a new set of blocks, this is where I find it.
I don’t count my blocks until the quilt is completely finished. Here are the ones completed since the year began. If I remember to do this every quarter, it’ll be easier to total them up at the end of the year.
When I looked back, I realized I never posted a photo of the one I finished on March 13th.
I used 12 string blocks for the sashing. I began with 10″ x 12.5″ rectangle string blocks, then cut each one into 4 units measuring 2.5″ x 12.5″.
Here are the other three. For the Kaffe Fasset and patriotic string quilts I used the easy method of making two half square triangles at a time. For that reason, I’m only counting half as many blocks as you see in those two quilts.
So, let’s count:
- 12 – patriotic sashing (finished March 13)
- 24 – Kaffe Fasset 48 HST’s (finished March 6)
- 60 – patriotic 120 HST’s (finished February 27)
- 20 – puppy quilt (finished February 21)
116 blocks total
Yay! The patriotic half square triangle blocks only measure 6″ finished instead of 9″ but, I’m giving myself a break on that. I think the pieced blocks in the sashing quilt and the needle turn appliqued puppy make up for it. 🙂
Today I’m stitching the binding down on an 80 block string quilt so I’ll be ahead of my goal. I’m ready to get to my other goals for this year, these bucket list quilts! I think I’ll choose the easiest one first, or maybe one I’ve already made a little progress on. I could always number them and pull one from the hat… hmmm. How to choose?
Time to Quilt 
