New Quilting Project

Things have been kind of crazy around here the last several days, and it likely won't slow down until at least tomorrow.  I have not done a single stitch of sewing yet in 2013 - a travesty!  At least a little bit of knitting has happened.

But I didn't want to wait any longer to show my new quilting project:  Anna Maria Horner's Feather Bed Quilt. 

I first came across this design in late August, just before Niecey-poo and her family left us, via the Hawthorne Threads newsletter.  The moment I saw this quilt, I fell head over heels in love - it's what inspired me to try out quilting again after so many years.  I quickly ordered a half yard of each print in the "Patina" colorway  of the new Field Study line.  The pattern itself is a free download on Anna Maria's website.

I started my quilt about a month ago.  The first step is to cut strips of random widths across the whole 45" width of the fabric.

 

These strips then get sewn together to form a new fabric, which will get cut into the feather shapes.  Here's a picture of my first third of the pieced fabric, made about a month ago.  It contains one piece of each of the fabrics:

 
The pattern is very detailed, giving the yardages and layout diagram for each size quilt, and step-by-step instructions for piecing the feathers.

Since taking these pictures, I've finished another third of the pieced fabric.  I'm hoping to complete the final third later this week and begin cutting out my feather pieces.  I still haven't decided on a background color, but am leaning toward a cream or linen shade.

I'm not in a rush to complete this one.  I really like knowing it is there on the sidelines, waiting for those times when I feel like sewing straight lines.  My only goal is to have this complete by the end of 2013, and to enjoy the process along the way!