change of plans

I hate it!  And I think I know why.  I do not fly by the seat of pants very well.   I can tweak a pattern but have a much harder time starting off from scratch.  Sewing on this tree skirt, making it scrappy, doing crazy patches is going too far against my grain.

I am proudly a traditional quilter who likes to try new patterns and techniques.  I can produce a good facsimile, I feel, with my own fabrics but reinvent the wheel?  Not so much.  It is making me nuts.

I woke up at 2:30 this morning and this tree skirt thing was on my mind---among other topics, to be honest.  In spite of my best efforts to shut it all down I was awake till 6:30 and then blessedly, back to sleep till about 8:30.  SIGH.  Some nights are like that but I am not going to waste any more time worrying about it now.

My niece/god child likes the idea of lots of different fabrics for this so it will go with anything decor-wise down the line.  It does NOT have to be crazy patches----it can be planned ones, just a mix of them.  Of the ones I pointed her to, it was the colors, not the style or pattern.  The only thing she requested really was a white or cream backing, I guess so it could be used on either side.

I love my Patience Corner!  I love how the fabrics just glow against the light sashing.   Why not just make a piece large enough that I could cut the segments out of it?  Create my own yardage, in effect from the quilt top.  I threw it all on the bed to get an idea of just how big I would need to go, blockwise.  Of course, you know who had to get in there to see what was going on.  Sniff it out.  I could make a quilt and then cut a hole it in for the trunk??  Or I could do the Dresden Plate wedges since I already have the backing and batting cut??   I need to quit dragging my feet and just get going with this already!  After all, sewing is supposed to be fun, not have the prospect of doing so keep you awake at night for hours on end!!  EQ to help with the idea.

The more I mull this over, I think that this idea is scrappy enough for her but controlled enough for me.  Just make a 7 x 7 block square of 8 inch blocks, scaling the cut squares down to 3 inch finished instead of 4 1/2.    I can do that!   Any holiday fabric works in it so the stuff I bought will still work in it plus anything left from my own version of the quilt and stash.   I bet I can use the twister blade I made up as a Christmas stocking if I want.  The tree I was working on last night can be taken apart for the fabric.   If I don't use the batting and backing as is, I can find another use for it.

I'm off to cut 196 pieces for these blocks-------decision made.  Going for it!