Oh, What A Relief...

Blocks for our "American Treasures Album Quilt" project

For those of you who are new in the past week...Welcome to Brynwood Needleworks! It's great to have you here. Grab your favorite beverage, put your feet up and have fun exploring.

It's time for an update on our guild project, the "American Treasures Album Quilt". Those of you who have been here for a while, know that I volunteered to be the chairman for the project, and I'm grateful to the talented guild members who have volunteered to help do the work on these blocks along with me. 

When completed, there will be twenty blocks and two borders to create a gorgeous queen-size quilt. Our guild - the Disconnected Pieces Quilt Guild in Port Charlotte, Florida - will then be selling raffle tickets until February 2014, and it will belong to one lucky winner. (Yes, I will be making the tickets available to my readers.)

These blocks are not yet sewn together, and there's been just a bit of revision from the original plan. Last week, I thought there were only three blocks to complete (including the three blocks that are currently in the hands of other stitchers and nearly ready to hand in). I was a little overwhelmed because I knew that I had more stitchers, but I was going to have to do all the set up work to prepare those applique' blocks by myself. 

Then, a bit of panic set in. As my friend, Kathy and I were on our way home from the guild board meeting (I'm also the recording secretary), we realized that there were five blocks - not three - to set up for stitching. (That's including the Connecticut block you saw here last week.) Setting up three blocks would be pressure enough, but FIVE? So it was time to make a few "executive decisions".

More blocks = Thirteen!

I pulled out and counted the blocks that are already done. (Of course, I'm a good blogger, so I took pictures to show you!) A few still need some embroidery work to be completely finished, but they're mostly finished. Thirteen. (Just like the "original thirteen states"! Sorry. I couldn't stop myself.) Then there are the three that are nearly finished. That makes 16. Wait! SIXTEEN?

Our original layout called for twenty blocks. All of a sudden, the light bulb went on. If we have sixteen applique' blocks, we can put a blank block in each corner that will be filled with custom quilting. That would complete our quilt with twenty blocks! GENIUS!

I can stop fretting and relax a bit. (Who am I kidding? It's like taking a huge weight off my shoulders.) I contacted the gals working on those other three blocks and they're coming along fine. I'll have them by the end of this month. Instead of freaking out because I have all those other blocks to make, I can focus instead on getting the embroidery done on the blocks that need some, and seeing the rest of the quilt through to completion. (I'll finish the layout for Connecticut and use that for another project later this year.)

I originally set our deadline to have a completed quilt for April, and if the last three blocks are handed in this month, we'll have it assembled and to our long-arm quilter in March. As soon as she's finished with it, it will be bound and ready to be appraised, photographed and start traveling to advertise the raffle and our guild quilt show next year. What a relief!

So, even though I'll show you the last three blocks when I get them back, you won't see all of them together again until our quilt top is assembled. I can hardly wait!

Don't forget to enter my current giveaway. Click here to go to the giveaway post to find out all about it.