Gratitude and A Plan + One Monthly Goal

You dear readers who leave comments are so wonderful!  My last post was a bit of a moan about my slow progress on a quilt with tiny pieces.  You left comments that were just what I needed to read.  Some of you recommended leaders/enders, others said to just stick it out till it's finished, and all of you, whatever else you said, left a few words of encouragement.  Thank you!

There are two main problems with this double/triple four-patch quilt.  Many of the pieces are small and small takes time.  And, the browns seemed to jump all over the place because I didn't (and still don't) have enough of any one brown to unify the background of the quilt.  As I was thinking about the problems I occurred to me that I didn't really have any plan other than using red and brown fabrics in double and triple four-patch blocks cut to specific sizes, and a tentative layout for the blocks.

What I needed was a plan.  What size quilt, how many blocks, how many of each kind, etc.  So I made a plan that included a layout, the number of each kind of block, and how many of each size and color of squares to cut.  It turns out I still had to cut 320 1¼" red and brown blocks each, plus the 2" red and brown, and 3½" brown blocks.  Lots and lots of pieces to cut!  But knowing how many the quilt needed and keeping track of how many I cut has helped a lot.

I started this quilt because I had what I thought was a lot of red scraps that I wanted to use.  Had I stuck with a 4-patch block, I would have used an equal amount of red and brown fabric.  But when that was so boring I came up with the idea of the double-four-patch blocks, and then the triple-four-patch blocks and the background became brown.  What was I thinking?  Or, what was I not thinking, not to realize how much brown fabric I would need for this quilt!

I've spent a few hours making additional double and triple four-patches to try to unify the browns in the blocks, though there's still a variety throughout the quilt.  I really like using red and brown together.  I like the two different blocks and the layout of the blocks.  I just hope I can create unity throughout the quilt despite the many browns. 

As of now I'm planning that the quilt will be 6 blocks wide (72") x 8 blocks long (84"), needing a total of 48 blocks.  To keep balance I plan to split the 6th block and put half on each side.  That layout will complete the diagonals made of the small triple four-patch blocks.  As of today, I have 23 blocks completed (except for sewing the four quadrants together), 3 blocks with sections to change out to unify the browns, 5 blocks in progress, and pieces cut for more blocks. And, of course, more fabric to cut.

Finishing this quilt top to at least the point of having all the blocks made and arranged is my One Monthly Goal for February.  I have lots of cutting and sewing to do.  Do you think I can meet that goal?!  I hope so.  I'm linking to One Monthly Goal February Goal Setting Link-up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Patty.

Again, thank you to everyone who left a comment on the last post.  I appreciate it.

I'm linking this post to
> Moving It Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag
> Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
> Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housewor
> Friday Night with Friends at Gone Stitchin'
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More 
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.
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