Doing the math...

So the other GGQ I’m working on is for my brother, Mark, and his girlfriend, Janelle, for Christmas. Well at least I’m hoping the quilts for them. Strangely enough, they have a green couch and I have a green couch. So far I’m loving this quilt and think it would also look great on my green couch. But I will be strong and at least try to give it away when I’m done.

This is another MIL’s stash quilt. It’s actually really pretty fabric which she had earmarked for another project that she finally admitted she’d never get to. I usually don’t get to steal earmarked fabrics, but she made a very kind donation since it’s (supposed to be) a gift. She didn’t have enough of one of the colors, so I will have to buy one, but that’s still a lot better than buying it all!

Through the magic of Microsoft Visio, which I have at work but have used much more for craft related endeavors than actual work, I was able to map out the quilt, which is another variation of the GGQ which looks like stars:


Even though I’m really trying to finish my other quilt, I did let myself make one flower and some of the star point triangles:


Pretty, huh? The picture really doesn't do the fabric justice. I love fabric with gold in it. I still need a beige to go around the outside. I’m going to try to get it soon, since I don’t want to be left doing all the beige at the end (this is tedious enough to begin with, even mixing it up a little with the colors).

Being the completely anal person that I am, I finally did the math on how many hexagons I’m going to need to make a quilt that’s 5 flowers wide by 7 flowers long, which I’m hoping works out to a good size:

Centers – 38
1st Layer – 210
2nd Layer – 426
3rd Layer – 630
Triangles – 436

This adds up to a whopping total of 1,740 hexagons that each need to be cut, basted and then sewn together. I must be nuts. But I really like the fact that since it’s not a scrappy design I don’t have to think too hard about it. I’m sort of in the zen zone of basting.


At least I will be until I run out of the paper backing and either put some flowers together so I can take out the papers and reuse them or (much more likely) buy some more. Hopefully when I buy the beige fabric.

In a perfect world I’d love to give them a finished quilt for Christmas, but realistically I’m probably looking at giving them just the finished top since even if I got the top done relatively soon (which is a joke in and of itself) it takes forever to get them quilted. But that’s okay – Mark and Janelle are used to me. Last year I gave them each 1 knitted sock for their birthdays (which happened to be right around the same time).


They eventually got the other one.

Of course all of this might be moot for awhile. Toby’s cousin’s wife is having a baby which I think I need to make a pumpkin hat for. She’s due in December and at first they said they’d be having a shower the Saturday after Christmas, which gives me plenty of time, even given as craft-fickle as I am. Last I heard the mom-to-be’s mother wants to have the shower on Labor Day weekend. For a baby due in December. Doesn’t that seem a little early? And who wants to go up to NH for a baby shower on Labor Day. Maybe I’ll just be sending a gift…