Thursday, May 08, 2008

doing laundry is dangerous...

...because it gives me too much time to think about what I could be making.

I was pairing and folding socks and thought, what if I made a quilt top a day? How much fun would that be? I must have gotten the idea from Martha, who is making a piece of clothing a day.

I don't think that I will be able to make all the quilts back to back, but I hope to make a few each week. I will be starting my own little series here on the blog. So far I have 12 quilts on my list to (try to) do in a day. Each will be a simple design that I have been wanting to make for awhile. The goal is that all of them will use fabric from my stash, which is an added and maybe the only benefit to my hair-brained idea.

Here's the first one.
I started this one yesterday and finished it this afternoon.
It measures 51" x 66".

I think I had better stop doing laundry. Who knows what I will come up with next. :)
edit: since so many of you have asked, I thought I should add that this is not a pattern. It is inspired by Denyse Schmidt, but I pieced it all improvisationally.

67 comments:

Mama Urchin said...

Oh goodness, there's some crazy in the water out there in the mid-west.

Frieda said...

You are simply the most amazing person. I can not believe how much you get done. With two little ones at home, I can not imagine. Once again a stunning quilt.

Blondie said...

I LOVE this quilt! The blue/white combo is probably my very favorite color combo- seems very soothing.

Can't wait to see your other quickie projects!

G'G'ma said...

My goodness woman, are you out of your mind???!!!! The crazy thing is, I know you can do it. You do such beautiful work, and with such speed. The rest of us out here are plodding along feeling good about 2 blocks a day. It is going to be fun watching your progress.

Karen said...

Amanda, you're simply amazing and very inspiring! I look forward to seeing what you do as I love your colors and designs! Now get sewing!

Anonymous said...

Holy cow, woman, you are awesome!! And crazy. I *can't wait* to see what you come up with!!

wayfarer said...

You are my hero!

Heidijayhawk said...

that is ever so ambitious! al the more eye candy for us to read about!

Rebekah said...

you are UNREAL! Wow, I don't think anyone will ever catch up with you...ever : )

That top is so pretty! It reminds me of a surf and sand theme.

jacquie said...

Ok, so I want this one. It's gorgeous! We should do a swap! I know you've been told you're amazing...I'm in awe!

house on hill road said...

eek! love this.

Tracy said...

Oh wow! A quilt a day she says...she must be a crazy mom, thinks I.
You're just doing the top not quilting it? rofl.
I love the quilt very calm and serene.

Danetta said...

I can't wait to see what all you come up with. Visiting you everyday to see what you've done now is one of my favorite things to do.

Andrea said...

Love the idea of quilt a day ... oh my gosh I would be in heaven if I could do that!

How did you make these blocks? are they from a pattern or do you just kind of make it up? Do you start from the centre of the block and work outwards?

Can't wait to see what comes up next. You are a marel with quilts :)

Anonymous said...

what a fab idea! i love it. i love the idea, and i love that first one! so cute

No One Home said...

Do you sleep? I'm only half joking. Sometimes I really wonder. I love the quilt top.

Bee said...

You are incredible! What a fun idea. I love these squares do you have a patter for these? Love the blue against the white.

Robin said...

Wow. Your seemingly boundless energy never ceases to amaze and inspire me! You certainly do live up to your moniker, "Crazy Mom Quilts"!

And that is a beautiful top-- so light and airy looking. :)

Gretchen said...

I knew laundry was the root of all evil... Just knew it. ;)

dot said...

Very nice quilt top. I like it. Nice and summery.

Amanda Jean said...

andrea and shannon,

these blocks are inspired by a denyse schmidt quilt, but I just made up the blocks as I went along. there is a pattern similar to this in her quilt book. I did start from the center and worked out.

amandajean

* elizabeth * said...

Oh My Lord, I just gasped at my monitor. That is GORGEOUS. The water-y colours, the simple design. And you did it in one day? phenomenal!
(I just realized my mouth is still hanging open.....)

carolyn said...

OK a quilt top a day would be 365 quilts! what do you do with them all?

Heather said...

Love the Denyse Schmidt look. A quilt in a day?! Are you on cotton thread steroids or something? I am awed.

Philigry said...

oh my gosh! i can't wait to see them all. this one os beautiful, it kind of reminds me of the ocean. love the wonky seams!

Kristin said...

hey, why don't you come and do MY laundry -- maybe you will get some more and different ideas!! :-)

Roxanne said...

Good gracious woman. This is exactly why I don't do laundry. :) Just kidding (sorta.) Love this one by the way!

Michelle Payne said...

Such amazing talent. Can I get some of it to rub off on me pretty please! The blue is so striking against the white.

Karen said...

LOL!!! You simply amaze me. I love your idea and shout...QUILT ON!!!
Karen

Berber said...

Wow, you're ambitious!!
I love this quilt, so nice and cool!

Lisa said...

OOOO! I love it! Is it your own pattern? what kind of 'white' do you use for your backgrounds? You must have a lot of it.
Quilt a day, huh? wow! I guess I know why you have that name for your blog! :-)

Anonymous said...

wow, that's amazing! Loving those aquas. I would never be able to pull off something like that in a day. Looking forward to the lovely treats ;-)
Btw, Thanks for posting the setting blocks. It's going to be easy in the end if they are get done along with the blocks.

Donna said...

Hi Amanda,

I am also wondering what kind of white fabric you use. It always shows so nice and crisp in all your work.

Donna

Anonymous said...

you can do this in one day? and with two kids? and laundry too? wow! btw love the denyse schmidt parts :)

lera said...

You KILL me, girl!!!

If I buy you a plane ticket, will you help me "do laundry?" ::wink, wink::

Abby and Stephanie said...

LOVE the colors! My favorite part of doing laundry is washing my new fabrics and then ironing them. It's the ONLY ironing I enjoy.

Jodie said...

Ok. I have decided that you are an alien.(albeit a lovely one) You have some sort of weird hold over time and can bend it to your will - you just get so much done.
I would still be unfolding rubbish from the stash and you have gone and completed the whole top.
You are truly amazing.

erica e said...

this is great! i'm soooo inspired by you! i don't know about a quilt a day but maybe every week for me.
the aqua and white on this one is so clear and fresh.

Zaankali said...

I have a have a daughter that would love it if I made that quilt. She just loves anything blue. It is a very fun quilt. I am amazed that you whipped it out that quickly you are much more efficient than me. Thanks for being an inspiration! Can't wait to see what else you do.
Smiles!

Leslie said...

that quilt is so pretty. I would love to see how you did that. What pattern was it?

Stefanie said...

Unbelievable! I'm hoping to get just the borders finished on quilt a long #1 today. I'm proud to say my block is finished and posted for this week though.
I'm glad your here to keep us aprised of what's possible! Thanks.
(Seriously how much time did it take?)

Thriftin and Craftin said...

This is SO PRETTY. Love the soft blues against the white. How I wish I could make quilts as quickly as you! You're awesome! BTW, as if you're not busy enough,

Thriftin and Craftin said...

Oops, meant to say this at the end-
I posted the next inspiration challenge piece on my blog!LOL! Hope you can join us again!

Blakely said...

Wow, a quilt in a day I wish I could make that much progress. I love this quit it reminds me of a nice day at the beach. I can almost smell the salt in the air and see the white sandy beaches. The white and light blue colors look so clean and crips.

Kristi said...

gorgeous! love it. do you just whip these up, or do you follow patterns? I so want to do this! just go through my stash and sew up beautiful wonders!

Solidia said...

Love your quilt! The colors are just beautiful. I can't wait to see what you come up with each day. :)

Katherine said...

Nothing this good looking comes from me doing the laundry... LOL

I love your newest quilt top, Amandajean! You know how much I love blue and the block pattern is simple yet striking. This is exactly why you are my quilting hero. :o)

Anonymous said...

You are one Crazy Mad Quilter! A quilt top a day!?! It'll be fun to see! I love this one!

Anina said...

OMG Amanda! Didn't you just have a post about stepping back a little?
Lovely top BTW.

laura capello said...

you've got some good crazy. better than my crazy. and i loves that top!

MichelleB said...

Have I told you that you were amazing? I'm sure I have, and I'm sure others have said the same. That top is WONDERFUL. Not only are you fast, but your stuff is FANTASTIC. And here I'm waiting for the "perfect" background fabric before I even start your quilt along!

Lina said...

Madness woman! Love, love love the squares the colours!

Heike said...

What a lovely quilt. I like the colours. A one day Quilt.....? Wow! I have some laundry here, too.
:D.

Amanda Jean said...

lisa jerrilyn,

yes, I do sleep. not always well, though. I sometimes have too many ideas running through my head.

amandajean

Amanda Jean said...

carolyn,

I am not going to do one a day for a year. now that would be just crazy! :)

as far as what I am going to do with all of these, I am not sure yet. I'm sure I will come up with something.

amandajean

Amanda Jean said...

upstatelisa,

I usually use parchment quilters only cotton from Joann's, which I do buy by the bolt, usually on sale, 50% off. for this one, though I used a white white. I buy about 5 yards at a time if I think I am going to use it for a background color.

amandajean

Amanda Jean said...

amanda,

I did this in about a day. I started one afternoon and finished the next afternoon. for this quilt, it helped that I had made one in this style before, so I knew what I was doing. that helped a ton. and I was pretty determined to get it done in a day, so I just kept plugging away at it.

amandajean

Amanda Jean said...

donna,

for this quilt I used just a white fabric, basically I looked for something that wasn't too thin. otherwise, I used parchment quilters only cotton from Joanns, which I buy by the bolt.

amandajean

Amanda Jean said...

stefanie,

seriously, I started one afternoon and finished the next afternoon. and I did cook meals and clean up and sleep. ;) as I mentioned earlier in a comment, I have made this pattern before, so that helped because I had previous experience with the pattern.

amandajean

sulu-design said...

Oh. My. Goodness. You are wonderfully insane, woman! I adore your drive - the creativity in you cannot be contained!

Mama Spark said...

I really like this one. How do you find so much time to make all those quilts?? It's the fact that you never sleep, right?

QuiltNut Creations said...

love it! it is so calming

Cheryl Arkison said...

I'm amazed you even get laundry done! Love this one!

Anonymous said...

this is so lovely... and you did this AND the laundry?

geeesh.

wonder woman!!

Anonymous said...

marry me?

Lisa and Mark said...

Are those 15" squares?

Lynda said...

A double-whammy - a quilt and reduced stash too! Got to do it!