Sea Swept !

The first section done on my Sea Swept quilt. It will honor the historic mariners in my husband's family - including the grandson who now sails in the Pacific on sea going tugs. Gerald's career took him around the world more than once. I envy his memories! His family history goes back to the grandfather (great?) who played a pivotal role in the confederacy ships reaching Mobile to replenish needed salt supplies.

The pattern is by Laura Flynn from The Cotton Patch Quilt Shop. It is paper pieced, combining Storm at Sea and Ocean Waves, aka Snail's Trail.

A scan in the pattern ©2014 by Laura Flynn that I used to plan my sequence of construction

 

This is a great pattern for those who "teach themselves" to quilt. It is complex enough to require thought and planning. The repetition gives plenty of practice for that pesky paper piecing upside down and backwards method - a sure thing for accuracy. And I would call it "semi-scrappy" - providing the advantages of a controlled scrappy quilt within a set color scheme.

First I purchased two small plastic drawer units to organize the many small pieces - in both prints and background. These have proven indispensable - and the drawers can be removed from the "cabinet" to serve as trays on the pressing center to have each size and color handy to laying out the fabric on the foundation paper.

 I literally hate repetitive, boring, endless cutting and sewing. The only pieces I cut the entire amount needed were the diamond shapes - I saved fabric by cutting diamonds instead of rectangles. Waiting 2 months for a bundle of fat quarters that never arrived didn't help either, so it was doubly necessary to organize the cut strips, squares and triangles, a little at a time. This aversion to boredom is also the reason I decided to make my quilt in sections, like a 9 patch. The sequence gives me enough variety to keep things interesting. I made the four blocks of Ocean Waves, and lay them out to plan the colors for the diamonds and centers...semi-scrappy at its best.

A Successful start to the New Year's Resolution to Plan My Work, and Work My plan!