Being in the middle of a project that I'm not enjoying myself, I feel your pain. All I can say is, all those fabrics are so awesome, hope you can endure the aggravation long enough to finish it.

Kaffee fabric is not a favorite of mine, but it looks like the perfect fabric for your project. At least you plan to get it finished.
Sometimes when I feel as you do, the project gets lost in a closet! At least you are getting it out of your space!
Plug on girl!

Can you post a wide shot of your progress? It looks like an interesting overall pattern. Sorry you're not feeling it anymore. That happens.

I love the pattern but also agree it's hard sometimes to get things to match up. I've got one quilt like that in progress - I actually had to rip all my stuff apart because a little here, a little there made the overall look horrid. When I'm ready to pick it up I'm going to be using paper templates and sew them like foundation piecing because the fabric is waaaaay too beautiful and expensive not to finish. It's a storm at sea pattern. When I get to it I'll post it. It was started for my Mom but never got done before she passed away a few years ago (another reason why I could not get to it). But I'm "getting my quilt on" again and hopefully it will be a fall project.

Keep on with this. You'll feel a load lighter once it's out of your way. I'm sure it will get lots of use too.

Cheers,
Peggy

Love the fabrics! Hate the method! Not yours - just QAYG in general. My QAYG has too much hand stitching - like the entire back, joining all the blocks and borders. Dark fbric - dark thread - bad eyes for close up.
Back to your gorgeous fabric......this is will make a delightful picnic quilt, especially appropriate for the venue. After a few glasses of wine, and good company, even you won't notice the flaws.:)
It is great that you are committed to finishing this! Make sure you post a picture when you finish!

I did one of those. It was ok, but I wasn't pleased with how the blocks all went together either. Here is a picture of the one I did.

Robbi

Kate, did you have to buy a special ruler for it? I think I've seen the lady demonstrating the technique at quilt shows.

This is exactly the reason I try to stay away from getting sucked into buying specialty rulers. I have one I bought and discovered I hated the technique/process. I finished a table runner and small wall hanging and have never done it again. I also don't think I want to make more than one or two of a specific pattern, and if I buy a special ruler I would feel like I needed to make more.

I have a Square in a Square ruler and took a class to learn how to use it...don't like that method much, either. Live and learn!

I'd like to see your finished quilt, though. It looks very bright and cheerful!

Donna

I understand your frustration. I did a Fun and Done quilt with a different pattern. After I made all the blocks, it sat there for a long time. I didn't enjoy the process of joining the blocks but I did eventually finish it. I gave mine to my guild's "quilts for kids" program last year.
I love your fabrics! Don't give up!
Linda OH

Here is a link that might be useful: My Fun & Done quilt

Kate, that is not fabric I would pick out for myself, but can appreciate its beauty for someone else. And I agree, it will be perfect for a jazzy picnic! Looking forward to seeing a picture when finished. And kudos for sticking with it.

Robbi - your quilt is beautiful! I like the way it turned out.

Linda - mine is the same pattern as yours. I like the diamond effect.

Donna - no special ruler needed. It's a very easy pattern and the blocks go together quickly. I'm sewing them together by machine and also doing the sashing by machine - I don't think I could deal with all this hand stitching!

Marsha - I agree! Moonlight, wine, good music, picnic baskets and paper plates stacked all over the quilt, maybe a dog or two... no one will ever notice uneven sashing!

Dian - Ask and you shall receive! Here's a picture of the 12 blocks I have together so far. There will be at least one more row on each side of the diagonal blocks and maybe two rows. Not sure yet... depends how sick I am of doing it once I have the twelve I've already made sewn in place. I wanted it to be 60x60 square but I may settle for 60x48 rectangular!
I also have a border print that matches the center blocks so I can finish it off with something that will bring it all together. I'll add more pictures WHEN I finish it. (See how positive I am that I'll get it done!?!)

I understand Kaffe Fassett fabrics are not to everyone's taste. Some people think they are jarring and one of my friends even called them "invasive"! For me, there's not much that's more stunning. I am in love with his designs, quilts, colors. When I see his books Quilts in the Sun, Quilt Romance, or Country Garden Quilts all I want to do is buy fabric and start quilting!

A couple years ago I met a woman who worked in her younger years at the Fassett family restaurant in California, Nephenthe. I immediately asked her about Kaffe - I admit I was like a fan asking about a rock star! She said he was always 'colorful' and gave away outrageously bright sweaters that he had made to friends. Not everyone wanted them until he became well known for his designs; she still has hers and cherishes it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kaffe Fassett

Those fabrics would be great in some of my Baltimore Album quilts! I'll have to look for them when I get back to working on that quilt.

Robbi and Linda I really like the quilts!!!

Kate the fabric is gorgeous, I think it will make a great picnic quilt. It is hard to work on something we have no interest in. I recently made a baby quilt for a friend and they picked out the uglest fabric (to me), it seemed to take forever and they loved the ugly quilt!!

I made a fun and done for my niece and with plenty of glue AND pins I was able to tame the sashing.

IMO the pattern makes a much better topper than quilt. Even with larger blocks and a lap size it was stiff.
Rosa

I love his fabrics, but not particularly when a bunch of them are grouped together. (It's just me). When I see a quilt like that I like to try to pick out each fabric separately and drool over it and picture it used to accent a quilt. When a lot are used butted up together my eyes don't know where to rest.

I've done one of those 'instant' quilts. You may be done with each block as you connect them, but it took me quite awhile to get them all done. ;-) I was not happy with the seams either. Did it all by machine and can't say it was terribly stiff as a bed cover (that surely depends on how many seams are in it) but not something I thought was really comfy to wrap up in.

Actually, I'm loving the fabric (so tropical looking and the intensity of the dyes are dramatic) and think it's perfect for a picnic quilt and think the black sashing does the trick there. Good choice.

I soldiered through mine as well, and gave it away to somebody I thought might appreciate it..........I didn't. LOL.

I do a lot of my larger quilts QAYG (if I'm machine quilting).......but they are really just traditionally made quilts, done in sections because I don't have a long-arm and am sick of fighting full or queen bed sized sandwiches. I just do them in three sections and that means I only have to hand stitch the backing material in two seams. Good trade off I think and it's not at all noticeable from the top side from any done in one piece.

Both are very pretty, how can you wait 2 years to see it finished. I drag my feet getting started on a quilt and then I can't wait to get it finished.

Thanks for sharing.

"...how can you wait 2 years to see it finished?"

Loralee, I'm easily distracted and usually have several projects going at once. The ones that bore me can get 'neglected' while I finish others. But I usually pick them up eventually.

Kate

Kate, what great fabrics. I can't wait to make a quilt using some of the fantastic Asian prints from Blue Bamboo. They must have thousands of them in their shop. Lois

I like the larger view, it makes more sense to my eyes. I do see how Fassett's patterns can be an acquired taste. It's a shame you're not enjoying the process; it's going to be a striking quilt (eventually).