I think I'm crazy...

I'm not sure how to start this posts, it's one of those days where there's a lot on my mind and it's all pouring out, and it definitely doesn't all make sense.

Okay - first. I was at my aunts, talking about quilts and how much I love my Amish quilt, which was inevitable seeing as I'm hand quilting each intricate design and each ones grows on me more. On top of that I really don't think I could finish the Amish quilt by it's deadline, I could if I quilted like I am this week but that means I get NO stitching time at all and I'm not liking that idea. So my mind started racing... could I make a different quilt for my boyfriend's sister, what if part of it was machine quilted (my aunt offered to help since that's new to me), and if I did that I could practice machine quilting on the small quilt I have waiting to be finished that I made with my aunt...

I resisted, thinking I could always make this quilt again for myself - but would I really?? Don't I want to work on something new, why would I do the same one again. Then I thought of a pattern that I really like and want to try making and my aunt has a quilt in this design (Amish quilt too), that she bought and I studied it and I love it. There's more piecing involved but it's strip piecing and the quilting (with the exception of the border) is all straight quilting which would be easy by machine.

The quilt is called Trip Around the World, you can see the idea here. I'm doing it in 2 colors (not sure what colors yet), each color will have one solid and then 3 or 4 prints that go from dark to med/light. The diamond will go from dark center (just one square), then light to dark to light and dark corners. The border will be made with the solid colors. This basically mimics the Amish quilt my aunt has and I will follow that quilting also.

Now the only problem is buying fabric, and figuring out what colors she would like. I'm excited to plan out a new quilt and the idea that I could get it done in a few months with machine quilting is just great. Plus I get to try a new technique!

I'm nervous still and not 100% convinced but I'm going to try the fabric shopping part, maybe I can borrow my mom's machine for a little while so I can start piecing it together next weekend. Once it's pieced I could use either my mom's or my aunt's machines and their expertise. Quilting the border is the only "hard" part I forsee and that's where the practice machine quilting comes in and I'll get to finish up some of my small quilts by practising. It's really a win win situation but I have to talk with my boyfriend to see how he feels about it and see if he can get her favorite colors or colors that will at least match her decor.

So I'm excited about this and the idea that I'll get to keep my amish quilt and not have a deadline on it so I'll enjoy it more is just overwhelming! Hmmm... can I really do this in time???