Remember this pretty little block? The first – and so far only – Valse Brillante block I made.

I started picking out fabrics to audition for it. And then I ran into a problem. And I’ve kept promising I’d post pics of the boxes. Well, be ready for a laugh!

Look at this box! Overflowing is too mild a description for it. And that was the problem – I kept pulling favourite shabby chic fabrics that I thought might work. And that has now gone on for a few months. I started to laugh yesterday when I hauled the box out. I’m quite sure that some of the scraps that are tossed in that box are too small and that there are others that just will not work.

This box is a little more restrained – the batiks that I’ve tossed into a much smaller box to pick from.

It’s clearly time for me to start getting serious about this project and stop looking for more bits to throw into the mix to choose from. I need to go through both those boxes and make some decisions about what goes in and what doesn’t. And that’s exactly what I hope to do this weekend. I have my “map” ready – I scanned in and printed out a grey and white copy of one of the pictures of Valse Brillante from Willyne Hammerstein’s Millefiori Quilts book and have made loads of notations on it so I know exactly how much I’ll need to print of each fabric.

I know I’m going to love sewing this project. I do have to print everything before I start as I have a very definite idea about how the batiks will flow through the top. Keeping everything in order won’t be a problem, thanks to my “map.” Once I get the choices finalized, the printing done and the pieces all cut out and in their project box, I’ll post about my way of organizing everything so that I stay on track.

“Big Stash”

“Playing with fabric wears me out.”

“Me, too!”