Mulling, not blogging

This is block #23 of the Nearly Insane quilt. Haven't done any of these for a while and am pleased to connect with it again. I've been mulling over which quilt to make next from the hundred-and-more 'must dos' on my list (you should see the number of quilts I've got bookmarked - I will either need to live to 300 or open a factory).

Since Renate brought me all the new fabrics I ordered from the US, I've felt a little overwhelmed by choice - not a good thing for me. I now have lots of the lovely Civil War reproduction fabrics but they are very much outside what I usually have and I have needed to stroke them and get to know them before deciding what to do with them. I've also got a lovely range of soft/warm solids which I want to use to make a quilt used by a character in 'Six Feet Under' - I would pause the dvd every time it appeared so I could copy a bit more of the design. It's one of those very simple quilts which look devastatingly good.

However, I've finally decided that it should be the Hartfield fabrics I should use first; I've had this 'Jane Austen' layer cake for a while now and it's time I stopped stroking and started sewing. What is it about these layer cakes that make you not want to disturb their pristine beauty? The thought of cutting them and having little cotton threads hanging from them seems an insult sometimes. Am I weird? Anyway, I've got one of those perpetual calendars with a quilt block a day and I spotted a nice one the other day which I think is simple enough to show off the fabrics well and yet has some applique leaves on each block which should give me a lovely bit of hand sewing too.

One of the reasons for the mulling is that some of us from the quilt group are going to visit Renate in Bremen for a long weekend at the beginning of February - our very own quilt retreat! This must seem odd to any Americans reading but we don't have opportunities for such things here in Germany unless you belong to a big group and our group is small. We are going by train so I shall want something to work on on the three and a half hour journey and also something to do while we are there. I think I shall take my Nearly Insane because everything I need is now in an easily carried box. If I can start the layer cake quilt and get quite a few blocks done, then I can pack those and do the applique leaves while I am there. We are all so excited!