When Insanity and pointy objects mix…

…the outcome can, on occassion, be quite a pretty one.

To start at the beginning, let me introduce myself. I go by the name of Anja, and I hail from Germany, but in the last 2 1/2 years, I have made a home in Belfast, and am, most of the time, quite content here. But enough about me, let us talk about crafts.

A few years ago, my interest in quilting was roused like Smaug by an out-of-place coin when I stumbled over a free Block of the Month course on craftsy. However, back then, I had neither the workspace nor the resources to get anything of the sort on the way. Little by little, I tried to pick up enough fabric for my first quilt, which never came to be, as least not in he way I imagined it back then. When the decision was made I would move countries, however, I suddenly found myself faced with the dreadful truth that I would not be able to take any of my WIP’s with me, simply for lack of space. Thus, I printed out a bunch of 1 1/2 inch hexagon templates, cut a few pieces of 100% cotton fabric into the right size, and created my first quilting kit, so that I should not be entirely craft-less for however long. Almost 10 months later, I finished my first quilt.

Drawing inspiration from an episode of Doctor Who (Series 5’s “The Eleventh Hour”), “The Pond” had been born. She contains a total of 756 hexagons, all hand-pieced, and then machine-quilted with a zigzag stitch.

One would think that, after a feat like that, the crafter would wish to take a break from similarly… demanding projects, but alas, the gods were against me. Even as I was still working hard to finish “The Pond” before Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary on November 23 2013, the internet slapped me with the next monumental task.

I found a photograph of a magazine released years ago, and issue of “Australian Patchwork & Quilting”, and I was sold.

The, as I think, quite gorgeous quilt on the cover is Rhonda Pearce’s “Insanity”, and believe me, it has this name for a reason. The number of hexagons in this quilt is astronomical, it requires almost 10,500 of them, each one with a side length of no more than 1/2 inch. Rumour has it that Rhonda herself made hers over the course of no less than 6 years. But of course, little Anja thought ‘What the heck…’ and went for it anyway.

Now, almost two years later, I am obviously nowhere near finishing this one. But then, I do not intend to hurry it. Apart from the white background and the solid border, I am intent on using only scrap fabric from other project. No rush, therefore, no fuss, and no muss either. but hey, one never knows when insanity strikes again. Maybe, in a few months, I will go completely mental, and finish this beast in a week or so, living on coffee, Earl Grey, and constant reruns of “Doctor Who”, “Supernatural”, and “The Nanny” alone.

Until next time, I shall leave you.

Live long and prosper.

Anja