Sometimes a project just leaps out at me and derails all my plans, and that happened about three weeks ago. I had no real intention of starting Bonnie's Florabunda quilt, it just sorta ....happened.

I can remember thinking "Oh, that pattern would use up all my old florals and the pastel yellows that I can't think what to do with.." but it was just an idle thought. I was tidying up a bunch of scraps and moving a bundle of the florals from one drawer to another, and suddenly before I knew it I was hacking up huge swathes of fabric and making a glorious mess.

I initially thought I'd use the blocks as leader-enders, but who was I kidding? Obsession quickly followed and I cut and cut and sewed and sewed. On Easter Monday I started sewing more blocks at seven in the morning and watched an episode of NCIS on  dvd; then I kept saying "One more episode.." and suddenly it was 8pm and I'd sewed and cut and sewed ALL day. I couldn't seem to stop, and I was as happy as a pig in a puddle.

That would have been fine, except I threw the first thirty blocks on the design wall and Hated them. Far too dark and dull and I was hugely disappointed. Oh well, perhaps if I introduced a few lighter fabrics..? More cutting and sewing and cutting and sewing, interspersed with frantic scrabblings through my stash and Keryn's as well. This resulted in some lighter blocks with a prettier aspect, but nowhere near enough to make a full sized top. I cast my net wider into border florals and some stripes, some backing pieces and even vintage pieces. Along the way I kept taking out more and more of the dark blocks until almost all of the ones I'd sewn in that lovely first frenzy were rejected. I'd enjoyed making them so much, but they were much too heavy looking. When I finally counted the pile of leftover blocks there were seventeen, almost enough for another small top.(They'll probably go on the back)

Altogether I made eighty Jacob's Ladder blocks, and if it wasn't for the fact that they were so simple and fun to make I probably would have hurled all this in the bin. Keryn thought I was quite mad, and I did too at times, but now that it's in one piece I do love it. I can't decide if I want to do Bonnie's border, as that seems a mite heavy with my mostly darker fabrics, but I do like the checkerboard effect of the first couple of borders.

I've teased Keryn before about her tendency to get obsessed with certain projects, but I've never really succumbed until this quilt. I don't even want to take it off the design wall because I feel I haven't finished looking at it yet, but it's time to move on. The projects I abandoned are waiting for me, and I could do with sewing something besides light yellow and florals for a while.