I'm plugging away here on my Quilt for an Hour project. uhhhhmmmm.....sorta. I got sidetracked by the last Gray's Anatomy and kinda sat for two hours and pretended to sew but here is where I am at. I have one row assembled on all 48 blocks.
I am a dingbat! A total and complete dingbat! When I began this project, I knew that I had to be very careful as my shadow fabric was severly limited. Yesterday I posted the picture on how much fabric I had left. Today I realized that I was three 4 1/2" sq. short. Now yesterday I also realized that I had miscounted my star points and needed to make one additional. When I cut the shadow fabric for the center of the points, thinking I had plenty of 4 1/2" sqs, I just cut with the fabric folded. It didn't matter that I ended up with 3 too many centers. I had over cut star points and thought I'd make a few very scrappy. But today, AAH ! Now I needed that fabric and had absolutely none left. NONE! Totally ticked off I went to Joanns. It seems that the shadow fabric is NOT a Kona. What is it? Who knows? It may have been in my stash for years! Off to Hancocks. Nothing there. UGH! I found a reasonable replacement but I only needed 3 squares. This quilt is NOT scrappy and three off color.....UGH!! UGH!!! (while I was at Hancocks I found a 70% off sale on zippers....I bought uhmm, just a few) Back home I flopped down on the couch and pouted. I explain to DH my dilemma. He sympathized like most men. Mmhmmm he said. Back to the sewing room. Wait, I had a scrap pile! Here it is !! Yeah !!!! I ran triumphantly to the living room to show DH the two scraps of fabric that I sewed together to make blocks. I quickly attached them to the star points block. HEY WAIT! This isn't the same fabric!! It was some muslin! I had mistaken muslin for my fabric! By now I was so mad, irritated and annoyed that I was ready to chuck the whole thing in the trash. (but I didn't and you'll see why in a minute. This is going to end up being a long post) Suddenly I remembered that my scrap pile also contained some less than perfect shadow and background half square triangles that were less than perfect. PAYDIRT! I took them apart and sewed two together and viola'! a perfect 4 1/2" solid colored shadow block! What did this all yeild? A a special trip to Joanns and Hancock which cost me $20.00, plus the gasoline to get there + entire afternoon and part of the evening spent agonizing and being PU'd +sewing and ripping and ripping and ripping = 3 - 4 1/2" squares!
On the positive side! LOOKEE, LOOKEE, LOOKEE! Do you know what this is? It is a block that is only 1/16th off, the diagonal is in the right place and there is 1/4" left on all of the points. Do you know what that means?? It is PERFECT! I have never made a perfect block and after my tirade a few days ago I didn't think I ever would. But NOT using the June Tailor shapecut ruler, USING the Marti Michell templates, adjusting my needle and slowing my
machine down, WHOOHOOO a perfect or as near to perfect as I need, block!
7 comments:
Way to go, Morah, and you can fudge that sixteenth of an inch easy as pie. Resourcefulness is an important skill for quilters!I've got 15 of my 24 blocks together and still chipping away at them.
One sisteenth doesn't count at all - it IS perfect! What an ordeal you went through but it's a great story!
It would be nice if I could type - sixteenth.
Great story. I really enjoyed taking the trip with you through your frustration and enjoying the happy ending. You said it was a long post - it may seem like that to you but I didn't find it long at all.
You foot may be swollen, but your block (and hot pink fingernails!) look perfect! I hope you are healing.
Cheers!
Evelyn
Congratulations on getting your blocks perfect and having just enough fabric. I had to do the same thing of piecing together scraps to get the final block!!
Karen L
... and just who was it that was whining and carrying on about this terrible block? and your problems with points, and measuring, and rulers????
Talent and skills show through in the end. It's going to be an absolutely splended quilt when completed -- the block already is! Good for you that you followed through to success. 8-)
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