Saturday, October 31, 2015

Finding a Project for a Favorite Fabric


I don't frequently make bed size quilts, but every so often I need one...and then when I do make one I remember why I prefer smaller ones. It's the cutting - there's so much of it!!!  I recently spent about three days cutting pieces for a queen size quilt where the main blocks are made up of 20 individual pieces and each is only 6" square.  Yikes! That is a lot of pieces, however, I finally made all of my cuts and have the pieces stored in labeled plastic bags and sewed my first block.  

I'm using a foundation (paper) piecing pattern from All People Quilt (allpeoplequilt.com) called Sea Swept that appeared in an issue of Quilt Sampler magazine a while back.  Making the first block is always exciting: you get to see how the colors and fabrics you picked come together...unless they don't and then you have to figure out how to adjust to make it work.  The colors I picked are similar to what was used in the magazine quilt which is odd for me because I tend not to follow sample colorways. When I saw this quilt, however, the colors were the same as in a favorite batik fabric I had purchased several years ago and have been saving for the perfect project.

Back to that first block.  The colors are lovely and I'm pleased.  It's a snail's trail block: a  block that I've wanted to make for years, and, oh, this quilt is going to be so pretty.  But I'm looking at the block and notice that the twist isn't quite right and I start analyzing and realize that I did not pay attention to the light and dark placement for the four-square unit at the center.  Urgh!  The pattern had indicated the correct placement, but I had ignored it.  Taking the block apart to fix it isn't a great option. Sigh.  


The good news is that this was just the first block and it was my trial run.  Now I know to pay attention when I set that starter four-square unit.  I think of how many I might have made incorrectly if I hadn't done this first one wrong, so this mistake is actually a good thing. Now I have to decide whether to make an extra block to replace this one or to keep it as a "humility block" to include in the final product.

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