I finished this quilt top this morning. Finally.
There was much more to it than I thought there would be. More than just fun sewing. No simple just sew the blocks together, nosirree!!! Changing out backgrounds and well, you just don't even want to know...and I really don't want to think about it. ~grin~ Suffice it to say that I am very happy to have finished this in the amount of time it took, which was 11 days. You know, I am way too anal for my own good. I try really hard to ignore that about myself, but there are days when it is impossible! For instance, the cherry backgrounds on two of the bottom blocks bothers me...but that was the lesser of two evils (so to speak), so I will live with it.
I do actually love this, though. Why? Because it's been a wip for 5+ years and it is now finished...and it looks pretty much as I always thought it would. I love churn dashes and monkey wrenches and I particularly love that big 8 inch half-square triangle border! It measures 64 inches square...a perfect lap quilt size.
Now, of course, it will go in with my other flimsies...and one day become a finished quilt!
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11
Gosh. What a day Naomi Janome and I had yesterday! I did as much ripping out as I did sewing. Trying to not be too anal about color/print/square placement, but sometimes...and much too often yesterday...I had to change things around.
But, I had a total of 5 blocks done! I was very happy about that!
Here are the three I did yesterday...
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| block 3 |
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| block 4 |
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| block 5 |
After my bit of frustration, I decided that I am going to do just 9 of these blocks.
Today, I did just one more block...
ohdear...I just now noticed that the monkey wrench blocks in this row (blocks 4 and 6) are different color, but of the same fabric. Darn! Well, I will decide what to do about that tomorrow.
I made something for myself today. The lighting is not good for photo-taking right now, so will get some photos tomorrow.
Have a good night!
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11
When I was going through my fabric the other day, I ran across something I had all but forgotten about. A bundle of fabric and some already made blocks. Here's the story on that.
About a million years ago...okay, only 5 years ago...I belonged to a block swap. (Actually, I belonged to several in a 3 year period. I'll have to think about doing that sort of thing again.) At any rate, April of 2010 (see what I mean...a million years ago!) was my month to have blocks made. I opted for churn dash and monkey wrench blocks...one of each was made by the other 11 quilters. I got back from 10 of them, so I have 20 blocks that are sized at 12 1/2 inches. The fabric collection is Wildrose by Brannock and Patek for Moda.
I designated this weekend for fun sewing, remember? So, I thought...why not? I spent a few hours yesterday looking at the fabrics and making sure I knew how I wanted to proceed. And, I cut squares...and more squares! Lots of squares! Some to make into half-square triangles and some to make into 4-patch blocks and some to remain as squares.
Here is a photo of the original quilt I was inspired by. I would happily give credit, but even back then, I lost track of the information. I apologize for this...it is a beautiful quilt, for sure!
For some reason, Tag and I were up at 4:00 this morning. No reason...more his idea than mine. But, there it is. So, by the time 7:30 rolled along, 90% of the chores I wanted to do today were done. All that was left to do was laundry (which is still waiting for me). So, I played.
The first thing I did was to rethink the size of the quilt. With 20 blocks, the quilt would have 4 blocks across and 5 blocks down. With the added pieces, the blocks will finish at 16 inches. Add in the 8 inch borders and the quilt would measure 80 x 96 inches. Hmmmm...nope. I have no need for a quilt that large. Okay, time to think about what I am going to do with the quilt. Keep it or sell it? More than likely, I will keep it. Just because. So, what will I do with it? More than likely, it will end up as a lap quilt. I could go 3 across and 4 down...that would put it at 64 x 80 inches...which is a little large for me as a lap quilt. Well, then...how about 3 blocks across and 3 blocks down? That would work...64 x 64 inches. Okay, but I have 20 blocks. Well, I could make 2 quilts, I suppose. Haha...we shall see. Let's get one done, first. ~grin~
All of that being said, I am going to play it by ear and just plug away at this until it's where I want it to be. So. Here is the first block I completed...
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| block 1 |
A
nd, here's the second one...
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| block 2 |
Remember, the churn dash and monkey wrench blocks were already done. All I am doing is adding 7 pieces to one side and the top or bottom. One block at a time.
It is definitely going to be interesting to put this together!
It is a gloomy, rainy day. Perfect for sewing and listening to music.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11
