Yes. Another mystery.
I jumped whole-heartedly into this one and am loving the results.
I really thought I had enough fabric for the BOM quilt, yet, by expanding from 12 to 16 blocks, it ran short. I headed off to the store in town to pick up a bit more and got extra, just in case, and because stores in town are closed on Sundays and Mondays. That 'just in case' shopping is what builds stash. Most of the horizontal sashing is on, and the vertical sashing is cut. I need to finish up the horizontals, add the sides and the two borders.
Australian Quilters hosted this BOM. Here in the US, we word things differently, and rarely use metric systems. I misunderstood a part of the instructions (go figure) when it listed requirements for sashing, borders and binding. When the final layout was released before the final block, I could see the instructions in picture format. The blocks are framed first of all, then sashed. And the dark brown colored frame looks to be repeated as a small border.
That small border is what they call a 'peeper' border in Australia. The graphic is very different from what I am used to seeing in quilts. I like it a lot, but its not what I planned for with this one. And I am not sure if it is actually framed twice. I guess it is up to interpretation. They did say that if you framed with a dark color to sash with a light color, or the other way with a light colored frame and a dark sash.
Mysteries!
The second set of instructions provided for more clarity say you can use the same fabric for the peeper as was used for the frame, and would also be used for the binding. You can also get a contrasting color, the instructions said. That information doesn't seem to appear with the first page of instructions that told how much fabric to buy; or if it was there, I didn't see it and still cannot see it. I wanted a less busy peeper border because of what I got for the focus fabric. AND it looks like that last border is small. It is. I planned the focus fabric to be larger than the 3" sashing. The pattern calls for it to be 2.5" and with the larger print I bought, that would not set it off the way it deserves. I did NOT see it as only 2.5" wide because I became used to using a larger print and making the last border wider.
Other quilts made in the group used the same fabric for the sashing and the last border, and they look charming. Mine is not following conventional thinking at all. I think they follow traditions better. It is all about choice, even though you don't know what your choices will bring.
I brought home three fabrics for the peeper border and felt like Goldilocks trying out porridge, laying one out after the other. The green made it look too green and I wanted red. The red was too red and didn't compliment the blocks. The odd red with gold sparkly stuff was oddly just right. It sure will be interesting to see how it turns out. And now, I have two 1/4 yards of a red and a green that add to the stash.
Good goddess!
So very little left of the Fat Quarters, so this was successful at destashing. I need to cut what I can from the bits to add to my scrap bins or the pet bed project.
I am drawn to the mystery quilt, loving how they turn out. Yet, I always feel over my head as I make them. What I did learn with this one was that I had to do things my way to be happy about it; There is always a price to pay with that method of living; If I am going to change the plan, there will be more work.
Why would anyone want stress in what they do for pleasure? There is so much in the world that harms us that we need to chose things and people, places and events that bring us pleasure without the pain. I remember my Granny telling me to always pick up a baby who was crying. She said they cry for specific reasons, and that we need to always pick them up and find out what is happening. She said there is enough in the world to cry about when we get older.
And now, I say that my life is worth enough so that I do not need to allow stress or trauma-drama into it without cause or reason. Quilting is something that I will make good choices about so that it is without the trauma-drama. This block is called the 'Prairie Queen' and I am including it in my Granddaughter's grad quilt so she has a cue to remember to be queen of her own life.
I've laid out the blocks, and want to live with them for the day and perhaps switch them out until I am happy with the arrangement. I am very glad I opted out of those last two BOM suggestions and put in my own ideas for six others to make it work.
After struggling with the block for way too many hours, let this be my official announcement that I am NOT making that block and am going onto one that I can do without stressing myself out!
Well, yes, three more blocks are finished for the quilt, yet one more to go. That Martha Washington Block. Gahhh.
I believe in magick. I think everyone does even though they name it other things because magick defines their beliefs, in my opinion. We have to be careful about what we believe and what we think because these thoughts and beliefs are what we make happen in our lives or make manifest. Sometimes it is our beliefs that hold us back too if we believe we cannot do a thing, cannot be a thing.
This is the current layout for the quilt, which will change when I finish the last block and before the sashing is ready to go on. There is so little left of the fabric for the blocks. One of them is cut and ready to piece. That Martha Washington Block.
This 9-Patch Variable Block was so easy. The smaller blocks were cut from tiny scraps which was such a grace in scrap quilting and about all that was left to use. Sometimes the smallest bit of magick is what we need to change our lives. Yet, it seems that we must look for it, must see it in simple ways. Magick doesn't have to be huge, like winning billions of dollars. It is the result of what we think and what we believe.
Finishing that one so easily gave me time to cut and piece the Dresden Plate Block. This is one I've made for other reasons. I had set aside the background piece, and then looked at what scraps were left and how they would look together. The photo doesn't show the true colors of fabrics but gives a good sense of how it looks. I really love this block and am glad to include it.
Then, with enough time and enough scraps, I made this one called obviously, Tick Tack Toe. Its not easily seen here in the photo, but lime green was used for the corner blocks. Maybe it will show more with the sashing.
What surprises me about the colors in this quilt is that most of them are various shades of red, along with the floral print on black. Yet, the orange dominates it and pulls orange out from almost all of them. I think this will continue with the focus fabric too, which is what the bars on the block above are. I still plan to hand quilt it with a red thread and look for a backing that has more red in it.
What's this got to do with magick? I don't know and that's the mystery of it all. I do know I need more than a little magick to finish that last block. But it is a priority and I can do it.
Not enough fabric scraps to do a Snail's Tail Block, so I moved along to the Celtic Twist. The pattern says it is a beginner's block, yet, holi ka! I wasn't sure how these colors would turn out, and that wasn't an issue as much as getting the pieces pieced. The pattern used the same color in various shades. I used what I had.
With quilting, life lived in the moment is re-affirmed for me. It makes no sense to try to make something that isn't working out. I wanted to make this block with a darker background rather than the light. I could have followed the pattern more closely if there were colors like the pattern used. Yet, this was my choice and I am sticking with it. Hah! No one will know once it is coordinated in with the others.
It took me all day to make this block. It was like a puzzle & a mystery. I numbered everything on the pattern and gave my colors a value too, so I could understand the mystery of it. You have to look hard at the twist to see the two white prints, the light green. The orange shows up here, but the idea is to see the entire twist without so much looking at the details. I plan to work on the block called 9-Patch Variation and move onto the Dresden Plate. With luck, the lighter fabrics will start to show up more.
I have not seen the real value in making sampler quilts though I have made them, and in fact have another one in progress. Usually, the blocks fit up against each other. With this BOM, the pattern called for framing and sashing. I am loving the black print framing and would like to make this quilt again knowing what I know.
After measuring the fabrics that were left in the project box for my Granddaughter's graduation quilt, it was a simple determination that there WAS enough fabric for framing, the borders, binding and some of the FQ's used for the blocks IF I added another light print. I want to push it from 12 blocks to 16. I recently discovered a white print that will work and added it. I am still working on the Martha Washington Star and decided not to do the next Gaggle of Pinwheels block.
That means I need to make five more blocks and finish that Martha Washington Star. The final layout will change, however, I wanted to see what was finished and 'audition' different block patterns. First of all, I want to feel comfortable making the remaining blocks AND they need to complement each other. I spent a little more time looking at different Sampler Quilts for ideas.
Added to the mix are: Basket Weave, Snail's Tail, Celtic Twist, 9-Patch Variation, and Dresden Plate. The first two take two colors, then three for the next ones and by the time I make the Dresden Plate, any scraps will go into it. I've got no room for errors and need to make finishing this quilt my priority. I will need to buy backing and then hand quilt it, so the push is on.
The first one made is the Basket Weave. Now, if one were to use WOF (width of fabric) pieces, the cuts go quicker and assembling would be a snap. However, by the time pieces were cut into fabric for previous blocks, this process was cut and measure by 1.5" wide and 3.5" long, plus make two different strips. THEN, because all patterns are not written with the same 1/4" seam, the first sample was too short. Some seams in a pattern are scant, some generous, and some right on. It makes a difference when the block is finished. This pattern called for a seam that was middle of 'right on' & 'generous'. It has a heavier look to it because there is no white or light print.
I am hoping that my choices for the additional blocks will be pleasurable to the eye.
Somedays all I have to do is 'this and that' on my long list of 'whatever'. Its hard to expect any quilt to be completed without days and days, even weeks or months of prep work. Its like expecting the magick of the Universe to start bringing experiences and things into my life that I haven't even named. Long ago I learned that if I went to the grocery store without a list, I came back with bags full of things I only wanted and nothing that I needed!
My quilting list for each week gets me to pull out all my projects and take them to the next step. For instance, today, I did more of the machine quilting on the Summer Blues quilt, and pieced a back to one of the wallhangings. And I put borders on an Autumn wallhanging. This one was a little tricky because of the fabrics I had in the closet that would work. The inside background around the heart charms reads nice here simply because of the first dark border as well as the lovely focus fabric. It was challenging to find these.
Most of the next-step tasks are not photo worthy or distract from the finish of a quilt which would be 'ho-hum' if it shows up on the blog too often. They require small spurts of my attention too, so that I am able to do laundry, vacuum, or take on other household chores.
Its like every day, I come into my studio and ask myself, 'what do you have in store for me?' I know that if I haven't planned ahead for the week, I am going to come in here and bounce around and settle for whatever seems to grab my attention. Sure life can get in the way and make other plans for me in any given moment (like it did when I sliced my fingertip and went to ER). I just never know what I will get unless I ask for it first.
