I love the idea of a square-block sampler quilt. It is a BOM designed by 2 Australian quilters, Sue Belleli & Kerry Buckingham for the Block of the Month club on Facebook.
Block #1 (Adori) is very unique, and while I followed the cuts and pieced with 1/4", it still came up short of the 12.5" square. I added a 1 1/4" border and it works. Another time in my life, I might have tried to 'fix' it, but think it looks mighty fine.
I didn't really like the cross in the center of the block and that silly little fact kept me from wanting to make it. I planned to make it seem less noticeable but in the end, it shows. I think that the dark parts could have gone on the very outside, yet it is done, and done is done.
I am listening to an audiobook by Viktor E. Franklin MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING read by Simon Vance. I first read this book while in high school, lo these many decades ago. While listening rather than reading is different, so is reading it as a teenager different than listening as an elder.
It seems that age has a way of slowing us down, and while I have always been fast and busy, the pace I keep now, so I've been told, is one most average people have. Hmm...finally. I have become average. Well, maybe.
As my scraps start to get used (a big YEA here), it becomes more difficult to make something work.
Last year I joined some quilt alongs or blocks of the month, and one block of the day. Previously, I joined swaps, so as my closets got more organized, I discovered the orphan blocks & decided to put what I had together in a quilt top and call it. Then I auditioned fabrics for the sashing and border. There was this chunk of dark purple with a sort of glitter to it that was the same shade value of the navies and grays in the blocks. After washing the purple twice, it seemed to be perfect to add and not detract from the blocks. I don't have much purple fabric so couldn't find anything for the outside borders. I decided to used a light green/white stripe as a faux-piping and just use the purple for 2 borders. There is also enough for binding!
I had planned to back it with the BOD mood quilt. Its made of 5" squares or HSTs cut from them. One a day. I am going to finish it and see what they look like together. I pressed it and want to finish the remaining rows. The pattern calls for borders that would make it the size of the other side of a quilt. I will see what happens.
It’s never easy to go back to work that is set aside. While I’ve written about that before, I still don’t understand.
I want to finish things before putting them away, but I either get frustrated or bored. My current thoughts are that it is better to set something up than to put negativity into it.
The Solids Mystery designer showed her finished quilt and it looks great. I worked on Month 6 all day and haven’t got a finish. Nor a photo.
Seven is cut. More tomorrow.
I don’t know why it is hard to return to a UFO or a WIP. Why anything. I baked biscotti, did laundry, dishes. They are tasks I set aside and pick up. What’s different?
All the math I did wasn’t correct. Logic told me that I mixed the sides. However, I did more calculations, cut the fabric, and pieced the strips and it is still short. Then I pressed it and set it aside. I pulled out the Solid BOM to try and catch up. First it was fabric selection and cutting. I’ll do the next steps tomorrow.
It’s so frustrating. I moved onto more cleaning, making a casserole and trying to organize my To Do List.
When I think of life, symbolism, energy, it’s almost like falling backwards into a different part of my life. A part where I thought I had the answers and thought I knew where I was going. Not so much these days.
I am still a private person who doesn’t easily share. I am trying.
Math. I thought I knew basics. Measured the strips. Re-measured the top and the blue/green for the back. And like Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, I know nothing. I want that clear wall mathematicians use on TV to solve their mysteries. I want the futuristic ones a person uses with their hands. Instead I have paper, pencils and pens that I scratch and rewrite so I can’t figure out one solution to the next.
So, I cooked, shopped, cleaned, even moved furniture.
I couldn’t let it go. I remeasured the top and bottom, calculating it over, and now I need to piece more strips. I just realized that I need to calculate the cuts for the back piece.
My math skills are not good. Funny because this is really simple addition.
I have a piece of blue and green that is just short of the top measurement. Then, add a 3" overlay (that's 6" top/bottom and 6" for the sides). I thought I made a huge dent in the holiday fabrics, and there is still so much left over.
I have to measure the strips for the length first. The width is 4" which takes away half an inch for piecing. Its worth trying.
It has taken me a lot of time to finish the Test Quilt, and I am under a promise not to reveal it, so cannot upload the pic. Needless to say, it was a surprise that I am shaking my head over and over. How lovely it turned out. I put it in a container where it can sit until the regular quilters finish. At that time, I will add the border, batting, back, quilting and binding.
Trying to catch up to my other projects. I finally finished the Merry and Bright scrap BOM. All the BOMs or Quilt-Alongs are Mystery quilts. One never knows the end product.
And by using scraps from my stash, it is a lot of work to make it work.
While you cannot tell, there was not enough of the light blue to make the first border. I used a different fabric on the top and bottom rows to make it work. Then, the dark blue. I measured and consulted a calculator for borders and cut away. There was enough left on the 2/3 to make the borders half an inch larger. Maybe. It is nice. It is fine.
My plan for the back is to use a larger piece cut to extend 3" beyond the final top measurements. I'll make a scrappy middle of the sections. Just not today. I need to be done for today and happy with my finishes.
