Design Challenges

Or did you actually read the directions, Louise?

I have been working on  "Lazy Sunday " a Bonnie Hunter, four part Mystery Quilt featured in the four past issues of Quiltmaker magazine this year.  The sewing has been rolling along and progressing to the point of actually assembling the blocks (see this post for the first block assembly ). The other day I decided to work on the parallelograms that will make up the last border.

188 neatly sewn and nicely pressed purple parallelograms ready to be trimmed.

Nice huh?

Until you actually read the directions!

Half need to go one way and half need to go the other way according to the directions.  All of mine go one way - to the right!

Now comes the design decision.  

Leave them be and let them march around the quilt, all facing the same way.  (Oh, did I mention that I have already sewn the seam for the little triangles that will be cut off each corner?)

Or, do I un-sew half of the parrallelograms in order to have them march the opposite way? ( oh, did I mention that I enlarged the quilt so that I increased the number of parallelograms to accommodate the new size and was hoping my math was correct?)

Or, do I do something different?  Such as, let half march to the middle and then add a piece of background for them other half of the border?

Or, make new parallelograms (oh, did I mention that I have very little left of the purple fabric, only four pieces left of the original 18+ fabrics? I suppose I could go shopping but some of those original fabrics came from deep, deep in the stash circa 1980)

Or what?

Decisions, decisions.

If you have an idea, please leave a comment to let me know your idea.  There is a copy
of latest issue of "Quiltmaker's Quilts from 100 Blocks" for the winner who will be chosen randomly from those who comment.  The decision does not have to be made today, so you have until the 15th of October to comment in order to win.

Thanks for your help!

Update!!!!
I decided to make the needed parallelograms.  I cut some new pieces from my left over purples and took apart some of the ones going the wrong way.  This update comes to you in January and the needed parallelograms are about have finished!

October 3rd and 77 degrees

Global warming at its best?

Any day it is 77 degrees at 4 in the afternoon, is a day to take time to sit on the deck. Yes, the leaves are beginning to turn colors and beginning to fall and yes the squirrels are annoyed with me for interfering with their work.  But I know that this is New England and it could be snowing next week!

Can you see that tree in the distance which has already changed to brilliant yellow and orange?

What a lovely contrast with my neighbor's bright pink impatiens! 

So I will sit on the deck and enjoy this little blast of summer knowing that it could be the last one for the year.

I will return to my sewing later.  Wait until you see what I have been up to!

8 Left to Sew

When I started to make "Lazy Sunday" (a Bonnie Hunter 4 part  Mystery Quilt which was presented in four of this year's issues of Quiltmaker Magazine) I did not really comprehend the finished size of the quilt as it was presented in the magazine.

Somewhere along the line, (in a hotel room in Martinsville Virginia actually, and that is another story!) when I began to cut everything out, I decided to increase the size of this quilt.

Increasing the size increases the number of blocks, which increases the number of pieces to sew to make the units to make the blocks!

So long story short, eight more block X's to make.

 

I will finish all 32 Block X's, instead of the 24 called for in the pattern, hopefully, by the end of today.

By the way, I have already increased and pieced the units for the borders and all of the unit 11's (was 92 in the pattern but now is 128 for the increased size).

Only the unit 6, 7, 8, and 9's are left to do.  I have been sewing these as Leaders and Enders today, so I have made a good dent in them.

But increasing the quilt size increases the numbers here also.  I am hoping to finish these units by the end of this week.  That will leave Block Y and Block Z to piece.

I have targeted the end of October as the completion date for this quilt top. I am hoping to push this project through and make my self-imposed deadline.

Why the pressure you ask?

Bonnie Hunter is introducing this year's Mystery Quilt about then.  I want to be ready to devote my time to that new quilt!

Time is a wastin'.... Back to piecing 8 more blocks!  

Sitting in the bookstore

On a Saturday night with my pile of romance novels, quilting magazines and an iced tea. 

Life doesn't get any better than this!

Seasons on the Deck on 9/11

Sitting on the Deck on what is probably going to be the last summer like day of 2013 and remembering.

Life goes by so quickly that we always need to be ready to stop and smell the flowers 

And remember...

 

May your afternoon be a memory filled one, as we remember all of those who passed twelve years ago.

Sitting on the deck and having the freedom to do so.  Enjoying it and remembering.....