I'm trying to be precise but there are corners where four seams and eight pieces of fabric meet. I'm not yet good enough for them to meet exactly. I'm trying to accept that I don't sew perfectly. At some point I have to accept blocks as "good enough" and move on to the next one.
Some blocks have fewer triangle corners to match
and others have more.
One thing I like about this sampler quilt is that I only have to make the blocks once--and I'm sure there are several that I will never make again! I have 10 more to cut and sew but they should go faster as I get toward the end because I've saved the easiest for last. It didn't take me long to make that decision. (Do you also eat the food you like least first and save the best for last so that's the flavor that stays on your palette? I do!) If I do one a day for the next two weeks I should have them finished by the end of the month for my One Monthly Goal.
The quilt has 25 blocks in a 5 x 5 layout. Cheri added a wider border on top and bottom to include applique. I've decided to add another row of 5 blocks to make the quilt a little longer.
I'm looking forward to at stitching at least one block today/tonight.
If you've read my blog for the past several months you'll remember that some time in February I finally decided to join Lori's Sweet Land of Liberty sew-along at Humble Quilts. I reasoned that I would be only a month behind. I found an eagle pattern and stitched it. And then it promptly disappeared. (Please tell me I'm not the only one with that problem.) This week it reappeared, still wanting its star (or stars), an eye, and maybe some writing. He's not a grand eagle, but he'll do.
I'm going to join this quilt-along even though I'm way behind. Deciding fabrics sometimes takes me as long as sewing them. Maybe this sew-along will help me overcome my indecisiveness. Maybe. Or maybe not. Still, the whole process is fun.
I'm linking this post to
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts and
> Friday Night Sew-In at Sugarlane Designs
Happy sewing, happy weekend to you!
--Nancy.
.
Beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michelle.
DeleteSeriously, your points are really good! And I love your eagle. He seems grand to me! Have fun with the sampler.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
Thanks so much, Sylvia. The eagle needs a little clip to the fabric on the back around the curve of his next to lie flatter and smoother. (I should have clipped before appliqueing.)
DeleteSo glad you found your eagle! I think he looks quite dapper. I also think your blocks for Cheri’s sampler quilt are excellent. Very pretty! I will only take a block apart twice and redo it. Then it just has to be good enough.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rebecca. I'm so pleased the eagle reappeared, too. Taking a block apart twice was my limit, too! I didn't want the blocks to look used and misshapen before they made it into a quilt so I accepted less than perfect as good enough. I'm working on some blocks that were intended to be paper-pieced but that I'm putting together as is they were to be machine-sewn. (No curves or I wouldn't have been able to do that.) I'm amazed as how casual I've become about these little blocks. I guess it helps that most of the seams don't have to align exactly.
DeleteYour Cheri blocks look perfect to me! Your work is beautiful. btw sometimes putting a lightly smaller needle in your machine can help with those many layers of triangles seams, or even just a new very sharp needle. [says I who am a very poor piecer].
ReplyDeleteWhere was the Eagle all these months! That's so funny.
lizzy
Thanks, Lizzy. I will switch my machine needle to a smaller one to see what difference it makes. I sew on an old Singer and the needle package tells that size 11 is for light weight wovens and size 14 is for medium weight wovens. I can never decide if quilting cotton is light or medium weight so I go back and forth between sizes.
DeleteI finished the eagle in February and then put it away for safe keeping till I could work on the next section. When I looked for it I couldn't find it. I had taped it to the wall behind something else. When I took down what was on top last week, the eagle fell too. And now I'm once again working on the Sweet Land of Liberty blocks.
Your triangles look pretty good to me and don't worry, I lose things all of the time!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kaye. (Is it Kay or Kaye?) I'm happy to learn I'm not the only one to lose things.
DeleteYour blocks look perfect to me! Lovely fabric choices too. I hope you enjoy those final 'easy' blocks.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Allison. I have a few more time-consuming blocks to finish but I get to the easiest ones. They're all fun, just some are more fun.
DeleteI have blocks that disappear and reappear all the time. I suspect the monkeys have a hand in it...
ReplyDeleteLOL. If I had monkeys I would definitely think they were the culprits to my losing things!
DeleteYour blocks look pretty precise to me. Nice job! I'm so glad the eagle reappeared. I finished the month 5 unit yesterday and now I'm back to the (neverending) Roseville Album blocks. It's like waiting for a baby except babies only take 9 months - sigh~
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robin. I was surprised and pleased to see the eagle. He just needs a few additions to be finished.
DeleteYour month 5 Sweet Land of Liberty looks great. I keep looking at it as I work on mine. Well, I look at other people's, too. Most people seem to use many fabrics and lots of colors, though mostly in more muted tones.
LOL. Well, with a baby it's 9 months but it's 24 hours a day, but with your Roseville Album blocks, you can at least put them aside for a while. But I know what you mean about a project feeling like it will never end. But it will be so beautiful when you've finished and you'll have such a great sense of accomplishment!
I agree with everyone .... your blocks look great, even the ones with all the points meeting in one corner. We are our own worst critics. Do your best and enjoy the process ... that's my motto!
ReplyDeleteThe eagle looks fabulous. Must have been feathering a nest somewhere! 😊
Those triangles look good from where I am sitting.
ReplyDelete