A Major Miscalculation

I made four sample BowTie blocks, just to see if I wanted to make more, and decided I do.  (These four are not yet sewn together.)

Four bowties will become a 12" block.  I decided 5 blocks x 7 blocks would be a good size and calculated that I would need to cut and sew 35 blocks:  2 background squares at 3½" and 2 colored squares at 3½" and two colored squares at 2".  Right.  So I cut and cut and cut and had enough for 20 bow ties and thought, I only have 15 more to make.  Amazing!   And then suddenly it dawned on me that I need 35 blocks with four bowties each.  I need 140 bowties!  What a major miscalculation!  I have my work cut out for me, cutting another 120 blocks.  Oh my, I could be cutting for a week.
Above, you can see cut light squares across the top and below, left to right, light and dark squares; matched squares with their corners sewn and pressed; and on the right are pairs of squares pinned for sewing.

These blocks came about because I have an abundance of fabrics, many from shirts, in the red-to-brown range, and plenty of scraps, both dark and light, which I thought would make a warm-looking quilt for winter.  We'll see how it goes.  If I get the top finished I expect to use it for a Hands2Help donation.

On April 29, I finished the quilt below for Hand2Help.  In retrospect, red fabric might have been better for a border, at least from a distance.  When I asked what readers thought in a previous post, Quilting Babcia at Amity Quilter suggested a narrow blue/green border, then a wider red border.  It would have worked well but I struggle with borders and so added only one.

Up close I think the blue/green dotted fabric works. 

Camera Joy!
Any of you who have been reading this blog for a month or so may remember that my little Canon PowerShot A560 was not working properly.  It took photos but they were not as clear as they had been, and the macro photos were practically indecipherable.  I took it to a camera repair shop and found no help.  I contacted several other camera/photo shops in the area who said they would look at it but probably couldn't help.  And I finally contacted Canon, whose representative said that they'd discontinued service for my camera so there was no help.  Several people offered suggestions but the most helpful came from Lizzy of Gone to the Beach, who suggested I try a reset.  Hmmm.  I didn't realize I could reset the camera.  I looked online and found easy directions, followed them, and now my camera is back to practically normal.  I don't think it's as good as before it had problems but it's definitely better than it was.  Thank you, Lizzy!

I'm linking this post to
>  Finished (or not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
>  Peacock Party Wendy's Quilts and More
>  Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
>  Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
Thank you for hosting, ladies.

I'm also linking to Sarah's Hands2Help post at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Thanks for coordinating and hosting, Sarah.

I hope you all have a great weekend!
--Nancy.

Chameleon Fabric for Hands2Help

This is the best close-up photo I have of the chameleon fabric I'm using.  It's a bright, happy print up close and in person, though not a fabric everyone will like.  But from a distance?  Look at the second photo.  I would not have guessed they are the same fabric.

I had several yards of it with no intentions for a specific use and thought a simple 9-patch (to become a single Irish Chain) would be a good choice for a quilt for the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge.  I cut the alternate squares for the 9-patches from smaller pieces of lighter prints and solids that seemed to work with the colors in the background fabric.  If they could talk I think they would say, "Spring!"

Isn't it strange how that bright print becomes muddied when viewed from a distance?  I hope someone will love this quilt if only because of how it looks up close.  I think I would have been thrilled with it when I was a child.

This quilt top will go to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) who, according to their website, wants single tops that are 60" x 80".  With 6" blocks, that means a quilt with 10 blocks across would be 60", but for length, with 6" blocks, I have to choose between 78" and 84".  Right now I have 9 blocks by 13 blocks for a quilt that would finish at 54" x 78".  Another round of blocks on side and end would make the quilt 60" x 84".  I don't have much print fabric left but I could probably squeeze out another round if I piece some scraps.

The alternative is to leave it the size it is and add a border.  Sadly, these are the only two fabrics I have that seem even slightly compatible and of which I have enough.

My goal is to finish this top by the end of the month.  Only the 9-patches are sewn together so far.  Obviously, adding borders would be quicker but, in my opinion, not easier.  (I always struggle with borders.)  I think I can still accomplish the goal no matter which choice I make (even though I'll be out of town visiting my grands and their parents for two days this week).  But perhaps the real consideration is what will be best for the quilt.  Does it need a border?  Does it not need a border?  If a border, would either of these fabrics work?  Any thoughts, dear readers?

There are two recent posts from other bloggers about Hands2Help that I love.  Thanks to both Gretchen and Bonnie for the great information.

• Gretchen Weaver posted Charity Comforters a week ago and wrote specifically about donations for MCC and showed how the tops are prepared.  I was pleased to read that, "The tops need to be at least 60" by 80".  "At least" is good.  But I wouldn't want to go smaller than that because quilts shrink in the washer and dryer.
• A day or two ago Bonnie wrote a post, A Fast Quilt for Charity!, in which she gave the suggestion to make larger, simple blocks, instead of smaller ones, along with directions for two different blocks.  I think I'll go with her suggestion for the next quilt top.
  

Sarah Craig is hosting the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  I don't know whether it's too late to sign up for this year or not.  Big thanks to Sarah for organizing and hosting this huge effort.  I'm sure it blesses many, many people.

--Nancy.