About my latest project

This is a simple project, fairly easy block, and one I have made many times.  Then why oh why did this give me so much trouble?  Was it because I only had three days to make it, due to a self-imposed deadline?  Was it because I waited until the last minute to even start?  I made more mistakes in making this quilt than I have in any other quilt I have ever made, and I’ve made a lot, approximately 470, that’s quilts, not mistakes!

Let’s start at the beginning of the adventure.  Picking fabrics.  I went through my RW&B star stash and pulled out five different star fabrics.  A white background with navy stars and two different each of red and navy with white star fabrics.  I started cutting after figuring how many pieces of each I needed…. 

I planned to make a 12 block quilt, a smaller lap size one that I could easily quilt myself.  Each block has in it 2 four patch units made of two triangle squares, a white square and a navy square.  To make the triangle squares I would need two 3 7/8 inch squares of each color (navy and white) So I cut 2 times 12 times 2 or 48 navy 3 7/8 inch squares.  

At this point I had to run off to run errands and a lunch date.  When I came back I had to figure where I was so I counted what I had cut.   And since I had cut 48 navy squares I needed the same in the white.  I picked up the piece of white with navy stars, and it wasn’t going to be big enough, so I went to find something else in my stash, and had to settle on a nice weight off-white muslin.  Then I cut 48 white squares and sat down and made… ninety-six triangle squares.  I only needed 48.   Mistake #1

The next step was to put together the triangle squares with the solid that went with them, so I cut 48 red 3 1/2 inch squares and the same in white.  Then it was time to quit for the day. 

Next day I decided to start off easy and make the red and white four patch units.  I cut 3 1/2 inch strips of red and white and sewed together into long red/white strips, then cut them into 3 1/2 inch segments, and then sewed them into red and white four patch units.  I was making 12 blocks, each block had in it two red and white four patch units so I needed 24 and that’s what I made. 

So back to those triangle square units….  I needed two units per block of a white square and one of the white/navy triangle squares.  2 times 12 was 24, so I sewed 24 white and white/navy triangle squares together…  but I had left over white 3 1/2 inch squares… why?

Mistake #2, I’d cut too many the day before. 
Mistake #3 – I sewed on the wrong side of the white and white/navy triangle squares, I should have sewed on the opposite side.  SO I sewed down the opposite side, ripped out the stitches from the other side and… wait.. they still weren’t right.  Mistake #4   I should have sewed in the other direction!  More ripping and more sewing and finally those units were finished. 

Next was to sew together the other navy and white triangle squares with this time a navy square… but …
Mistake #5 – I’d cut red instead of navy.  So I cut navy 3 1/2 inch squares and made absolutely positive, checking ten times with each pair, that I sewed them together correctly… and I did!  Whew!    

Next step was to sew those two units into a four patch unit.  I checked, rechecked and checked again and managed to get them all put together with no mistakes.    

Next step was to sew a red and white four patch to one of the units I’d just completed.  I checked, rechecked and triple checked and sewed two of those units together, and then just to make sure I was right, I laid two on the table to sew together, and they were wrong… Mistake #6.  I gave up and quit sewing for the day.

Later that night I was telling John about all my mistakes and he laughed.  I showed him the latest booboo pieces, and he said “Don’t you just turn them around?”  Mistake #7 although that meant there was no #6 so I’m either at #7 or #5, depending on how you want to count them, LOL! 

Today I finished it. … I added four more blocks, since I had most of the pieces cut and the triangle squares made already.  I’m not telling how many if any mistakes I made, just don’t look too close.  No borders, no fabric left of either the red or the navy, maybe I’ll go stash digging and see if I can find anything else that might go with it. 

And I do have some leftover red 3 1/2 inch squares....

and some navy and white triangle squares too. 

But, another mistake, now it's too big for me to quilt myself.... sigh... 

And now....

Sewed together 24 white and B/W triangle squares, started sewing together 24 blue and B/W triangle squaress and realized they shouldn’t be sewn together the same way as the white and B/W but the opposite, and lay one out to look… no the blue and B/W are right, but then… yep… all 24 of the white and B/W pairs are wrong. 
Now to spend some time unsewing. 
Then maybe I need a nap and then start this day over? 

My day so far..

Got up early, wanted to get started before it got hot out.  Why does that make a difference?  My feet when under the sewing machine are right over a vent, and when the cold air blows my toes get frozen and when it goes off, the rest of me gets hot.  And if I close that vent, the rest of the room gets hot so it’s a lose lose situation, LOL

So I started sewing, realized I had more cutting to do.  Finished cutting and sat at machine… realized I’d cut red instead of the blue I needed for one part, so I re-cut 24 blue 3 1/2 inch squares.  Sat down at the machine again, and heard a crop duster. 

I love watching them so decided to go out for a little bit and watch and maybe get some nice photos.  Went to the field I thought he was doing, but he wasn’t there, headed to another road just as he flew over the field.  Pulled off the road, narrowly missing a ditch, and jumped out just as he flew overhead… I think he recognized me because he dipped his wings like to say hi as he flew overhead. 

Then I realized he wasn’t saying hi, he was saying bye because he never came back… guess I missed him there.  So I listened, waited listening, and didn’t hear him again.  So home again and back at the sewing machine, put together one block when my stomach went off.  Right at noon too, so I poured myself a bowl of cereal and turned on the TV to watch the weather. 

Finished my cereal and Mother Nature calls, so I go to the “library” and while I’m sitting on the throne I hear the weather music… that’s all I could hear because the volume was too low.  Came back to the living room just in time to see weather go off and a commercial start… so back to sewing for me, as soon as I post this that is.

Selling quilts

Quite often people ask me about selling my quilts.  Yes I do, but not often.  Why?  Because no one can afford them, that’s why.  Let’s figure out how much a quilt costs these days.

Example, a recently made possible sample for this year’s fall retreats.  It took one Bali Pop which retailed for $40, plus a yard of extra fabric which was $14.00 just for the top of the quilt.  Then it needed six yards for borders, backing and binding.  Six times $14 is $84.  So we’re up to $138 just in materials.   (And I didn't include the postage I paid to get it either.)

My time, well they tell me I can’t charge for my time, but it’s mine and I can if I want to, LOL!  I’ll pay myself minimum wage although I’m worth more really.  Minimum wage here is $7.25 and it took me two full days to make this quilt, start to finish, so 16 hours at $7.25 is $116. 

(My professional rate, back when I was getting it, was $20 an hour.  So you do the math, 16 hours times $20… add another $204 to the cost for my professional fee.) 

Now I have to get it quilted and since this one is too big for me to handle, I have to pay someone else to do it.  She will charge me at least $90 for the quilting (possibly more) and another $20 for the batting.  That’s another $110 to add to the cost of this quilt. 

And that’s if I get it quilted locally.  I also use long arm quilters who I have to mail to, and they mail it back, so that would cost another $50 to $60 in postage. 

Materials        $138

Time               $116 
Quilting           $110
Total cost       $364 for a quilt that’s not quite twin size but is larger than a lap quilt. 

If I have to mail it to you then you will have to pay that, I certainly am not going to.  This is a little too big for flat rate priority mail, so I’d send it UPS, which would cost you about $35 including the insurance on the quilt.   

(Now here’s an interesting note on that insurance.  It will only pay one of us, and since I’m mailing it, I think that’s me, and it would only pay me for the materials or $138.) 

And yet, I do have quilts for sale.  Why?  Because I have too many, most were samples for classes and/or used in my trunk shows.  But since I am not traveling or teaching anymore, I don’t need them all.  Some of my quilts benefit Relay For Life, some 100%, some less.  Am I making any money on these quilts… hardly.  But like I said, I have too many.  Want to see, http://delawarequilts.com/MyQuilts/QuiltsForSale.html

But that isn’t the point of this posting… my point is when someone asks you to make a quilt, be honest about the cost and DON’T sell yourself short.  And if they think you’re off your rocker, tell them to go buy one at the local something-mart… but advise them not to plan on using it very long,

or ever washing it… 

Today's cutting

Yesterday I finished a retreat sample, and realized that July is right around the corner and I haven’t made a project sample yet. I picked the design/pattern a long time ago, but haven’t gotten around to making the sample. So this morning I cut out 48 squares for diagonal half squares or half square triangles or triangle squares, which ever you call them. And that’s as far as I’ve gone.

Today was errand day. First stop the bank to make a deposit and withdrawal, then next door almost to drop off a huge box of packing peanuts (don’t ask) and then to Wal-Mart, one of my least favorite places to go. However I needed a variety of items and I could have gone to four different stores or just there… so I went.... along with a billion other people who had no idea where to find anything or what they needed or what they’d allow their child to buy. We call those people tourons, visitors who leave half their brains back home… I think I ran into a few today who left them ALL home.

Surprisingly because I knew where everything was in our small local store I was in and out in a jiffy. Next stop AT&T to look for a new phone for John. I picked one, I sure hope he likes it. Also surprisingly was that I was the only customer in there when I walked in, so got help right away and was out much faster than ever… they’re a busy little store and I’ve never made a purchase so quickly. And they had people waiting for help when I left too.

I got done so early I ran home and unloaded the car, checked email and then went back out again, for a lunch date. It was quite enjoyable and I really enjoyed it. Then one more stop, the grocery store and then home.

Now, can I finish a whole quilt in the next few days? …stay tuned.
 

Quilts and Quilters Looks

I heard on the CBS News last night that President Obama had said “No American should ever live under a cloud of suspicion just because of what they look like."  I couldn’t agree with him more.

I have tried to live by those words ever since high school, and I hope that I have.  I hope also that it follows through to my quilting world, and that I never have and never will judge a quilter by her looks OR her quilts. 

We don’t all like the same thing, but we all share the love of quilting.  And just because you don’t like the same style of quilt someone else does, doesn’t mean you can’t be the best of friends. 

Nothing bothers me more than quilt snobs, and yet some of my best friends have been exactly that, quilt snobs.  To them hand piecing and/or hand quilting is the only way. 

Some people only make art quilts and I don’t always understand what people see in them, but I love meeting art quilters and getting to know them. 

And I don’t do appliqué and I hope that no one dislikes me or judges me because of that.  I love appliqué and I admire quilters who have that talent.

Quilters can be fabric snobs too, only using the “name” brands of fabrics.  But look at all of those ladies who only use old clothes, and look at all the beautiful quilts both the name brands and old clothes make.    

To paraphrase President Obama, “No quilter should ever live under a cloud of suspicion just because of the quilts they make.”

Looks

I heard on the CBS News last night that President Obama had said “No American should ever live under a cloud of suspicion just because of what they look like."  I couldn’t agree with him more.

A long time ago, I can’t even remember which class or what grade (I think I was a freshman), just as the bell ending class rang a teacher told us that anyone with blue eyes had a serious problem.  She said she couldn’t explain it to us, but we should be afraid of blue eyed people.  Kids were asking questions but we had other classes to get to.  But there was a lot of discussion about it the rest of the day.  I was quiet.  I have blue eyes.

A day later the same teacher said that what she’d said the day before wasn’t quite right, and I was relieved.  She said that it wasn’t blue eyes, it was people with blue eyes and people with brown hair, and it didn’t matter if you had blue eyes and blonde hair, or brown hair and green eyes, they all had serious problems.  I have blue eyes and brown hair. 

Apparently other teachers were saying similar things, and talk was going around, and kids were starting to act strangely.  I found that some of my friends were all of a sudden avoiding me.  I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t like it. 

We soon learned that we had been a part of a social experiment and we would be discussing it for the next month…  Many years later I remember how I felt, and the lesson I learned. 

Weather report

Last night we, or I should say John, planted ten new plants in the ground, despite the heat.  We did it last night because we were supposed to get some needed rain today. 

When I woke up the sun was shining and there was hardly a cloud in the sky… at least the sky I could see.  However about quarter after nine I could hear thunder in the distance and it got closer and closer and the wind picked up… and then the sun came out again… not one drop of rain. 

Two hours later, same thing… thunder in the distance… sun disappears, wind picks up… severe thunder storm warning on TV and radio…  and again, nothing. 

12:20 more thunder, this coming from the other direction.  This thunder was shaking the house, so I had to go out and see what I could see. 

Amazing clouds. 

And they actually produced some rain.  It rained real hard…. for all of five minutes. 

2:15 the sun disappears again and the wind picks up…  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that sooner or later one of these thunderstorms gives us some promised rain.  I don’t want to go out and water tonight!

Today's Sewing!

I had a humongous project to tackle today, probably the largest thing I’ve ever done quilt wise.  110 inches square.  First I had to prewash, because I always (normally) prewash.  After washing comes drying and after drying comes wrinkles.  So I had to iron… nine yards of fabric.  I worked up a good sweat with all the tugging and pulling and steam.  Then two simple seams, each 110 inches long… only one was slightly longer, uh oh, maybe I didn’t measure right? 

Then I had to iron those seams… that worked up another good sweat but now it’s all done.  Well all but the folding… I need to fold it neatly to get it to the quilter.  And that will have to wait till John gets home from work.  My arms are long enough or strong enough to do that job by myself, and I’ve pretty much worn them and myself out just making that backing.

I can’t wait to see this one quilted!  Right now I need to get a shower, then I need to decide on my next project. 

Company!

Mike and Kelly showed up last night in the middle of a huge of a huge thunder storm.  Even with an umbrella delivered by John right to the car door, parked right in front of the garage, they were pretty wet when they came in.  After they’d dried off and we’d visited a bit we all went to bed. 

This morning they went to the beach while John and I made a trip to Serendipity Quilt Shop for their annual anniversary sale.  Shortly after we got home so did Mike and Kelly.  They then transformed from beach bums to country club chic. (Or was that sheik?)  Regardless, they looked pretty sharp to us as they headed off to a friend’s wedding.

Little sun, little rain,

Little thunder and a lot cooler.  I think it’s dropped 10 degrees in the last ten minutes.  No bother to me, I’m staying inside anyway.  I’m still updating web pages, fall retreat pages mostly, although I should be working on retreat projects or even 2012 charity projects.  But I’m doing a little of this and a little of that, and eventually it will all get done, I hope.

And then WHOA… Sky just opened up and it’s pouring out, one of those good gully washers we need desperately to wet the earth.  Hopefully it will last a while and give us some well needed rain.

Hot enough?

After the delightful week last week, this heat is a bit hard to take.  At 6:45 it is still this hot.  I am so thankful that I didn’t have any excuse to go outside today.  If you have to, please remember to stay cool!

No sewing today, today ended up being update day for the retreats.  Most are still over 119 days away, but some last minute cancellations and questions made that necessary.  And people are starting to wonder about the projects… I’m working on them all now!

Be afraid, be very afraid…

I am… I once said I would never use jelly rolls because you can’t prewash them.  And then I made not one, not two, but three quilts (so far) using jelly rolls. 

When we were up in Lancaster on Monday I bought red wide backing for two of those jelly roll quilts.  Red and black quilts… two colors that are known for their bleeding.  I’m a glutton for punishment I guess. 

Today I added some of the backing as borders on both red and black quilts and I cut the backings to size in preparation for the quilter.  I took the leftover wide red backing and threw it in the washer, because I ALWAYS until now, prewash. 

 
When I washer was almost finished filling I looked in and this is what I saw.

I think I will buy stock in Shout® Color Catcher® before I wash these two quilts. 

42 years!

47 years ago I was 16 and I met a young man. (I’ll save you from the math, I’m 63)   I can’t say it was love at first sight, but it turned into love quickly.  We were 17 when he first mentioned marriage, he said something like when we’re old married people with kids and I panicked.. I wasn’t ready to be married and certainly not to him.  So I dumped him… for all of two months.  It was a miserable two months and we finally got back together.  Then we graduated from high school and he moved to NH to go to college.  A year later I followed him and a year later on June 20th we were married and now 42 years later we’re still happily married and I love him more every day. 

Quick Trip

Tomorrow is our 42^nd wedding anniversary, and since it fell in the middle of the week this year, I decided to take John away for the weekend.  But he had other plans on Saturday so our weekend escape turned into an overnighter only. 

John had never seen the new location of the QuiltersRetreats, even though we’d been there four years already.  So I took him to my favorite place other than home, Bird-in-Hand PA.  Of course we stayed at the Amish View Inn so John could see why I love it there so much, and get to meet some of the wonderful people who have made my retreaters and me feel so at home there. 

Much to my surprise and delight our room was upgraded when we arrived and we had a lovely suite with the view that is so desired.The minute we walked into the room John said “No wonder you love it here” He couldn’t stop gazing out of the window and admiring what I’ve grown to love so much.We had a wonderful visit and truly regretted that we only had one night.

Yesterday was a business day for me, I had shops to visit and see what kind of deals I could get for the retreaters.  Unfortunately yet understandably none of the shops would give me any deals.  However, that didn’t stop me from leaving some of my money there.  I was buying backings for three quilts and looking for yellows for another project, and I found everything I needed and more at the six shops I visited.  We finished business earlier than expected, so took some back roads on the way home just to enjoy the scenery. 

Happy Fathers' Day

Happy Father’s Day to all you Dad’s out there in blog world, and to all of you who are both Mother and Father to your children.  It’s been ten years since my last Father’s Day with my Dad, and I kind of miss him. 

Mike came to town for the night and to cook breakfast for his Dad.  I’m sure John will enjoy it, if he ever gets up.  It’s Sunday, the day of rest, and John likes his rest.  He’s a hard worker and deserves it, so as much as I’d like to get him up, I’ll resist today.  Happy Father’s Day honey.

And to my Father-in-law Jack, who I doubt will ever read this, I love you dearly.  You have been like a Dad to me almost since the day I met you.  You are one very special guy!

And to my sons who may someday be Dads too, and no I am not nagging, you take your time.  When you do finally become a Daddy, be the best father you can be first, and secondly be a good friend to your children.  Just like your Dad has been to you.

My 1890 quilt

Let me first explain the name… most people use a jelly roll, 40 strips at about 40 inches per strip equals 1600 inches which is why this design is often called the 1600 quilt.  Well… mine was a little jelly roll of only 20 black strips, plus 7 black strips left over from another similar jelly roll plus 18 red strips left over from another project.  So that’s 20 plus 7 plus 18 which equals 1880, plus ten inches left over from the border on that other project which adds up to 1890 which is what I’m calling this quilt. 

Yes, I swore I would never make one.  Yes I said I would never use jelly rolls.  All of a sudden I’m doing a lot of things I said I would never do… like angry birds but that’s another story. 

So I made a project I am not showing yet with black and red strips, some from jelly rolls, some cut from my red stash.  I decided to use the left over strips to make a 1600 quilt.  I sewed all the strips together like I was making a very very long long binding strip, diagonally. 

A friend calls me, and I can hear her sewing in the background.  I teased her about sewing while on the phone, and she said that if I was at my machine I could sew too.  I told her I was, put her on speaker and went on sewing.  She told me about her project, a twin Sailing Ships quilt for her grandson and then asked me what I was working on.

Believe it or not, she’d never heard of a 1600 quilt or jelly roll quilt so I had to explain it to her.  I said you sew all the strips together with diagonal seams like you were making a very very long long binding strip, then you sew that very very long long strip together into a strip set of two…  and I picked up two strips and sewed them together length wise… by time I realized what I was doing I was almost to the end, and we both had a very good laugh over it.  And I stopped sewing while talking to her so I could concentrate and not make any more mistakes. 

After my call ended I had to figure out what to do with that booboo… I didn’t want to unsew it, so I decided to use it as a 2 1/2 alternating strip…  and that’s what I did.  I cut the two wrongly joined strips into 2 1/2 inch segments and sewed half of them together into one strip and added that to the long strip I was making. Then a little while later on that same long strip I added the other half of the alternating strip.  No, I didn’t take a picture but you can figure that out on your own. 

Then I started to sew that one very very long long strip into a shorter strip of two… I ran into this… anyone care to explain how that happened? 

I took out a small seam and untied the knot and re-sewed the seam and continued on.  I sewed the one very very long long strip into a slightly shorter strip of two, then that into a strip of four and then that into a strip of eight and then 16 and I think I stopped at 32. 

And this is what I got.  It needs borders, but I can guarantee you they won’t be 2 1/2 inches!

 

Two tops done!

I completely finished both samples today and will probably start another one shortly.  I have decided for sure that I will not make the first one again even if I do cut my own strips for it.  There was a lot of bias and even I had problems with putting the blocks together. 

The second one I like a lot and I very well may make this one again sometime.  I would probably use strips I cut myself rather than pre-cuts.  That way I know if the blocks don’t end up square to start with it’s my own dang fault and I can’t blame anyone else, LOL! 

The next one I’m making… well I’m going to keep it a secret for now, but I will show this one when it’s finished, I promise. 

I'm a stripper

I was blog hopping while I ate my lunch today and I found at least a dozen blogs reporting on stripping.  I guess it’s the thing right now, and would you believe that … I’m stripping too. 

I swore to a bunch of people I would never use pre-cut strips, they are against my quilting rules.  I can’t prewash and I can not guarantee their accuracy.  After making two quilts using pre-cut strips I will stick to those rules, but I will use pre-cut strips again. Maybe… 

I have four projects for the fall retreats, all four use pre-cut strips.  The first one I said I would not make… I might.  The second one I have made a sample, although it’s not quite finished yet, waiting for more fabric to come in the mail.  The third one I just finished the center for, and I love it.  It is not 100% perfect, but neither am I, so I’m very happy with it. 

And the fourth one I have made three samples of but not one used pre-cut strips, I cut my own.  I guess I should try it using pre-cuts, but I already made three quilts using that pattern… do I really need a fourth? 

I will share photos eventually, but have to keep this all a secret until after the next Mystery For Relay, July 19th.

Dislike

Here’s something else I dislike about quilting, it ranks right under my dislike of the actual quilting process itself, squaring!  However sometimes it has to be done, and today was one of those days.  Now that process is all finished and I can move on to assembly.  


Tomorrow, done, I hope!

Sewing and playing

I’m sewing that other sample and love love love my colors on this. Even if John says they are boring, I find them highly contrasting and delightful. I think he’ll like this quilt when I get it done.

I’m also playing occasionally…. You know how sometimes you need a break, need to do something different for a change. Well my sons kept talking about this game, and this weekend DS#1, darn him, talked me into trying it. Darn it to all, it’s slightly addicting, almost as much fun as quilting. But not quite, so I’m giving up… stupid pigs…and going back to sewing… dumb birds…

Thanks loads Jonathon... not!

I've decided

After the mail arrived yesterday I knew what my next project was going to be.  I got some tone on tone black jelly rolls and I knew right away what they were for.  I am making a sample for the Fall Retreats with those ToT jelly rolls and a whole bunch of 2 1/2 inch strips I just cut myself from my red stash and will make… well you are just going to have to wait to see what I make, sorry!

My funny for the day

I’m sitting here sewing and the phone rings, some political survey. Don’t ask me why, I usually hang up, but this time I said sure, I’ll answer your questions. First question, who do you plan to vote for in the November election. I said “Mickey Mouse” and he said, no really. I said really, I don’t think Donald Duck would make a good president.
He hung up.

My weekend

Jon, Steph and Simba arrived early Friday night, surprising us.  We had some nice conversations before we all were yawning more than talking and gave up and went to bed.  Much to my surprise they were up when I woke up, they blamed Simba.  More talking and some showing off on my part… I showed them what I’d done upstairs. 

Around noon they headed to the beach and I went in to sew.  Only I’ve decided that as much as I liked the blocks I’d made, they needed something to be truly finished and I didn’t have what I needed to finish them… more fabric.  I needed a coordinating sashing and some corner stones.  I found what I needed on line and ordered it, and a dear sweet wonderful friend offered to share her leftovers from the same Tonga Treat so now all I need to do is wait for them both to come in the mail and I can finish that project. 

Everyone came home about the same time and we had dinner and more conversations, and then it was bedtime again.  Sunday was pure relaxation and it was so nice.  Having Jon and Steph here was great fun and it made me realize how much I miss them being closer.  And Simba was so totally different than his cousin Mufasa, I enjoyed his visit too. 

Simba’s a totally completely different animal than Mufasa.  However having him around really made me realize two things.  First, I really miss having an animal in the house and second, I don’t want to have another animal in the house.  I love having someone meet me at the door when I come in.  But I don’t want someone here waiting for me when I have to go away.  I love the freedom of not having to worry about something that is alive and dependant on me to be here.  I love being able to come and go without worrying about what or who is here waiting to be fed.  It’s a tough decision to make, but I’m sure now that we’ve made the right one, no more pets.  And if we ever win the lottery and can afford to travel, I’ll be finding homes for all my plants too.

Right now I need to decide what my next project's going to be!

Company's gone

What a delightful weekend, but you know how exhausting having company can be… we’re  tuckered out!  I’ll blog tomorrow.   

No Blog Saturday

We have company so I don’t have anything to blog about.  Had a nice dinner at home, some great conversations and a furry little visitor.  More tomorrow.

Grrrrrrr......

Well I thought it was a good day… I thought I was enjoying what I was doing.  I really loved the fabric I was working with.  Pre-cut strips, something I swore I’d never use.  Proved myself wrong.  I used them and I loved them, this batch at least.

And I used someone else’s idea, just went ahead and followed along because I trusted what they said. 

No problems with the sewing, went smoothly.

Laid all the blocks on the bed… I don’t like them.  Not at all.  Not even a tiny bit.  Funny because I loved each one as I made them, each one was so unique and pretty.  All together they are a jumbled mess. 

And to make matters worse, I wrote down every step as I sewed, so I could share it.  There were no written directions, just a video to follow.  I need words to teach, so I wrote them.  And I saved them.  And they disappeared.  Somewhere on my computer, I just don’t know where.  I’ll keep looking but in the meantime I’m thinking on paper and trying to rewrite what I wrote while it’s still fresh in my mind.  Doesn’t really matter, I’m going to change it anyway so the design looks nicer and is usable.  I hope.... 

This quilt… I can save by adding sashing...... I hope.