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...