Well, this is aptly named. The day Old Man Winter finds us again is the day I start to piece Harriet's "Woodland Winter" lap quilt!
Well, I started sewing when my third grade son and eleventh grade daughter came home from school...probably not the best idea, but I've got to use time when I've got it....
So, I'm busy concentrating on sewing perfect 1/4" seams...
(the blue fabric is supposed to be on the outside, not in the middle)
and since I was sewing distracted....
out the stitch ripper came and I got busy - I had to rip out two, not just one...
an expensive mistake since I'm using Presencio 60/3 thread....
So, here I'm carefully matching things up....
and then I didn't read carefully enough that I would need twelve 3 1/2" blocks per strip set, so I cut eleven from the first strip set, then had to sew a sixth set to make the needed 60...I would have only had 59 without the sixth set...did I mention how darn cold it is out after we had 45 Fahrenheit weather and the green grass is showing out from underneath the snow...and now the wind is blowing 25 mph and it feels like 3 above only? Maybe it froze my brain? I just couldn't get things right...but I keep on....
Here is a much more acceptable blue, red, "white" strip set
I get to the cutting table and what's the first thing I do? Slip! LOL May as well laugh about it...it's OK, though, remember? I have a sixth strip set! (I always buy too much fabric...now you know why!!)
So, here's the tools for the job.
I now need 49 blue solid 3 1/2" blocks, so at 12 blocks per strip (42") fabric, I will need 4.0833333 strips...so five strips are cut....
then I get to play...this is one of the most fun parts!
Here's a closeup of the blocks and fabric.
Not bad for one busy afternoon.
Note to self: if possible, sew after kids are in bed or before they wake up! :-)
Looking forward to possibly finishing this tomorrow night at the Friday Night Sew-In! Are you going to make a date with your sewing machine, too?
By the way, I picked up the magazine "Quilt Almanac 2011" from the editors of "Quilt" magazine...can't wait to sneak a peek!
Here's the link to lots of their free pattern PDF's:
Enjoy!
Beautiful work so far. I like your color choices.
ReplyDeleteJust to put your mind at ease... while the $25 for a cone of Prescencia 60/3 is hard to swallow at first - dividing the 4,800 yards/$25.00 comes out to 192 yards/$1.00, which is actually cheaper in the long run than my second favorite - Aurifil spools 1422 yards/$10.00 - which comes out to 142 yards/$1.00. (And on Harriet's site - the Prescencia 50/3 sells in a spool of 3600 yards for $21 - so 171 yards/$.100)
So you really only pulled out pennies worth of thread in the long run. :) And yes, I am a bit of a math geek...
I've been using the same cone of thread for my projects since May of last year and cannot tell that any has actually been used.
Cheers, K
Thank you for your mathematical explanation - definitely makes me feel better! I've joined the Friday Night Sew-in - have you?
ReplyDeleteOooh - that is tonight isn't it. I need to try to actually sew then. Off to join. I completely spaced last month, and December got crazy busy and I missed both.
ReplyDeleteI'll be sewing tonight as well... I'm loving that pine cone fabric... and the quilt pattern is interesting as well... can't wait to see more!
ReplyDeleteThank you for choosing to follow my blog - I appreciate your comments very much! I'm a beginning quilter, so I am following Harriet & Carrie Hargrave's "Quilter's Academy" series...I highly recommend it - these gals know their stuff and know how to teach! Best wishes on your quiling ventures! Mary Ann from www.rocknquilts.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteLove your fabric choices for the Woodland Winter quilt. I was just sorting through my stash this evening trying to pick out fabrics for the quilt. Great to find others who are working their way through the Quilters Academy series. I took the Quilters Academy I and the MachineQuilting workshops with Harriet last month and loved every moment!! Happy Quilting!!
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