Scraps, Scraps, and More Scraps

I found a maple leaf pattern that I liked the finished size so I'll be using up more of my scraps to make maple leaves. It makes a 9 1/2 or 9 inch finished block so how many will I need to make a decent sized quilt?

Meanwhile, I've been using up the scraps from the wedding quilt making this block

There are a multitude of ways to lay them out but I'm kinda leaning towards this layout.

I put the borders on the last quilt I made, but have yet to take a picture of it. Thursday or Friday I'll get an opportunity to take a picture of it.

Riley Blake Designs, never again.

I have one quilt almost finished, three in progress, another in the back of my mind stage.

I'm almost done with this quilt.

I'm just about finished despite the "designer's" (term used facetiously) lack of instructions. First the instructions list all this fabric. Okay, do you really think the lady at the fabric store gave me yards and yards of extra fabric. I have one piece I have a yard left over, another piece a half a yard left over, and I basically have a bag of fabric that weighs more than the damn quilt top so I can certainly make another quilt out of the leftovers.

The instructions were free so I guess I shouldn't complain. Note to self, you get what you pay for. So the instructions. My first clue something was wrong was after I cut up the fabric. I should have totaled up what they tell you you need--almost 7 yards of fabric plus 5/8 more for your binding before I purchased the fabric. Then I would have had to sit there and do math to figure out which one was wrong. At least 2 are wrong as I have a yard left over of something and 1/2 a yard of something else and I've cut all the fabric for borders. They tell you to purchase almost 7 yards of fabric. Why would you need almost 7 yards of fabric to make a quilt top that only requires 5 yards of fabric for the backing--or is the math wrong on the backing, that's easily checked against the dimensions: 64 x 80--5 yards will back that for sure. It might get that big with three more borders. And that folks explains why I have over a yard and a half of some pieces and large scraps of the others. Free patterns are designed to sell fabric. AND LOTS OF IT. Like way more than you need.

The "design", term used again in jest is one of Riley Blake Designs called Sweet Isabella.

The problem with this pattern is first you buy way too much fabric and I suppose they're hoping you buy their fabric. Then you make 2 different 4 patch blocks and join em, they don't go into detail about how: side by side, top to bottom, which way you need to press your seams. So you make these blocks. Now what, you still have all these little squares and strips. I guess that's referred to as posts and sashing? What do I know, this is my third quilt. How to I put the rest of this thing together.

Well, here's how folks: "Quilt Center Assembly: See quilt photo for sashing, post and block placement. Sew rows together on the diagonal to complete the center of the quilt. Add corner triangles. Before adding borders square up leaving 1/4 seam allowance. Okay when and where do I put the sashing and blocks/posts? I don't know how I managed to figure it out (and it was with no response to my email asking for further instruction) but I do and my quilt has a distinct difference from theirs. Look at theirs. The blocks are half cut off at the edges before the first border row, they're like only 1 1/2 inch blocks, why would you want them cut off on the edge. I don't know how I did it but I managed to have 1/4 in seam allowance after squaring off and sewing on first row of binding and have the whole square showing, with no help from them, after all I did email them for help. No response.

So in the future I will be very wary of free designs, designed to prompt you to buy extra fabric apparently, and I doubt I'll ever mess with a Riley Blake Designs pattern again because trying to figure how and when you sew the stuff together and sewing and ripping out and resewing just wasted too much of my free time. It's supposed to be fun and easy, not tear your hair out frustrating. I can follow instructions but I need instructions to follow and make it look the the picture doesn't cut it. But to instruct you as to if you should sew to the side or top and when and where to put the block might have forced em to go to a third page. Well I've done layouts and if you didn't waste a third of the first page on your logo you could have put maybe your accurate fabric requirements on the front/first page which would have given plenty of room for a sentence or two regarding the sashing/post/blocks, which was in my mind KEY INFORMATION.

Finished

My solution to that was to sew the binding on, thread a gazillion needles with thread poke em into my mattress and every night sew a few needles worth. It took me 4 nights of this and an hour or two before the quilt guild meeting to finish the binding. Once again, quilted by Linda atBee Quilted.

My first quilt was finally quilted the other day. That left binding it.

This quilt seems impossible to photograph. Not sure if it's my lack of skills or the camera. So I just made a slide show of all the photos.

Easter Lily Quilt

I've been working on a quilt since July 4th weekend. I sewed 24 blocks that weekend, then spent the following week deciding if I should go the full 36 blocks for a queen size and thought, may as well. So a Friday evening of cutting 12 more blocks. A sit and sew at the library with the local guild and over 10 hours of machine quilting and it's almost done. Linda at BEE QUILTED did the quilting, I had input on the design and she even let me run the machine a little. And it's still work, a lot of work. Now I just need miles of binding, sew it on and slip stitch the other side.

This is my second quilt, the first one hasn't been quilted yet,

so now I need to read up on just exactly how you do this binding stuff, especially at the corners, though I imagine it's similar to finishing my rugs.

So whoala, my masterpiece, I'm considering stitching on seed pearls for either the eyes on the humming bird, stamens on the petals, or both.

This just isn't natural

Sure hope this little one makes it. While it was really cool to be able to take thes pics I couldn't help but think this just shouldn't be.

December is questionable

While I wait for spring I can get ready for December.

How To Save Money On Your Annual Lawnmower Tune Up

It finally quit snowing, and then rained and rained and rained. Usually I can get away with not mowing the lawn until Memorial Day Weekend, but not this year. Between the "organic fertilizer" and the rain, it needs mowed now.

So I go to start it up, and of course no. It starts but won't stay running. I entertained the idea of searching on the internet but opted for my usual method, which seems to work on anything. You just start taking it apart and find either parts that are broken or don't seem right and put em in a bag and go to the store and get the same parts and then put it back together. If it doesn't work oh, well, it didn't work before and at least I tried. But I've been real sucessful with this method. The dryer once, washer 2 or 3 times, refrigerator once and that one was major--a $45, non-returnable part. That's as close as I've ever come to gambling with my money.

So off to Meijer's I go. All they have is spark plugs, not this other thing I need, a filter of some sort. Well why stand in line for 1.97 spark plug when you have to go to another store, Walmart, to hopefully get the filter. A spark plug is a spark plug; how much can the price vary? Apparently 50% or so.

So off to Walmart. Filter, yep, Spark Plug 2.97. WT....hm, do I go back to Meijer to save a dollar? Not just yet...off to the automotive section I go. In with the spark plugs for cars is spark plugs for small engines, with the same number on the side as the the one for 2.97 in the garden section. So I leave the 2.97 one there and take the 1.78 with me to the register. Now how weird is that 2.97 in the gardent section, 1.78 in the automotive section.

Oh, I'm done with the quilt, pictures some other day, have started another, and work continues on the purple rug. The red and white will be the traditional Irish Chain pattern.