marcycn

Wow! Thanks for the URL and how you found it! :-)

marcycn

Not my cutting. I have a cutting table and large mat and I have put bed risers under the legs to bring it up to ironing board level so my back doesn't hurt so much. It's the sewing. I can't sit for long - usually 15 minutes - and when I want to see the finished block or quilt of whatever I push through the pain and my 1/4" seam ends up anything but straight. I know better but always think I can just do a little more and in reality I can't. :-( Waited all my life for the time, place and room to quilt and it stinks that arthritis all up my back gets in the way. But hey, that's life! Sometimes when the sewing is too bad I just sit and take it all apart and start over. did that on the last top I just made. It looks great second try around. lol

I originally bought the colors to make a fold'n stitch wreath but couldn't just do that without doing a quilt first. Sometimes I get the colors right and other times not so much. :-(

klswift

Some of us love playing with the numbers and some don't. For those who don't want to play with the calculations, there is an 'easy' way to figure any block. Use the graph paper - in real numbers. Most paper is 4 squares to the inch. You want to have your focal fabric at a 5" finish, so draw that one in. Use pencil and draw lightly because you may want to change things. Looking at this example, my guess is that the small squares are 2 1/4" finish and the sash is 1/2" finish (I would personally start with 2" finish and 1" sashing - but up to you). Draw those in and see how you like it. Having a bit more trouble visualizing? Cut out some squares in colored paper and lay them on the graph paper. Once you have a block you like, cut out the components (marked as to location or design) and add your seam allowance. Now you know what is required for each block. For the above design, I would consider the block as a 14" x 8" (2 large and 7 small squares). Your example has 8 blocks with 2 fabrics for large squares (5 1/2" x 8 = 44" of 2 fabrics) and 6 different fabrics for the 7 small squares (6 fabrics of 2 1/2" squares and 1 fabric of 2 1/2" square times 2). You can use this technique with any block, but be aware that you made need to adjust if your 'new size' ends up with some funky fractions. A lot easier to change the size of a piece than to cut 8ths or 16ths. Your sashing would be 1 1/2 cut, so just count inches (I think of fabric as 40" WOF) and you will get 24 strips in a yard. Hope this helps. I know it sounds tricky, but as you lay it out, it should make sense.

klswift

Your quilt is very pretty. We beat ourselves up so much on our projects! I am sure there are a whole lot of folks that would be thrilled to curl up in this red, white and blue quilt. The only thing I might have done differently is the sashing. I find it difficult to work with very narrow sashing. And having the white sashing next to a white piece makes it disappear. You see how on the back the dark really sets of the blocks? I might have tried to get that same look on the front. I often piece the back with leftovers from the front, but doing a TOTAL piecing of both the sides is a very big undertaking - 2 quilts for one!

marcycn

I agree with you on the white. It's a QAYG quilt - not my first - but definitely not my best work. I was in a rush (again) and failed to look how the blue sashing on the back was sewn. After I was done and was finishing the front of the quilt I found a lot of pieces that weren't caught by the blue sashing and by that time I was not about to take it all apart and start over. So, I got some fabric glue and glued the pieces down. Obviously I can't give that away. The front wasn't watched either and if you look closely you will see where not all the white sashing faces the right way. :-( That and the fact that the sashing doesn't match up and down and it's home will be here with me.

The blue sashing is 1" and the white 2" folded in half. I should know what I'm doing by now. :-(

marcycn

My oh My! you are very kind to go to all this trouble. I'm going to print it out and digest it closely. Thank you very much. :-) I'll post my finished top when and if I ever get it done. Seems to take me a long time to figure it all out and then it's over in a week or less. :-) Thanks again.

Dakota Rose

Glad you found the pattern. I really love it. Be sure to show us your finished quilt.

soccertxi

Don't beat yourself up!LOL ...one of my kids showed me this just a couple months ago. Dontcha just LOVE those 'aHA' moments!