Here we are on a Monday morning yet again, Stat holiday for many, including here in Alberta, so s the fire warms up my sewing room, we will start with basics, I am going to ask you to sort your blocks out according to color, and it sounds simple enough I am going to sort mine into 7 piles, one for the ones that look purple, one for ones that look all green, one for half and half, and then one pile that has more purple than green and a pile with more green than purple, and a purplish pile that is light as my background is a light and a greenish that is light,

While we are doing that we need to decide on how are edges are going to be, a straight edge or are we keeping the unique edge or edge?

I am still sewing hexagons, but i vote for a straight edge border, with a few that lap over in the border.

Sheila

I am still sewing too (and will be for a few more days!) I would also like to do the straight edge - but will follow your instructions on whatever is done!!

I guess I am a fabric pincher. I have a silly question. When doing a straight edge do you use the half you cut off on the other side?

Like I said, I want to use the most fabric I can with little scrap.

Sheila

if you straighten on edge you just don't put in the pinned side but you can move it and still use it, the other side if you cut it straight, there isn't much there to use, it is only a small piece that you cut off,

I hope to show all of the ways to finish off the edge.

Okay waiting with baited breath for the pics and instructions, but take you time getting warmed up. I know how that goes in the mornings, LOL!

Sheila

Oh i can't wait to see. i'm following this with great interest.

I am still working on the sewing too :wink: but I will we watching and listening :D:D:D

And here I thought that everyone was ready! I am almost ready to take some pictures, thanks for havin patience with me,

While sorting your blocks, think of what you want in the center and your edges, it will change with how many colors that you have. when laying them out you will want to go from one color to the next with all the blenders inbetween.

I have not been able to post picutures until i get a new camera but mine has a light pink background and then the main colors are lime green, hot pink, purple and teal blue. thinking of sorting into main color of each block and then do a sublte stripeing effect? What do you think?

Sheila

some times a more circular thing works better, it depends if your colors are mixed in your blocks, that is saying if your lime green ones have all the other colors in them and the hot pink ones etc all have a variety of colors. you can arrange them so that they blend with each color.

right the blocks that are mainly lime green may have some little of each of the other colors or may only have one of the other colors. wish I could get pics, but i think it will work. Will just have to play with it.

Sheila

I cant wait to see your pics Cutebuns :D

this is the hardest part of quilting for me.

my pics to follow

I am working on them, my sister just called me on skype,

So I sat there and divided my piles out, not totally happy with them but I also know that the way they look will change when they are beside other blocks, so I won't take that long agonizing over it all,

Then I toss them out on the table, making a few adjustments on the way, now looking at it I can see several more changes,

Now when taking pictures, it is best to try and get straight on shots, if it is on a table that can be hard, but it will show better where you need to change things, when you are about happy with it, I would print out a picture and stand back and take a look, it will help show blocks that really stand out and which ones don't, you want to sort of blend from one color to another gradually, you don't want any glaring changes unless that is what you are looking for,

Now you can have it laid out either way, usually what is showing at the top and bottom most people put to the sides, but it is a personal prefference, it depends on how much time I have to do the top if I will cut off what is on my sides or not or leave them pointy, the other side of the super 60, it has the 120 degrees that you need for the cuts to fill them in,

Ok, here's my first layout of the bad cut of layers. Since this is my learning one, I'm going with it instead of trashing it all. I have two sets of solids, a set with the purple of the strip and a set with the blue. You'll see the blue doesn't show up as much. The blocks on the very edges will be divided to fill in glaring gaps on the edges. I'm not ever in my right mind but today is even worse. I have this on the living room floor because there was no where else to lay it out.

I really like it Sharon, I think with some moving around of the blocks and you have one that you can be proud of.

So I moved them around and took another picture, the picture shows me more where I need to move blocks, I am not done yet, it may take a bit as some times you have to walk away for a bit unless you have help, I know that those that have a bubble jet will be thinking ink ink ink, the pepper one I did I have about 6 different pictures printed before we got it to where we were happy with it, I have a lazerjet and print to my hearts content, I didn't print yet as just looking at the screen I can see what I need to move, but it is also hard to take your screen to where you have it laid out.

Cutebuns I really like your blocks - can't wait to see your final layout. mimisharon I love yours as well. I really like the purple/blue triangles that you have added.

it is definitely a work in progress, here is the next shot, still not happy with it has a whole but it is starting to look better each time,

This is the final picture, I move one block but I am pretty happy with what I am seeing, I could really spend hours and hours and or day and days with it, some will be harder to get the layout that you are looking for and can be happy with.

I will be sewing my strips on the diagonal, I will be filling in the spaces instead of cutting them off, and since I still don't want any Y seams, so instead of up and down or side to side, I will be working on the diagonal, it will look the same when I am done especially since I will be pressing my seams open still.

I al straightening out my other ends so I pulled the few I needed to and moved them to fill in the other sides, some times you need to rearrange a bit so that the pieces that you move make sense to where you are putting the other half, I have not decided as yet as to if I am keeping in the two strays, if I don't it equals one full block that won't get used, not bad all in all.

I love it Cute!!!

MimiSharon it looks WONDERFUL!

I have been frustrated with mine, I am going to use triangles and THOUGHT I had it pretty close to finish, then... the teenage boy came in.... NOW everything is stacked up in stacks again and COMPLETELY back to square one with the layout!!! sigh....

here is kinda where I started the other day

we will see :roll:

Snce I am sewing on the diagonal, I can either choose to do a y seam here or take off the one piece and keep it straight all the way, it usually depends on my mood what I will choose to do, if I had left the sides with the contour it wouldn't be an issue, everything would just line up, and at the moment I am missing a piece for my edges until I figure out what color my boarder will be, which at this point I am totally clueless and don't really need to worry about it until I am ready to sew my strips together.

At least with the pictures and the fact that your blocks are a bit different looking you can always follow the picture. it was very nice of him to stack them, maybe he stacked them in order?

You going to show us pictures of that? You know my head is out of it today (ok, everyday, but more so today :cry: .)

I mixed it all up a bit, see what you think of this way....

So if I was to be cutting off the one side to make it even, I would take the pins out of the first row or two and sew my strips like this,

I really really love your brights, they make me happy. The teenage boy MOVED THEM??? Does he not know the ache? Tell him to get with it and lay them out again, teach him the appreciation of time. YOURS!

Which ever way that you are doing it, it is a short seam and you will end up with a bunch of strips,

WARNING!!!! keep your strips straight and don't mix them up, it is easy to do and then yo will be trying to figure out what end is what and what matches with what and it is easy to end up with pieces where they don't belong. when sewing I usually put a pin in the start of the row marking it the end, it helps especially if I am working on more than one row at a time, it is a lot of back and forth to where you have it laid out, but you really really really don't want to get them in the wrong order or they won't meet up with their twin when you then put your rows together to form your top. I stop and check regularly to make sure that it is all lining up, which they tend to shrink some when the seams are put in.

That just made my head hurt...it matches my back after scooting around on the floor. I will DARE Neil to walk on my blocks. I want to take my halves apart like you did, but I'm afraid to until I see what you think of my new wavy lines of solid triangles. WHY has this made me so unsure of myself? I love it and already have my maple leaves ready to cut up for the next one. Sheesh

Hugs

I thank that you maybe it is hard to get over making the initial mistake, that you keep seeing it as a mistake instead of the road taken unlike the road not taken, You are doing awesome!

You can always have a headache when others are involved, especially when there is a chance that they will mess up the layout, it isn't to bad when the pins are still in but once they are out it can be a disaster, I generally pule the pins on the rows that I am working on and leave all the rest, I have had lots and lots of help here in the sewng room.

I think I need to leave it alone for the rest of the night. I don't think it will help to try to make sense of anything.

Do I need to get your and Konstantin permission to print this all out into a booklet for myself? I won't sell it, but sometimes I need to read, look at picture, and then sew.

I think I like it now that I have it mixed up. You are right I'm allowing my head to tell me that I 'ruined' it instead of enjoying my lemonade. I will love it though, I already love the way you've taught us.

Hugs

They are helping hold them in place, someone is pulling them away that's all.

I am okay with you printing any and all of it off,

so there is how you line them up to sew strips......... sewing on the pin side, and this is if you are sewing them on the diagonal or on the straight.

Those have to be the cutest helpers I have ever seen! I love them. Don't know how you get any sewing done with such cuddly distractions..