Admit defeat - block construction

Well, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject failure.

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can't recall where I got the design from; I did draw it up in EQ7mid-year. I loved it. EQ7 showed how the whole quilt might look. Iloved it. The colorway I had chosen was to go with my French wallquilt behind the bed in the guestroom. This project was for a 12" 60-block QS quilt. I must preface this admission by saying I was trying to machine piece. I am not a hand-sewer generally. I know now, and you will probably concur, it would be best paper pieced. I cut out heaps of little triangles and tried to machine them, but they are so small, and it has to be so accurate, I was pencilling every seam line. I only got one sample block made and half, I repeat, half, of a real block constructed. I have been staring at it, and cutting the triangles for weeks and just getting up and walking out of the room. There was just no quick way to strip piece because I was using random colors following the general theme. It had to be dead accurate and there are a lot of bias edges. I have made the decision. Final. If there is no joy in it, cut my losses. I've packed the cut triangles into ziplocks, and folded all the material to put away. I'll now look at some other simpler design and use what uncut material I have left.

I feel better now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers Bronnie

Reply to
Bronnie
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Bronnie, I'm with the others, sometimes you have to back off and retry later. I remember an older quilter once told me to be patient and the peicing will come in time. In this day and age of instant gratification, I sometimes forget that quilting should be fun and relaxing. Keep all the items together in the ziploc baggie and go back to it a little at a time. It would be so beautiful when finished, even as a small wall hanging over the guestroom bed. I love the pattern and colors you chose. amy

Reply to
amy in SoCal

Ah, but I have already done that Amy! I started this project in August, starting cutting out the triangles, and did a trial block. I then went on vacation for 5 weeks in Sept/Oct thinking that I would come back with a fresh take on construction. Nup, didn't work. I tried, really I did. It would work with paper piecing but I don't do/enjoy that method. I am looking at another pattern now using AnglePlay blocks on EQ7. Will keep you posted. Bronnie.

Reply to
Bronnie

Interesting block. It looks like it is based on the Lone Star principle. I did look carefully to see if there was anything I could think of to help. I did look at it in terms of paper piecing, of course! However, you would only be able to paper piece the second iteration of triangles - you couldn't (using the usual method) get any further than paper piecing the triangle- within- a- triangle triangles. You would then have the task of putting all the small (3"?)pieces together. That in itself would be a might tall order. It would be difficult to do with the paper on, possible if you had not included paper on the seam allowance (something I do with a complex piece), very difficult if you took the paper off. It is perhaps more difficult having elongated triangles?

The block would make nice place-mats! I don't think I could contemplate a full bed quilt with it.

Actually, although it is a lovely block, there is an awful lot of unpieced 'space' and these areas would be together when the blocks were joined. So much intricate piecing in the centres and then large spaces of 'nothing'? You might even have been disappointed in the long run.

Brave decision.

So, placemats to use with your cookery photos?

Yesterday I abandoned a design I had been working on for a week! Must be in the air >gWell, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject

Reply to
Pat S

Exactly! I have to agree with Pat. I'd approach this as I would a Lone Star quilt.

And each of those triangle sections (made up of 4 smaller sections) - I'd paper-piece those. I wouldn't even bother dealing with cutting triangles, unless you love hand piecing. You'd be surprised at how quickly it will all go together. It's not worth bothering with all that exposed bias.

After I had paper pieced the 16 larger triangles, I'd join them into pairs as dictated by your color pattern (one light to one dark).

Now you've got 8 diamonds - same as when doing a Lone Star.

Now I personally prefer to have the set in side triangles.

But it your fabric won't noticeably show the seam lines (and you don't want to deal with y-seams), then you can turn each diamond into a larger triangle. If you take your diagram and just draw lines diagonally corner to corner, top to bottom and side to side, you should be able to see how you end up with 8 right triangles. Put them together into pairs, and now you've got 4 squares to join together for a finished block.

If you want the set-in triangles, then the construction would be the same as for a Lone Star quilt (a bunch of of y-seams, but a great look).

-Michele in NYC

Reply to
Michele in NYC

Reply to
Roberta

Howdy!

Ha! A community project, looks like. Bronnie's idea & frustration leads the group to come up w/ solutions and plans for how to construct this little beauty. Sometimes "it takes a village", and that's RCTQ! So, we all pitch in and piece our particular favorite parts; I could handle those 4 corners.

Cheers!

R/Sandy - happy to take the cut pieces and scrap them together ;->

Reply to
Sandy E

I can offer little more than commisseration. There was a small checkerboard pattern we were trying to align - tried everything from a number of approaches, and never could get it to work, so it too lies in a bag...

Your block looks familiar to me too. Maybe it's EQ7 or maybe just the design - it reminds me in some ways of a carpenters wheel, which is also a terror to assemble properly (especially in velvet). We haven't given up on that one yet, but it *is* taking an extended time-out.

Not trying to talk you into any more self-abuse, but reading some instructions for a carpenters wheel and then forgetting about it may give your subconscious some food for thought (a technique I've used all my life and shared with many to great effect).

Gotta agree though - if it ain't fun, why do it?

Doc Oh, the pa> Well, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject > failure.

Reply to
Dr. Zachary Smith

m,

I've got a good idea - you can all do one block each for me! I need

59 volunteers Ha! Ha! But truly, I I have done a couple of sample pp in the past, and it is just not my scene. I don't handsew in front of the box at night either and I'm not old enough to be sitting in doctor's waiting rooms for attention (sorry, couldn't resist that!!!)..

Thank you all though for thinking this thru for me. It is appreciated, and it is fun to have these interactive discussions.... Just out of interest, the colours in my photo example is not 'exactly' my fabric choice. Nearly. I should post the EQ7 full quilt design. It was going to be on-point and I was going to alternate blocks with a change of corner square color - a darker beige. I'll do that later today. Bronnie

Reply to
Bronnie

Here is the link for the new pix - two alternatives, one with sashing. The alternate blocks were just rotated.

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they do look rather lovely.

Bronnie

Reply to
Bronnie

Bronnie - I must say, having seen the photos of some of your masterpieces this should be a walk in the park for you. Although as others have said - if it's not fun, don't bother. PP isn't particularly my cup of tea either but I do see it's value for certain circumstances. For me, it takes a bit of thinking as I don't do it very often but once I get in the groove it's not so bad.

Looking at your two colorways I can't decide which I like better - they are both gorgeous! Your design ability is wonderful. I envy that of many of our RCTQr's. I'm a good copier - not a good designer. It's all about enjoying the process.

Have a wonderful 2011.

Kim in NJ

Reply to
AuntK

Thanks Kim I wish you and yours a happy, healthy and balloon-rising year ahead! Bronnie

Reply to
Bronnie

Maybe I can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat! My quilting buddy came around this afternoon for a game of mah jong and lo and behold she had found the pattern that uses this block. Maybe she showed me it last year and I got busy on EQ7. the link is here:

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Fact 1: the block is originally designed for a block size of 18 3/4 inches. I must have just decided to scale it down to 12in. Fact 2: the triangles for this original size are almost twice as big, hence much easier to sew together. Fact 3: the pattern gives the optimum construction diagrams (machine or hand (not pp) - much easier than what I was attempting. Fact 4: with an 18 3/4in block, I can still do an on-point design which looks good and only uses 25 blocks plus setting triangles instead of 40-odd.

I guess at the time I just thought 18 3/4in was a really strange number! Method in their madness, as the saying goes.

Now, I shall decide to start over with the new.

This has been a fun discussion, hope I haven't wasted too many of your brain cells on this one Thanks, as always. Shall keep you posted of course. Bronnie

Reply to
Bronnie

Reply to
Pat S

Terrific! How amazingly different, the colour placements in this picture make the four stars. So, you will be able to make it after all. So glad. It'll be one to see and no mistake. . In message , Bronnie writes

Reply to
Pat S

They used batiks, which are tightly woven. Would that help with the bias edges?

Bev > >>

rotated.http://picasaweb.google.com/bronferrier/QuiltProjects#555594032530629...>>

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Reply to
Bev in TX

Bear in mind those pix are with the old dimensions. There'll be less blocks in the new. And I don't have to decide on to sash or not until I have completed the blocks.

Wonderful to have a new direction.

Bronnie ps Pat, are you up to the top of your sewing machine in snow? We are recovering from biggest rainfall in the month in 50 years. Floods everywhere, but not on our hill.

Reply to
Bronnie

Howdy!

Oh! That is awesome! I esp. like the one w/out the sashing. Lovely, Bronnie, lovely to look at, even if it never becomes a fabric quilt.

R/Sandy

Reply to
Sandy E

Reply to
Pat S

Wow, that's pretty! The bigger size would certainly make things easier. If it were me, I'd put a snowball block-size triangle at the outer corner of the 4 corner squares in each block, so they would come together and make a little square inside the big square that forms where the blocks meet. (Hope that made sense) Roberta in D

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Reply to
Roberta

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