Saturday, August 21, 2010

The Block That Almost Defeated Me ... or ... Why I Quit Sewing After Ten O'Clock

Whew!  Finally finished my blocks for the Sampler Quilt a Long with Amy.  I almost called it quits this week because I was busy with my summer life (see previous post with rant on why I don't like summer) and trying to fit in enough sewing to just complete these blocks.  I hate to get behind on sew a long projects because part of the reason I like to get involved is the comradery I feel with the other quilters who are working on the exact same thing.  I love that at first but then I end up feeling this self-imposed pressure when I get behind.  Crazy me.  I had all my pieces cut and sewed together this block one night while all bleary-eyed before bed.  When I got up the next morning and looked at it one piece was upside down.  That night at ten I picked the whole strip apart, flipped the upside down piece and sewed it back together.  The next morning I get up and ALL pieces are wrong.   It's like evil magic possesses me when I sew before bed. 

Actually none of these match at this point but I think you got the point without me drawing two more circles

I put it all aside for a few days but felt I couldn't be defeated with only two more blocks to go.  I picked the whole entire block apart and steamed ironed each square and then set it aside until this morning after I had three cups of coffee.  Voila!!   Here are my week six and week eight blocks and then all of them together.  What a satisfying sight :)

Notice the perfectly placed hourglasses!  




I had made two blocks of a few at the beginning so I could make mine a little longer as I'm a rectangular quilt kinda girl.  I've got a deadline project to start on quick and will get to the sashing and assembling the quilt top right after that.  I just felt that if I didn't get these squares completed I wouldn't go back and finish the final two.  Onward ....

7 comments:

  1. Oh I'm dangerous when I quilt when I'm tired too. When I start getting angry and ready to throw things that's when I know that I need to walk away! LOL. Good for you for sticking it out. Doing it wrong once is hard, but it always kills me when I do it wrong again!

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  2. I cant stay up late sewing either, 9pm is pretty much it for me. I'll never understand those people who sew until 1 am. They're crazy!

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  3. I wish I could blame the lateness of the hour on all my snafoos. LOL I think I've told you before but I do like your fabrics. Good job! Worth the gnashing of teeth.

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  4. Well at least you didn't think you had to cut off part of your triangles to make the block fit to the next block and so on and so forth! Should have measured more maybe---I don't really know what I had done at this point. It was my first time at working with that kind of block pretty much like the one you had flipped around above. You DO feel so defeated! Then you have to think this is supposed to be fun so you move on with gritted teeth-- after your break!

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  5. Way to persevere! Your blocks all look great now, and I can't wait to see it put together when you get there :) Love your fabric choices too!

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  6. There is nothing more frustrating that waking up and realizing that your work is wrong! Ugh! So glad you had the patience to figure it out!

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  7. I think it's a good thing you didn't know until the next morning. At least you got some sleep. When I find my sewing "errors" just before bed, I have to go and fix them immediately or I just can't sleep a wink thinking about it. It's crazy, I know.
    Your blocks look great, worth all the extra effort, and your fabric selection is very pretty.

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