Thursday, July 20, 2006

A new quilt top



I know I'm not supposed to be sitting and sewing, but just a little bit of sewing a day and voila! A quilt top! It was hard to pace myself though. I could have it all done in an afternoon, but I controlled myself! That was a new thing. I bought this pattern and fabric for a friend of mine and treated myself too. (it's a common thing between us--heehee). Anyway, she lives in SC now, so I've been going to her house every day for a little bit to sew....and eat...and laugh... It's nice to catch up with long distance friends. We don't get that very often, so it's been nice. I love this fabric and loved this pattern. Wasn't there someone on this ring that made one for shop model? I'd like to know what she thought of the pattern. This is a very simple quilt to do, but the quilt designer made it VERY complicated. Yes, it's hard to believe, but she did. And I don't understand her reasoning behind some of the things she did. Like when we cut the blocks apart (another big ordeal--that we did our own thing), and sewed them back together--they were 8 3/4", like she said. But then, she fussy cut her sashings (to the point of taking template material, tracing each circle along with color) to be 9". ??? Then you had to mark 1/8" lines all around the sashings to lay the block on to sew. So, in other words, the sashings were 1/4" seams and the blocks were 1/8" seams. I'm sure I'm not making sense--but neither did her pattern. To take such a simple design and complicate it so much would make a beginner give up. So, we just looked at the picture and then did our own thing. I really wish I knew her reasoning behind everything she did. Oh well, it's done now and is pretty and will look good on my sewing room wall.

15 comments:

Linda C said...

Karen, I think it may have been Karlyn(?) and she is not with us any longer that may have made a quilt with that fabric and pattern.

Nicely done but I am sure it is hard to pace yourself. Maybe your girlfriend can ride herd on you to make you scale it back. Hopefully that latest injury didn't make things worse.

quiltpixie said...

its a wonderful quilt pattern. I can see how it would be hard to "wlk away from" :-)

sewprimitive karen said...

It's so cute! It would be hard to stop working on.

Marlublu said...

What a cute quilt.Perfect fabric for it. I have had some bad instructions on patterns at times also. I just do it my own way after giving up on the instructions.

Anonymous said...

Very cute quilt top - it looks so fresh and bright!

Shelina said...

When the picture popped up on the screen for your blog, I said wow! This is such a pretty and bright quilt. I've seen several uses of this fabric before I went to the NQA this year, and saw the fabric there too, but restrained myself from buying it. Your top looks great.
I think doing things your own way is a great idea - fits more your style and usually, you can learn from the designer's methods and make things simpler.

Eileen said...

It was Debby over at Highered Hands that made the shop sample. I saw it hanging there.
I had disc surgery last month, and it was the best thing I've done in a long time. I tried all the other stuff before deciding that I just wanted to stop hurting. My herniated disc was in between my neck and shoulders, so they went in through the front. I was able to move around in recovery like I had not been able to move in over a year. Definitely worth it. If you want to talk more about it, feel free to email me anytime.

ForestJane said...

What a nice spot of color for your sewing room! The circles in the border remind me of thread bobbins. :)

Bonnie said...

Really cute wall hanging. So colorful and clever.

Melzie said...

Very pretty and bright! xoxo melzie

Hanne said...

A very nice quilt. Speedy recovery to you.

Susan said...

I love the bright, clean look of this quilt. Good for you for pacing, but still sewing.

Finn said...

Really a cute pattern Karen, and I love the colors. Sounds like it would be fun to make if you just don't have to take her directions seriously.
It's so frustrating when the books or patterns give wrong directions or overly complex ones. I think a beginner might quit. good job on this one too!!

Susan said...

I saw this picture the other day, just before going to my LQS, which had just gotten in the entire line! You were almost the cause of my spending way too much, but at the last minute, I regained my senses. =) Love the quilt, though.

Hedgehog said...

I've never done a mystery, but I will heed your warning! I love the colors in this quilt - looks like tough fussy cutting, though!