Little Glitches--and a Delivery!

I have been working on a quilt for Owen.

A little over a year ago, Hilary and I stopped at Rossville Quilts to pick up fabric to cover the cushion on the window seat.  We had picked up Landon after school, and when we stopped, he wondered where we were and why we were there.  He was not too thrilled about being at a fabric store.

However....when we walked in the door, he stopped and said "WOW!  LOOK AT ALL OF THIS!" and off he went to check out the bolts of fabric.  Hilary and I located some cloth to re-cover the window seat cushion.  After the clerk had cut the needed amount, Landon appeared again with a layer cake of fabric in a dinosaur print.  He asked me if I could make a quilt for Owen out of that fabric since he really liked dinosaurs.  So there was my next quilting project.

The layer cake squares were cut.  New squares were sewn together.  Agnes died. Mom had heart valve replacement.  Thanksgiving.  Christmas. New Year's Eve trip to Gatlinburg.  More trips to Ohio.  The quilt was put aside for other things, other projects.

Now it is out again.  I knew that I would need sashing between the squares. For one thing the print would be too busy if all of the squares were stitched together.  For another there aren't enough squares to make a twin size quilt.  Sashing is needed plus a nice border to enlarge the size to fit a twin bed..

Since I knew I would need sashing, one day when I was in JoAnn's I looked at fat quarters for solid colors that I could use.  It turned out that the matches are just about perfect or close complements to the colors in the print.  Also the size of the fabric is perfect for strips to be cut, 9" x 2 1/2".

Today after I cut strips for sashing, I started to put together the rows. Betty had told me to work on the horizontal rows, then make another row of sashing with the cornerstone to lay between each horizontal row.  I understood that. That was the plan.

As I started to sew the strips onto the squares, though, something was wrong.  Some of the strips didn't really match up well with the squares.  After struggling with two rows, the light bulb clicked on.  When I measured the square again, it was not really that square and the measurement was slightly over 9".  Well, no wonder the strips weren't matching up very well!

Next step---trimming all the squares to 9".  The next two rows I sewed together were perfect with the trimmed squares.  But then I had the already finished two rows. What to do?  What to do?




I like straight lines and square corners and nice angles.  Could I look at the quilt later on and know that two rows were really off?

As I sat and watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, I also was ripping out stitches on two rows of squares and strips!  Next was ironing flat all of the pieces, laying the squares on the mat and trimming off the excess (and there WAS excess fabric on nearly all of those squares!) and re-stitching the rows.

Now there are five rows of squares and strips sewn together and I am getting excited about the finished product.  At first I wasn't sure I was going to like how I cut the fabric and put together the squares.  Now I can see Owen looking at each of the triangles and picking out specific dinosaurs. I think it will be really cute when it is done!

I am still learning little by little, step by step.  At least this time I seem more unflustered as I work on the project, and I feel more confident.  That is a good thing!

This morning in our email was a note that UPS would deliver a package today.  I had ordered a book from Amazon for the next Proverbs 31 OBS a few days ago and the book for the quilting class just yesterday.  Imagine my surprise when the new book about quilting was stuck between the doors this afternoon!  Just a little over 24 hours after ordering!  I am excited about going through it.



One of the perks of retirement - having the time and energy to work on something I really enjoy.  Making quilts is fun, creative, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment.  I know something about putting the fabric together, selecting colors, and planning a design.  I still have so much to learn!

What fun!  Life is good!