July 23, 2009

Momma Said There'll Be Days Like This

Can you sing along with me? Momma said there'll be days like this, there'll be days like this my Momma said..... The day started out well. I was going to be able to spend some time sewing in my "Summer Palace", also known as a Gazebo. I was going to work on my Gallantly Streaming quilt that I mentioned in my last post. I found out that my friends who were working on the same quilt are much farther ahead of me. In fact, one of them actually has her top finished. Well, I couldn't let that happen so this was the project I picked to work on. I just love to sew out in my gazebo. When I look up I see the beautiful flowers. When I sew in my usual place, down in the basement, I only see walls.
I thought all was going well until I realized that I was missing some of the units that I had previously sewn. Three of one type and one each of two other units. Who knows where the missing units went. I guess that is what happens when a project sits around for a while and is moved from one place to another.

At least the units weren't very complicated and I had my extra fabric strips handy. I cut up some 2 1/5" squares and pieced away. Problem solved. I moved on and sewed the red piece that you see on to the sides of the units.
I ironed all of the units and got the next piece to sew on to it ready. Then I realized that the red strips were supposed to be sewn on the other side, next to the little blue squares. I looked through my pile of 44 units. I may have four that are sewn correctly. Can you say rip it? Ugh!

I thought I would show you the little lariat that I made to go on my rotary cutter. It even has a little rotary cutter charm on the end. Cute! I will never again get confused as to which rotary cutter is mine when I quilt with friends.
This past Sunday I took a few hours to play with this Sleeping Beauty block.
I wanted to see if the pattern was correct before I cut into my fabric so I pulled out the scrap bin and got to work. After I had paper pieced the arcs I saw that the smaller one hadn't been drafted correctly. One end of the arc was smaller then the other. I decided to go ahead and piece it together to see if there were any more baubles in the pattern. As you can see this block is anything but square. It may be pretty, but not square. I bought this quilt pattern because I fell in love with a sample at a quilt store. I guess I will be either finding another New York Beauty block pattern or redraft this one to make it work. I am sooo glad I didn't cut up a lot of fabric for this quilt before trying out the block.

I guess I had better get back to ripping out all of those quilt blocks. At least I can do it out in my Summer Palace!

9 comments:

StitchinByTheLake said...

I wish I had a place to sew like that! blessings, marlene

Unknown said...

I hate days like that! I once ripped out a full size quilt. I had it machine quilted but the quilter used thick batting instead of the warm & natural that I requested. It looked like a fluffy comforter instead of a quilt. I was so upset, I never went back.
I love your quilting porch. It's so pretty there I'm not sure I'd get any work done. Maybe that's why you messed up on those blocks...could you have been distracted? LOL! ;D

Carol said...

Oh how I love your Summer Palace! Enjoy your sewing time!

Libby said...

Sewing in the Summer Palace probably helps soothe when things like missing pieces crop up. What a wonderful spot.

Janet said...

I love your trial New York Beauty!! It looks so scrappy and wonderful. I hope you can find a pattern that works out better for you. Your summer palace sounds like a lovely place to sew.

Lea said...

I LoOoove LOoove your N.Y. beauty! Oh, it's breath-taking....
and can't wait too see your Gallantly Streaming finished! It will be another gorgeous quilt.*S*

Tanya said...

You sure have a beautiful place to do you sewing! I just bet ya that you'll find your missing pieces in a couple of days after you've finished needing them! Never fails! And your New York Beauty block is stunning even if it isn't an exact square. Hope you can contine on this beautiful quilt.

The Rabbit Factory said...

Tough block to piece but love the final results, good luck!

Carin said...

ripping is the worst so sorry! I can't tell you the number of times I have done the same sort of thing.