Tuesday, November 28, 2017

String practice

Hi everyone!  Have you used up all of your turkey yet?  I finally froze the rest of it.  How we managed to have so much left over is beyond me, because we've been eating it for days.  At least the potatoes are all gone.  The pie went first, of course.  Who can resist pie?

We had relatives stay with us for six days over the holiday, and they totally wore me out.  I loved having them here, but I didn't have ten minutes to myself for the whole week!  For an introvert like me, that's a lot to handle.  Fortunately, I finally got to spend some time by myself in the sewing room, and I started in on working on the orphans and experiments quilt again.  I rearranged many things, so here's the current layout:


I wanted to make this quilt more rectangular, but I think this fails because it will be too long and skinny.  Right now this is about 45 inches wide, which I think means it will need some more rearranging.

I moved the biggest block to the center row and finished off that row, mainly because it's the tallest:


It's a little messy, but I think I like it.  If you look carefully, you can also see that I raided the leftover parts and pieces bin to fill in some of the odd spaces.  I didn't realize those chevrons would look so much like hearts, but they work there well enough, and I like the big reddish flying goose, too.  This row is 16 inches tall, which is tall, but I didn't want to take the big block apart.

I also used some really light strings to make corners to set the pink Bridal Bouquet block on point:


I cut these corners out of paper and then stitched the strings right on them, then trimmed and stitched them to the corners of the block.  It turned out great! 

See why this block was a failed experiment?

So I'll be back to rearranging this later this week and I'm really looking forward to getting this pieced together.  I'm not sure yet what to do between the rows or what to do for borders, so if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.  I have tons of strings, so I might just piece a bunch of them together and use those as sashing. What if I used the light strings for sashing?   That might be great!

Well, lots of decisions to be made!  Should be a fun distraction from all the things I still need to do in my non-sewing life.  Lots of deadlines still to be met!  Before I go, though, I have one word of warning for you-- don't buy these:


They are waaay too easy to eat and disappear super fast.  Ask me how I know!  (And tell me where I can get some more!)

Have a great week and I'll see you back here Friday for a joyful, happy finish. (Of a different quilt, not this one!)

Sharing at Let's Bee Social and Oh Scrap!

9 comments:

Jo said...

Great progress with your orphans. Looking good.

The Cozy Quilter said...

Wonderful way to use up all those orphan blocks. A piano key border might be good for your quilt...

viridian said...

I have made a bridal bouquet wall hanging. yes that block is a challenge.

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Mari,
WOWEE - I love that Bridal Bouquet block with the strings in each corner. Those colors you chose to surround it remind me of a wedding dress. So perfect. What a fun project - your orphan blocks look great together. ~smile~ Roseanne

piecefulwendy said...

It's fun to see how you are playing with the arrangement of these blocks, and I really like the string corners for the bridal block. I have no suggestions for the border, although the string idea is a great possibility. I need to find those Kisses for my sister-in-law to tuck into her Christmas gift!

Bernie Kringel said...

This is the greatest. I have a stack of odds and ends and never really thought to see how they look together. I am currently planning my goals for 2018 and this would be a fun one to put on the list. Yours looks really nice thus far. I suspect it will be a really fun finish for you.

Preeti said...

SIX whole days!!! That is too much even for Indians. Paul is the turkey warrior. I only made one breast. I can resist pie - got no interest in it. I should be the pie-keeper of the castle. I have never made that block. It looks challenging. Did your guests bring those cherry chocolate kisses?

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Fun design wall - and Yes! Do not buy those or the peppermint ones .... unless you want to send them my way.... ha ha!! Enjoy!

Kate said...

I love family, but after about 4 days, I want the quiet of my sewing room. Your orphan block project is coming together beautifully. Hopefully you've been making headway on all the deadline stuff and can find some time to play in the sewing room.