Mystery Quilts

[Annis C.]

Terrie, my ironing board cover looks a lot like yours. The new cover I bought a year ago is still in the package. I guess I'm not in any hurry to having it look old too. That's a lot of quilt blocks! They look great.

Lotti, I got to enjoy that extra hour twice. I remembered to change the clocks at my country home, but came back to the city yesterday and forgot all about it. This morning I looked at my watch at 9:15 but was sure it was after 10:00 on the wall clock, then it dawned on me that I'd forgotten to change the clocks. The only hint that I didn't catch yesterday was a glimpse of the clock on my computer that was later than the time on my watch when I checked the time a little later. Of course that means I went to bed an hour earlier because my alarm clock was still on the old time too, and got up an hour earlier. I ended up using that extra hour watching Fixer Upper on HGTV. Now I need to quit procrastinating and get some bookkeeping done.

[Geneva C.]

Ok, I finished my November blocks yesterday. They came out nice. I used several different pinks, whites and blacks.

Since I have made 356 square within a square/economy blocks, (side note: I was going to exaggerate here but realized the truth is crazy enough!) I found that trimming the blocks after the first and second round of triangles makes everything come out better. I trimmed the first round to 3 3/8" square and the second round to 4 1/2" square. Be careful to take some off all 4 edges so your square is actually in the center! Or, just foundation piece them like Terrie suggested!

Here they are.



Now I'm onto a baby quilt for my new grandson due mid-January. Plus I've got lots of things to make for Christmas gifts....

Take care,
geneva

[Nancy R.]

Love your colors, Geneva! Your empire does continue to grow, doesn't it? Enjoy!!

[Nancy R.]

YES! Geneva is right. Snip the dog ears (I did that) and trim as she said. I just checked all my 'finished blocks and decided to measure them - they are all a wee bit big. :blush: :blush: :blush:

So sorry.

Guess I have to go back to the beginning... :S

[Catherine S.]

I finished the first set of blocks. When I started I did not notice my needle was 2 clicks to the left. :sick: :sick: When I measured with the first triangles on it measured 3 3/8 so I thought it would be okay. I put the needle in the center for the second set of triangles. I had to make a wider seam to get the points right. Now, my finished blocks are about 1/8 inch too small. I am not redoing them. I will just make them work. I will work on the second set of blocks tomorrow and see how that goes. Mine are starched very heavily. If I need too, I will wet them and stretch to 4 1/2 inches. I hope everyone is doing better than I am. Terrie, it is my fault, not your instructions.

[Catherine S.]

Thanks ladies, and let's hope next month's clue won't have as much drama.

[Catherine S.]

I have to admit I haven't started yet....we were gone for a month, then I had shoulder surgery as soon as I got back......should be able to catch up as soon as I can sew again :blink: can't wait, and am loving seeing what everyone's colors are
Dorothy

[Catherine S.]

Lotti, you are always welcome to blow off steam with us. I hope you have a much better day today. I didn't get to watch all of the video, but found it fascinating to day 4. I will finish it when I get home. Car needs to be at the repair shop in 25 minutes! I do hope your coworker gets some sort of reprimand for his mix up. Hugs!!

[Nancy R.]

Wow, what an amazing transformation, and huge amount of work! I hope everything works out!

[karen f.]

That is really something!! Like constructing a whole building and then taking it down again so soon. WOW!

[Geneva C.]

Holy Moley Lotti! That is something else! I liked the bicycle sitting there for a few days!

When you get home from your exhibition you will need a few days to relax then hit the quilting.... And we'll still be here for you!

Take care, geneva

[Catherine S.]

My DD thinks I need to take apart all 20 of the completed squares and redo them. I am considering this. I may do one square and see how long it takes me to decide if it is worth my time. I am leaving for a road trip next week so it is something I could take along to work on then.
Another DD is driving in from Ohio and the two of us are going to drive to New Mexico to pick up DGD from college. From there we are going to San Antonio, TX to visit a friend for a week. Then we will take DGD back to New Mexico and we will drive back here (Missouri). Yes I am leaving DH and the rest of the family for Thanksgiving. The kids all have in-laws to go to. DH can go to his brothers or volunteer at the senior center which prepares a nice dinner for the ones who don't have a family.
Anyway, back to the question. Would you redo the blocks?
Luann, I used a lot of starch on mine blocks too. I could probably toss them like a frisbee. That is why I didn't want to take them apart.

[Geneva C.]

Lorra,

Whether you take them apart and redo them is your decision. However, here is my 2 cents! B) Every time I have "jimmied" something quilt-wise I have regretted it later on. The pieces don't fit right, it looks funny and you know how we quilters are... we will only see that block when we look at the quilt!

All that driving time is the perfect time to undo those seams. Then when you get home, you can trim the square to 3 3/8", add the outer triangles, trim to 4 1/2" and viola! Perfect little economy blocks. You will feel so satisfied.

Plus, you will get to eat extra chocolate!

Have a wonderful trip! That is such beautiful territory.
geneva

[Geneva C.]

Lorra,
I don't know how much it will bother you, but I thought I'd be 'ok' with almost exact. I wasn't., so before I worked on my second set, I recut the blocks for the outermost triangles, sewed the first ones on with a finer thread and very scant 1/4 " seam allowance, trimmed to the correct size and things went much better. I'm going to get the ruler for making HSTs and qsts that I saw online. You cut the strips to a specific width, lay one on top of the other, put the ruler on, cut, and sew. There are no triangle points to try to position around. I truly believe the biggest problem I had was with my needles position! I put the first pieces I cut into a bin that I want to do a scrappy star quilt with, someday. Hopefully you would have enough extra of the fabrics used to just make new ones, and repurpose those you've already done.
My friend Alice Zeeman, from Wisconsin, made one that ended up in a magazine. She made flying geese, sorta of. She used whatever size triangle she grabbed out of her bucket and trimmed things to square. It was really nice. I'll look for a picture of it and show you if I find one.

[Geneva C.]

Just so y'all know, I contacted the designer, and she said she's never heard a sniff of complaint about the measurements. Never ever.

Well, we're in this together so I think we'll make it work.