I like the fabrics... an assortment of Anna Maria Horner and Amy Butler prints... and I like the layout which I saw on Tamarack Shack's blog... but I am very unhappy with the borders. I used the construction method from Missouri Stars Cutting Corners pattern which gives you bias on all four sides of the HST. The fabric in the border is straight of grain and they do not want to play nice with each other.
I've taken off the borders and shortened them slightly and re-sewn them on... THREE times!!! I stay stitched the edges pf bias blocks the last time I put the borders on but I'm not sure it helped. Right now my plan is to leave it on the design wall where it is pinned out... take out the seam on the right side below the part that extends into the border and repin it while it is on the wall... then take it to the machine and sew it. And I should also do the same thing to the border on the left starting about 3 rows down.
That's what I should do, but right now I can't make myself do it... so it sits on my design wall taking up valuable space and mocking me. I'm losing patience as I also see this as a "Spring-y" quilt and that is a long way off. Heck, I thought Fall had arrived but they are forecasting 80's and humidity for the rest of the week.
Which leads me to the next thing that is driving me nuts. I had my AC repaired about 3 weeks ago. It was leaking coolant but the guy couldn't pin point where the leak was. He added coolant and things got better... and then they didn't. It blew cool air but the temperature in the house didn't fall. So I called him again and this time he found the leak... in the coil...which can't be repaired ... it has to be replaced...and it isn't cheap. At the moment he is finding the part for me and then it has to be installed. So far I've been okay having the windows open and running the ceiling fans. The temperatures are suppose to drop dramatically starting this weekend so I will survive... but it is making me crabby.
And in everyday life, I've been helping my son with projects and running around doing errands way too much. I'm definitely not focusing. To make myself feel better and to ignore the AC issue and quilt on the wall I did the only thing I could do... I started a new quilt!
The pattern is Lanterns by Amy Ellis which you can see here. The fabrics are a Moda Basic Grey collection called Mon Ami. Now I've had this fabric for a while... I gave myself a FQ bundle of it for my birthday LAST year! I had started a quilt with it back then but lost interest in it and realized it was never going to be revisited. Stuff like that happens... but I do like this blocks A LOT!!! The background is a Grunge I found in my stash... I think the color was called Poplin... but I could be wrong. Now lots of the fabrics in the Mon Ami collection are directional and to keep my OCD at bay I've been very careful to cut the fabrics so they are oriented in the correct direction... the flowers are reaching to the sky... the raindrops are falling ... the cute bicycle is in an upright position!
That makes me happy!!! Now to find some time to make more blocks...but probably not today...I have a mammogram appointment this afternoon... and Thursday I'm taking a friend to meet Terry the long arm quilter...and Friday I've got a brunch date with the quilty ladies for pumpkin waffles... maybe there will be time this weekend. And maybe by the weekend I'll feel like working on that other quilt and maybe my AC will be fixed too... hope springs eternal!!!
And here's hoping your week is going well!!
happy stitching-
carol fun
I am so sorry about the border issue. The color of the border and strips are so soothing and lets the other fabrics shine for all they're worth. I hope you can fix it without too much more frustration.
ReplyDeleteBummer, and the worst part is the more you mess with it the stretchier it gets. Sometimes shortcut techniques are not the shortest in the long run. Take a deep breath ....
ReplyDeleteWow! this has not been your best week. However, it sounds like you do have some fun plans in the near future! The bit about the AC is terrible. I hate big expenses that are not fun!!!
ReplyDeleteI hate a HST that winds up on the bias....In fact I am not fond of much of anything on a bias cut come to think of it.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar problem with a quilt - taking the border off for the third time is HORRIBLE!! I feel your pain, the fourth time it turned out okay (not perfect but okay) and I kept it. I hope this will be the last time and it turns out right.
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