WOW or WIP’s 31st May 2017 Diamond Hill

This week has been spent mostly on DH during the day but at night it has been spent hand quilting Laure’s quilt roughly 20 hrs this week.   But it will be ready for this winter now and another WIP finished this year YAHHHHHH

Then you discover you have made a very bad calculation mistake along the way on your completed blocks or project like I did the other night!!!!!  When I was trying out some squares around my DH blocks they would not fit they were to long, finally I realised it was not thesqaures that were wrong my block was to small!!!! Horrors I had two blocks cut at 17  3/4 inches instead all at 18 3/4s as I had planned..  I had cut out two black sqaures at the beginning of DH and started my first blocks, came to my 3rd block cut out two more black sqaures, my cutting table is always set up and is in the same place aways , I know my cutting mat back to front and I start my low numbers to my right all ways well a week before I cut out my next two blocks my cutting table had to be moved one day and every thing was moved but put back as it was by my hubby, what I did not think to check was my mat lying the right way!!!!!  No it was not but with out checking I just cut were I knew my 18 1/2 bit line was again with out really looking and counting  each of those wee sqaures and I have ended up with two under size completed blocks!!!!!  My cutting mat is now the right way again!!!!!

One thing I have learnt in the art world often a mistake can be come a focal point or improve a design if you let it’ Ive yet to find a mistake that you can not fix or even improve on, just don’t panic to much and think about what can I do to make this work, don’t try covering it up, make it more obvious or think about what you can do to make it look like it was meant to be like that!!!!!  I have covered up many blood stains on my quilts by embrodering bee’s on them or bullion roses.

My DH blocks 2 the right size and 2 TO small,  If I sew a 3/4 inch piece on around those smaller two pieces its going to be so fiddly to work on with those extra seams right on the edge,  what if I cut them all back as far as possible and add new strips to them all this will make them all look the same,  what if I go radical and add a different coloured fabric like a border????  may be yellow or aqua?????  No thats a little to much with the bordes that follow,  Finally I came up with this idea.

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May be I could do some thing like this?????

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3 new borders sewn on to my 17 1/2 inch block, This is looking OK I think?

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????????

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Yes I can live with this and I have cut out 12 more pink mottled stips and ironed them in half for the next 3 blocks now.

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Taken this morning and I’m still happy with it, I now have a 19inch block instead of a 17 1/2 inch block LOL  looking forward to seeing the 4 blocks done like this now.

Al

All DH blocks are now  waiting to be finished applqiued by hand or machine.

Block 3 completly ironed down ready for sewing.

I finished cutting out Block 3 earlier in the week it is completly ironed down ready for sewing.

Start of my 4th DH block on Saturday avo and finsihed cutting all the pieces out around 9pm.

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Stage 1

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Stage 2

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Stage 3

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Stage 4

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Completed block all cut out.

Finished

Finished making those leaves Sunday night they realy made me think,  till I deicded to make that tiny tiny piece a big piece with  a big seam behind, it was so easy then.

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Top two pieces my two tones leave shapes, notice my smaller piece is MUCH bigger than what I end up with top leaf all you see is a slither of pale green but behind in the lower leaf you can see how big it really was it is showing up as white as thats the backing of the ironon fussing.

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During the week I made up some sqaures in a sqaure for my DH blocks what a disaster I think the little red sqaures look like they ahve measles LOL  also the red is to red it should be more in the pink tones plus I again did not read my pattern corectly and cut my fabric 2 inchs far far to big!!!!!  So now its back checking through my stash or may be I will have to give in and buy some new fabric for those squares?????   This was when I dicovered my block had been cut at 17 1/2 inches instead of 18 1/2 inchs!!!!!

I pulled these out to may be do one or two blocks!!!!!  I think they may be from around 1930 Tulip Basket.  I bought them online 10 years ago from Kansaa.  A couple of pieces of the applqiue pieces are missing,  there are 23 blocks and around 30 basket pieces.  Mos tof the embrodery has been done except for 4 blocks and these have the applqiue applqiued down in running stich in 4 threads of DMC I only paid a few dollars for them postage cost a few dollars too.  I just did not want them chucked out in to the rubbish so bought them.

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Unfinished Kansas basket blocks

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Kansas 1930’s basket blocks

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Kansas basket blocks bought online in 2017 from Kansas

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Card board is a template that has been sliced inside so you can mark the basket shapes to embrodier the basket weave look.

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Looking forward to one day finishing these baskets for th eunknown quilter who spent hours embrodering the stems and leaves on most of these blocks

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Appliquéd down using a running stitch.

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These running stitiches are so small and even, they look like they have been done by a sewing machine!!!!!

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Pieces are just cut out and marked b pencil to show were to turn under and baste with thread for appliqe.

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Top template of cardboard for cutting out the basket shapes Bottom cardboard is slightly heavy weight and slashed to be able to mark through them  with a pencil on the basket fabric for embrodiery.

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There are 4 cardboard templates with the blocks  Tulip shape and a small leaf shap to mark were to do the running stitches in side the tulip to give the tulip shape.

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He was in side during the week and I carefully caught him and let him go out side.

Butterflies are

Butterflies are such delicate creatures and all are so beauitful to watch and when they some times magically land on you their touch is like a gentle kiss.

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Baby kookaburra

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10 Responses to WOW or WIP’s 31st May 2017 Diamond Hill

  1. Karen says:

    such very colorful blocks – I love them

  2. Gretchen says:

    Your DH applique blocks are beautiful and the flange on the block is perfect, just really make the block pop. Enjoy your applique!

  3. Maggie says:

    Dear Glenda
    It is a fantastic idea. It looks like it was always meant to be finished just like this. Your DH is beautiful. Love the baby bird. Funny how big they are as babies. We are still working on wild and they’re keeping us busy.

  4. Plum Cox says:

    Your projects are always inspirational – and your DH is looking wonderful! I’ve been inspired to buy dark fabric as a background, although it might turn into sashing in a pieced project as I’m not doing much applique at the moment! Glad that I’m not the only one who has to come up with creative solutions after ‘inventive ‘ cutting!
    Love the antique project too – such a different look to the two projects!

  5. Robin says:

    The pink strip looks so fancy in your block. My mother always told me that if I make a mistake – make it look like I did it on purpose. I remember sewing a dress and accidentally clipping a hole in the bodice while I was trimming something else. Out came the embroidery floss. . . The tulip blocks are darling. Such an interesting way to do the applique. Like you said, the stitches are so precise it could have been done by machine.

  6. Kyle says:

    The vintage tulip blocks are so sweet and will be lovely when you add your touch to them as well. That bit of pink for the flange is perfect. It’s funny where a mistake can lead us. We’ve all made plenty.

    • glenda says:

      I’m sure those vintage blocks will look great when finsihed Kyle they are large blocks around 14inchs I think by memory. I’m very keen to finish one of them just to see what it will look like but I can not find any extra time at present LOL Think they need some butterflies and bees flying around all that green and may be some tiny birds LOL Cheers Glenda

  7. Eleanor Smith in Spain says:

    Oh Glenda, such lovely hand work, you put me to shame with the amount you achieve each week.. lovely butterflies, of course they are my favourite. I have never seen a kookaburra. BTW l think that flange looks super, its so going to add a very special Glenda touch. Naughty hubby, he has to buy you more material now lol

  8. Lorraine says:

    well! What a great way to create an individual feature on your blocks! Congratulations!

    • glenda says:

      LOL That individual feature was to cover up a big mistake Lorraine so glad you like it LOL Cheers Glenda

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