1/27/14

A quilt I wouldn’t have made. But, I did. And, I’m glad

This is a story of a stack and whack.  A friend in bee started it and I thought it was a terrific idea.  But, she made a couple of mistakes early and she put parts of it together and then she gave up.  I asked about it and expressed sympathy.  And, weekend before last, she handed it to me and said I could have it.  I thanked her and said it might not end up much like a stack and whack and she said she didn’t care.

Friday, we were snowed in.  Okay, not snowed, but iced in.  Twenty care pile up on the freeway iced in.  Rob and Syd had the day off and I found the downside of the company letting me work from home when I want, which is having to do it sometimes when I don’t.  I worked hard, which I always do from home, to make sure I can always justify not being in the office.  And, in the afternoon, I had a loooooooong meeting.  I was home.  I was also in attendance.  But, nobody could see me, so while I kept up with the presentation, I started to take apart some of the sections that she had put together and before long, I had found repetitions and patterns, so I kind of understood where she was headed.  But, she said she didn’t have many sets of six identical pieces, which is required in a stack n whack.  So, I thought about alternative settings and adding a red to her blue and green.

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But, I kept being drawn back to those matching sixes from the original pattern.  I love a good puzzle, so starting friday night, I started matching sixes that would go together and make something and I found quite a few identical sixes already cut and I cut a couple more from the leftover fabric she sent and I made some from threes and threes that went together to form a pattern.  I ended up with 25.  And, that’s enough to make a quilt.

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Her pattern used green where mine uses red.  That left me with lots of green triangles, so I cut some half triangles from the extra she gave me to go with them and created the green border.  As I built the quilt, I realized I was making the exact same pattern she was and that I was putting together blues in the same pattern that I had taken out earlier (rats!  who knew?)  Except I didn’t know it when I was ripping out seams. 

The top isn’t quite together.  It’s in seven rows that now need to be joined, pinning at each match point.  whoo-hoo

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I’m so glad Mary shared this with me.  While she was putting it together, it wasn’t matching her vision and she set it aside.  It just needed a new set of eyes.  And, while a stack and whack was not on my radar, now I’ve made one.  And, it was really easy.  Without a pattern, I got this far in two days, during which I also did chores.  Not much other than this and chores, but it should still prove this one can be easy if you’re not sweating it coming out perfect. 

This morning, Syd’s alarm went off an hour late.  She came to the table huffed and tearful.  And, mean. It would have been so easy to respond to that.  But, I was in too good a mood and didn’t let her affect me.  And, by the end of her pancakes, she was laughing and joking with me.  Sometimes, being a good dad goes against my natural instincts.

Oh, and here’s a pic of this baby quilt center, all assembled.  Just two borders to go.  Nice and restful.  I think the Mom is going to love it.  Some feathers (yes, I know, feathers are so overdone) and some ditch work and it will be ready for it’s new home.

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Be well.  Lane

6 comments:

lindaroo said...

Brilliant. Those sweet hexies look much better with the red contrast you gave them, and the borders are so sweet.
Feathers are overdone? Never! At least, not the way you do them!

LuAnn said...

Your baby quilt is going to be a real favorite of the new Mom. I made a bright, striped crochet afghan for my niece's baby, and she was just thrilled that it wasn't another baby pink or green. Great job on that stack n whack. I'm working on a quilt in repros, and what you have going appeals a lot more than what I'm doing. I think it does have something to do with all the snow, ice and cold! And, I don't think feathers are overdone either.

lw said...

The stack and whack is really cool, like a kaleidoscope. I've had that same problem, waiting for an original vision to clear before I can repurpose the parts.

I love the baby quilt. And feathers never go out of style-- ask any bird.

Megan said...

I admire your capacity to stick with something even though you're not highly enthusiastic about it - and picking up someone else's UFOs? Good grief - that's above and beyond! I'm having real trouble working on a quilt that a beginner started 10 years ago and didn't finish. She's paying me to turn it into a quilt for her, but they're not my colours or style and I am finding it to be a real chore.

Megan
Sydney, Australia

mssewcrazy said...

Very impressive quilt work on both. The sheer volume of what you accomplish is amazing not to mention the quality of it all.

Carla said...

I love the colors in the quilt. I did a stack and whack about 6 years ago. I like the unique shapes it makes.
Glad the morning took a change for the better and was filled with laughter.