Sunday, January 19, 2014

Distracted by an old UFO

Distracted by an old UFO by capitolaquilter
Vortex segment to trim to 8"
Back in 2009 I bought my first templates and a pattern after seeing this quilt at a show.  I cut up all my parts, paired them between the sheets of a spiral and with little experience and great optimism began to sew.
I was able to piece the inner curves without too much trouble but those outer tips frustrated me to no end, visited the LQS that I bought it at for help and I then finally gave up.

If I were to do it today, I'd just cut them with excess to trim up when squaring and not struggle with exact placement. Pattern makers- why be so unforgiving?  I have moved past the trauma of this initial fail with curves in large part thanks to the Quick Curve Ruler and these successful projects!
After using Aurifil exclusively for piecing I've become accustom to the nice thin discreteness of 50wt, the lumpiness of my old stitching feels so odd. I sure don't miss those long threads having been spoiled with a scissor button on my Symphony.   I will also be pressing all one direction and I'm pretty sure I'll change up the layout.

What I Should be Working On:

The houndstooth quilt that I've been putting off for nearly a year took a U-Turn. At least it wasn't a dead end like my last attempts to make my nephew a birthday quilt. Yesterday I took a break and got completely distracted with this old UFO and am trying not to trim the blocks up and play more today. We'll see.
I decided to swap out the tan for a clean cream because my favorite fabric is the green print and the tan looked too muddy and didn't give the right support for it.  The dark green looked really good with the tan but since it wasn't my priority I'm opting for this version.  In quilting and design there isn't just one right way or option and it's time to move on.

Linking up to Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday on Thursday.  If it weren't for my link ups, I'm not sure I'd ever know what day of the week it was!

Finished: 0
Progress: 2
Vortex - dusted off
Houndstooth - made a u-turn
Must Do: 9
Two more guy quilts - overdue
Prep for Heather Ross Workshop
Birthday Pillow - Feb
Pincushion Swap MQG - March
Radient Orchid Challenge - March
Secret Gift - March
Wedding Quilt - June target
Wedding Quilt - August target

13 comments:

  1. These are both great projects, it is fun to see how your approach has changed.

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  2. Oh, yes, that old UFO is very intriguing! And I'm impressed with your ability to evaluate and change fabrics for the houndstooth; it does look fresher with the cream contrast.

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  3. I agree with Leanne it is great to see how your approach has changed......It's a process isn't it! The more I do the more the more mine changes as well.

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  4. Oh wow, I love the cream solid! If you wanted, you could use the tan with the cream if you wanted to add a rogue houndstooth. :)

    That circle project is really cool! I can't wait to see more of that either. :)

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  5. I like the cream better, too. I like the higher contrast with the lighter green. The curved blocks are really cool. I hope they behave for you.

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  6. Great choices on both quilts. Curves are my favorites, and, the changes you made look great. I agree with some pattern makers, why make them so hard to follow. Looking forward to seeing both finished.

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  7. Isn't it fun to look back and see how we've grown :) I think the fabric change makes a world of difference on the houndstooth quilt!

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  8. Good luck on attacking these UFOs! Both will definitely be worth the effort when they come together. And yes, there's something both satisfying and incomprehensible to go back to early projects and be able to see just how far you've come along!

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  9. Love the houndstooth colors! A perfect guys pattern!

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  10. The houndstooth is great. It's always so interesting to visit the very long ago WIPs and see how much everything has changed... It's lovely and I hope you do finish it up.

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  11. I have a flannel quilt made from your golden oldie project on my bed now. It's one of a handful of quilt patterns that I think I might make again. Persevere–I think your color choices are lovely and it will be a great quilt.

    I have also pulled out a really old project and picked it up again this month. It is interesting to see the differences between then and now in fabric choices, thread and stitching.

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  12. Your absolutely right about there being not just one right way with colours and quilting. This is part of the joy and also part of the challenge....
    Thanks for visiting my blog.

    :)
    Karen

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  13. Sewing with curves could be frustrating. At first I used to pin them a lot. But soon realized it if I cut them exactly I should just sew them without pinning and it did go by fast. I hope you figure out something that works for you.

    Love the hounds-tooth quilt. Nice colors!

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