Block Swap the Hard Way

This was a block swap of another kind than the ones where quilters make blocks to exchange. That would be fun. No. No. This was a poor-planning-on-my-part block swap. 

In photo #1 you see the block layout I had initially chosen for my "Roman Road" sampler quilt. I knew I did not much like the gold and green block, but at that point, the thought of making another block just wearied me. So, I forged ahead and pieced the whole top with the "iffy" block in place. 

Then...and not until then...I saw how that one block threw the whole quilt off balance due to the "weight" of the gold fabric in it, since that was the same fabric in the focal center block, as well as the outer border pieces. 

I just could not let it go. So much work had gone into the quilt, and it seemed I should be able to like it at the end of the process. So, the weeks rocked on, and finally I decided to work up a replacement block. First candidate was the disappearing nine patch blue in picture 2. Didn't like it. Had expected to. Was really miffed and somewhat discouraged. 

Days passed. Nights, too. What to do...what to do. I liked the "economy block", but could not figure out how to make it the nine and a half unfinished size I needed, and wanted it to finish with the center square on point. Finally, I just drew a design and foundation pieced what became the replacement block (photo #3). 

This (replacing a block that has already been pieced and sashed into a quilt top) is not recommended. Not at all. I was fortunate the piece went in fairly smoothly. Don't get in a rush when placing your blocks. The decisions you make then, need to be ones with which you can live (and sleep.)

One would think after all this that I would have sandwiched and finished the quilt by now. Well, it is sandwiched and awaiting my nerve to build up to quilting. It will be the largest quilt I've quilted on my small-throat machine. I'll let you know. 

Got the perfect blendship

Braid laid first against one of it's fabrics, next with borders of colors either from braid or from background print.

Here is a "Friendship Braid" cut from 2.5 inch strips with 45 degree angle cut. The long side of each piece measured six inches. This braid needs at least three colors to show well. I was able to get eight opposing pieces from each WOF  (width of fabric) strip. 

The "how to" can be Google'd. I used more than one tutorial to get this going. It is not as difficult as it looks, but it took me a few runs to understand the right pointing and left pointing pieces and how they fit. Once that was mastered, it went together very quickly.

Jenny Doan does a version of this using a ruler from her company, [begin watching from the 1:00 minute mark for how to orient your cut pieces for sewing]but I used a binding tool that had a 45 degree angled edge. The main thing seems to be the cut at a 45 degree angle. 

I'll be using this one for a diaper pad, but it would make a lovely bag or table runner, if not wanting to commit to a full quilt. 

Mini "Them"s

The scraps from the three "Buddy" quilts for my kids were just too few for a new project unless I were to make three mini versions of the lap quilt I had done. While the pattern was still fresh, I reduced the measurements for these three mini quilts. My intention was to practice some free motion on them and possibly group them as a wall display. That way, when the kids and their families come, they will see a little taste of what now is in their homes. Not sure yet how I'll mount them.Whenever I see them, though, it will be a reminder of each of them and their households, and unlike photos, I'll not need to update them every few months!