Sunday, January 3, 2016

A seam-ripper kind of day

I had three goals for today - make one of each of the Allietare blocks, piece some piglets for RSC, and then make a couple of Chantal's pinwheels.
Two out of three ain't bad.  I would have gotten a lot more done if I hadn't had to keep picking out seams and doing them over.
sigh...
It started here.  The block went together really quickly and easily.
But.
Notice anything?


Check out that upper right corner.


 Reach for the seam ripper, and try again.


That's better.

The second block involved two different seam issues, but I ripped, resewed, and ultimately persevered.


Two down, a whole bunch to go.  I happily set them aside and proceeded to the next project.
Piggies!
One little blue pig.  He went well, other than his lack of tail on the first runthrough.  (Perhaps he was a rare Manx Pig?)  (And we won't think about what the tail unit looked like where it ended up.)


One of the fun things about this year's RSC is that there's an optional accent color each month - January's accent is purple.
I love this little piggie.


Even after I sewed his legs on upside down.
Did you ever have one of those days where it seemed like a waste of time to even set down the seam ripper?  I was reminded of a tutorial or class where the instructor used her seam ripper for a stiletto as she sewed - that was clearly an inspired idea!  I was even considering doing an Edward Scissorshands move and having the seam ripper permanently installed in one of my fingers.  (The middle one seemed appropriate...)
One more time.  This one went (relatively) smoothly.  Since I decided to make one facing the other direction, I was especially careful this time.


I like this one a lot.


It's also a bit bigger than its friends.  As much as I like working small (my motto is "Go Small or Go Home"), it has occurred to me that I'll get to the point of having a piggie quilt a lot faster if I make the pigs a little bigger.  Not to mention the bigger blocks are a bit less fiddly.


So I'm using Sally T's tutorial in the larger size, with 1.5 and 2.5 inch squares and strips, which are sizes that I keep on hand anyway.  The bigger blocks it is!
Though somewhere in the back of my brain, there's a little voice whispering "Psst!  There's nothing wrong with making both sizes..."
I think that's the same little voice that once suggested to me to add the whole pound of barley to the soup, rather than the quarter cup the recipe called for...
Wanna know how many gallons of barley soup I ended up with?


Linking to Oh Scrap!  at Quilting is More Fun than Housework, my favorite place to hang out on a Sunday.  And I can finally set down the seam ripper.
And to Bonnie's Allietare party here.  Come see all the magic!






16 comments:

scraphappy said...

Oh dear, what a day with those poor little piggies. They sure are cute though. Absolutely adorable

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

Let's hear it for the piglets! My second one went together far better than the first. I will also be making some bigger ones for my quilt. I am off to make some twinkle blocks now. The inspiration from all these scrappy blogs is far too tempting! Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

Vic in NH said...

Those Allietare blocks are very dramatic especially when you got everything turned right. Love your pigs and the scale is much better larger, I think. But those chantal pinwheel blocks are such fun! I must try those! Thanks for all the inspiration!

Vireya said...

I definitely have days like that!

Your mystery blocks look wonderful, and the piglets are as cute as ever.

Mary said...

Seam ripper, Froggin' tool, what ever. Mine became too friendly working on these blocks too. Good to try and distract yourself with other blocks after you have to un sew another seam. Will you embroider a tail on those piggies? Good luck with finishing your Allietare. NO MORE Froggin' for either of us is my hope.

verpa said...

Great Allietare blocks. Seam ripper is my good friend too :)

Andee said...

I too must unsew plenty! I LOVE how your grey block came out. Really beautiful. The piggies are adorable...where is the pattern? Is it part of the RSC or you are just doing that for the RSC? I have Lori Holt's piggy to make this week and I am loving yours too!

Sally Trude said...

As long as you end up using your sewing machine slightly more often than the seam ripper, you will be ahead of the game!

Art by Rhoda Forbes said...

Beautiful blocks for the MQ, such a lovely variety of fabrics. I look forward to seeing it all together. The pig blocks are adorable.

Feathers in my Nest said...

Looks wonderful! Yep, me & Mr. Ripper are really good friends.

kmkat said...

One of the wonderful things about knitting and crocheting is that if one screws up, one can rip back and do it right. Sometimes that even works on other things...

Magpie Sue said...

I've had more of those seam ripper days in the last month than I think I generally have in six months. Gets discouraging after a while! You have fun choices for your RSC blocks this year. I seem to be stuck on sawtooth stars now in place of Ohio stars... :- )

Chantal said...

This week end, I made my first blooper of the year too. As much as I hate using the seam ripper, imagine what life was before they invented it! Uh! No! Don't go there. Love the piggies ... with tails lol. I love the fabric used in the bigger one but they all look so cute. ;^)

Kathy S. said...

Looks like an awesome start to the year. Love those yellows in your mystery quilt.

Catherine said...

You are not alone...I made a similar error with my 4-square patch...but you only do it once!

Unknown said...

Where is the "piggy" pattern? I am in love with it!