Friday, February 5, 2016

Waiting for the green

Tempted as I am to wait in the driveway for the UPS guy to bring me my greens for Big Twinkle's border, I decided to get some sewing done on other projects.
Like I mentioned yesterday, I'm a little behind on my 365 Challenge blocks, so I tried to play a little catch-up this afternoon.
This block is called Lady of the Lake, but Lady of the Lake is not the block we're making for February 3rd.


See how it's smaller than the block for February 2nd?  (Which I made yesterday.  What day is it now?)  That's because there are still more of those itsy bitsy triangles to attach.


Now it's finished.


 Whew.
This block is called Lost Ships.


 You'll notice that it's the same colors I used for the previous day's block.  This is because I first attempted this block yesterday but messed up making the triangles in an effort to be frugal.  Because this kind of waste offends me.


The upshot was that I ended up with not enough HSTs to finish the Lost Ships block, but I did have enough for the Frame block for the Feb 2 block.  So I cut more bits and sewed the bits and ended up with a Frame instead of a Ship, because I was discouraged with ships at that point.
It went much more smoothly today.
And I puttered with a couple of Allietare blocks and laid them out, since my design floor is available again.


Little by little.  I might have the top done in time for the next Bonnie Hunter mystery in November...

And then I let myself play with my kaleidoscope ruler.  Todays blocks are brought to you by the color brown.


And stripes.  There was bigtime fun with stripes.  And today's blocks had the flattest and best-matching centers of any I've made up to this point.  I'd tried everything - pressing and trimming after each seam, sewing from the outside in, sewing from the inside out, standing on one foot and humming "Roll Out the Barrel", and nothing helped.  Lumpy bumpy centers that required a whole lotta pressing to approach a vaguely flat state.  Points that weren't always pointy.
So today, I said to myself "Screw it.  Just do it." and I relaxed, finger-pressed seams, lined stuff up the best I could and sewed them together as if they were standard 4patches.  Apparently that's what I should have been doing all along.  Much better, and I felt heartily encouraged to make many more.
I swear, if I didn't have to eat or sleep, I'd be up to my earlobes in these blocks.

But I did manage to tear myself away from them long enough to make myself another wee piggy.


Which should give you an idea of how much I love these little guys.  It takes a special kind of magic to make me drop the kaleidoscope ruler!


I'll be linking to ScrapHappy Saturday at So Scrappy, because the best way to spend a Saturday is rolling in scraps!  Come join the fun!


18 comments:

Libby in TN said...

I'm sure you've said at some point, but what size are your kaleidoscope blocks? They are looking mighty fine!

Jennie in GA said...

I so admire those tiny 365 blocks....glad to enjoy that challenge from the sidelines. I would be pulling my hair out. You know how I feel about those Kaleidoscope blocks....my ruler patiently awaits as I work on Allietaire.
And those piggies....pure cuteness. How did you get started on them anyway???

deb @ frugal little bungalow said...

You have some awesome piecing skills between pigs and those tiny blocks and the Kaleidoscope which I tried to make once and I too stood on one foot but I think that I might have said a bad word rather than singing :)

Chantal said...

I see you're truly enjoying the kaleidoscope blocks! :^D Glad it worked out in the end. Love dots and piglet in dots is second only to plaid. Haven't started on Feb. 365 blocks yet. (Sigh!) Love your blocks. ;^)

Turid said...

Your piggies are adorable. I'm still tempted to make one.

Sally Trude said...

Holy moly! Didn't they tell you that we're doing brown for the whole month...not just for today? P.S. I'm a sucker for polka dot piglets.

Jennifer said...

those tiny, tiny, TINY triangles are great! more power to 'ya!

PaulaB quilts said...

Polly the polka dot pig is cute as a button. The frames and ships are an impressive job, considering how tiny they are. Good job!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Your piglet is just great - I knew the brown and pink ones would be fun! I like how the kaleidoscopes are coming together, too!

Wanderingcatstudio said...

PIGGIES!!!!!!

(Although Allietare is looking spectacular)

Ivani said...

great job with your brown fabrics.

scraphappy said...

Those 365 blocks are impressive. Glad the kaleidoscope blocks are working out. Those centers can be really tricky.

Nell's Quilts said...

Always a challenge to get the centres working just right on the kaleidoscope blocks. Glad they're working out for you cause the blocks look great! Lovely little piggy.

PeggyinNO said...

I really like the whites you are using in the Allietare. Makes the other colors pop! And the piggie just brightens my day!!

Angie said...

Looks like you have lots of brown projects for February. Glad to hear the kaleidoscope blocks are working easier!

Cathy said...

You get a BIG SMILEY FACE for sticking with those little 365 blocks. I love the Lady of the Lake. I had that on my list as a possible for RSC but not that small.

Love the stripes in the kaliedoscopes. I know what you mean about not dropping that ruler. I have one completely finished, one ready to sew into a top, and three in process!

Keep on keeping on.

Mystic Quilter said...

You have shown us so many lovelies I don't know where to begin!! Wonderful tiny 365 blocks - test the patience - and love the brown kaleidoscope blocks and of course the pig!

Linda said...

Oh I love those piggies. Key comment in your post: "if I didn't have to eat or sleep..." Oh how I relate! ;)