Monday, September 11, 2006

Fudge, Fudge - Who's the Judge?

More adventures in quilting.

Homework for class: Rail Fence Block due Friday, September 15th.

First things first - specialty gear needed.

Sometimes the gear collecting for a new hobby is just about as fun as the project itself. I already had the rotary cutter & cutting pad for all of my pre-class quilt square cutting and subsequent swappery. And, well, the 24 inch ruler **really** was necessary. It ended up being the envy of my classmates. Even the teacher made comments about it. Whomever said that size doesn't matter certainly wasn't considering acrylic rulers in her analysis.

The coolest thing I've gotten thus far is this:


Does it look familiar?

C'mon....doesn't ANYONE watch Project Runway? This little number is something that Kayne has been wearing during the sewing challenges. Of course I noticed. And, oh BOY, was I excited when I saw it at Beverlys!! It works really well, too. And, it is a rainbow. Mine.

Back to the quilting. I struggled a bit over the placement of the strips, but finally came to a conclusion while I was watching Oprah today. It really didn't take me that long to do my cutting. Then, I got the guts up to sew. Not too bad. I managed to keep the 1/4 inch seam allowance w/o too much difficulty. Here is progress:



So far, so good. And, really, doesn't everything look 1000-times better once ironed? It is almost miraculous. Kept checking my "measurements" - and everything pretty much checked out. PRETTY Much. And, I honestly got those 1/4 inch seam allowances right on. HONEST!

At first glance, it looks purty good...dont'cha think??


Wellllll, take a closer look:

Those wee red corners don't exactly **meet**.

And, take a look at this.

Despite my best efforts, somehow I am off by a 1/4 inch.
What? Why?? How???????

I don't care at this point. I figure that if I continue to follow the directions to a "T" & am off by a 1/4 inch consistently - then the quilt will be perfect.

Right?

Riiiiight?????????

Ok, what the hell am I going to do once we move on to the triangles?????????

14 comments:

C's Mom said...

You're cracking me up.

You are giving me some inspiration and I will keep coming back for more. I've always said I can do a lovely job 'sewing' people but can't sew material in a 'purdy' fashion to save my life!

You're doin' great!

Millicent said...

Now I'm scared. I thought I just had to sew a bunch of squares together. That kind of quilting may put knots in my tummy and make me cranky. I wish you correct measurements, matching corners, and serenity.

And, hey, I answered your questions over on my comment section...probably should've e-mailed...d'oh.

Katie J said...

Oooh, I want to quilt too! Your measurements may be off, but it's looking fine. Can't wait to see more.

Stacey T. said...

Excellent!! do you have a 1/4 inch quilting foot for your machine, OR you can get a magnet guide, it's this huge block thing that you put 1/4 inch away from your needle and you just can't make a larger seem!!!

I love your fabrics!

NatD said...

Considering I don't even know *how* to work a sewing machine, let alone how to do a 1/4 inch seam, I'm pretty impressed!

Looks great to me!

walternatives said...

You're a much braver woman than I am. hang in there!

Anonymous said...

I think it looks amazing. Irregularities make it cool.

Anonymous said...

Wendy,

Fabulous job! You are so good!

Polar Bear said...

It looks GREAT to me. I would have never known the red corners didn't match up.

I love gadets, too. That pin cushion is AWESOME!

Tammy said...

You're inspiring me too! I'm laughing at your measurements being off - I mean I'm laughing with you. You were laughing, right? I can relate.

Seems like you've made some progress. Keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing the finished product.

Shandra said...

WOW a new hobby and new fun toys...what could be better.

Mariah said...

I am so inspired!! And a little frightened! :-)

Donna said...

I'm so impressed!!


Donna May DTC

atomic mama said...

Oh, hun, you're doing great. Way to go. Way to go and stress me out some more. I love the bandana selections - I have a nice red one waiting to be butchered in my next project.