Category Archive: quilts

There is no pay for testing quilts and often it isn’t a pattern I would have chosen.   I am testing this one, because the other testers were avoiding it.   However, it really needed to be tested before being published as there were a few errors that might make it become a ufo for someone.  I can’t show  you the quilt until September, but here is a section of the border.  One of the pieces was not quite long enough – so that will be a correction in the pattern.   Also I tried different methods of putting it together and decided one really needs to make a template for each half of the block to trim it before putting it together. It’s a pretty border, but also a more advanced one as there are 5 pieces to match in each half of the chevron.

Yes there are places it doesn’t match perfectly.   Since testers are to follow the instructions, some of the pieces are too short and I tried to make it work anyhow.   Some of the other mismatches are due to my imperfect sewing.

A little at a time, the center is now finished.  Next will be the borders.    I’m liking it more and more and hope you are too.

Here is the reason that I launder each quilt that I make before it leaves the house.   I would hate to have recipient get a quilt and then have problems.    These quilt squares were made from fabrics that were already squares which makes them difficult to preshrink, so that didn’t happen.  

They frayed more than a quarter inch in places.   I’m not sure if this was because of the fabric shrinking or if they were just fabrics that fray a lot.   I have made more than a hundred quilts and never had this happen.

So I pulled the fabric back  under and hand sewed the various places that came apart.   Next week sometime, I will go back over all the seams where the square meets the yellow as that is the place they pulled apart, using a several step zigzag.   That should hold them.   I just didn’t have time to do it today.   (there was more work outside to be done)

As far as the blog is concerned, the quilt is finished, but I want to make absolutely certain no one else gets a bad surprise.

I won’t be able to show you the quilt until September, but this is a part of a pattern I am testing.  Or is it testing my skills?   These still need a good pressing.

And just to make a bit more room, these 2 boxes of books which were consuming 2 book shelves are on their way out the door.   There is no use storing cookbooks when one is mostly cooking by what pops into the head or sounds interesting on the internet.   So the books will go to someone who will be happy to  go through them and look at them.  Now I can actually put all the other books in that room on shelves.