Admit defeat - block construction

Well, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject
failure.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bronferr...06038328730482
I can't recall where I got the design from; I did draw it up in EQ7
mid-year. I loved it. EQ7 showed how the whole quilt might look. I
loved it. The colorway I had chosen was to go with my French wall
quilt behind the bed in the guestroom. This project was for a 12" 60-
block QS quilt.
I must preface this admission by saying I was trying to machine
piece. I am not a hand-sewer generally. I know now, and you will
probably concur, it would be best paper pieced.
I cut out heaps of little triangles and tried to machine them, but
they are so small, and it has to be so accurate, I was pencilling
every seam line. I only got one sample block made and half, I repeat,
half, of a real block constructed. I have been staring at it, and
cutting the triangles for weeks and just getting up and walking out of
the room.
There was just no quick way to strip piece because I was using random
colors following the general theme. It had to be dead accurate and
there are a lot of bias edges.
I have made the decision. Final. If there is no joy in it, cut my
losses. I've packed the cut triangles into ziplocks, and folded all
the material to put away.
I'll now look at some other simpler design and use what uncut material
I have left.

I feel better now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers
Bronnie

Bronnie,
I'm with the others, sometimes you have to back off and retry later. I
remember an older quilter once told me to be patient and the peicing
will come in time. In this day and age of instant gratification, I
sometimes forget that quilting should be fun and relaxing. Keep all
the items together in the ziploc baggie and go back to it a little at
a time. It would be so beautiful when finished, even as a small wall
hanging over the guestroom bed.
I love the pattern and colors you chose.
amy

On Dec 28, 3:21*pm, amy in SoCal wrote:
Bronnie,
I'm with the others, sometimes you have to back off and retry later. I
remember an older quilter once told me to be patient and the peicing
will come in time. In this day and age of instant gratification, I
sometimes forget that quilting should be fun and relaxing. Keep all
the items together in the ziploc baggie and go back to it a little at
a time. It would be so beautiful when finished, even as a small wall
hanging over the guestroom bed.
I love the pattern and colors you chose.
amy

Ah, but I have already done that Amy! I started this project in
August, starting cutting out the triangles, and did a trial block.
I then went on vacation for 5 weeks in Sept/Oct thinking that I would
come back with a fresh take on construction.
Nup, didn't work. I tried, really I did. It would work with paper
piecing but I don't do/enjoy that method.
I am looking at another pattern now using AnglePlay blocks on EQ7.
Will keep you posted.
Bronnie.

Interesting block. It looks like it is based on the Lone Star
principle.
I did look carefully to see if there was anything I could think of to
help.
I did look at it in terms of paper piecing, of course! However, you
would only be able to paper piece the second iteration of triangles -
you couldn't (using the usual method) get any further than paper piecing
the triangle- within- a- triangle triangles. You would then have the
task of putting all the small (3"?)pieces together. That in itself
would be a might tall order. It would be difficult to do with the paper
on, possible if you had not included paper on the seam allowance
(something I do with a complex piece), very difficult if you took the
paper off. It is perhaps more difficult having elongated triangles?

The block would make nice place-mats! I don't think I could contemplate
a full bed quilt with it.

Actually, although it is a lovely block, there is an awful lot of
unpieced 'space' and these areas would be together when the blocks were
joined. So much intricate piecing in the centres and then large spaces
of 'nothing'? You might even have been disappointed in the long run.

Brave decision.

So, placemats to use with your cookery photos?

Yesterday I abandoned a design I had been working on for a week! Must
be in the air g.
..
In message
,
Bronnie writes
Well, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject
failure.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bronferr...06038328730482
I can't recall where I got the design from; I did draw it up in EQ7
mid-year. I loved it. EQ7 showed how the whole quilt might look. I
loved it. The colorway I had chosen was to go with my French wall
quilt behind the bed in the guestroom. This project was for a 12" 60-
block QS quilt.
I must preface this admission by saying I was trying to machine
piece. I am not a hand-sewer generally. I know now, and you will
probably concur, it would be best paper pieced.
I cut out heaps of little triangles and tried to machine them, but
they are so small, and it has to be so accurate, I was pencilling
every seam line. I only got one sample block made and half, I repeat,
half, of a real block constructed. I have been staring at it, and
cutting the triangles for weeks and just getting up and walking out of
the room.
There was just no quick way to strip piece because I was using random
colors following the general theme. It had to be dead accurate and
there are a lot of bias edges.
I have made the decision. Final. If there is no joy in it, cut my
losses. I've packed the cut triangles into ziplocks, and folded all
the material to put away.
I'll now look at some other simpler design and use what uncut material
I have left.

I feel better now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers
Bronnie


--
Best Regards
Pat on the Green

On Dec 28, 3:21*am, Pat S wrote:
Interesting block. *It looks like it is based on the Lone Star
principle.

Exactly! I have to agree with Pat. I'd approach this as I would a Lone
Star quilt.

And each of those triangle sections (made up of 4 smaller sections) -
I'd paper-piece those.
I wouldn't even bother dealing with cutting triangles, unless you love
hand piecing.
You'd be surprised at how quickly it will all go together. It's not
worth bothering with all that exposed bias.

After I had paper pieced the 16 larger triangles, I'd join them into
pairs as dictated by your color pattern (one light to one dark).

Now you've got 8 diamonds - same as when doing a Lone Star.

Now I personally prefer to have the set in side triangles.

But it your fabric won't noticeably show the seam lines (and you don't
want to deal with y-seams), then you can turn each diamond into a
larger triangle.
If you take your diagram and just draw lines diagonally corner to
corner, top to bottom and side to side, you should be able to see how
you end up with 8 right triangles. Put them together into pairs, and
now you've got 4 squares to join together for a finished block.

If you want the set-in triangles, then the construction would be the
same as for a Lone Star quilt (a bunch of of y-seams, but a great
look).

-Michele in NYC

If you aren't having fun, and see no hope of fun any time soon, then
this is the right decision. But what is it about paper piecing that
you didn't want to try that first? You don't have to actually sew
through the paper, just fold a flap of it to one side and sew right
next to the fold.
This is an 8-point star -have you done a plain one before? Did it
work? (did you like it?) Such a lovely block -I was really hoping for
a view of the finished quilt! :-)
Roberta in D

On Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:40:55 -0800 (PST), Bronnie
wrote:

Well, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject
failure.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bronferr...06038328730482
I can't recall where I got the design from; I did draw it up in EQ7
mid-year. I loved it. EQ7 showed how the whole quilt might look. I
loved it. The colorway I had chosen was to go with my French wall
quilt behind the bed in the guestroom. This project was for a 12" 60-
block QS quilt.
I must preface this admission by saying I was trying to machine
piece. I am not a hand-sewer generally. I know now, and you will
probably concur, it would be best paper pieced.
I cut out heaps of little triangles and tried to machine them, but
they are so small, and it has to be so accurate, I was pencilling
every seam line. I only got one sample block made and half, I repeat,
half, of a real block constructed. I have been staring at it, and
cutting the triangles for weeks and just getting up and walking out of
the room.
There was just no quick way to strip piece because I was using random
colors following the general theme. It had to be dead accurate and
there are a lot of bias edges.
I have made the decision. Final. If there is no joy in it, cut my
losses. I've packed the cut triangles into ziplocks, and folded all
the material to put away.
I'll now look at some other simpler design and use what uncut material
I have left.

I feel better now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers
Bronnie

Howdy!

Ha! A community project, looks like.
Bronnie's idea & frustration leads the group to come up w/ solutions
and plans for how to construct this little beauty.
Sometimes "it takes a village", and that's RCTQ!
So, we all pitch in and piece our particular favorite parts;
I could handle those 4 corners.

Cheers!

R/Sandy - happy to take the cut pieces and scrap them together ;-

On 12/28/10 7:59 AM, in article ,
"Roberta" Roberta@Home wrote:

If you aren't having fun, and see no hope of fun any time soon, then
this is the right decision. But what is it about paper piecing that
you didn't want to try that first? You don't have to actually sew
through the paper, just fold a flap of it to one side and sew right
next to the fold.
This is an 8-point star -have you done a plain one before? Did it
work? (did you like it?) Such a lovely block -I was really hoping for
a view of the finished quilt! :-)
Roberta in D

On Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:40:55 -0800 (PST), Bronnie
wrote:

Well, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject
failure.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bronferr...06038328730482
I can't recall where I got the design from; I did draw it up in EQ7
mid-year. I loved it. EQ7 showed how the whole quilt might look. I
loved it. The colorway I had chosen was to go with my French wall
quilt behind the bed in the guestroom. This project was for a 12" 60-
block QS quilt.
I must preface this admission by saying I was trying to machine
piece. I am not a hand-sewer generally. I know now, and you will
probably concur, it would be best paper pieced.
I cut out heaps of little triangles and tried to machine them, but
they are so small, and it has to be so accurate, I was pencilling
every seam line. I only got one sample block made and half, I repeat,
half, of a real block constructed. I have been staring at it, and
cutting the triangles for weeks and just getting up and walking out of
the room.
There was just no quick way to strip piece because I was using random
colors following the general theme. It had to be dead accurate and
there are a lot of bias edges.
I have made the decision. Final. If there is no joy in it, cut my
losses. I've packed the cut triangles into ziplocks, and folded all
the material to put away.
I'll now look at some other simpler design and use what uncut material
I have left.

I feel better now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers
Bronnie

I can offer little more than commisseration. There was a small
checkerboard pattern we were trying to align - tried everything from a
number of approaches, and never could get it to work, so it too lies
in a bag...

Your block looks familiar to me too. Maybe it's EQ7 or maybe just the
design - it reminds me in some ways of a carpenters wheel, which is
also a terror to assemble properly (especially in velvet). We haven't
given up on that one yet, but it *is* taking an extended time-out.

Not trying to talk you into any more self-abuse, but reading some
instructions for a carpenters wheel and then forgetting about it may
give your subconscious some food for thought (a technique I've used
all my life and shared with many to great effect).

Gotta agree though - if it ain't fun, why do it?

Doc
Oh, the pain... THE PAIN...

On Dec 27, 6:40*pm, Bronnie wrote:
Well, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject
failure.
*http://picasaweb.google.com/bronferr...55550603832873....
I can't recall where I got the design from; I did draw it up in EQ7
mid-year. *I loved it. *EQ7 showed how the whole quilt might look. I
loved it. *The colorway I had chosen was to go with my French wall
quilt behind the bed in the guestroom. *This project was for a 12" 60-
block QS quilt.
I must preface this admission by saying I was trying to machine
piece. *I am not a hand-sewer generally. *I know now, and you will
probably concur, it would be best paper pieced.
I cut out heaps of little triangles and tried to machine them, but
they are so small, and it has to be so accurate, I was pencilling
every seam line. *I only got one sample block made and half, I repeat,
half, of a real block constructed. I have been staring at it, and
cutting the triangles for weeks and just getting up and walking out of
the room.
There was just no quick way to strip piece because I was using random
colors following the general theme. *It had to be dead accurate and
there are a lot of bias edges.
I have made the decision. Final. If there is no joy in it, cut my
losses. * I've packed the cut triangles into ziplocks, and folded all
the material to put away.
I'll now look at some other simpler design and use what uncut material
I have left.

I feel better now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers
Bronnie

On Dec 29, 4:15*am, Sandy E wrote:
Howdy!

Ha! *A community project, looks like.
Bronnie's idea & frustration leads the group to come up w/ solutions
and plans for how to construct this little beauty.
Sometimes "it takes a village", and that's RCTQ!
So, we all pitch in and piece our particular favorite parts;
I could handle those 4 corners.

Cheers!

R/Sandy - happy to take the cut pieces and scrap them together ;-

On 12/28/10 7:59 AM, in article ,

"Roberta" Roberta@Home wrote:
If you aren't having fun, and see no hope of fun any time soon, then
this is the right decision. But what is it about paper piecing that
you didn't want to try that first? You don't have to actually sew
through the paper, just fold a flap of it to one side and sew right
next to the fold.
This is an 8-point star -have you done a plain one before? Did it
work? (did you like it?) Such a lovely block -I was really hoping for
a view of the finished quilt! :-)
Roberta in D

On Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:40:55 -0800 (PST), Bronnie
wrote:

Well, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject
failure.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bronferr...55550603832873....
I can't recall where I got the design from; I did draw it up in EQ7
mid-year. *I loved it. *EQ7 showed how the whole quilt might look. I
loved it. *The colorway I had chosen was to go with my French wall
quilt behind the bed in the guestroom. *This project was for a 12" 60-
block QS quilt.
I must preface this admission by saying I was trying to machine
piece. *I am not a hand-sewer generally. *I know now, and you will
probably concur, it would be best paper pieced.
I cut out heaps of little triangles and tried to machine them, but
they are so small, and it has to be so accurate, I was pencilling
every seam line. *I only got one sample block made and half, I repeat,
half, of a real block constructed. I have been staring at it, and
cutting the triangles for weeks and just getting up and walking out of
the room.
There was just no quick way to strip piece because I was using random
colors following the general theme. *It had to be dead accurate and
there are a lot of bias edges.
I have made the decision. Final. If there is no joy in it, cut my
losses. * I've packed the cut triangles into ziplocks, and folded all
the material to put away.
I'll now look at some other simpler design and use what uncut material
I have left.

I feel better now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers
Bronnie

I've got a good idea - you can all do one block each for me! I need
59 volunteers Ha! Ha!
But truly, I I have done a couple of sample pp in the past, and it is
just not my scene. I don't handsew in front of the box at night
either and I'm not old enough to be sitting in doctor's waiting rooms
for attention (sorry, couldn't resist that!!!)..

Thank you all though for thinking this thru for me. It is
appreciated, and it is fun to have these interactive discussions....
Just out of interest, the colours in my photo example is not 'exactly'
my fabric choice. Nearly. I should post the EQ7 full quilt design. It
was going to be on-point and I was going to alternate blocks with a
change of corner square color - a darker beige. I'll do that later
today.
Bronnie

On Dec 29, 11:06*am, Bronnie wrote:
On Dec 29, 4:15*am, Sandy E wrote:



Howdy!

Ha! *A community project, looks like.
Bronnie's idea & frustration leads the group to come up w/ solutions
and plans for how to construct this little beauty.
Sometimes "it takes a village", and that's RCTQ!
So, we all pitch in and piece our particular favorite parts;
I could handle those 4 corners.

Cheers!

R/Sandy - happy to take the cut pieces and scrap them together ;-

On 12/28/10 7:59 AM, in article ,

"Roberta" Roberta@Home wrote:
If you aren't having fun, and see no hope of fun any time soon, then
this is the right decision. But what is it about paper piecing that
you didn't want to try that first? You don't have to actually sew
through the paper, just fold a flap of it to one side and sew right
next to the fold.
This is an 8-point star -have you done a plain one before? Did it
work? (did you like it?) Such a lovely block -I was really hoping for
a view of the finished quilt! :-)
Roberta in D

On Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:40:55 -0800 (PST), Bronnie
wrote:

Well, try as I could, constructing this block has been an abject
failure.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bronferr...55550603832873....
I can't recall where I got the design from; I did draw it up in EQ7
mid-year. *I loved it. *EQ7 showed how the whole quilt might look. I
loved it. *The colorway I had chosen was to go with my French wall
quilt behind the bed in the guestroom. *This project was for a 12" 60-
block QS quilt.
I must preface this admission by saying I was trying to machine
piece. *I am not a hand-sewer generally. *I know now, and you will
probably concur, it would be best paper pieced.
I cut out heaps of little triangles and tried to machine them, but
they are so small, and it has to be so accurate, I was pencilling
every seam line. *I only got one sample block made and half, I repeat,
half, of a real block constructed. I have been staring at it, and
cutting the triangles for weeks and just getting up and walking out of
the room.
There was just no quick way to strip piece because I was using random
colors following the general theme. *It had to be dead accurate and
there are a lot of bias edges.
I have made the decision. Final. If there is no joy in it, cut my
losses. * I've packed the cut triangles into ziplocks, and folded all
the material to put away.
I'll now look at some other simpler design and use what uncut material
I have left.

I feel better now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers
Bronnie

I've got a good idea - you can all do one block each for me! *I need
59 volunteers Ha! Ha!
But truly, I I have done a couple of sample pp in the past, and it is
just not my scene. *I don't handsew in front of the box at night
either and I'm not old enough to be sitting in doctor's waiting rooms
for attention (sorry, couldn't resist that!!!)..

Thank you all though for thinking this thru for me. *It is
appreciated, and it is fun to have these interactive discussions....
Just out of interest, the colours in my photo example is not 'exactly'
my fabric choice. *Nearly. I should post the EQ7 full quilt design. It
was going to be on-point and I was going to alternate blocks with a
change of corner square color *- a darker beige. *I'll do that later
today.
Bronnie

Here is the link for the new pix - two alternatives, one with sashing.
The alternate blocks were just rotated.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bronferr...40325306298114

they do look rather lovely.

Bronnie