I got off on a slow start with this one, primarily because each block takes about 2 hours, and that's with all the pieces already cut out.
Do you often have 2 hours of uninterrupted sewing time?
Me neither. So this week I decided to sew on it when I can & however much I can without feeling like I have to finish one block in one setting. I did 3 blocks in 2 days with that mentality.
I wondered when I started this how I would like this "scrappy". Some parts are fine and others bother me. None of the red stars bother me. I guess that's a large enough piece of fabric that it can handle any design. Plus the white around it gives it plenty of contrast.
The only brown that bothers me is this busy leaf.
Just because all the leaves serve to reduce the contrast. And I'm not crazy about the tan at all. It isn't enough contrast from the pink background. It just gets lost. The only block that works in is the one with a plainer, tonal tan.
My first making of this pattern was also my first work with flying geese, and that didn't go so well. I followed the pattern and used the "no waste" method and for me, that resulted in way too much variance from piece to piece. That might have been fine if I'd then used a flying geese ruler to trim them, but I didn't and therefore had some wonk on those blocks. Some cut off points, some smaller than standard seams. This time I used the Fons and Porter flying geese ruler:
I'm linking this up to Freshly Pieced for her WIP Wednesday. Lots of great projects represented there already!
I love your Aster blocks! The tan may not contrast as much as you'd liked, but it's a pleasant soft effect. It'll be a very beautiful quilt when you're finished.
ReplyDeleteYeah - flying geese. People swear by the no-waste 4-in-1 method. I like it OK. As you mention, it doesn't come out so perfectly accurate. You have to sew with "scant" 1/4" seams (and waht ARE those, anyway - so much room for variance), and you still sometimes have blocks not quite large enough. I'm doing a batch of over 100 of them right now. Next time I think I'll try the same method, but I'll cut the squares just a smidge bigger (urgh- math to figure out now) so there's a tiny tad to trim off and everything will be perfectly sized when finished. Flying geese. Hate making them. Can't get away from them, though. ;D
Lynn, it's just my opinion, because I think everybody is different, but you might try the ruler I showed. You cut strips & then sub-cut them into triangles. I think it's much better than cutting all those squares & marking them for sewing & then to have to trim them down. I've been very happy with the results.
Delete