As I sew in red, white and blue, I can’t help thinking about my concerns for democracy. There, I said it! I’m worried and everyone that I know is as well. Whichever side of the political spectrum you’re on, you have to admit that things are rapidly changing. While people are shaking their heads, the courts are busy going through bottles of Tylenol and Advil. The approach of Independence Day feels very different this year. While this isn’t meant to be a political post, I couldn’t avoid sharing a few thoughts. This post is not about politics though. It’s really about a red, white and blue sewing lesson that has humbled me.
I love to help Cynthia with her charity, Many Hands and Many Hearts. She has block requests that we make and mail her when finished. With several devoted helpers, she sews all our individual blocks into comfort quilts. This month’s block request, Scrappy Chains, is red, white and blue intended for veterans. I am among the many fans of those beautiful Quilts of Valor and the messages of support that go with them. This block request is stunning and will certainly make some gorgeous quilts! Yet, I have been struggling with my individual blocks more than usual.
In this close up you can see the top right patchwork job that I did to correct my final block size. Ouch!! So much for sewing proficiency. This block has truly humbled me!!
That pesky, scant quarter inch seam has been giving me a headache!! I made 6 blocks with five of them using both red and blue (my favorites in this style.) Only one block was perfect in my opinion!! Not that perfection is my goal, but measuring 12.5″ unfinished is the actual request and my blocks were all coming up a tad short. Finally, only block #6 I did get it correct! You may have some suggestions for me and I would take any help you can give. I honestly wasn’t expecting to have difficulty with this, but here I am. Below is a photo of my best block.
What I learned making this design:
- You must use a real scant quarter-inch and no more! Otherwise you will end up having blocks that aren’t measuring up at the end.
- Do not try to square up each white piece or you will have uneven edges!! (Ask me how I know??) You need to line up each pieced strip from the top, otherwise you’re going to have trouble.
- When at first you don’t succeed, add some scrappy pieces and try again! I don’t mind a scrappy block but it does embarrass me a bit to send them off to Cynthia. However, I couldn’t see taking it all apart with the seam ripper, so I improvised. I’m not going to win any awards, but I do feel I learned a helpful lesson here.
- Press towards the dark side, but keep vigilant. I keep wanting to press towards the light side. (Is this a metaphor??)
- Sewing for charity is both fun, altruistic and an opportunity to learn. I never cease to find something new to try or a skill to perfect. Today, I learned that I need more practice on my “scant” quarter-inch seams!
I’ve also been sewing some simple string red, white and blue blocks in 10.5″ These are mindless, fun and so therapeutic. I made them on scrap paper to keep the weight down. They’re already in Cynthia’s hands. She’ll work her magic and complete some easy, veteran finishes here.
At home and on the job, I’m in the in the midst of lots of sewing for a crafts sale at work. I’ll share more when I do some projects with my senior residents, as well as on my own. I adore making things with them and this new group is going to rock some fun things. Until then…check out Cythnia’s blog and let me know how it goes if you try making the same block.
Linking up:
Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap, Slow Sunday Stitching, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle and Thread Thursday , Put Your Foot Down, Finished Or Not Friday, Off The Wall Fridays,
That Fabric Feeling 
That scan quarter inch seam can definitely be a pain at times, especially when you are making blocks for someone else. I’m sure you will figure it out. Thanks for sharing. Have a great week!
LikeLike
Thank you for stopping by. I truly appreciate the supportive comments.
LikeLike
Your blocks look very pretty, sorry if they are not very cooperative 😉 Cute little ladybugs, and small birds! I love your string blocks too, I need a mindless project too 🙂
Thank you for sharing, and linking up!
LikeLike
Thanks. I used to have Tula ladybug fabric in all colors. I cherished it too much actually. Now, I love all novelty fabrics, but birds and dogs are my favorites. Penguins too! I highly recommend a mindless project every few months. String quilts are required for us to use up some scraps and have therapeutic sewing days. Thanks for stopping by!!!
LikeLike
Sounds like you tried a lot of things!! is there a chance the strips are actually 2 1/2 inched? I really like those blocks – I made them in 30’s prints years ago for my RSC blocks and just loved the scrappy varieties
LikeLike
liked the blocks also, the look is very cool. As a lover of log cabins, this really appealed to me. However, I won’t be attempting anymore for a while. While I did master it in the end, it was too taxing for me to enjoy. I would love that in 30’s prints. It must have been gorgeous. Right now I’m making needle books, a project I’ve planned with my Dementia residents. It should be very interesting. I’m hearing some pushback about giving them pins, but they’ll need to sew on a button with a needle, so that’s part of the drill. We’ll see what happens. Good supervision is always needed for all that we do, especially with sharp things. However, they don’t like us to dumb down projects and even using crayons becomes an issue. (I love crayons for so many projects.) As an art therapist, I think the whole thing is nuts. Let me use my judgement and I can take it from there. Stay tuned.
LikeLike
Hi! Making blocks for someone else to use is always a challenge. I remember having to make double the number of blocks because I realised way too late that my blocks were to small. When you make the blocks and they’re all a little too small, you just end up with a smaller quilt. But that’s a real problem when they are going to other people. Best of luck and thanks for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks!
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. You’re so right. When we measure wrong on our own, it’s frustrating but usually workable. For someone else, it’s not going to help at all! I’m just glad that I made 6 of them. I usually give her a heads up that some are off kilter. If she can’t use them, I’m sure they’ll go into a pile of orphan blocks. Mine worked out in the end, with lots of piecing. I just don’t think I’m up for making anymore!
LikeLike
I am going to visit Cynthia’s blog tonight to see how that block is made. My only hint is are your rulers accurate? Are you placing the fabric edge all the way under so it might just peak out of the line you are measuring? Is your ruler moving while you are cutting? (Note – all of those have happened to me on occasion.) I really try to make sure I’m cutting items correctly. For a block that continually is slightly small I might be inclined to cut the pieces just a smidge bigger.
As to worrying thank you for worrying. We must show our concern especially to our elected representatives. If you don’t like what they are doing write them postcards. Evidently postcards make a bigger impact because they land on desks and are a much more visual representation of their constituents concerns. I live in a distant suburb of DC and everything happening scares me, bothers me, threatens my way of life and my family. And it is terribly depressing. And, I have been writing about what is going on on my blog. The budget bill has way too many things rolled into it including something about the Supreme Court not being able to rule on executive branch activities. (I’m not exactly sure of the wording on that but again, it really scares me if it passes.) Sigh. Off my soap box for now.
LikeLike
Bonnie, I feel your pain from living in DC. It’s hard enough here in NJ, but living so close to the administration must be even more challenging. I am worried, fearful and thinking I may never be able to retire now. I am sad for my kids and future grandkids. In fact, I even wonder if any of them will still want to have kids! IN short, it’s a big mess!! I think we all need to begin some sort of quilting or sewing advocacy group where we make things that show resistance or statements of truth. I would be honored to be a part of others doing art for the greater good. Keep your soap box going for me anyways…I’m grateful to share the angst! Finally, thanks for your helpful suggestions. My only consolation is that the final block #6 went well. For that block, I moved my needle over and that seemed to do the trick. My rulers, cutting and all that were fine. The issue was the seam allowance had to be adjusted. However, I’m not sure I’m making more blocks for awhile. Please do check out Cynthia’s blog and let me know if you try a block. I’m anxious to see what you discover!! All the best, Elana
LikeLike
That scant 1/4″ can be elusive! That is the very reason, when writing many block patterns, I include generous measurements to allow for inaccurate seams and allows for trimming to a perfect trimmed size. Thanks for joining in on TGIFF.
LikeLike
You are so right that a generous measurement is a good trick…and then trimming it to the size you need. I am working on the cutest little pouches right now and it’s going much better. I made one that was meh, but my next ones are good. So thankfully, I’m not a total disaster!! I’ll have to check out your patterns. Thanks for replying to my post on your blog. XOXO
LikeLike