Saturday, March 31, 2012

T Stands for . . . Thankful!


Just in time for Sinta and Sherri's Schnibbles Parade, here's my "T Stands for Thelma" top. As I mentioned in a previous post, I thought this pattern needed 100 "T"s.



This is Lifetime Quilt Number 82
It finished at 58" x 58" and has approximately 782 pieces
The pattern is technically Bibelot by Carrie Nelson for Miss Rosie's Quilt Company (it pains me say that but for historical purposes I must be accurate)
I have around 50 different red fabrics in this quilt.

(Huge Gasp......It just dawned on me that I'm only 19 projects away from quilt number 100! I should be making quilt 100 next year! Oh my, the pressure of finding the perfect fabric and perfect project for my 100th quilt, good thing I have some time to plan . . . . )

I had a couple of rules when I was arranging my "T" blocks on my design wall, no like fabrics touching plus a diagonal row of upright "T"s going from the top right corner to the bottom left corner. ( I have no idea why the corner to corner row of upright "T"s was so important to me, but it was so I went with it!)

So I did the same thing I always do, put the blocks on my design wall, get the perfect combination, then go to bed and sleep on it. If it still looks perfect the next morning I'm good to go with sewing the rows together.

After spending so much time getting just the perfect combination, there's nothing more frustrating than getting your blocks mixed up when connecting them. And in my case, it's a four step walk from the design wall to the sewing machine, but somehow I'm able to jumble up those blocks if I don't have them marked. This is how I avoid that disaster.

Using a permanent marker, I wrote numbers on the tops of these pins. I keep them in this special pin cushion.



Before I take a row of blocks off my design wall to be sewn, I put a pin in the block, numbering each block.



I put the pin in the same place on every block, sort of in the upper left hand corner, but not too close where it gets in the way of sewing. I put them in the same place so I know how to orient the blocks. I leave those pins on until the entire row is connected, then I double check to make sure I didn't make a mistake. Then I take all the pins out of the blocks except for the pin that identifies the row. If this was the first row, then pin number one stays in the block. When I finish the second row, pin number two stays in the block. I usually sew row one to row two as soon as they are ready, and when they are pieced I take pin two off the project. Pin number one stays in that project until all the rows are connected. I always like to be able to identify the top of my quilts. (I don't know why, I'm just crazy that way!) So that's how I get that perfect layout every time!

Thanks Sinta and Sherri for picking what forever will be to me my very own pattern. I can hardly wait for the parade, hope to see you there!


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