I set the mystery aside long enough to sew just a bit on Talkin’ Turkey. My goal is to work on UFOs and I can’t work on them if I don’t take a little time out for them. So….here’s what I got done.
Yes, I know it doesn’t look like anything at all as it’s unorganized but here’s the goods.
Last week I told you that I thought I had all of the flying geese done but this week I went to sew the borders together and alas, I was short a few pieces. I counted and recounted. Originally I thought I was short about 8 geese. Well when I was making 400 and some that makes sense that I could be off 8 geese. This is so true as I knew I cut this out over the course of week during nap time moments when all the kids were sleeping. I counted again and I was closer to 45 off. Oh well…might as well start sewing right?
So I sewed them all- then sewed them into the borders. I was so happy to have those outer borders of flying geese finished up. Then I lifted up my book with the directions and ah…there in the box below was a border strip I already finished! That was why my count was off and dang. I didn’t need to make 45 more geese.
…and so goes the life of an unorganized quilter!!
Oh well. From there I was onto making the sashing strips. They are all finished too. They even got Ruby’s stamp of approval. See?
So now with Talkin’ Turkey I’ve been working on this quilt kind of backwards. I have the outer border of the blocks done, the sashing done and all of the borders done except the string pieced part…can you believe it’s the blocks themselves that I don’t have done? The main reason is I was being lazy. I need to pull fabric for that part…and I’m doing a bit of a debate. The blocks call for 2 5/8″ squares. I have GOBS of 2 1/2″ strips. I hate to not use them up. Right now I’m thinking that I’ll use the 2 1/2″ strips and simply sew just a smidge of a smaller seam. I’ve not gotten brave enough to experiment with that. Then I can’t help but think- “oh girl, you have PLENTY of fabric! Just cut the 2 5/8″ squares and be done with it”. Confession-this is what happens in your life once you get addicted to the scrap users system. It’s hard to think any other way!!
Find me here next week. Hopefully I’ll have a few of those center blocks done and can show them off.
You are making progress on your list of UFO’s, cant wait to see this quilt done. I must admit that I have lost a few pieces for a project to find them after I have remade them. Oh well with scrappy quilts those parts will get used eventually. I have 3 UFO to finish on retreat next week and then I will be all caught up.
I’m making Talkin’ Turkey too, but I did it the opposite of the way you did it. My blocks have been done for a while. Got the sashing done this summer, and I still have the border to do. It’s a lot of piecing!
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Last night I got the borders on my mystery quilt, so it is now a top! Tomorrow and Friday our little quilting group is having a 2 day ‘sleep at home’ quilt retreat. I wanted to get my mystery done so that I can work on a box of UFO courthouse steps blocks to get them into a top. If I get that done, I am going to start sewing a UFO scrappy bargello that I have the strips all ready to sew. Hubs thinks it is pretty silly to haul everything a half mile away to sew when I can sew at home, but at the retreat I am not distracted by housework, cooking, or other things that need to be done at home!
I would think of it this way; the 2 1/2 inch strips are there waiting for the perfect project that takes that size strip. Don’t feel bad about leaving the 2 1/2 strips they are meant for a different project, one maybe you have not seen yet. Cutting into fabric is what you need to do because that is what that fabric is meant to be used for. I know it will take time, but think of the memories it will bring back thinking about where the fabric came from.
I am still working on sewing my En Provence blocks together. Seems to be taking forever! I still have one shirt to finish and another to cut out, but I want my blocks too! After seeing the colors in your Turkey quilt, I think I’m going to have to make one of those also.
Quote from my mom (and I’m sure many others) – if a thing is worth doing – it is worth doing well (correctly). – I say go for the 2 5/8. Maybe you should add another category in your strip system — are there any more BH quilts that used 2 5/8? I am still working on the En Provence quilt. This is my first Bonnie Hunter quilt, and while I have the 4 patches mostly done, I am really slow on doing the ones that use the Tri Recs ruler. They are easy to cut out, but not so easy to put together. I’m saving those for the weekend when there are more hours of daylight to sew. – Can we say procrastination? Hope you are over your sinus infection.
I feel your pain for coming up short on blocks. No matter how many times I count, I ALWAYS come up short on whatever pieces I’m working on. And I’m a CPA — I count stuff for a living!
I made Talkin’ Turkey when the pattern first came out. One of my best efforts. I gave that quilt to the social worker who helped my mother-in-law during her last days. I am going to make another one and I will keep it. I love anything red, so that Bonnie Hunter quilt is one of my favorites.
Oh my. I had to laugh when I read what you did with the lost blocks. I too am disorganized. I was making BH’s Scrappy Mountains Majesty from de-boned shirts for my grandson. When Christmas rolled around last year, I put the blocks away. After Christmas I got my scraps out and counted the blocks. I thought I had almost enough made, so I laid them out on the bed and had a gaping hole in the middle. Hmmm. I figured I was 50 blocks short, so I made more and then put them together. Then I found a bag with 50 blocks in it…so I made another quilt…I love that pattern anyway.
Jo, have you seen the video Bonnie Hunter has on her new Essential Triangle tool? It eliminates the need to cut 2 5/8″ squares; you can use your 2-1/2″ strips; the tool goes from 1″ up to 6″ using the same method.
Oops, re using the 2-1/2′ strips, I was thinking of making triangles when using the Essential Triangle Tool……
Bonnie uses strips along with the easy angle to make HSTs and avoids using that odd size square. Because of the notch in the ruler, it works. Place both strips right sides together, cut with the easy angle, then they are ready to just feed through and sew. It’s a great time saver.
http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2013/03/math-tricks-with-specialty-rulers.html?m=1
http://www.quiltingqueenonline.com/2015/08/tips-tricks-and-tuts-tuesday-easy-angle.html?m=1 (good explanation including a link to Bonnie’s youtube tutorial)
Well, you didn’t really ask…but, my 2 cents says that it’s also Bonnie who always says, it’s not the width of your seam allowance that matters, it’s the size of your finished project. The strips are there, ready to go, and who can see the 5/8 marking anyway? Certainly not I! Go for it girl!