Tuesday, October 14, 2014

No Room For Error.

So I mentioned I was pattern-testing.  I'm also walking a knife edge, quite literally.  Rather, a rolling razorblade edge...

I need a light.  It should blend, with the effect I'm trying to create, but still stand out amongst the florals.  I went to my stack of neutrals on the shelves of my stash.  Found a few, this one amongst them.  Thought it might do.  Not sure.  Went back today after all the floral pairs have been sewn, to lay a few choices amongst the pairs.  Eliminated all but two.  Decided to go with my gut and use the Pat Magaret and Donna Slusser Watercolor Inspirations.



The pattern calls for a yard.  I had 26.5".  Are you kidding me!  Sigh.  Do the math as to how many patches I require (104), how many I can get from one strip (8), and how many strips I will need (13).  13X2" strips = 26".  Yes!!  My husband says I always try to pack 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound pail...oops.

So, with no little amount of stress, I started cutting.  The piece was incredibly square.  That's thanks to sitting nicely folded in the stack of neutrals for 10 years, I'm sure.  Now I love my 8 1/2 X 24" ruler, but sometimes it messes me up.  You need to be really really careful when reading the numbers (there are two rows across the top) and that you don't let the extra 1/2" screw you up.  It nearly did.  Don't you love it when you think you were wrong but you find out you were right?!  ;-)

Here is what is left of that piece of fabric:


Yep.  One 1/2" strip, plus thirteen roughly 2.5" rectangles after I cut 8 rectangles from each of my 13 strips.  Oh, and some selvedges.  That stack of 104 rectangles is 1.5" high!  Now to sew one to each of my pairs, and get this baby (ha ha, Joanne will get the pun on that) done!

Think I made the right choice

Love that bad boy in the picture above: my large rotary cutter with a fresh blade, so I could slice through 8 layers of fabric at a time.

And come out perfect.  Don't you love it?  Doesn't always happen in my world.  Especially with my oft-vacationing melon.

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