Friday, May 2, 2014

Persistence

Just like Running Man
and his races, I have been
persistent in my own way.

Granted, it doesn't involve running 50 miles,
but it does consist
 of completing small stitches each day!

My grapes are done for the 

The good thing is that it 
didn't turn out to be the 
"Grapes of Wrath" block
 
 after all,
 despite their size.
being published by Quiltmania
surfaced once again.

When the second part of this quilt was
published, there was some concern about 
making the pieced border fit.
I decided to sit back and wait
and listen to the findings of other quilters
 and then move ahead.

I'm glad I did.
I picked up several good tips from
some very experienced quilters.

I had originally planned on
 gridding the background fabric 
and then appliqueing the
circles onto it.
Then when the background square was
stitched into the border,
the applique would already be done.

With many quilters having
 difficulty in getting the border to fit,
I decided that I wasn't  going to do all
the applique and then
possibly have to  redo it, if
there was some problems.

So I cut it apart,
carefully sewed the border pieces,
and then appliqued the circles.
The border is going to fit fine.

And I'm glad I waited.
I discovered that
my original basted circles were
not very well centered.
I left a couple in place to show you 
how off I was.
I would have been really irritated with myself
if I had appliqued them ahead, stitched the background
in place and discovered that the circles
 were so far off center.

In the meantime,
I persistently searched for one more
fabric for the triangle pieces.
Finally,
after looking one more time in the stash.....

It's so great to have a stash!
 Wish I could have sat and stitched
and completed all of this without issues,
but as you can see,
persistence does pay off,
no matter what race you're in.

Until Next Time-

16 comments:

  1. I have been admiring the "Noah" quilt...your block is so pretty!! Persistance...yep, I need a cup of that and just a dash of focus!

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  2. I love your block from Noah and Matilda quilt. I'm hoping to get a coup blocks prepped so I can work on them when we go camping mid month. Hugs

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  3. Your block looks lovely--I especially like the two different greens on the stems and leaves. That is great leaf fabric!
    Wow, what a border! You were wise to sit back and see what others had to say about it. Your results are beautiful!

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  4. Such tiny berries! Persistence pays off!

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  5. I am not familiar with the Di Ford mystery quilt. Looks like a lot of circles.

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  6. Your Noah and Matilda block turned out beautifully! Such tiny grapes! Great idea to wait on the border, that saved you a lot of grief. Love the fabric choices for your border. Certainly a lot of circles in your life lately!

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  7. HI Kyle - You've been doing lots of applique work it looks like - and I like what I see. I finally found the next issue of Quiltmania, but still haven't even started the first part. Can you tell me what conversations you're watching with info about this quilt?

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  8. I love the fussy cut berries in your Noah & Matilda block, the crosses are so sweet. That circle border is beautiful, gorgeous fabrics, and even better when you find them in your stash.

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  9. Lots of lovely applique - and I know how long all those berries can take! I think I'd like your stash please - the border fabrics are beautiful :)

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  10. You "run" a good race and all without raising a sweat! Well done, I am just discovering how tricky circles are to applique and I only have a few to do.

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  11. It's looking wonderful! Great circles.

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  12. Those circles do take persistence! Nice work!!

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  13. They're all looking so good. Well done you for Persistence!!

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  14. Looking really good. The circles are not an easy part. How clever of you to do the applique after you pieced the border!!!!

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  15. Your Grapes block turned out beautiful!
    Your border for the mystery quilt looks fabulous too!

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  16. Looks great! You are a circle making machine!!

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