Saturday, February 19, 2011

My Friday Night "Press" In...

48 completed blocks ready to be squared
Gus decided that we needed to watch the Lord of the Rings, Return of the King (he loves the scene where they battle the Oliphants - "It still only counts as one." --Gimli.

So how did the evening go?

Started by pressing the 24 remaining half blocks and trimming the side that would be sewn together.  Then sewed them into the final 12 blocks and back to the ironing board.  First to press the most recently completed blocks - then to repress on of the seams as I forgot to fan the center seam.  I have two spray bottles keeping me company - the Niagra bottle has plain water so that I can steam seams or dampen the fabric in order to re-set a seam or two (or 42). The other bottle is Mary Jane's Best Press, unscented, so that I could starch the blocks once again.

Sadly, I only got to sew 13 seams tonight (had to redo one of the blocks).  After pressing and re-pressing, I had the pleasure of squaring 48 blocks.  And by the time I finished that seemingly endless task - though I did notice that it got easier as I reached the more recently pieced blocks as I had done a better job of piecing them, it was still incredibly tedious. BUT it is done. And hopefully this weekend I'll have time between scouts and hockey to decide which layout I like best and assemble the top.

I did take a lesson from the Dr. Seuss Log Cabin - when I squared each of the blocks, I aligned the ruler based upon the center seams rather than lining up one of the corners. When I stitch the quilt together I'll use the central seams again in order to align the points, in hopes of keeping the quilt even in the end.


The Corgis took advantage of the quiet evening and kept me company by sleeping, thankfully not on top of any of my fabric.

All in all, it was a successful evening.

7 comments:

Impera Magna said...

Love those blocks... can't wait to see how you arrange them! Great progress... the pressing and squaring up is not the most exciting thing in the world...

Dirt Road Quilter said...

Ugh! Squaring up blocks is my least favorite part of the quilt making process, but it makes it worth it in the end. Well done! Yuo sewed 13 more seams than I did! You're getting close and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished top soon!

Mary Ann said...

Squaring from the center is going to work nicely for you in the end result - I love your colors and it will all be worth it! Next FNSI, I'll have to rent some DVDs - great idea!

Marg said...

Those blocks are looking great, and it sounds like you got a lot done, squaring up blocks is certainly not fun.

Quilter Raised in the South said...

I love the colors you picked out, that red line of squares is going to look great when you are finished.

Brenda said...

Well even if you did not get a lot of seam done you sure had a productive night.

Angie @ CraftedAngles said...

I love working wiht Mary Ellen's Best Press too. Great job with your block - the colors really stand out with the contrast. Another successful FNSI.

Angie - http://craftedAngles.com