pinwheels in process

 

when i nixed my original idea for a black "capel" sashing for "groovy liberty," i needed to come up with an alternative. i dug around in my stash and found this awful grunge (moda cross weave woven) i am using for a different, old stalled project called "emilia's sampler trip," or something. it's from my "instagram-not-blogging" era, so it's probably not even on the blog anywhere. anyways, this grunge fabric is here in my stash because of that project. 

i tried some of the other chambrays i have on hand as a sashing, but didn't like the effect with any of them. my eye fell on this grunge because it's light and neutral. i think it will blend well enough and not call too much attention to itself.

this is a look at the grunge as sashing. i want sashing to slightly enlarge the quilt and to separate the blocks so the pinwheels don't get lost in the secondary pattern when they're laid next to each other.

i really do think this fabric is horrible on its own, but it works for some things. it has a retro vibe to it that i think works nicely with the groovy prints i picked for this quilt. it just goes to show you can dislike a fabric in general but it has its place. some fabrics spark joy all on their own, and some are useful to make others shine.

these are the blocks togther. which is fine, just not what i want. i want to see my pinwheels as pinwheels this time.

something i have completed for this project - the next two sets of blocks. i got all the ones i turned around fixed and then put these next two sets together. i am really happy with both of these. they definitely have the vibe i wanted for my "groovy liberty."

somewhere along the way i realized i had my maths wrong. how many times have i said that recently? this time was extra bad - apparently i can't even do the most basic math anymore. i was making 8 blocks each of the 6 sets. when you need 42 blocks in 6 different sets, that's SEVEN blocks of each type, not 8. maybe i was originally going for 48 blocks before i realized i didn't have enough chambray for that? i don't know. all i do know is it took me way too long to recognize my mistake, resulting in me unpicking one block of each set so i could make my last sets.

here's a look at my selections for this wild and groovy tana lawn (can't remember the name at the moment). it's mostly pastel with red mixed in. i got more than enough pieces i needed from one wof x 2.5" strip i cut from my liberty piece, so i was able to be choosy about which to use. i picked the pieces ith the most red in them, the ones with the large flower pieces in them (on the left). you can see they have a slightly different impact and feel than the more tame pieces to the right. the extras go in the scrap bins for the next project.

this is a crummy studio lighting photo taken in the early morning before the sun came up, but i was having a blissful moment with the yellow "mitsi" pieces and had to snap this. "mitsi" was the first liberty print i warmed up to. (yes, i didn't always like liberty.) the yellow, which i originally used in "beauty for ashes," is unusual for liberty and such a pretty piece. that was my sunshine on this morning before the sunshine came along. 

once i have all the 2-piece units together and know my layout for the pinwheel, i can zip through piecing the blocks pretty quickly. i lay them out on the side of my machine table and put them together in order, chain piecing the whole set.

it's simple - flip the piece on the right over on top of the piece on the left, stitch. do the same for the bottom set of the block.

i clip the pairs apart when they're all done, and i have sets like this. i press the top open tot he right and the bottom set open to the left, which gives me a nesting pair. no need to clip the joining string between them.

somehow i still managed to do this once. oh, boy. i guess i wouldn't be me if i didn't. thank heavens for unpicking (aka: sewing repentance). it can be fixed.

i was really excited to get the last set of (7, not 8) blocks done. all i had left to do before joining the blocks was cut this piece of liberty "over the hills." this is one of those pieces that looked a little different when i came than i was expecting. the scale was a lot larger than i thought, so the pattern doesn't show up much in these 2.5" x 4.5" cut pieces. it 100% has the right look and i can live with the scale.

the problem was the colors (which were as i expected). i decided i could use some pastels even though i really wanted brights. but this piece has brown in it, which i haven't used anywhere else in the quilt. i thought it was okay. i went through the process of cutting and selecting the best pieces.

i liked the pieces with the stripey bits in them the best. but all the brown was a problem.

if you look at my sample pieces in the top photos of all the blocks laid out on the sashing fabric, you're probably thinking, "this looks fine? what are you worried about?" and in the photo (now) it does look pretty alright. but those browns, especially, were catching my eye in a bad way. the print style was right, the colors just weren't. the block in general was just too light and pastel. it needs something to balance the red more.

so i went on yet another internet hunt just once more. this time i went international and found some pieces i like from alice caroline across the pond. when they arrive, i should finally get this one squared away! i actually found more than one print in the right style and colors that looks like it will work. it makes me rethink the very first blocks set i did that has more traditional/less groovy pieces in it. 

but that would be so much more unpicking and i'm not into unnecessary unpicking for the sake of unpicking. that would probably be overboard. we'll make that decision when the fabric arrives and i decide i can't live without one or i can.