Friday, July 18, 2014

A Reconstructed Flimsy

A marginally less ugly top...

I took apart my ugly top, cut my Churn Dash blocks into fourths, and used them DNP style. I added some red ones, as several commenters suggested the addition of red. I played with layouts on the design wall. This is what I ended up with. At least the balance of light and dark is better.
Disappearing Churn Dash, 39" x 42"
 
When you slice up a nine patch, which is essentially what a churn dash is, you lose 1/4" on each side of the cuts. That's why the little red and teal pieces are offset by 1/4" here. Kind of interesting, sort of... At least I didn't have to match up all those seams!

Because of unstitching the original top, there was some fraying of the seam allowances and when I resewed everything together I lost some of the points. Oh, well, this will have to be good enough.

Still not loving it, but I've put enough time and energy into it and I'm sick of looking at it. I'll set this aside for awhile because I have deadlines and commitments that need my attention. Later I'll quilt it and donate it.

Linking up with Friday Finish over at Crazy Mom Quilts and Whoop Whoop Friday over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. At least I can call it a finished top, not just a waste of fabric.

In other quilty news, my 12 year old niece wants to make a quilt. She has almost no sewing experience, so we'll keep it very simple.  Here's the design she selected. It'll be throw size, about 50" by 59".
Kristen's Quilt

She's sending me a swatch of "mottled pool blue" fabric which is her color inspiration, along with her favorite colors of teal and purple. I'll go through my stash and see what I can contribute. After that Kristen and her mom will have to shop for the rest of the fabrics she'll need. Meanwhile I'll make a sample and write out the instructions for her. While I'm doing that, she's practicing good scant 1/4" seams on scraps and looking at video tutorials about rotary cutting.

This should be an interesting experience because Kristen lives in Tulsa and I live in St. Louis, so we're doing this all by e-mail and tutorial. Her mom, my sister, doesn't sew a stitch (in fairness, she's very musically talented and I'm tone-deaf), so mom isn't going to be much help if Kristen gets stuck. Maybe there's a Girl Scout leader she can turn to.

Wish Kristen luck with her project! Maybe we'll end up with another quilter (and fabriholic!) in the family.

10 comments:

  1. well it looks great! You sure have put yourself into saving it too! What's next?? There is always a next....
    LeeAnna Paylor
    lapaylor.blogspot.com

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  2. Nice save! I think it looks great as is. Someone will love it as a cozy quilt. And good luck to your niece! She already seems to have great color sense!

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  3. I think your re-finished top looks great! The slash of red is really interesting. Sorry you lost points because of the deconstruction. I do hope Kristen enjoys her quilting project! Good luck to both student and teacher!

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  4. I think the top looks like fun. I am sure whoever receives it will love it. And have so much fun teaching Kristen long distance.

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  5. Your save on the churn dash really works. It will be a good donation quilt. I'm lucky to live in the same town as my niece, who has also expressed an interest in sewing. We're in the process of making a pillow, then we'll move on to a quilt. Have fun with your niece!

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  6. This is very unique and interesting,nice save. I like it. Good luck to your niece!

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  7. Oh, your niece wants to be like her cool auntie! Have fun and good luck!

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  8. Wow! I'd never have guessed the quilt started life as a churn dash - looks really cool!

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  9. Jan, the transformation of your "fail" quilt top is amazing. I realize you still aren't in love with it but it's graphic and bright AND much improved :) I have to hand it to you for sharing your epic fail.....that took some strength to put it out there.

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