Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Oh My, This Tree of Life of Mine

I've been working on setting my Tree of Life blocks together. I knew exactly which fabrics were needed for the setting triangles, but the problem was, there wasn't any large pieces except for in one particular fabric. And it was a woven. Uh oh, you know what that means! After cutting the one big square and then cutting twice on the diagonal, my cutting template was going to be a little wonky.
Tree of Life finally all put together...
I suppose I could have should have used a large piece of paper first, but you know me. Once a decision is reached, I am off and running. {Must be a result of letting go of the left side of the brain in order to fully embrace the artistic right--there is no easy melding of the two!} So I fussed and I fiddled with my odd bits of fabric, trying to make sure I had enough fabric to cut all of my setting triangles without using an excessive amount of any one fabric. Imagine my surprise when I noticed they did not all end up at exactly the same size and length. Hmm... Well, some quilts do need a little more finessing than others, don't they?

Choke, gasp, giggle... Looking at the picture below, you can see that I completed managed to forget about some of the sashing and had to deal with that as well. It gets worse. I totally forgot it in several end pieces. Yep. No idea how that can possibly happen, but I will say that sewing late in the evening is often prime time for trouble of this sort.
A big 'oops'...
But I did finally get it all ripped out and put back together properly.*sigh Just a little bit of stretch in some of my woven setting triangles though. Yes, yes, I pinned the dickens out of all the pieces, but sometimes this can happen with loosely woven fabrics and seam ripper (ahem!) assault. Hey, I was NOT in a good mood about this, okay?

I persevered and sewed it all together best I could, then ironed very carefully. I painstakingly trimmed the outside edges of the quilt once and then went back around trimming much closer for the second round. On the second round of trimming, I cut out a few little wobbles in the fabric caused from stretching and hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, that will take care of the worst of my troubles.
All put together!
One can only hope! The picture above does not show the quilt laying completely flat so it probably looks worse than it actually is. I had been thinking about the possibility of adding a border, and now with my setting triangle issues, I am settled on the idea. It positively needs one now just to hold things stable.
Auditioning a border fabric...
This black fabric with the little orange flowers suits me perfectly and luckily there is just enough! I love the combination of sweet little flower print, homespuns and scrappy trees. It all makes me very happy.
Ready for the next step!
Upon measuring the outside of my quilt, I also realized it does not come out anywhere close to 'square'. Adding this border will help to square it up and ensure the outside edge doesn't have the odd ripple after being quilted. Oh you have no idea how much this quilt top has made me laugh, all the fudging, fussing and fiddling in order to make it look reasonably well put together! Thankfully this in not my normal method of sewing or I would probably never finish anything at all. The name 'Tree of Life' should have been a harbinger of things to come for me with this quilt, as my life has never, ever been straightforward, simple or easy....

28 comments:

  1. I love this quilt!
    And the border-fabric is beautiful and perfect!
    Best wishes!

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  2. It looks well worth the effort - I love it! and the border fabric you've chosen.

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  3. Awww......big hug.....these things do happen, even to the most experienced sewists. In fact I think it happens to experienced quilters a lot because we go into auto pilot and loose a little concentration on the basics as we dream of the finish or thinking of the next quilt. Life is random I agree, but like this quilt it turns out in the end...even if it wobbles a bit. X

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  4. Whew! You get the perseverance award!!! Love the border print.

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  5. Sounds like it has been quite a struggle - we all have quilts like that - but the blocks together look stunning! Love the colour combinations! Good luck squaring up with the border :)

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  6. I guess being a Tree of Life quilt it would show that in life there can be wobbles but that it all works out in the end. Great choice of border fabric. Don't you just love it when the perfect fabric from your stash is just the right size for what you need.

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  7. love it - sometimes no matter how I try my quilts are not square

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  8. The important thing is that you stuck with it. You could have put it in a box or closet for another day but you didn't. It looks great and well worth all the trouble. Good luck on the quilting.

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  9. I absolutely love it! Interesting and quirky, great fabrics, beautiful colors , a classic design. I think that border fabric is so perfect - you just had that, and enough of it, in your stash?! You rock! :0)

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  10. All your fussing, fiddling, and fudging seems to have brought everything together. Adding that border hopefully will de-wiggle any edges. It's a great quilt.

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  11. Me gusta este edredón mucho!!!!
    y ver todas esas anécdotas me hacen reír
    al ver que nos suceden estas cosas atodas
    (el cansancio nos juega estas bromas)
    saludos

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  12. Wow I thought I was the only one that has this happen! Your Tree of Life has lived up to it's name for sure! Love the color combos! You get an A+ for tenacity!

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  13. Congrats on getting your beautiful quilt top to this stage! It sounds like it was quite the headache. Good for you for sticking with it. This is a beautiful piece, and I love it. Love that border fabric as well - it looks perfect. And Yay! for having enough in the stash!

    Just a piece of advice, if you don't mind my saying so: You might want to stay-stitch around the edge of your quilt before you attempt adding your border. Some spray starch might help too. And don't forget the walking foot - it really helps. Good luck! It will be worth all the trouble in the end!

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  14. As confounding as it seems to have been, it really looks beautiful! I think that border is perfect. The interesting back story makes the quilt all the more interesting!

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  15. Love the look of this. wonderful quilt top and the framing of the blocks is perfect!

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  16. I like the way some trees advance and some recede depending on the colors and patterns you chose. You have a three-dimensional forest!

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  17. LOL - "fly by the seat of my pants quilting"! I know it well! And all's well that ends well!

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  18. This will end up beings one of your favorites maybe?? Looking good.

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  19. Looks like it was worth the struggle. I love it!

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  20. All the fussing was worth it! It really looks great and I agree about needing a border. The fabric you chose was perfect!

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  21. So happy to see your progress on this quilt - if I remember right we were talking about making this Tree of Life quilt at the same time - but I have yet to sew a single stitch - sigh! LOL I love the scrappy teal fabrics you used for the setting triangles - can't believe how close in color they are. Love this!

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  22. After all of your troubles it looks wonderful and that border fabric will look great! :)

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  23. Looks like I'm not the only one who has misadventures. Looks like the Misadventures of Audrey is going to have a happy ending soon. Guess I'll follow along until the final chapter.

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  24. It is wonderful to know that I am not the only one that has days like that and particular quilts that seemed determined to find their own shape. Somehow they all end up wonderful in the end. Look forward to seeing how it goes!

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  25. LOL, it is always when I keep sewing even though I know I am tired that the big mistakes happen. But the great thing is, you can always unsew it!

    I wish I could see the whole thing, it's looking so good. And your border fabric looks perfect!

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  26. Oh my, and I thought I was the only one that had 'issues' like these. Seems we are in good company! I do love this quilt, and I am certain it will be gorgeous once you have quilted it. Glad your sense of humor survived!

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  27. I like the variety and the color of your setting triangles. In fact, I love all the colors and the block. How fun to see it coming together. I'm looking forward to the next stage.

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  28. Thanks for sharing all your ups and downs - we all have them! Well done too for persevering and getting it all back under control - I love how it's looking.

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