Greetings to all. Although I have not done a blog for a while I have been busy (I guess you could call it that). First of all I am so very excited for our country with the election of Donald John Trump. May God bless him and his family and keep them safe throughout his term. God Bless America and all of the Deplorable individuals who were in the basket with me!
Now on to the important things in our lives – QUILTING! The last thing I remember about blogging on my blog was to show off my birthday fabrics and beginning to assemble my Circa 2016. I am beginning to think that 2016 was just not my year for my quilting! It seemed to start in January with the mess with Sitar’s basket quilt – which is still hanging on the rack waiting for the trash can or stems/flowers to be put on the basket, or just quilt it! Then there was the Legacy one! What a nightmare. Why not throw in Grammy Squares – wrong color used for the final round! So needless to say when I started Circa 2016 I just knew this would be a winner and a great quilt to enter into the San Antonio show next year. I have been trying to decide how to write a funny blog on the Circa 2016 Saga and so here goes – remembering a picture can say a thousand words! LOL
I loved making the blocks for this quilt. Here are a few pictures showing how I put it together. (Some of the pictures are not the best, but you will get the idea as you go forward).
But WAIT – After sending the pictures to my dear buddy Wanda (who also has an eagle eye) sent me a text and told me to really look at 2 of the blocks – Can you guess which ones? I knew that it had to be corrected because I had not paid attention to color placement! Then I realized that on the bottom right there was a problem with puckering – made my day!!!
So back to the thing I love most – RIPPING. Yes, I could not let the blocks stay in the quilt as it was a harmless error in color placement. They looked great when they were not on point (at least I did not catch the problem then). Then I realized that I had another problem – Fabric just does not “ease” in for me!!!!! Now the quilt was beginning to take on a life of its own with nothing but problems for me (caused by me).
OK so now I have removed 2 blocks and tried to get the puckering out of the bottom left. Then I began to realize that there was an issue with the very center medallion…..You had to be up close and personal to see it.
Not so fast – the pattern called for 1 1/2″ HST border. This is where I realized that my quilt was not SQUARE! And it mattered – BIG LEAGUE (good saying). Here is a picture of what happened next and yes – I ended up ripping the entire quilt apart knowing that this quilt was headed to the trash, or the “never-never-never” drawer. I figured the problem existed in putting all the squares together on point – SOMEWHERE!
Being the Type A that I am I was not going to let this quilt beat me – although I had ripped out the entire quilt which took more time than I wanted to devote to the project and maybe some STRESS. So I decided to make up my own pattern. One thing was to put the 1 1/2″ HSTs as the border after the hourglass blocks and go from there.
I had even selected the block patterns that I liked from the Circa 2016 pattern to make a few more borders:
BUT – if you will look closely at the top left of the remake of the Medallion – you will see there was another PROBLEM that would make me re-think everything about Circa 2016! I studied it and tried to see what I had done wrong. Bottom line? The problem started when I put the Medallion together back in April or May. The Antique Muslin (Moda) fabric for some reason (probably the black cat theory) was stretching and it caused me issues that are not correctable!
See all the nice wrinkles? Additionally, I went back to the pattern, called the quilt store that put the pattern out, and my final analysis is that I was doomed from the beginning. My next action is to rip out the blocks and put them in the “never-never-never” drawer or the more I write about this mess I am sure that someone will receive the blocks or the trash can will be full this next Friday! Either way, I have decided that I am done with Circa 2016 and as happy as I am with the election I am DEFINITELY not pleased with my quilting endeavors this year. What a mess!
OK – you may ask – what lessons have I learned this year (again). NO MORE ON LINE FREE PATTERNS! I must not forget my own rules because as soon as I do I end up in a mess. I really did like my quilt, but it would not be worth my time to remake it because when you rip out quilts with 1 1/2″, 2 1/4″ and 1 1/2″ blocks your fabric will not hold up and it is just insane to continue repeating something and ultimately end up with the same bad results – No MATTER WHAT. I feel that there is an issue in the fact that the blocks finished at 2 1/4″ rather than 2″. Most of problems I have experienced this year in my quilts are designer flaws, but then I must take the credit for NOT reading the patterns close enough or making a test block before starting. I do believe that my mind was elsewhere! So my 2017 Resolution is to never have a year like this one AGAIN!
Anyone interested in the blocks can send me an email and the first one I receive will get all the blocks – free shipping!
Well, there have been many times this year that I was ready to just sell all of my beautiful fabric, all of my lovely patterns, and books and get my knitting out and the rocking chair and become an old woman! But alas, blogging makes the world go ’round and such a great way to make fun of one’s self in life’s little boo boo’s! New and difficult quilting projects provides me the challenge I need to continue on with my passion.
I have now prepped the 3 blocks for Ms Potts (3 months behind on that project) and working on prepping the next 5 blocks for Bountiful Life. I am almost finished with Block 6 and hopefully can be through with that one in a few days. I am now thinking of 2017. It has to be a better year for me because 2016 was the worst year in producing quilts than when I started quilting in early 2000. It is time for me to start working on more complex quilts to enter into quilt shows. I need that challenge of making a quilt for show that requires precision and 100% accuracy!
I have ordered some Kaffe Fasett fat quarter bundles for my Sweet Surrender. I wonder if this was a mistake as I originally thought I would use my 1930’s fabric (remember the Farmer’s Wife pattern that never got off the ground?). I am beginning to look ahead and thinking that I will delve into my Australian quilt patterns and work on them next year. But I must finish up Stonefields and my Brinton Hall and continue on with Bountiful Life.
I pray that each and every one of you have a blessed Thanksgiving and enjoy your family – we have so much to be thankful for this year!
Chopin - A Passionate Quilter From Texas 
I think I read that someone else was having a problem with Circa 2016. Too bad that you worked so hard on the project only to have it keep on causing you stress. I’m with you…..just pass it on and chalk it up to experience you didn’t need.
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Thank you so VERY MUCH for the comment – you have made my day! I figured I was just nuts! Guess 2016 was the year for me to ‘TEST’ the patterns for the pro’s. This one really upset me. I tried so hard – about 2 weeks of work – to make it work – I would not purchase the pattern unless a quilter wants to re-do the math!
Hope all is well, weather is so nice here – it was 41 this AM. Great walking weather.
Take care. I plan on staying away from a pattern that has a “X 1/2” measurement FOREVER. LOL.
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Well you made my day and cheered me up, its nice to read some one else had a bad 2016 LOL I also will be glad to see the last of 2106. I just loved the fabrics you were working in and was so disappointed when I read on and found it did not work. Loved the pink you used to pull all those little blocks together. I now need to go and search the inter net and see how other are getting on with Circa 2016????? Ive reached the age were I DONT keep working on a quilt if I just can not like it, I don’t have enough years left to make the quilts I want to and finish some of my UFO’s LOL. Wishing you a happy and Marry Christmas, and a great 2017 quilting wise LOL. Cheers Glenda FNQ Australia.
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I worked hard on this one keeping up with the weekly blocks and they always turned out perfect. I probably made some mistakes somewhere because I had my mind on something more important, but I won’t take all the “mistake” credits. LOL. I feel so much better since I did the Post! Have a great day.
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I’m sorry you’ve had such a terrible quilty year. I hope next year is better but Sweet Surrender might cause you problems too. There are inaccuracies in that pattern for sure! Don’t use the diamond she provides in the instructions, it isn’t correct. There are several other problems also. It’s up to you but I suggest you forget about this pattern. Blessings, Gretchen
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I know you sent me a list of issues. Did you encounter more? I appreciate the heads up. Maybe I can use the pattern and not put it on triangles. Something to think about. Darn just ordered the fabric. Oh well. What is the matter with these Designers. The only one that puts out perfect patterns is Lynette Jennings. Think I will make a couple of her quilts just to “feel smart again”. LOL. Hope you had a good retreat.
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It’s all experience (that made us pull out our hair -LOL) that shows you’re a better quilter than you think. You tackled the problems despite the designed flaws. You gave it your best, so You’re not the loser in this. On to 2017!
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So that is why my hair is thinning. LOL
I usually do not give up but this time it is not worth the effort or time.
Thx for the moral support
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I am so “LESS” than many of you online quilters in regards to experience, talent etc. so I just have to say that when you show problems and how you fixed them it is very helpful! A lot of times folks like me tend to think that everything that some of you do is effortless and perfect while we just sit around with our seam ripper in tears 🙂 So thank you. AND while I did not really support the Donald OR Hillary, once I’d read the bazillion Wikileaks etc. I thought how very boring and predictable the next four years would be if she’d won…..every day a new post about her mails or having new investigations. I was almost relieved to see that he’d won. I’ve seen many a blogger acting as if the world was ending since he did, lol…maybe they should have read more wikileaks and done their research / it is not as if some SAINT lost the election 🙂
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Hi Deb, One of the reasons I decided to do the blog was to share with other quilters how I deal with problems when making a quilt. I love to make quilts for show to improve my skills. In the 10 years I have been entering quilt shows I have found that so many patterns have issues with cutting instructions or seam allowances. When a quilter spends the money and time that it takes to make either a utility quilt or one for a heirloom we expect the pattern be accurate and many times this is just not so.
I happen to love math and being a perfectionist (Type A) if my points are not accurate I want to find out why. Many times I have the sewing “trail off” problem. That means that I start real well with my 1/4″ but then right at the end of that seam I trail off. So I have learned to slow down to a crawl when I am making a quilt. I may have become “sloppy” on the 2016 but have decided that I will remake the quilt because I want to see if it is me or the pattern.
One other thing, all sewing machines are different and sometimes the designer uses a full 1/4″ seam allowance and some use a “scant” 1/4″. Until I researched how each sewing machine is different in their “scant” and 1/4″ I had a lot of problems. If the pattern does not specify, I call the designer and verify the machine they are using and if they used a scant of a 1/4″ seam allowance.
I did support Trump because he brought a different type of change that the country needs.
He brought a breath of life to the Conservative hard working people in this country. He is a great manager and will be a great President! The current person in charge needs to tell the “kiddies” to get a job, go to school, or join the military and do something positive for their country. I worked in the DC area when Clinton was the president and they brought absolute disaster every day – it was a new scandal each week from day 1 with them.
Thx for your comment and hope I can continue to help others who love to quilt – even if I am
a President Elect Trump support. It really should not make any difference we all share the same air!
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I came back to leave a link / another quilter had serious troubles with this project as well….she just posted about it the other day. https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2016/11/circa-2016-top-is-done.html While she finished it, what she went through didn’t sound fun at all, ugh ! 🙂
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She did a good job by finishing it. When I finally took the center apart that is where the problem starts. Have a great day
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If you have the blocks still, I will be happy to relieve you from them. Lettyshirkey@yahoo.com
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