Like the rest of those doing the Quiltville Mystery 2017, I began pulling fabric. I ran across this fabric in a bin that I had intended to do as a bargello. It has a very similar color palette, maybe just a bit more red than orange. I will put it in the coral stack and see if it works.
I found a lot of scraps for the blue/aqua/turquoise. My pile runs the gamut from light to darker tones......it will depend on the placement as to what will work best in the mystery quilt.
I'm not going to photo share all my scraps as many are just strips and chunks, not good FQ size. I can always add or pick up extra as I go along. And I am still debating on the brown....chocolate I love but have little of in the stash. And then I ran across this color palette on Clever Chameleon. A very similar color set....with the addition of purple. I am wondering if the brown could be shifted to plum and burgundy. This is not a race, but lessons in cutting, accuracy, and following directions. LOL.....not the best in any of those areas now, so let the mystery happen to me.
What I really wanted to do this weekend was get the Double 4 Patch together and pressed. I have one more row to go and it will be ready to join the 2 sections I have created. I mentioned that along the way I was working on another type of leader and ender.
So here is a tip/trick I picked up when trimming HSTs---or in this case hourglass units. Once you have sewn on the diagonal lines and cut the sections apart, trim before you press open. I marked a ruler using painter's tape to point to the line I want to line up with the sewn seam line. That is the sewn seam line, not the cut edge of the fabric. You can see my cut edge is wobbly.....but the seam line is straight. I line up the marked line on the sewn line , and the vertical arrows on this ruler are perfect for keeping the hourglass blocks straight. Then I trim the HST before pressing open.....as the block in the upper left corner.
My hourglass blocks are ending up at 3 1/2'' unfinished. I started with 4 1/2'' square or larger. I say that because I am clearing out a mixed up blend of extra squares, unused squares, charm squares.....any square leftover or not used that is 4 1/2'' or more. I will just stack these up for now, either intending them for a border---I think they would look good just strung together---or turn them into block units.
Along the way, I pulled out my old iron for pressing. It is a Light n' Easy from about 1985....lol. And it is much lighter that my Rowenta. My wrist and hands have been so painful and sore with the season change, I knew I could not use the larger iron. Maybe older is better for me.
Happy stitching.
15 comments:
That's a beautiful color palette. I could see a plum in there instead of the brown.
Gorgeous colors for your mystery quilt. I'm thinking some 'purpley' color would be great for the chocolate. Thanks for the tip on squaring up HSTs. I will definitely try that - I've always pressed first. ~Jeanne
The plum is really pretty in that palette! I have more chocolate brown than plum, but little of either one. I hope your lighter iron helps.
That is a great idea for squaring up the HST/QST units. I always line up the seam line with the diagonal on my ruler when trimming them. But now I can see how this type of ruler would really save time and work.
Lovely colors, I cannot keep up with Quiltville mysteries so I have stopped trying.
Those mystery colors look absolutely lovely, and I'm thinking a deep plum substituting for the brown would look fine. I'll have to try your tip for the hourglass blocks, as I always have a bit of an issue with them.
Thanks for the reminder of the method of trimming hsts. I was trying to remember how it worked, so your post is very timely for me.
I am loving your thoughts on the plum/purple switch and look forward to what you decide to do.
Lovely pull of fabrics and I agree with the plum.
Thanks for the several good tips in your post. I always forget that method of trimming half squares. I'd never seen the hole in paint samples before; I'll have to try that! I have no color suggestions; I'm certain you will make a great choice to your own liking. ---"Love"
So many times people will think a brown is a burgundy or the other way around so they are definitely interchangeable. The same goes for an eggplant purple.
That is a gorgeous photo from Clever Chameleon.
Your reddish orange looks like a good match with the paint chip.
I have never tried this method of trimming up the units. Lets hope I can remember I pinned it when I have a need to trim such units again. :)
Beautiful photo from Clever Chameleon and the colours picked out are delicious - personally I love the idea of your substitution of plum/burgundy for the brown, I think the combination would be stunning.
Hi Debbie, Thanks for sharing the tip about cutting HSTs. I had never thought to do that before, but it looks like it should save a lot of time. I have to admit to being a little biased, but I would definitely encourage you to explore your idea of switching the brown for burgundy or plum. I think either would be stunning with the colours you already have pulled. Good luck with your mystery quilt. I'll keep an eye out for updates, but feel free to pop over to Clever Chameleon and let us know how its going. :)
I have a $6 iron I got at Walmart, that is super light, but, irons nicely. I use it when my elbow or wrist is hurting, and I have lots to iron, since my regular iron is a heavy vintage iron.
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