Tag Archives: patchwork

I’m in the unofficial Turtle Club of participants of the Orca Bay Mystery Quilt.  My progress is slow but steady.  You can follow my progress (including an alternate layout I made using EQ7) by looking under Quilts in the Categories in the side bar.

It is my intention to use the alternate layout when I sew the blocks together.  And I’m getting close to that point now.

For those of you who are observant…you are right…when I sew my blocks together, I will lose the star points on my center star blocks.

While I was squaring up my string flying geese, I had time to reflect on why this is so, since I am not a beginning quilter (a beginner could do better than I did here).  I still don’t know.  Perhaps I messed up my seam allowance, but I don’t think so.  More likely, I didn’t pay attention to the size I cut out to begin with and merrily cut and sewed assembly line style until I had all the blocks sewn.  Regardless, I was in oblivion until I squared the star blocks.

Is this an earth shattering event?  Does this mean I should throw out my stars in disgust and sew new ones?  Shall I cry into my tea?

No…I don’t like that I screwed up, but live and learn.  Here’s what I do like.

• I like the the new friends I found while participating in this mystery.
• I like the quilt design.
• I like the colors.
• I like the scrappiness, and I like that I learned how I don’t have to control what color goes where (so long as I didn’t mix my oranges and blues).
• I like that I used fabric…a lot of fabric…and didn’t just pet it while it sat on the shelf. 
• I like string blocks.

I like that, after a two year depression, I am sewing again.  And finding that joy is so much more valuable than worrying about pleasing the quilt police.