Friday, March 15, 2013

measure once, cut twice


Only after I cut 78 5" charms from Moda muslin to go with my 78 5" charms of Japanese imports did I realize those imported charms actually measured out at 4 and 7/8" by 5 and 1/8". Insert expletives here.


So I spent a morning (almost two weeks ago, now) drinking coffee, chatting on the phone and trimming all 156 charms down to 4 and 7/8" squares. It really wasn't so bad, pretty calming actually. And those little strips look so cute I haven't thrown them away yet. Hoarder alert!


Anyone else ever dealt with defective precuts before? I'll remember to check them first from now on, lesson learned! My woodworking father has always said "measure twice, cut once." An old English proverb that applies just as much to quilting as it does to carpentry.


Since then I've spent some time mindlessly chain piecing, which feels pretty good. Sometimes you just need to DO without having to think too hard about it. But I suppose a little planning ahead of time can be a good thing, since now I think I'll have to rip a couple seams to get the color, value and print placement just right. 


Or perhaps I'll just go with it, finish it up, and love it the way it is. This is always the point in the process where I become paralyzed by decision making. Or lack thereof. Maybe I'll just switch gears again and work on something else? Ding ding ding! We have a winner :P

9 comments:

  1. Well....at least they were smaller and not bigger, hey? Although then I guess you could trim the other ones.....

    I've had discrepancies in pre-cuts before too and it's really quite frustrating!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I second Heather, thank goodness it wasn't the other way! Anywho, I am loving the way that looks. Look forward to the whole thing!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with the work in something else strategy! I would vote you leave it as is though. Random is random, after all!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I know what you mean, but even when I purposefully place colours I'm still never 100% happy, I wish I could play totally random!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Leave it!!! This is hands down my favorite way to make a quilt. White and printed charms, alternating. I will never, ever get sick of it. I don't ever try to get the placement right. I just try to make sure I don't have too many of the same print right next to each other.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This layout looks just right for those lovely charms!

    ReplyDelete
  7. gosh, i love patchwork squares. all of that trimming sounds like a PITA, but you are right that the extra little bits are cute.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Leave it!

    And I had an ENTIRE layer cake of Kona Snow that was not 10" and was not cut square. Talk about REALLY frustrating. So I feel your pain.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Leave it!

    And I had an ENTIRE layer cake of Kona Snow that was not 10" and was not cut square. Talk about REALLY frustrating. So I feel your pain.

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from you, thanks for stopping by!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...