It was a gray and misty day today. I spent the morning watching a Janette McDonald and Clark Gable movie. (Yes, I am a nerdy fan of classic movies). Then I got back to work on the floral pets quilt.
I started by blocking the strips of Flying Geese blocks that I had prepared yesterday. Then I set the strips in place on the design wall. I tried three different layouts. I would set up a layout, walk by it every now and then, and think about it. After a few hours, all I saw was polka-dots. So, I took some pictures and sent them to my sister, Emma. She is my second set of eyes whenever I get stuck.
Once I chose the layout, I started sewing in the Flying Geese. I had difficulty with figuring out how to press the direction of the seams, but I finally figured it out. Of course, there were a few rip outs that had to be redone. I had a Netflix movie on while I was sewing and I got distracted enough to sew the FG in the wrong direction, more than once.
Note to self: Don’t watch movies and sew at the same time.
I took a break to read some blogs, and I ran across Sandy’s dilemma of fabric bleeding. I have had this problem before, so you would have thought I learned my lesson to pre-wash the fabric. When I was pressing the fabric, I used spray starch instead of steam. (Yes, I was still watching movies.)
I had not had any problem with pressing with steam, but the starch did cause one small corner of a black on white polka- dot to bleed. Since I have had my fill of rip and redo for the day, I am leaving the quilt top on the design wall for now. I will decide on whether to replace the one strip or just leave it. The bleeding is barely noticeable…but it is visible if you look closely. And I know it is there.
My plan for tomorrow afternoon is to design a final border. I am thinking of 4 inch blocks…maybe a four patch and some simple heart blocks. Or, maybe I will just make strips of the floral Kaffe Fassett that I have left over. I think I have enough.