Sewing With Discipline

 This blog title is sort of tongue in cheek. In my last post many of you commented on my March table topper, and someone even asked me if I have a pattern for it. 

I sort of laughed. Thank you for the compliments, by the way, but I thought the pattern comment was sort of funny because it has been quite a while since I made anything from a pattern. I just make stuff up.

The fabrics here are scraps from I dress I made for Jill when she was little, from the shamrock vest I made for Jill when she was in her early years of teaching, and various other scraps. 

The back side has scraps from a set of placemats I made for Jill for Earth Day/April. 

I have made a lot of placemats and table toppers and my scrap box  is dwindling down to smaller chunks of fabric. I like to play around with colors and shapes so I thought it might be time to try some real quilt blocks. I don't want to make a quilt, but following the rules and doing precision cutting and sewing might slow me down, give me some projects I can work on when it's raining, and I can always just turn them into potholders. 

I bought this book quite a few years ago when I was taking sewing classes after I bought my new sewing machine after I retired from teaching.  It was especially helpful for learning how to sew bindings onto quilted pieces. 

I got it out and began to study things like how to make a nine block on an eight inch piece, and especially how much seam allowance to add when cutting squares into two or four triangles. I had to carefully measure a 1/4 inch seam allowance and put down a tape line on my machine. I was never that careful before. Then I selected a quilt block pattern and tried it. I only had to rip out two seams. It's tricky remembering which direction pieces go once you have picked them up. I am learning tricks to not repeat those mistakes. 

My corners aren't perfect but they're not bad. Doing a whole quilt would be daunting though because of the necessary precision needed for cutting and sewing. I have great respect for quilters. 

I have selected another quilt block pattern and fabrics to make it. It might be a while before I get back to it though. The sun is shining.

 Today I pruned the roses and then went for a walk in the park. I can walk a mile now, but progress is slow. My hip is pretty good but my back is still stiff and now my knee is nagging at me. It will just have to wait, though. I won't be doing two surgeries in one year again. 

And when I do have to be laid up again  in rehab, I can always make potholders. :-)