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Friday, January 13, 2012

Do Over--Quadrupled!

Hi All--
   I've been a little preoccupied with the "homework" for my paper-piecing class because I want to be prepared this time (as opposed to the first class, when I did not have all my fabrics cut beforehand).  But its looking like I'm not going to be as fully prepared as I would have liked due to challenges I've experienced along the way (Thank goodness for my trusty seam ripper and that Judy Niemeyer's template pieces are generous in size and allow for some error).
   I do have a little progress to share.  Here ya go...


   Yesterday (actually Wednesday now) was an "Eeyore" kind of day-- I ended up ripping up just about as much as I sewed.  I kept taking little breaks and trying to come back to it, but I kept making mistakes.  And then I was feeling more [self-imposed] pressure that I was not making progress, so I tried to pick up the pace a bit, but that only contributed to more mistakes (and more seam-ripping).  I know this is supposed to be enjoyable and not stressful, but I so want to be prepared for the next class (in 2 days tomorrow-- Eep!).
   And here is evidence of my non-progress:
garbage pail with scraps, mistakes, threads, etc.
Do ya like my sexy house slippers?  I wear them whenever I'm in the house.
Here is one of my foundation papers that I sewed through so many times it finally fell apart.
Time to go to the store and buy some removable tape-- I will need this later!
These are three (of 8) quadrants in this color that I have to redo the last few steps. 
(See where the foundation paper is showing through?)
   In my own defense (not sure exactly who I'm defending against here--( I guess my own insecurity and the other more experienced quilters in the class), it occurred to me that I have somewhat of a disadvantage being left-handed.
   But with all my mistakes, I did finally get into a "flow" today and was able to make some progress!  [relatively speaking, that is-- progress for me, but not by most quilter's standards]   My "strategy" is to save the ripping out that remains (see  the three quadrants in the photo above)  for later-- right now I just want to start on the next set so I have stuff to work with when class meets on Saturday.
   Just to give you an idea of how dire the situation is, we are supposed to have 24 full circles completed, and right now I'm at 3 and 3/4  correctly finished.  So you can see that I have no time to sit here writing this post-- I'm off to my machine to kick some butt.  Wish me luck!
   Hoping that your quilting/sewing has been a little more productive than mine!!  Have a good day :0)
Edited to add:
   Earlier in the day, we were having computer problems with our desktop (which is the best computer for me to edit my photos on).  I opted to post this with pictures that I sent to myself via email and then copied and pasted, but many could not view them.  So I did a "do-over"photoshoot today and am updating the post with those.
   You may have noticed that there are rocks on the circles (which are composed of 4 quadrants each)-- that is because it has been a blustery day, and an all around weird-weather day.  A big cold front is moving in here, and about a half-hour before I took these photos, here's what it looked like off our back porch:


  So at the end of the day today, I now have 5 3/4 circles (of 24 total) and am almost finished with one more.  Here's a sneak peak at the one I'm working on, but it is dark here now (and much, much colder than earlier-- and still very blustery), so this was taken inside under my Ott-light and my full-spectrum lamp.  The color is waaaaay off, but I'll stick it in anyway:
   Thank you to those of you who read my "original" version of the post (and couldn't view any photos) and for commenting anyway!!
   Tomorrow afternoon is class and I'm feeling more prepared than I did earlier today-- and I still have more time to piece tonight and tomorrow a.m., so I should have enough at least to use in class.
   Have a good night!  And if you live in the Northeast, hope you're keeping warm!

6 comments:

Rhonda the Rambler said...

Your pictures are not showing up. Hmph! I wanna see!

Judith, Belfast said...

Oh this post is such a tease - can't wait to see the pics! Good luck with the unpicking and restitching! Jxo

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

I can't wait to see the photos, I bet the circles you've done look great! Good luck tomorrow and try not to put too much pressure on yourself...

Amanda said...

I'm sure everything is looking great, we are our worst critics! Make sure you enjoy the classes, don't put to much pressure on yourself!

Rhonda the Rambler said...

They are beautiful. I am not sure how prepared you are but they are gorgeous.

Tina Craig said...

Great job, Elisa! I have always used Scotch brand magic tape on paper pieces. You can stitch through it and it does not gum up the needle.