I'd started the flannel Flying Geese blocks last winter and got distracted (who, me?) by many other projects, and the Zig Zag blocks have been begging for attention ever since being abandoned in favor of that sparkly new jelly roll. Time to get back to them so I don't create my typical week-before-Christmas-sewing-marathon panic!
With six days in the crisp north woods ahead of me, I thought I could just crank these things out in no time and be on to my next project (purchased, of course, at my favorite Ice House Quilt Shop just down the road), but I got mired in Triangle Hell. The individual units went together beautifully (or so I thought...), but when it came time to put the four pieces together -- ugh! The points are all over the place! Despite all my efforts to sew a perfect quarter-inch seam and stitch very carefully through the seam intersection at the top, I came up with a new rule: if I can't get it right after ripping it out twice, well then, it just has to be GOOD ENOUGH.
The best of my so-so blocks is only so-soI'm sure there are many perfectionists out there grasping for their seam rippers and gasping at the horror of a leaving a blunted end unresolved, and up until last Wednesday night I might have been one of them...but here's the reality of it all: I know for a fact that the recipient of this quilt will not give a rat's you-know-what about whether the pinwheel points are blunt or floating, and will just be happy to have a warm and cuddly handmade gift under the tree (or in the mail -- not giving any clues away here, friends) to use throughout many winters ahead.
It's not being entered in any competition, and nobody will be judging my handiwork. And if they do, so be it...I can take it. That is not to say that I don't take pride in my work (I'm half German, half Austrian, so anal-compulsiveness is woven tightly into every strand of my DNA, been battling against it for decades now) -- it's just that in order to maximize my time, save thread, and preserve my sanity, in this particular case, I am learning to Just. Let. Go.
The Zig Zag presents its own little problems, mainly bulky seams. I expect that with the flannel, but didn't think it would be as much of an issue with these. Again, points mismatched to the point of shame, but here's the start:
Sorry, no iron on vacation!
Any tips? Suggestions? The flannel blocks are done and I have made my peace (or piece!) with them, but I have about 745 more of these little babies to go. OK, 245...it just seems like a lot more.
4 comments:
I have the same problem - and I know of no solution. It drives me crazy, too. I do my best to avoid triangles. But that zig zag pattern has been calling my name.
I can so empathize. Did you know seam rippers can actually get dull? Don't ask me how I know that.
But I am with you--what's that saying? If you can't see the mistake while riding past on a galluping horse, it's okay. Or something like that.
a very smart friend of mine said "get your nose out of your quilts." she really is right. i'm a perfectionist at heart and i have to force myself to step back and look at the whole. i don't make quilts for shows...so looking at the whole is how i try to deal with this. i just trimmed all the blocks for my hourglass quilt before i sewed them together because despite all my efforts to keep them straight those stupid triangles were all over the place. the trimming helped, but they are sooo not perfect. who cares. i love your zig zag..the colors are great and it looks ziggy zaggy to me...so go for it!
I have adopted a personal policy that triangles with their tips chopped off are endearing. :)
I am working on a half square triangle quilt right now (like the zig zag) and I am pressing the seams open to see if that helps eliminate some of the bulky seams. I had a tough time quilting the hourglass quilt I made because of the huge bumps in the quilt top when it was all pieced together. it came out ok in the end, just a pain to deal with at the time.
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