zozee

HELP ! I can't believe I just now caught my mistake!!!
Oh, I'm panicked here, people. I read through all Bonnie's directions first, saw that she was using the Easy Angle ruler to make her 2.5 HSTs, decided I would make mine a different way, and improvised a plan using my 2.5 square ruler and some cardstock for the cutting lines (on the diagonal).

But the whole time , I was thinking "cut at 2.5, finish at 2" which is not correct. I am making the quilt half the size of Bonnie's, so I "only" (ahem!) need 140 of these little pairs.

YET, oh.my.word. I have been CUTTING them at 2.5 but finishing them at 2. I just now got back to her blog to reread the directions and feel so stupid. I should have cut them at 2 7/8 using my method.

Now what? I have made about 100 HSTs at 2 inches finished. What should I do? I have all my 2.5 " strips cut already in the pink and turquoise. I have NOT cut the yellow or black at all.

Advise? I could...

-Alter all the directions by 1/2 inch from here on?
-Order the ruler and proceed with the rest of my strips when it gets here? (and save my 100 2-inch finished HSTs for a different project?
-Take it as a sign that I should not have started this mystery quilt in the first place??!

((Shaking my head, looking for sympathy and advice, feeling stupid and like I've just wasted 6 hours))


-

Podunk Princess

Zozee, don't panic! Everything will be ok. Don't give up on this mystery quilt. Take a deep breath and start over making them the right size (using whatever method you choose to make it come out right). Save the ones you have done for another project or put them on the back of this quilt.

Podunk Princess

PRESSING HINTS: For the triangle units, Bonnie said in her instructions to press toward the blue (or whatever you have substituted for the blue) fabric. For the rest of the broken dish unit, you are on your own to decide which direction to press them. Most of the time Bonnie doesn't press units until they are joined to the other units because you never know which direction or what you will be joining the unit to (it's a mystery). If you go ahead and press now, just be prepared to re-press them later (if necessary) when the units are joined into blocks. If you've looked at some of her other quilts, there are sometimes 6 to 9 units that are joined to make up a block and many times more than that. I'll press mine open because her blocks have a lot of seams and they can get bulky. That will also save me from having to re-press later on.

zozee

Thanks. I do need to breathe....

susiequilt

That's to bad but it happens. I just ruined two blocks and cut one strip too wide.
Save your errors and maybe you can use them in the border.
Luckily there is no rush to finish this quilt. Take your time and enjoy the process and learn from your mistake like I am.

sewbizgirl

Zozee, since you have made 100 hsts already, I'd continue doing it the way you are, and adjust the other squares to match. It will be a slightly scaled down version of Bonnie's, which should be fine! Don't start over!

zozee

I'm just wondering if she is going to use all 2.5 pieces throughout, or could there be, say, directions to cut different sizes to make different blocks, and I'd constantly have to be thinking "okay, now, reduce this by ..."?

quiltsRfun

That's what I was thinking. If you don't know how it will fit together you can't be sure what smaller size to make it. I'd start over and save the ones you've done for another project. Don't give up.

QultingaddictUK

I received Bonnie's email yesterday but I started cutting out and then had a visitor, after that did some Christmas shopping so all is at a halt, on top of that I have to clear everything away because they are fitting new double glazing this week, I am doomed

Today I did a huge amount of cutting but couldn't resist putting some of the block pieces together, I love her colour selection, not something I would have thought of but love it, so far, hope the builders don't put me too far behind as I have some important Project Linus quilts to finish as well, just waiting on a delivery of fabric to get them finished. Life does get in the way of quilting I sometimes find!

BTW I have miscut some strips as well so I have just put them on one side to see what else is coming, maybe I can use them elsewhere, if not my scrap pile is going up NOT coming down!

Pam H

Guess I will hold off on pressing them. Bonnie knows which way they should be pressed but if she told us maybe that would be too much of a clue for some people. Not me certainly.