Monday, January 13, 2014

It's the Design Garage Wall

Before the preview and look at my wonderful quilt, I wanted to announce that I finally figured out how to do tabs at the top of the blog!!! I've been trying for about nine months...but something didn't work. Well, last night I figured it out! It must have been the two naps I took yesterday!

There is a tab with my Quilt Provenances. It has a picture of each of my quilts I've finished, plus the numbers, and a write-up on each quilt.

The other tab is a list of the nicknames I use for my family in the blog. You can find out when I write TGS that it means Talented Geek Son, and that he is my third child. I guess this tab is a reference resource!

I'm very proud of my tabs. They are still a work in progress, as is some of the problems in certain parts of the blog. It's a journey...

One more major announcement! I put up my 2014 Quilty Goals in the right sidebar. Take a peek and shake your head at my over-ambitiousness!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

My design wall took on a whole new twist today. My log cabin is up to 50 blocks! Wahoooo! It's too big for my flannel quilt wall, so outside I went.

When I have a quilt that is very big, I use the side wall of the garage. I take a queen size flat sheet and thumbtack it to the wall. After that, I pin the blocks to the wall. It's not perfect, but actually it's no worse than my flannel one. The lighting is perfect there also because it is in the shade. It's sunny out today but the color showed up beautifully on the picture.

There I am in the shivery cold, well, shivering. I've got the step ladder and I'm thumb tacking a sheet to the garage wall. I don't know about you, but I find it near impossible to get the layout right on a Log Cabin. Thank goodness I didn't live back in the 1800's. I'd never be able to build a log cabin!

I'm following along with the quilt layout from Quilt In A Day. I'm drowning out here. I keep having to re-arrange blocks. Sometimes two or three in a column. It's amazing I even have hair left. I've got about half the blocks on and my husband, in robe, opens the front door. He can clearly see my handiwork. Then he says, "Okay, okay! I'll paint the house!" He's such a card! He proceeded to tell me three blocks that were turned wrong. I'm bummed. I was following the book! So I coerced him (with Bambi eyes, which usually don't work) to come out and help me finish putting the blocks up.

With my husbands quilt life- and hair- saving expertise, here it is:


What do you think? Right now it is 6x6 and the blocks are 14" finished. That comes to 84" square. I'm making this a king-size for my TGS & his OSLW. They have a California King, which is just longer than a King.

I was figuring that I'd make the quilt 109" square without a border. Doing that would be adding one more row of blocks all the way around, making 8x8. So here's the dilemma:

Do I add another row of blocks all the way around to make it 8x8? The quilt would then be 112". I hadn't planned on doing a border, so that would be the correct size.

My other idea is to stop here and put on a border. If I put a 2" dark border, then a 5" lighter border, then another border of 2" dark, It would come out about 116" square. A little on the big side.



Please help me choose! If you have an idea for a different border, let me know!

And now for the silly part. I ran out of the outside dark blue fabric. I cannot tell you how many times I went back to the fabric store and bought more, then more. I didn't have a pattern, so I was winging it with fabric amounts. I thought I bought more than I needed, better safe than sorry. When I realized I needed more to finish 13 more blocks, I panicked! Run around, pull your hair out, hit your head against the wall panic.

I realized I'd need to know the name of the fabric to look for more. Unfortunately, all the remaining fabric had been cut into strips. I finally found four that had writing, but I was mising the last part of the name of the fabric. To the waste basket I go, looking through the strings left from squaring off the fabric. Voila! I had pieced together the name of the fabric!



I discovered several sources on the web. Interestingly enough, they were all 108" wide back. Hmmm. I bought mine as 42" fabric. Oh well, less yardage to buy, more money per yard. It will work.

I'm sharing with: Patchwork Times, What A Hoot Monday, Show & Tell Tuesday, Linky Tuesday, WiP Wednesday, It's a Party, We Did It Wednesday, Needle and Thread Thursday, and I Quilt.

Please, please, pretty please, leave me a comment with a suggestion on border or no border, ideas, etc. I will love you forever!

16 comments:

  1. Oh, I really love those blues and golds together! It's so hard to make decisions about borders and such sometimes. I made a log cabin a year ago, though, without a border and was IN LOVE with the effect, so I'm partial to no border. Size-wise, the 112" square quilt I made is a great size on our king bed, and would be perfect for a California king. We have normal-height mattresses, though. Do they have those super-ultra-thick mattresses? Maybe the even more monstrous 116" would be nice in that case. . .

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  2. The blues and golds are striking. I think I would go borderless, too. I like how the quilt just carries your eye right to the edge. Beautiful.

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  3. I vote for an extra row all the way around - no border. That's what I did on my LHQSQ - I have a tough time with LONG borders on big quilts. Maybe if you used darker blues in the outer row it would LOOK like a border - ;))

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  4. I made a log cabin with the same Quilt in a Day book - actually quite a bit like yours, cept on a much smaller scale - it happens to be on my queen bed now:-) I used borders and I love how they enhance the design, but they were also very much the style then & I would likely go without these days!

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  5. Love your blue-yellow log cabin. My vote: No border, just one more row of blocks all around.

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  6. I'm not good with borders... My wonder would be how will the next rows of blocks go?
    Love your quilt, and your blog!
    Hugs

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  7. I love it!! I think no borders and continue the design right up until edge. :)

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  8. I love the log cabin, such a great color choice. On a DWR, I vote keep going no border, such a classic look for a great pattern.

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  9. I vote for an extra row all the way around - no border. I love the log cabin. Colors are fabulous! ;)

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  10. I'm working on a scrappy log cabin that will have that same lay out!
    I love the blue and yellow.
    I heard that there is a meaning to the red being in the middle of a log cabin block. I missed it when the gal was telling us though. I wish I had known before I started these 96 log cabin blocks!

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  11. I made a log cabin years and years ago with Eleanor Burns Quilt in a Day Book. I always laughed because you can piece in a day...but it took me 1 year to hand-quilt it. I put 2 borders on but I like your idea of going 8 x 8. Glad you found the name on the beautiful blue fabric!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

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  12. Gorgeous! I like without borders. Love the layout you picked. I really want to make a log cabin soon.

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  13. This is such a beautiful quilt. I love the look without borders. I'm glad you were able to find that fabric- what a dilemma!

    Thanks so much for sharing at Needle and Thread Thursday!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  14. I never, ever, ever get tired of log cabins and this one is so striking. You've been busy.

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  15. Love the log cabin quilt....that is one that I want to make one day...I LOVE the blue and gold! Whatever way you decide to finish it I'm sure it will be beautiful. I can't wait to see it complete!

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  16. So lovely! :)
    Greetings from Finland!
    Hugs, Ulla

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I love comments. They make me smile and feel warm and fuzzy. To show you my appreciation, I try to answer everyone's comment. :)

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