The Ride Continues, Part 2

 My progress on the tumbler quilt has been slow or non-existent a lot of days but I have made some progress.  Nothing about this is hard but it takes time and perseverance.  

I got the strips cut from all the fabrics.  I don't know how many different fabrics there are.  On most I cut only one strip, a few I cut two and there were a few pieces where I only had partial strips.  Oh well, that's the point to make it scrappy.

Then the fun part started, cutting all those little tumblers.  I do not have a tumbler template and wasn't about to spend over $25 to buy one just for this project.  I wandered around and looked in all nooks and crannies to see what I could find to use.  TA DA!  I found a Dresden plate template/ruler that had never been opened.  I pulled it out, figured the size I wanted my tumblers and used painters' tape to mark the size for easy reference. 

I simply cut in one direction, flip the ruler around and cut the other piece, continuing until the strip is cut.

It was my idea to simply toss the tumblers into a plastic bin and then pull them as they came to sew them.  

One of those ideas that worked better in concept than in execution.   Since I was cutting strips of double fabric there were always two pieces stuck together and also a number of cuts lying together.  So I sat for a while and separated the tumblers into separate piles so that they could be mixed up.  When finished, I added them back to the bin in different orders and then stirred them up. 

I sat down to start the sewing.  Again, the idea works but execution is a little more difficult. 

Yeah, I had to fix that one but it was a learning process.  I continued to sew them together until I had the row about as long as I wanted it, considering that I would be adding borders as well.  

There are 25 different tumblers in that row but it is as wide as I want it for now.  There are probably about 15 more different tumblers that weren't used.  They'll go into the next row.  I'll keep sewing rows of tumblers until it again gets to the size that I want it.  

So, that's where the Ride sits at the moment. 

We are having a glorious fall day today.  Sunshine and mid 60's which is a bit cooler than normal.  This should be October weather. 

Y'all take care

Come Along for the Ride

 I thought it might be of interest to see how a quilt comes into being.  I saw a quilt lying on wildflowers in a field recently on a blog.  I fell in love with the concept and the idea.  I believe that lady made hexagons like a Grandmother's Flower Garden but I have no interest in paper piecing like that.  My idea was to make a mini tumbler quilt using 30's reproduction fabrics.

The first thing to do, since there is no real pattern for this, is to try to figure out how many tumblers I will need.  I think I've got it right but we'll see. 

We start with scribbles and figures which may or may not be correct but its a starting point. 

Then is the selection of fabrics.  I simply went over to the cabinet and pulled out just about all the 30's reproduction fabrics I have, along with some others for neutrals. 

I'll just cut strips from them and then cut the little tumblers. 

So, that's where we stand at the moment.  I'll do my best to  bring you along as progress is made. 

Y'all take care