Ida's Ideas: 2011

Monday, November 28, 2011

Updated Stats

Completed:

69 full diamond blocks
0 short half-diamond blocks (top/bottom)
0 long half-diamond blocks (left/right)
48 corner stone diamonds
0 sashing parallelograms

Left to complete:

68 full diamond blocks
20 short half-diamond blocks (top/bottom)
12 long half-diamond blocks (left/right)
124 corner stone diamonds
308 sashing parallelograms

To date, I have pieced 1436 pieces of the large diamond blocks. For my eXcel chart, I have counted 2969 pieces in the large diamonds, so I'm not quite half-way there, even though I am about mid-way done with the piecing of the full diamond blocks. One of the upcoming blocks (J11 in Collection 8) has over 100 pieces in it. I can't hardly wait -- can you say 'strip piecing'?

I skipped block F4 while waiting for a self-designed plaid that I made/ordered through Spoonflower to arrive. I have long been lamenting the lack of a good large plaid in the reproduction various reproduction lines. I have even toyed with the idea of piecing a plaid for the center of the block -- now, can you imagine how much that will skew my piece numbers? However, I did find a reasonable plaid in the "Crossroads To Texas" line Designed by Betsy Chutchian (author of a quilting book by the same name), that if my Spoonflower design does not work, I may try before jumping off into the deep end and piecing the plaid.

When I stopped sewing Thursday night, I was struggling with block G5. I pieced and re-pieced the Seminole diamond(s) at least three times and it just was not going to lie flat. Previous Seminole blocks had gone together like a charm, but not this one. Sometimes you just have to set it aside, and let the fabric 'marinate.' (Better that the fabric marinate than for you to sit and 'stew', right?) Hopefully, when I pick the diamond up again, I'll be in a better frame of mind, and the fabric will be prepared to behave -- or be scrapped!

Want some other statistics?

There are 13 large diamond blocks with 13 pieces in them.

There are 12 large diamond blocks with 15 pieces in them.

There are 11 large diamond blocks with 11 pieces in them.

The statistical average for pieces is 21.36 (2969 pieces divided among 139 diamonds) pieces per diamond.

My current statistical average for pieces (1436 / 69 ) is 20.81 pieces per diamond.

There are 4 large diamond blocks with 20 pieces in them.

There are 6 large diamond blocks with 21 pieces in them.

Friday, November 25, 2011

G4

F3

F2

E2

N22

N21

M21

M20

M19

L19

L18

L17

K17

K16

See how it lines up to the written colors?

Happy Thanksgiving

I spent the majority of Thanksgiving with my sewing machine humming. The television was on, playing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a few shows from TiVo, and various holiday specials.

I have been itching to work on the Lancaster Diamond Quilt for quite some time -- ever since I got Set 6. This week I purchased sets 7 through 12. That was enough to spur me into action.

This is a sampling of some of my fabrics.

This is my view for most of the day. Well, I had moved the tub of fabrics off the table and stashed it to my far-left. I used the tv-tray directly in front of me as my cutting/assembling table. I had a Clover Mini Iron off to my immediate left, and my sewing machine slightly off to the right. [This set up works well for a left-handed person.]

This is a quick photo of my book of the patterns. Everything is organized.

This is a sample of one of the pages. I mark each block with colors, so that I have an easier time looking from photo, to my Flickr account to see pictures of the actual quilt, and the cover page of each set of Ann's designs so that I can keep the blocks as true as I want to (yes, I have changed some things).

I also over-mark each block with the position -- as defined by Ann. This helps me later when I am laying out the blocks. As I complete each block, I pin the paper pattern to the back of each diamond -- those that I didn't paper-piece, that is.

So, now that I'm organized, off we go!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Guinea Pig a.k.a. Pattern Tester

I was thrilled to receive an email this week from Ann Holte asking if I would be a tester for her new distribution platform. Previously, Ann has had everything printed, and mailed to complete orders. Ann is attempting to venture into the digital world with offering PDF versions of her patterns.

I was able to successfully download and print to scale Collection 6.

Furthermore, she said that she has completed up through Collection #9 and am getting ready to put them up on her website as pdf files. She's working hard to have the rest (through Collection 12) done by November, and to have the half-blocks (Collection #13) done in January, 2012. I'm so excited!!! :)

Monday, March 21, 2011

Pieces ... pieces ... pieces of cloth

I'm the anal retentive type (who out there is surprised?! ;) ) .

I created an eXcel spreadsheet to track progress of this quilt. So far, in the pieced blocks alone, I have 1136 pieces. PHEW! :)

That's an average of 21.43 pieces per block. The smallest amount of pieces in a block is 5 and the largest is 75.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

5 Sets

Here's the 5 sets together laid out on the background fabric and setting triangles. This should give some idea of what the quilt will look like.

K15

This is the last block in set 5. Now I must wait until May for sets 6 and 7.

I keep trying to figure out what the quilt-maker had in mind with this block. Every time I look at it I see an Hindu god/goddess. Kali perhaps? Lakshmi? Bvishnu? I don't know. I just see multiple "arms", and possibly multiple "eyes." Maybe the one on the top is a bindi. I don't know.

Completed:

53 full diamond blocks
0 short half-diamond blocks (top/bottom)
0 long half-diamond blocks (left/right)
48 corner stone diamonds
0 sashing parallelograms

Left to complete:

84 full diamond blocks
20 short half-diamond blocks (top/bottom)
12 long half-diamond blocks (left/right)
124 corner stone diamonds
308 sashing parallelograms

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Next Lancaster Diamond Set(s) Release

This week I exchanged emails with Ann Holte, the designer of the Lancaster Diamond Quilt Sampler template(s) and block collections.

I was very excited to hear that that Ann will be in Lancaster this weekend (Saturday) at the Lancaster Host Quilt Show -- out by Dutch Wonderland/Sonic (not downtown at the AQS Show at the Convention Center). She will be in the Expo Building a.k.a. "the Tennis Bubble" demonstrating in the Quilters Rule booth. Unfortunately, I have to work on Saturday. Bummer.

Even more exciting is that Sets 6 and 7 are expected to be released in May. Does that mean that I can procrastinate sewing down that last block from Set 5 for another 2 months? Hmmm .... maybe. But, I doubt it! I want to get it off of my sewing table. <*smile*>

Two Diamond Quilts Comparision

As I mentioned in my first post, the quilt called the "Lancaster Diamond Sampler Quilt" is one of three sister quilts. Two of the quilts are diamond quilts, and the third is a quilt made of squares set on point.

I thought that you might enjoy seeing the two diamond quilts next to each other. The coloring of the quilts is truer to the quilt on the right. It's just a bad photo of the quilt on the left, but it's the best shot of the quilt that I have.

The "Lancaster Diamond Sampler Quilt" is on the left.
The "Fanny S. Bucher Quilt" is on the right.

-------Lancaster Diamond Sampler Quilt ---------- Fanny S. Bucher Quilt ------

They share a lot of the same fabrics, and many of the diamonds are the same pattern(s). Each quilter made the quilts their own, however.

The first thing that I notice, is that the Lancaster Diamond Quilt has more applique in it. This is 'bittersweet' for me, because I, as a norm, do not like applique. That isn't entirely fair. I appreciate applique, I'm just not good at it. And, I know that I can never expect to get good at it if I don't practice. So, I am practicing with this quilt.

Let's see if we can pick out some identical (or nearly so) blocks shared between the quilts.

-------Lancaster Diamond Sampler Quilt ---------- Fanny S. Bucher Quilt ------

2Diamonds - identical/similar blocks identified

Diamond 1: Opposite colors (red on yellow vs. yellow on red)
Diamond 2: Different side fillers, otherwise the same block
Diamond 3: Different colors (red/yellow vs. green/yellow)
Diamond 4: Identical block
Diamond 5: Different choice of brown fabric, otherwise the same block

Here's some others that I didn't highlight.

On LDSQ -- near Diamond 4 -- to the right of the 'wagon wheel' ... its matching block on the Bucher quilt is just under the ring for Diamond 1. The leaves are placed on a different point/plane otherwise, it's the same block. [On LDSQ the leaves go up/down, on the Bucher quilt they go left/right]

Can you find the maple leaves in each quilt? (One in each quilt ... slightly different sizes, definitely different colors).

What other matching/similar blocks can you find?