Turkey Tracks: September 22, 2013
Wheels of Mystery Quilt
I started this hand project earlier in the summer. I wanted to take a break from knitting and do some hand sewing at night watching tv shows and movies–that I stream. I HATE all the noise and confusion of watching tv shows with commercials. It’s just plain painful.
So, this quilt has grown a lot since this picture…
I’m going to do 9 rows by 11 rows.
And, it’s all out of my stash. And, scrappy, of course.
This block is an old traditional block–and I love what the curved pieces do when hung together.
See?
They make BIG circles. Isn’t that cool?
I have a childish delight in this quilt.
I tried to draw the block on QE7, but have been totally unable to do it.
Will try again, as I’d like to play with light and dark borders. And what would an outer border of 9 patches look like? Made with these same fabrics…
Louisa Enright's Blog 
Louise….love you circles. I have been hand piecing this quilt for a long…time for my daughter. I find the centre of the circles difficult to get a nice finish. Any tips?
Hi Marie. Thanks for reading my blog and commenting. I can get more uniformity in the blocks when I do them on the machine–where I can control the quarter-inch seam a bit better. But, but, I wanted a hand project, so I decided early on that I would be happy with the slightly wonky nature of some of the blocks. I decided that I would be ok with the look of hand work. (Jinny Beyer, who does such beautiful hand work, would likely not agree.) I am somewhat inspired by the Gee Bend quilts, where the joy is in the making of something, not in perfection. Don’t get me wrong–I can be a stickler about the math working out with blocks. I have a few I might have to redo all said and done. I have found that if I pay attention to the “small” ends when sewing the four patches together, I can make sure that my sewing line is coming close to or on the sewing line along that triangular inset piece–and then the four patches sit better in the middle. Hope that helps. Louisa
Thankyou Louise for you helpful tips. I will give it ago and see how it works. Have a great day. Marie
Hi Louisa. Is this done with English paper piecing?
Like you I love the way the curves make circles. Thanks for sharing.
Bert
No, the pieces are cut from three templates. John Flynn makes them, for one, and they are nice and thick. I am cutting out the pieces with a rotary cutter by running it around the templates edges. I love the curves, too, and the way the light and dark fabrics make the circles form. Thanks for reading my blog and commenting. Louisa