Thursday, September 18, 2014

Dyslexic Paper Piecing, Poltergeists and Dust Bunnies


Once upon a time Queen Sophie of Block Lotto Land declared that the block for the month of September would be Sweet Dreams. 

Little did she know that for Old Gray Maiden construction of this this block would be a nightmare. 

First try was too 1/2  inch too big. Old Gray Maiden had a difficult time printing the template for paper piecing the correct size.   Queen Sophie accommodated Old Gray Maiden with a .pdf file that still would not print properly on two printers at home.   Then Old Gray Maiden tried a printer elsewhere and the template printed just right. 


Old Gray Maiden was not really a fan of paper piecing but that was because she had not really had much experience with it.   So Old Gray Maiden accepted the challenge and went off to her castle to sew. 

First, she cut the pieces for the paper piecing a tiny bit too small.   Then she started over and had the fabrics reversed (red was supposed to be in the corners) . Rip it.  Then she tried again and had the fabrics wrong side up. Rip it.  Then the poltergeists appeared and Old Gray Maiden's Janome DC2010 started sewing by itself  even when her foot was not on the foot pedal.   Old Gray Maiden knows that usually when the poltergeists appear the machine needs cleaning.  Yep, that was right.  Several Big Giant Dust Bunnies leaped out of Old Gray Maiden's machine even before she could get the screws from the needle plate loose. Several more Big Giant Dust Bunnies had made a nest inside her machine and she ran them off.  And all was well again.  

Old Gray Maiden then sewed and sewed until all the papers were covered.   Then when she ripped the papers off  and several of the fabric pieces fell into her lap.  Old Fair Maiden didn't notice her tension was not right when she sewed and sewed. So, she quickly sewed the pieces back together whilst they were not on the papers. 

And then Old Gray Maiden hand appliqued the circles before she noticed...


...that a corner on each block was bad.  And lots of cuss words could be heard throughout the castle and Old Gray Maiden's hair grew even grayer. 

So, Old Gray Maiden waited a week and tried again. 


And what do you know...Old Gray Maiden made a block that was just right. 


And then Old Gray Maiden made 6 more blocks for her Queen Sophie of Block Lotto Land designed Mod Mod Quilt. 

And the moral of the story is Old Gray Maiden  is very stubborn and loves a challenge and will not be defeated or maybe it's something like" if at first you don't succeed  try try again".  

If you like to learn something every once in a while, like a challenge every once in a while, like fun every once in a while, like to win blocks every once in a while, well, why not join the Block Lotto community. 



6 comments:

Just Another Quilter said...

You made me laugh. Congrats on your accomplishment. Great story.

antique quilter said...

love this post it made me LOL!!!!!
your blocks are beautiful sorry it took a bit to make them but aren't you just so proud of yourself !
Kathie

Ellen said...

You are funny - love it! I am glad that you did not give up even though everything seemed to go against you succeeding. You did a fine job and your blocks look great!

sophie said...

I hope it was worth the effort and the next time you try to print or sew a paper pieced block it goes SO MUCH MORE easily.

Terri said...

Did you notice an old fair maiden made it into this story?
Love your efforts... just today I learned a new method of "applique" for perfect circles done easily. See the video on this blog. http://www.hgtv.com/video/easy-circle-quilt-blocks-video/index.html
I can't wait to try it.
Hugs

Cathy said...

This Old Gray Maiden would rather be banished to the depths of the dungeon than to have to do paper piecing. Where's that dragon when you need him??