Almost half finished....

It's been one of those weeks where I've been rather scattered and time just keeps rolling along.

I have managed to get a little sewing done on the commission quilt.   The top three rows have all been sewn together and the blocks in the next two rows almost done.

This is turning out sooooo much prettier than I even imagined and I'm going to hate to give it up.   But she should really be happy with it and that's what this is all about anyway.   I just may have to make one for myself one day.

Since I messed up the first block I made I had to come up with a solution to be able to not make that same mistake again.  So I thought I'd share what I came up with.   Who knows.  Maybe this is common knowledge.   But it wasn't for me so I'm patting myself on the back that I thought of this.  hahaha

First I had to number the different fabrics (as I cut the pieces) since each block is made with different fabrics in different positions and there are eleven fabrics to keep track of.   I printed a copy of the quilt from EQ and used that as my roadmap.

Here are a couple of trays of the cut pieces and the way I numbered them.  Not all fabrics are showing.

When I'm ready to start sewing I lay the patterns (after I trim the excess paper) for one block in front of me face up.
And this is where the problem started on that first block.  I just looked at the roadmap and the pattern this way and started flipping and sewing along merrily.

Not the right way for these blocks!!!

Then I realized I needed to find a way to keep track of the correct fabrics (and their correct places) by looking at the back of the patterns.  Sooooo Now I turn the papers over (keeping them in the right order) and as I check the roadmap fabrics I write the correct fabric number on the corresponding section.  Like this.... 

Problem solved!

Now I'm ready to start sewing the fabric patches on each section.  The first piece can get a bit wobbly and move if not careful, so I use a tiny little spot of Elmers school glue (it's washable) to tack down that one piece.  

Just a tiny dot will do.  I lay the starting piece down (making sure it covers the complete area) and then I'll touch it with an iron to set the glue.  

See.... it's just what's needed.  

And the rest is simply folding, trimming and sewing the next patch.  And all blocks are correct and beautiful!  

Now I'm going to link to Judy's Design Wall.  Come along if you'd like.  

.....Linda