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I sort of fell in love with HST's and all the things that can be done with them. I made ridiculous mistakes trying to do what I wanted though. I should be embarrassed to even tell anybody. I didn't think it thru. I wanted rows of solid colors and rows of multi colors. These are batiks. I made the rows like I was using white as a background for the whole quilt. That was thoughtless and clueless of me. It looks dumb and it formed stupid looking rows that don't have the solid color as a zig or zag. I had to replace every other row with a top half of the blocks using the solid color that was the bottom of the row above it to make all piecing be a zigzag or chevron. Such an embarrassment! Shame on me. I have been totally distracted by all the odd medical issues that the doctors totally IGNORED. That is my excuse and I am sticking with it! My legs are swelling....I have a rash and swelling on my face...blood clots in my left hand...and a bad attitude from it. The stress from anything to do with doctors is over the top. They treat you, they help you, they screw you up and then.....they pretend NOTHING is wrong. You wait 6 weeks to speak to anybody and the underlying symptoms are the heart problem and you go to bed wondering if you will be alive in the morning. So much for the whining.
  I had enough fabric to replace pieces and make the blocks. That would have been nice in a different version of the same colors as HST's too. This is just a baby quilt or it would have been a disaster. I was told what the colors are for a new baby and I really was happy about the odd colors. I am talking peach, aqua, plum and from dark to light. I just happened to have those. My stash does have a green but I think it is great looking. I am slightly unhappy about the one peach fabric solid that I put with the peach spotted batik. It makes it appear to be 2 zigzag row together of the same color. My planning was pretty bad. So I stand or sit there and watch my legs swell.   It caused me to go ahead and use my excercise bike today. That was a good thing and had a good benefit but the ankles are still bad.
   I drew the colors out on a piece of paper and laid fabric out and I am slowly putting putting blocks together. I was upset with myself over it last night and even cut and made some pieces I DIDN'T need. TOTALLY frustrated and stayed up to about 7am. Not a good idea but just mental disgust and wanted it fixed. I will be able to use the other blocks. It isn't a total loss... I did LEARN from it. I should have done in on the computer and painted in the colors. I usually do.

more 10 minute block tips

I am currently working on the quilt and have tips to add. I made a small drawing to help with the seams. The center seam in the middle of the block needs to be cut out to make it lay flat and quilt into the diamond shape. I also have arrows for pressing the seams. If all block seams are press in a clockwise OR all block seams are pressed counterclockwise, they will nest together when you make the rows and sew the rows together. I put in red lines to accent the seam stitching. I would not cut it out bigger than the small area. It may make it seem like a sunken or empty space. The clipped out piece is only about 1/2" x 1/4" . It is just enough to remove the thick piece.

stripe fabrics in 10 minute blocks

I have used stripes in a couple 10 minute block quilts and it causes me a bit of trouble each time. I turned one of the corner stripe pieces the wrong way. I moved stuff around to put it so the colors and the stripe were still pleasing to me. Yeah, totally anal. I used a stripe fabric as the diamond piece and it just turned out the wrong way too. I have a stripe piece on the corner of the same block and can't turn this one to fix it. I will just put the other one that is a diamond so it at least goes the same way...

So, if you make one of these and use any stripes or directional fabrics, you do have to be careful. The first one I turned wrong on this was my mistake as I must have turned the square wrong at the last second when stitching it.

The diamonds: to make the stripe END UP vertical (up and down), you need it going horizontal  Seems wrong but I drew it out on paper vertical before doing it and then it ended up being side to side instead of up and down.  I am not anal enough to take that back out. It is only 2 of the diamonds. Nobody is gonna care.

Bruno diabetic

Bruno turned back into a diabetic state. I couln't take care of him and watch him right with the hospital trips/stays. His sugar was over 400 and he lost about 10 pounds. It sounds like he probably has damage from it this time. I don't know what else I could have done. He is back on insulin as of Friday. I didn't want to stay  in the hospital but I had no choice.

trying to load a bmp photo of a blank color chart

well it worked but not smoothly. It is from the first one I did with 5" squares (charm packs and stash). I used 5" pieces and created a border. This quilt is the one that had the toothy feathered wreath on it.

cut chart for 5" squares from fat quarters

Purple 10 minute quilt from 5" squares cut from stash and fat quarters

This is info for the smaller size quilts I made and obviously they can be made with sashing and more blocks for a larger size. I don't really think they look good as a larger size unless the blocks start to be enlarged too. I have done several and it starts to look too busy/messy, mixed or something for me. I have a black and white set of blocks and took photos of it laid out....I don't like it. Might try to salvage it by adding sashings.
   I have a purple one with a heavy polar fleece as the back that turned out nice if I do say so myself!!
I used a bit of curved crosshatching in 3 places on it and was pleased with the effect and the overall look on the back. I also did the same with a chocolate/pink and pink polar fleece  as the back. I have a mixed batik color one too. No sashing on any of my smaller ones so far. I gotta try that.
   I love the baby one that Valerie made from Paris Flea Market. It also is in a current for sale as a re-release...it had been an out of print for a couple years and Moda brought it back. Valeries is post on the MQR forum.  

2nd cutting chart for 10" squares from fat quarters

I guess I am a lousy blogger. I don't use it much and I still have quirks with where stuff gets placed. So this is the cutting chart for using fat quarters...and more or less for using yardage. I like to possibly cut some half yards into fat quarters and make a matched set of quilts by making the 10 minute block quilt and using the other half as a Yellow Brick Road quilt. My favorite new one is the chevron/zigzag though. I think it is a great baby quilt that can have a modern look from the quilting.

               Cutting chart to use 10" squares from fat quarters. Make 21.5" after adding sashing
                                     cut as 2.5" strips.

     

10 minute block quilts made from 10" squares

This is info about the 10 minute block quilts I have made. I am going to put it in 2 posts to try and make the 10" blocks and 5" blocks as a separate set of info. I have photos, a cutting chart for fat quarters, and some notes. I have several of the smaller size (baby 45x60) made from 5" squares. =I have one larger size finished 60x80 made from 10" squares also cut from fat quarters. The fat quarters will only make 2 of the 10" squares each but the strips for sashing can be cut from the rest.
     This is a set of 12 blocks  that covers the top of a queen bed. The sashing is 2.5 before sewing. the blocks are  21.5" after sashes are added and seams.
That should be 80x60 with 4x3 blocks. Could  do a sashing around the outer edge too and be a bit nicer.  NOTE: I did not make cornerstones on mine as Suzanne McNeil did on her batik.

this is my large size from batik fat quarters.

 

 

 

Heart problems

April 7th, 2013
  This is a catch up of info. I have been in the hospital 3 times for my heart. It has been a rough month. I am on strong medicines for it and seem to be doing ok. I am disgusted with the local care. That is an enourmous deep understatement. I firmly believe they almost killed me at least twice. I don't have any doubt of that. I have damage to the veins in my left arm too now from the inept ability of the half trained nurses.  Since I have to leave the 4 letter words out here and what true hell I went thru, there isn't much point in venting. Suffice it to say that I am not stupid. I can READ, I am not senile, and I did look at the drug info online. It clearly is supposed to be given in a hospital setting and MONITORED  for 3 to 5 days. I was given the strongest (most side effects) drug as a quickie 10 minute RUSH that damn drug into my arm and shoved out the door of the emergency room at the local hospital. It did put me in a "sudden death" situation. That is a fact showing on the stress test that was done to me. That is the most careless bull that "heart specialists" could have ever done. I had NOT had chest pain till they were thru with me. I had originally gone to the hospital for vomiting from my gall bladder but arrived there and went into AFib. I still believe that the heart issue was caused by the illness....and that they did turn it into a bigger threat to my life and do possible damage.
   After the bull at Mansfield, I was taken to Columbus by my sister. She probably saved my life by doing that. The a$$holes in Manfield had left me 2 messages NOT telling me anything was wrong at all and NOT telling me to stop the medication. They had called and scared her half to death with statements indicating she needed to go get me...and that I had been given a stroke by them...and to STOP the medication....this was more than 6 hours later after they had put me in the life threatening condition....