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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.