Size Matters... I think?

 

I usually know what I'm doing. But that doesn't mean I don't get second thoughts. When I conceived of this quilt originally, I knew how big I wanted the triangle to be. I mean I thought I knew in my head. I knew I wanted the long point to be beyond the halfway point of the block. So I worked it all out in my head and made more than a few samples until I got it right.

But it wasn't until I decided to make these into pinwheels that I started to worry. On the design wall the pinwheels looked perfect, but once I sewed them together they would shrink in size. Would they be too small? 

Only one way to find out. So I sewed four together. The result is the photo above. But you know me, I had to know what the blocks would look like if I made it bigger, so I did that.

This isn't really a fair example because the pinwheel is VERY bright and the background is consistent,

Here they are side-by-side. My first impression was the bigger pinwheel was too big. I had originally conceived this as a black and white quilt with some color in it.

I sewed some more blocks together and put them on the design wall next to the un-sewn pieces and took a step back.

I hemmed and hawed.

I was torn.

Finally I called my son who has a terrific eye for proportion. His reply: "...this is an argument in millimeters." We went back and forth. I was really torn. "I don't think remaking the quilt is necessary. I think it looks good already," he reiterated.

I was still on the fence. "[Mom,] Proportions are perfect before sewing, yes. The ones you've sewn still look good. We're not into bad territory here. I think if you make them bigger you're doing to make them too big."

We talked some more and then he said something that made me realize when I sew the pinwheel blocks together, I'd lose 1/4" all around with the seam allowance. For some reason that finally penetrated my skull.

Then he added, "Glad you didn't line up the pinwheels, Mom, that would have been really boring..." I laughed. Gosh I love this kid!

So OK, I'm good.

I wanted to share this with you because I want you all to know that EVERYBODY has doubts, even me.