Murphy Visits

 

We all remember Murphy. Murphy's Law states that if anything can go wrong, it will. 

Can you see it? The quilt is all sewn up, but can you see the big glaring No-No?

Since I added a row of blocks to the left edge of the quilt, the big double sized blue block is now right smack-dab in the exact center of the quilt. 

Dammit.

There is, of course, only one thing to do, and that's rip it out. I decided I could shift the blue block to the right, and decided to do that by rotating it and the white and pink blocks to the right of it 180 degrees and sew it back in the empty space those blocks occupied. Problem was, there was a light blue block that would have sat right on top of the big blue block, so that one had to get replaced as well.

Major ARGH!

HOWEVER! I have learned that when you goof up like this there is only one thing you can do. Take a deep breath and just get to work. Fix it, and do not get emotional about it. Don't get angry, don't swear, don't grumble, and above all, don't put it off.

OK so that's done.

I like the way the center blocks are all off center, and the dark centers and the light centers kind of blink. It's fun, and I might make another one.

But I want to continue reorganizing my stash first.

OH: Here's a plug. Last year I so enjoyed Magpie Murders on PBS. They have another season this year, called Moonflower Murders. They are both murder mysteries and what makes them unique is each one is a murder mystery set in another murder mystery with many of the cast members playing dual roles - one in each. It's a clumsy way of describing a very elegant, enjoyable series. Moonflower Murders just premiered on Sunday September 15th, so if you want to watch it will be easy enough to catch up. I highly recommend both seasons.

Murphy Visits

 You've all heard about Murphy's Law, right? Whenever something bad happens it will happen at the worst possible moment... or something like that.

Well on Sunday I was sewing two rows of my pink quilt together when some threads got jammed. I turned everything off, and took the cover off and tried to dislodge a thread that was stuck. It would not budge. I thought I fixed it, and finished sewing the seam, but looking at the seam I knew something was still wrong. It is past time to bring it for it's regular maintenance, so I packed it up, and got out my Bernina, and set it all up.

I sewed a row of blocks together, and then joined them and put them up on the design wall next to the others.

Can you see it? Let me make it bigger for you.

Yup. The row stitched on the Bernina doesn't match the two sewn on my Elna. (Now, let's not get carried away pulling hair out complaining THIS IS SO TERRIBLE or wondering WHY DID THIS HAPPEN, because that boat has sailed folks, and it makes no difference. We must move on to the solution with grace and patience because getting frustrated won't solve this problem.)

What to do? I can EITHER...

1. Take apart the row sewn on the Bernina, bring the Elna to be serviced and WAIT until it comes back to finish the pink quilt. (Now bear  in mind the repair shop is open Tuesday to Friday 9 AM to 5 PM and Saturday 9 AM - 1 PM, meaning I can't get it to the shop before Saturday, and I'd have to wait two weeks to get it fixed.)

2. Take apart the two rows sewn on the Elna and continue sewing the whole thing on the Bernina.

Either way I have to rip something apart.

Now you all know me, and know that if I ain't sewing I ain't happy, so I will save you all some guesswork and tell you I have elected option #2. I have already taken the two rows apart, and taken the pieces apart in one row and have resewn them together on the Bernina. Works just fine. I have been sacked out on the couch watching The Chef's Table on Netflix with Millie purring beside me, so it's all good.

My big takeaway is that my pal Julie deserves accolades of THE HIGHEST ORDER for taking apart over 300 HST's in a quilt and resewing them into Partly Sunny. As we both noted (almost simultaneously while texting each other about this) if it's important enough, we will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

~ ~ ~

HOWEVER, my comments and yours about BIAS have got me thinking. I will definitely be devoting a blog post to the topic of the BIAS in quiltmaking. Just don't hold your breath waiting...