Circling the Geese

I put my nose to the grind stone of my sewing machine, and got some quilting done the other day. The March 21 deadline is looming very large at this point. If I couldn't get the whole top done, I figured I could maybe get half of it assembled. So first I assembled four of the eight flying geese units, the last I had to do!

I went with the three black fabrics in the quilt in the same pattern for all eight sections. The first one took me about an hour, but by the fourth, I was down to about half that. It's funny how you get faster, even when the first one seems to go simply and smoothly. Practice just always seems to help, doesn't it.

After I had those four pieces done, I had to tackle the center compass star. You may recall all eight pieces were assembled:

but I was not in favour of the black in the long points. I think it 1. contrasted too sharply with the blue, 2. was off-balance considering the same black at the other compass points (between the pink points), and 3. didn't play off the other areas of the quilt well. So I always had in mind to change them. Despite feeling in a rush to be done, now was time to do it.

So I took the four pieces I had to change and carefully picked out the seams to remove the black piece. (I only had to remove one seam since the black piece was the last section to be sewn on--I doubt I would have had the fortitude to change it otherwise...this will be proven just a little further on in this story.) I cut out four new pieces of fabric from another colour which were plenty big and started chain sewing. After sewing the second one on, I could cut off the first and take a look.

Remember what I said in the paper piecing tutorial about mentally moving these pieces around being quite difficult? Ya, well, I proved that point too. Both of the first two pieces were sewn on wrong. But I was proud of myself for persisting, sewing the next two seams correctly (oh so carefully correctly), picking out the wrong seams and then sewing them correctly too. Pat on my back. Good job.

Two of the new compass star pieces set into half of the star

I then went on to assemble some parts of the quilt together. This is the very exciting part. The compass star to the lone star pieces. The circling geese to the melon spikes to the corner spikes. And then those two different parts to each other. After getting all those parts together, I was kaput for the day (and out of time).

I oh so proudly showed my hubby all my work at the end of the day, and especially boasted of my diligence in changing the parts I wasn't happy with. As I'm talking to him, and looking at the quilt, and then looking at it some more...I then realized that I substituted the wrong colour for the black!!!! Oh hubris how I hate your revenge!! I had been planning to use a green instead of another blue. How could I have forgotten that? Looking at the compass star now, I think the two blues blend too much together. Oh the details! So this is where my fortitude fails as alluded to in a previous paragraph. I just can't see taking apart that much of the quilt, and then trying to replace the pieces when I've already removed the paper foundations. But I think I have to. I am calling this my Masterpiece Quilt, aren't I?

Feel free to give advice on how you would handle it (replace these difficult to remove pieces, or leave them be). I know the common adage is that no one else will notice, but I'm the one who has to see it on the bed all the time. And it would be a better looking quilt with green there. I'm convinced. Needless to say, I've had to take a break from quilting as I internally process this lapse in memory and all its consequences.

I need to take more notes, and read them. :big sigh: