Hazel’s Diary Quilt: Fuzzy Quilt Math

I’m working on the squares that go in the setting triangles on my Hazel’s Diary Quilt. Of course I made it harder on myself by departing a bit from designer Shelly Pagliai’s design by adding a sixth on-point square (let’s just call them diamonds) in each corner block.

I assumed that if I added a sixth diamond in the center triangles, the strips would line up properly with the ones in the corners. Nope. The first strip of six diamonds was over an inch too long. Back to the drawing board. I figured that increasing the seam allowances by ⅛” would take care of the difference. My next test strip was the one on the middle right side. It turned out to be about a half-inch too short. (Yes, I will be remaking that one. The bottom center and left center strips haven’t been sewn yet; the diamonds are in place to show my fabric and color choices. I can already see a couple of changes to be made.)

Take Two for the top middle strip: I trimmed the squares to 2⅜” instead of the original 2½” and then simply took a full quarter-inch seam allowance rather than my usual scant quarter-inch. When I put my strip up in the center top of the quilt, it lined up perfectly with the strips in the corners. And only you and I know that those six diamonds are just a skosh smaller than the ones in the corners. I’ll bet if I hadn’t told you, you wouldn’t even have noticed, right?

And what about those appliquéd leaves in the center medallion that I wrote about in my previous post? The good news is I am well past the midway point. The bad news is that it’s slow going. I’m just not very speedy when it comes to needleturn appliqué. By the time I get to the last leaf (#56) in the medallion, I hope to report I’ve cut my stitching time in half.

 

 

 

This entry was posted in appliqué, Hazel's Diary Quilt, needleturn appliqué, update. Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to Hazel’s Diary Quilt: Fuzzy Quilt Math

  1. LoisMarie says:

    So beautiful!!!! Great pattern! Love the fabrics!!!!

  2. Glenna C Denman says:

    Oh, my, YES! Now that I’ve seen your 6 squares design, I cannot imagine it any other way!

  3. Stitchsoup says:

    You’re so right, nobody will ever notice the difference, and they add so much to the overall setting.

  4. gailss1 says:

    Oh my, this is so pretty and you are right. We would have never known any different. Love how this is coming along and it is just beautiful. Really like that you added the 6th block and looks nice. Enjoy the process .

  5. Diane says:

    I certainly would never notice the difference, nor do I understand quilt math. What I did notice is that the squares that touch the red scalloped borders look slightly larger than the others, but when I cover up the red borders with a piece of paper, the squares look exactly the same size. Is this some kind of optical illusion? Please tell me it isn’t just me! In any case, I’m loving this quilt more with each new post.

    • Dawn says:

      I haven’t sewn the corner triangles to the blocks yet, Diane, so those outer squares still have their seam allowances visible. That’s why they look bigger.

  6. Sandy Pruss says:

    You are so amazing Dawn!! I wish I had 1% of your talent and eye for design. You are a terrific inspiration!

  7. Vickie Rooks says:

    You are so amazing! No slapping it together and calling it good. It looks great.

  8. Sandy says:

    You amaze me more and more every day! I don’t know how you do it! The quilt and your colors are beautiful.

Comments are closed.