A Little Longer and a Little More Difficult

Published on by Tracy @ It's a T-Sweets Day!

Ok– I know I said that this quilt was going to be a breeze and a snap to put together. Well… it certainly hasn’t taken as long as some of my other quilts that have embroidery or appliqué, but it has taken quite a bit longer than I thought.

I finished all of my blocks and I must say that they took more fabric and more time than I thought. But finished they are. Yea!!

While the blocks did take a bit of time, the layout of these diamonds was no easy task either.

I am making two quilts, so I decided to lay the blocks out as one long quilt, sew it all together, and then trim it in half. This would and did save one row of half diamonds.

The laying out was quite tricky, but the gathering up these blocks in a way to keep their order was a feat in and of itself! I had to mark the diagonal rows and sew the diagonal rows together.

I had to do this to both sides – ugh!! Am I crazy?! Yes.

Phew! Now it is going to be easier, right? — um… nope. I don’t know why I thought matching those seams was going to be a breeze. Sewing straight squares that nest together at the seams is so easy. Well, sewing on the diagonal does NOT match up!

I had to dog ear the top and the bottom of every diamond.

And then I had to guesstimate the “x” as I sewed the diagonal strips together. I am pretty pleased with my matching points, but there are definitely a few that are off point. I learned to say “it’s ok”. In fact, I am going to rename this quilt my “It’s Ok Thailand Quilt”.

Isn’t it wonderful the life lessons we get from quilting?

  • From small things great things happen
  • It’s ok to make a mistake
  • Take your time
  • Sometimes we need a re-do – That’s what Seam rippers and repentance is for
  • We all need to to snuggle sometimes
  • Pieced together and united as one

I could go on, But enough of my quilting philosophy! Back to my It’s Ok quilt. I was just about to call this one of those just gitter- done and out of here quilts, when I trimmed the edges and took a peek at the borders….

SWEET!! Ok, I really do like it:). No, I think it captures Thailand to perfection. I love it and It’s ok!!

Yep, I really do think the tricky stuff is all behind me now. I am going to put on the borders, gather up some black or red flannel for the back and get these quilts quilted. Maybe I will have the quilts finished next week?…….

We shall see. Until then I hope you have all smooth sewing days:). Please feel free to comment and don’t forget to hit the follow button!

28 thoughts on “A Little Longer and a Little More Difficult”

    1. Thank you Mariss! This was definitely an accident. I didn’t have a pattern and if I would have known the awkwardness of working on the diamond, I probably would have chosen a different design. Oh well, it is done and I think I am better because of it. Try hard things, right? Lol😊❤️

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  4. Hi Tracy! LOVE this. It totally represents Thailand so well. Just as I would picture it, and since you actually CAN picture it, what a great remembrance piece or two. Should you even make something again with this layout, I have just one suggestion. Even though it is on point, there are still distinct rows. Pick up the pieces as you normally would – left to right or whatever. Sew the rows together, and then lay them back out on point. Or match up just row one and two so you know to offset them. I imagine that’s what you actually did though. And making one big quilt and then cutting it was BRILLIANT. Love it. ~smile~ Roseanne

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    1. Thank you Roseanne! I’m so glad you like this quilt too. It is a Thailand bright one:). You are right, this one had to be sewn in diagonal rows. Otherwise it would have need major Y seam construction. No way Jose!!! The diagonal seams I. The strip don’t match up so I had to clip each seam at the approximate 1/4” and just hope. They MOSTLY turned out alright. It’s ok, right? Lol😊❤️

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  7. You really are doing a fantastic job with this quilt. Very boho too 🙂 Never worked with diagonal and while it looks tricky you made it look easy. “It’s OK Thailand Quilt” is gorgeous! and I love the life lessons that go with it.

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  8. I love your quilt. Isn’t it funny how we can question ourselves as we are working, but when we step back and look at the whole thing, we love it. Anyway, good job on your quilt.

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  11. Tracy, this is such a beautiful pile of diamonds!! Great job capturing the life lessons, we all need that reminder sometimes. Looking forward to seeing the final reveal on these two, what wonderful memories you have captured with fabric!

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