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Saturday, February 27, 2016

Quilts and the Law of Random!

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I added 2 more rows to my Tumbler Leader & Ender project yesterday!

It’s amazing how quick these rows build in between other chain piecing.

And while I know that “Truly random does not mean equidistant”  What are the odds that I would end of with 3 of the same neutral tumblers clustered in the same spot?

Somehow this does not seam random at all!

And so I have re-worded the Quilter’s Law of Random:

The Quilter's law of random = as soon as you set out to keep things equally spread out, they will find a way to magically appear back together in the same place in the quilt!
Or they move themselves around at night, wishing to be next to their “buddies of the cloth”.

Whatever it is.  It stays.  I am not fixing it!

My tumbler rows were growing while I worked on these:

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Bonus Triangle Basket Bliss!

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This mess is being put to good use!

I started these baskets long ago and they got set aside.  They first were found in my Addicted to Scraps column with Quiltmaker Magazine in the March/April 2011 issue.  5 years later and I still don’t have a quilt from them! 

I was last working on them during a January Quilt-Cam HERE.

I am cleaning out my deep cabinet of “pieces and parts” and that means that some adopted triangles from others are being trimmed down so I can sew them up and get them out of here. ((YES!  Sliver trimming which I hate so much!)) And, dare I say it…anything that I can’t get at least a 2’’ unit from is being pitched.  Some of the seams are far too wide, and I can’t get a 2’’ unit out of them, and I would almost rather start NEW having them cut and sewn the right size so there IS no sliver trimming, than to cut these eensy bits down to the next usable size on the ruler which for me would be 1 1/2’’ finishing at 1’’.  I’m just not feeling the love for that right now!  I want to sew!

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This corner was finished last night!

We are slowly working our way through the show Leverage on Netflix.  So super funny.  Love the quirky characters, and it is perfect for stitching to, duct tape thimble and all!

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Loving it!

Though it doesn’t look like much, that corner section alone as 288 pieces.  Yes.  I still have a long long way to go.  And I still see a Sadie face when I look at the center!

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Does anyone remember?

WHAT was I planning on doing with these?  The last time I saw them was over a month ago when we were up here for my snowed-in birthday weekend.

I remember making them.  I wrote about them HERE. I just don’t remember what I was going to do with them and I vaguely remember a setting I was planning on.  Now I can’t think of it to save my life…idea GONE from my brain.  And I have an inkling that it was a good one, too! LOL!

So this is a little hint/help I am starting for myself.  Especially after losing some folders where I was saving stuff on my phone (Yes, I know, my cloud is full!)  While photos I take are backed up to drop box, anything that I move to its own special folder and category on my phone is not.  Things I save in my phone folders from the internet are not backed up automatically.  I am telling myself to get more in the habit of using Pinterest as a safe place to put things off phone and accessible from anywhere I am. 

Did you know that you can create your own “Secret” boards on Pinterest?  Upload your photo, leave yourself some notes on what you were planning to do, sizes to cut, colors to use, how many blocks, what the idea is.  It will BE THERE when you get back to it.  I’ve made myself a secret “Projects” folder.  I’m not going to be caught losing my notes ever again!  I find Pinterest very easy to use and it’s free.

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And the mountains say good morning!

Though temps are just above freezing this morning, it should warm up to 50 by afternoon and I’m looking forward to a nice long walk with Sadie.  I’m just that wimpy.  I’m not a fan of temps below 40!  And I think being in California and Arizona recently have spoiled me and left me longing for spring to really arrive.  Who am I kidding? It’s still February.  I’ll need to hang on a bit longer.  Especially since March has me in Cincinnati and all over Michigan.

In other words – Don’t put away the parka yet!

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Quiltville Quote of the Day!

I love this quote by Steve Jobs. What an amazing man. Where will your heart and intuition lead you today?

This table runner lives on my dining room table at the cabin. It is made with some leftover Wild & Goosey blocks, combined with some Idaho Square Dance blocks all from my Addicted to Scraps column with Quiltmaker magazine.  I shared it and both quilts the blocks were left from during my Craft U workshop series.  Have you signed up yet?  Click the Scrap Quilts with Bonnie Hunter link in the upper right blog side bar for more info.  And don’t forget to use the coupon Code BHSCRAP at check out to save $30.00 off of the course fee!

More baskets in store today --
Happy Saturday, everyone!


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19 comments:

  1. Good Morning,
    What a wonderful view to have! I am so glad that I am not the only one that happens to, makes me feel so much better. I remember the ripping I did on my first mystery with you, Orca Bay because several were "touching" and I had plenty of variety. After that, I have learned to "Let it Go", nobody will know but me (unless they want to play a game of "Where's Waldo?). I am not a perfect creature and I guess my quilts won't be either. Enjoy your time at the cabin!

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  2. While I would love to sew all day today, it is going to be 60 degrees and sunny. Yardwork beckons. Things that should have been done in the late fall, such as raking up the last of the leaves.

    The tumblers look fine. That is the true display of "random" - things can end up next to each other as well as far apart.

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  3. It looks like a beautiful day on the mountain. I hope you get to enjoy some of that sunshine. I've already binge watched all of Leverage while sewing and I loved it too. Now I'm working on Quantum Leap, I loved it back in the day so I guess I'm reliving old times...LOL! Have a great day!

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  4. I, too, fill up my phone AND my iPad! I recently had to upgrade to more memory with a new iPad! And I, too, realized I needed an alternative , so I went to Pingrest and created a couple of private boards for things to remember! I thought the square you were working on were part of the cross blocks. We had a challenge to make something with crosses on them? I may be wrong but that is what came to mind! Those blocks remind me of warning signs around dangerous chemicals! Lol! Maybe it is just I see quilt blocks in almost every symbol out there these days! Enjoy your mountains! We are planning a trip in our Motorhome on the southern side of the Appalachian mountains in a couple weeks! Quilt projects will be in tow!

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  5. We love Leverage and are currently on our second watching of the entire series. One of those rare satisfying series that we will probably watch a dozen times over again. :) Plus Christian Kane... 'nuff said! I love your hexie project! I dug mine back out after not looking at it for over a year. I am determined to hand stitch myself a traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden before I die, hand quilted and all. I just have to find the patience to actually stick with it. :) Maybe since I have a cold and my sewing space is known to be chilly I'll stay in my recliner and play with them today.

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  6. Anonymous4:26 PM EST

    Talking about your random tumbler blocks...I sewed (randomly) 20 rows together for the top and then another 20 rows together for the bottom and when I sewed top to bottom, I had 2 tumblers of identical fabrics one above the other. How does that happen? Of course, that's the first thing I see when I look at this top!
    Jill

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  7. Just wondering if those mystery blocks had anything to do with 'steam punk'? - they look ideal to me for something of that style. I also have 3 secret folders on Pinterest - great for popping things into until you decide which folder they should really be in, or just need a temporary resting place until you decide whether you really want to keep the 'pin' or not. Enjoy your weekend.

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  8. Thanks for the Pinterest idea.

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  9. Anonymous5:45 PM EST

    This happens to me all the time and I don't notice it until it's all sewed and quilted.

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  10. There is absolutely a magnetic attraction between patches cut from the same fabric, like they want to rejoin and become yardage. I have given up on the "reach in the bag and sew the two pieces together that you grab" approach. Now when I have a number of blocks to be made I deal out the darks and lights in a pile for each block so I know I haven't duplicated any of them unawares, and STILL when I start to join the finished blocks the identical fabrics end up too close together! I am sadly aware that the fabric seems to be smarter than I am.

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  11. Bonnie, do you know about Evernote? It's a wonderful way to save notes, web pages, etc. You can use it from your phone, tablet, or computer, and it's free. You can organize into folders (which they call Notebooks) and find things more easily than Pinterest. I love Pinterest for visual things, but the search can be frustrating, without a good way find individual pins. You can download it at evernote.com. Hope this helps.

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  12. Each morning, I have my coffee while I check my emails. Next thing I do, is go to Gmail and check your blog to see what you have been up to. As usual you are a very busy lady! I enjoy my coffee with you!

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  13. Anonymous7:03 AM EST

    Love your quilts but I hope you FIX IT on the little tumblers that are the same so close together. That would have me seeing only that every time I looked at the quilt. Your work is inspiring but.....

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  14. I love all of your scrap quilts and appreciate your patterns (free and in books). A couple of apps you may want to try are Google Keep for notes/reminders/lists (and you can access it on your phone or tablet -- no need for an internet connection to access), and Google Photos for free unlimited storage. You can set it up for automatic backup of photos.

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  15. I don't get to read all of your blog everyday but when I do you always have something that is pertinent to what I'm doing. Thank you!. I recently started following you and have been enjoying your webcam which I'm usually watching after the fact, you are great company as I am alone most of the time. Thanks also for that great hint about Pinterest.I have little drawers filled with scraps that I started to do something with and can't recall what it was to be. I haven't been able to purchase any of your books yet but I'm hoping to at least get your "leader". My sewing is all for charity. Once in a while I make a quilt for a grandchild or great grandchild. My quilts all go to kids in hospitals,the the Nursing homes and Veterans homes. I love spending my day sewing. God bless you and thank you for all your inspiration.

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  16. I am really liking your hexie quilt! It looks so so so pleasing to the eye.

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  17. I always say "Random is not as easy as you might think!" I want the scraps to be random in all these scrap quilts, but the fabrics sometimes choose their own way! Carol in Arkansas

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  18. Anonymous5:32 PM EST

    Nothing is secret on the net Bonnie, don't you know that. So your file may not be secret for long.

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  19. Anonymous6:36 PM EST

    Yes, I see Sadie!

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