Tag: Blocks

Scrapitude Four Patches

I succumbed to the Siren call of the mystery quilt. Just like Jason and the Argonauts or Odysseus or the sailors passing Die Lorelei, I couldn’t resist their call and am working on the Scrapitude Mystery Quilt.

The Scrapitude Mystery Quilt was created by Sandy’s friend charlotte after the ladies in their guild begged. Sandy put out the [Siren] call and many of The Twilters joined in. I found an already cut batch of 2.5″ squares, so I joined as well. Lame reasoning, I have to say, because there are a whole bunch of other shapes I need to cut as well.

Scrapitude First 4 Patches
Scrapitude First 4 Patches

It turned out to be good, though, because I needed something easy where I could accomplish a lot in a short amount of time.

I only had about 3 hours to sew yesterday and was able to finish 25 four patches and make a huge dent in the 112 I still need to make.

One of the first sewing directions was to make 25 four patches out of the foreground fabric (e.g. not the background). I found a container of 2.5 squares I had cut sometime ago and started out with those. I was able to make good progress and finish the first 25 pretty quickly.

2.5" Squares
2.5″ Squares

The next 112 would be a little harder and I knew that before even starting the sewing.  Part of the difficulty was that I hadn’t, yet, picked a background. Fortunately there were enough dots with white backgrounds already cut to sell me on the idea of dots as a background. I toyed with the idea of blacks on whites, but went with the dots. There aren’t enough dots in my life ever. 😉

There were a lot of orange squares in the container, so, periodically, I rummaged through my scrap bins and cut some other colors. A lot of what I was cutting were greens. It is fun delving into my scrap bin. First, I use up scraps, which is always a bonus. Second, I enjoyed thinking about the fabrics through which I was rummaging and the original projects for which they were used. I found a lot of Philip Jacobs prints and joyfully cut those up to use.

112 4 Patches in Progress
112 4 Patches in Progress

Now I have about half of the 112 finished. I have had to use some yardage for the background, but I  have plenty of dots, so it is ok.

Sandy has a tutorial on her blog on making 4-patches. Nonnie pointed out a very interesting 4-patch tutorial on the NZ blog, Bee in my Bonnet. I have not tried this tutorial and she doesn’t give sizes, so I don’t know how it works. It looks cool, though.

Why Should You Care: Perhaps you want to join in or use the directions for an activity for your guild?

Mom’s Quilt Blocks

Blossom BOM block
Blossom BOM block

A few days ago, I talked about my mom’s quilt. I decided that you would probably appreciate some detail shots.

This is one of the Blossom BOM blocks. Now, I always thought that BOM blocks were supposed to encourage people to quilt more. This block is a tough block. My mom has garment sewing experience and she had a tough time with this block. Look at the pieces – curves and that little block in the lower right hand corner. Not impossible, but also not a nine patch.

My mom is tough and created a strategy. After screwing up a few blocks and not having enough fabric for the BOM block, she started making a practice block with her own fabric and then used the BOM fabric for the non-practice block. The above blocks are the practice blocks.

Blossom BOM block
Blossom BOM block

This is the same block, but made with a bolder selection of fabric. I believe that I gave my mom some of these fabrics. I feel like I make some bold choices in fabric selection, but my mom has me beat by a mile. I would not have thought to put the blue and the pink together.

I am glad that I took the time to look at these blocks.

They make me think. What would your interpretation of this block be? Even if you use fabric on paper with glue stick, what colors would you choose? What colors would take you out of your comfort zone?

Pinwheel
Pinwheel

The pinwheel block is a pretty standard pattern. It is actually a pattern that you can really make look like it is spinning if you place the fabric a certain way.

Again, though, mom has made it her own. The blue and the cabbage rose/bold flower print are an interesting combination.

I really think my mom and I see color in different ways. Again, I wouldn’t have chosen these fabrics together, but they work. It kind of reminds me of the quilt Bill Kerr showed that included David Butler and Jo Morton fabrics together.

Mermaid Block
Mermaid Block

The mermaid block is some kind of panel. I have no idea what possessed her to add this to the quilt, but it works. Interesting.

 

Morning Glory
Morning Glory

The Morning Glory block really looks like a morning glory. You can see that the center cannot have been easy to piece. I know that isn’t applique’ and am pretty sure it isn’t paper pieced either.

Improv Piecing
Improv Piecing

The very bottom block reminds me of one of Gwen Marston’s filler blocks. I also, though I am reluctant to say it, think it has qualities of the Gee’s Bend blocks.

Finished Donation Blocks

Orange & Grey Donation Blocks
Orange & Grey Donation Blocks

I did diligently work on these donation blocks until they were done a week or so ago.

They are fun to work on and I am happy I put the blue square in each block. I think it adds interest.

I am thinking that my next effort will be sans background, e.g. no grey, and just have different scraps all in the same color make up the blocks. Where the blue is in these lovelies, I will substitute a complimentary colored patch, similar to what Pam did with her Rainbow Baby quilt. I guess I keep saying this over and over so I must really want to do it.

Yes, I still want to put sashing between the blocks. I’d love to get this done by the September meeting. We’ll see. Apparently, crawling up into my fabric closet for a blue bin is a problem. I don’t even know if I have the right blue for the sashing.

Mosaic No.19 Redux

Remember that I went on a bit about the Mosaic Number 19 and how it wasn’t quite up to par? Still, it was the first block I made for this project and I had some fondness for it.

Well, I remade it.

Mosaic No.19
Mosaic No.19

So much for fondness. It just didn’t fit and I decided that while I was remaking blocks that weren’t working for other reasons, I might as well remake this one.

One thing I wanted to do was make sure that the background was the background. In the green version, there are large triangles of green in the middle center where background should be. Essentially the Sawtooth Star shape is reversed in terms of fabric. I thought the green where the background should be would ruin the flow of the background of the quilt. Yes, this new configuration meant that the corners would be non-background fabric, but other blocks have that quality as well, so it will be ok.

I have to say that I do like the frame around the center block int he green version. It really focuses attention on that center tilted/on point square. I suppose I could have found something to fussy cut and kept that look in the new version, but I didn’t think of it.

That blue that I used is a really nice blue. I think it shows up really well in the photo.

See more about this quilt using the Star Sampler tag. I wrote a whole post about the genesis of this project, which you might want to look at.

Ribbon Star Redux

Ribbon Star Old (L), New (R)
Ribbon Star Old (L), New (R)

You might remember the drama of the first Ribbon Star. You also might remember that I made the star over using half square triangles rather than parallelograms.

I have to admit that I never really liked the new version, which you can see on the right of the above picture. I used it, because I had no choice, but I didn’t really like that particular lavender fabric.

Finally, I decided that I would remake the first block. The first block had a lot of problems, not the least of which was that the parts were a variety of different sizes. I unsewed all the squares, rearranged some of the colors and resewed them so that the block, basically, fit together. Many of the seam allowances are so far short of 1/4″ that I really worry about their integrity.

Still I am really happy that I get to use the original version of the block.

89 Sawtooth Stars

89 Sawtooth Stars
89 Sawtooth Stars

I finally finished the 4″ Sawtooth Stars over the weekend. This project is lingering a little too long for my tastes, but I wasn’t miserable making these little stars and the group of them makes for a very nice accomplishment.

Now I am ready to put the blocks together. I plan to follow the plan from the Oh My Stars QAL, because I think it is an interesting way to put the blocks together.

Star Sampler: Last Week of 8″ Blocks

I like blocks.

Have you noticed?

I really do. The possibilities are so endless and I love possibilities.

All Pieced 8" & 12" Blocks
All Pieced 8″ & 12″ Blocks

Above are the 59 Sawtooth Star variations that I have made for my Star Sampler Project. I am pretty pleased with the way they look together. There are 2 I may redo, but TFQ is coming to visit this weekend, so I will ask her what she thinks.

Week 15 8" Blocks
Week 15 8″ Blocks

These are the Week 15 blocks.Left to Right, Top to bottom they are Mosaic #11, Sarah’s Choice (again), Basic Star (with a flourish) and Rising Star (another redux).

I am still dying to know why many of the classic blocks are called Mosaic #something. I’ll have to look on Barbara Brackman’s blog to see if she ever talks about it. I like the fabrics I chose for this block. It looks beachy and fresh.

The Sarah’s Choice is a bit blah, but not terrible and it blends in well with the other blocks (see above), so I will leave it.

I decided early on that I wouldn’t get fancy with the Basic Star, but decided on this last one to use my ‘focus’ fabric as the center and different legs for one block only. I wanted it to be clear that the Basic Stars were Basic Stars.

I am pretty pleased with the Rising Star. I really love the design of that block. I used the excess backing (cut off after the quilting process) from another quilt. It is a nice batik fabric and I wanted to use it again.

I still have about 25 4″ Sawtooth Stars to make. I pressed fabrics earlier this week and on the weekend and cut parts to make them, but didn’t do much sewing. I didn’t get to cut all the parts I needed, but I will certainly be ready to sew when the weekend finally arrives.

I am really looking forward to starting the process of putting these blocks together.

Star Sampler – Week 14

Star Sampler-Week 14
Star Sampler-Week 14

Week 14 Week of April 29 (8″ blocks) (JHL chooses)

  • Basic Star
  • Broken Star (Around the Block)
  • Indian Star (Around the Block)
  • Martha Washington Star (Around the Block)

Hooray! I finished another week’s worth of blocks. We are nearing the end of these blocks, too.

I still have about 40 of the 4″ blocks to go, but I have been cutting for them and using them for leaders and enders. I can get about 5 done in a few hours that way.

I made a pile of fabrics, from the grand pile that is my palette of blues, greens and purples, that I may use for the 4″ stars. I’d like them, if possible to each be different. I don’t know if it is possible. I have plenty of fabric, so that isn’t the issue.

The issue for next week is whether I lost a basic star or not. I think the issue is that the stars fill every inch of my large design wall and I may have lost track of one of the blocks. I have to count and see.

I have plenty of work to do on this project, but I am glad that the end is near.

Star Sampler – Week 13

As I have mentioned, I am behind on this project. We both should be done with the 8″ blocks and finishing up the 4″ stars. We are on Week 13, which was supposed to be finished during the week of April 22. TFQ chose these blocks and I just started them on Sunday.

  • Basic Star
  • Free Trade (Around the Block, page 67)
  • A Salute to the Colors (Around the Block Again, page 106)
  • Chisholm Trail (Once More Around the Block, page 50)
Star Sampler: Free Trade - 8"
Star Sampler: Free Trade

Free Trade was the first block I sewed to try and catch up.

I like the look of the squares and half square triangles in the center.

I used squares for the center that had been rejected from other blocks. I couldn’t find any to match, so I used some that would look good together and, perhaps, create a little added movement in the block.

I was pleased with myself for thinking of this. I happened to be filing scraps in the course of tidying up the workroom when I thought of it.

Star Sampler Week 13
Star Sampler Week 13

I finished all of the blocks last night.I don’t usually sew during the week, but my mom had to switch her days (she usually comes over on Tuesdays to see the Young Man) so I threw caution to the wind and just worked. I don’t know what DH was doing (ballgame, maybe?), but he didn’t want to catch up on a show with me until later.

So, TFQ picked these blocks and they were fine. I wasn’t really pleased with A Salute to Colors (lower left) when I saw the pattern, but I changed around a couple of colors and like it now that it is done.

Chisholm Trail
Chisholm Trail

My favorite of this group is the Chisholm Trail block. I love the way the fabrics work together.

The fabric I used for the arms of the star is perfect in that space with the other fabrics.

I am pleased.

Now I have to get busy with the blocks for Week 14. I have one cut out, one made and another 41 4″ Sawtooth Stars to cut out and sew.

More Star Sampler Blocks

I think we are on week 12 of our Star Sampler project. We are still making 8″ blocks. These are from the week of April 15. I am now behind again, because I was able to sew over the weekend. I chose these blocks:

  • Basic Star
  • Whale’s Tail (Once Again Around the Block, pg.126)
  • Centennial (Around the Block Again, pg.40)
  • 2142 Mosaic #19 (R1, C5)
Whale's Tail
Whale’s Tail

Whale’s Tail: There are a number of the blocks with chevrons making up the legs. I kind of wonder about the name of this blocks.

Since we are nearing the end of the pieced larger blocks, I am trying to make sure that all the fabrics I have used in other blocks have been used at least 3 times, so that there is some balance in terms of the colors and fabrics. If you want to read more about balance, Sandy and I did an episode in the design series and we talked about it.

Centennial
Centennial

Centennial: I really have to wonder why this block was named Centennial. I looked up the block on the web, because I don’t have my Jinny Beyer book handy. I found some interesting settings for this block.

2142 Mosaic #19
2142 Mosaic #19

2142 Mosaic #19: I should look up this block in the Jinny Beyer book, because it is such a weird name. Were there 18 other versions of this block?

I have also done similar blocks. I paid attention to the fabric placement and, as you can see, fussy cut the fabric for the center.

I think all four blocks came out nicely and look good together.

I have now made 37 4″ blocks. I am almost half way finished with them. TFQ is going on vacation and my goal is to make them all during the first two weeks of May so they are ready when she comes to visit.

 

Week of 4/15 Stars
Week of 4/15 Stars

 

 

 

4" Sawtooth Stars
4″ Sawtooth Stars

Making Some Star Sampler Blocks

Missouri Star
Missouri Star

This is the group of stars from the week of April 8 (I believe). They were a lot more work than I anticipated or expected. Somehow, they were temperamental and needed more attention than their 8″ siblings. I was also in ‘a mood’ for some of the week, which didn’t help either.

One of the things that happens when making blocks, regardless of how many you make, is that they don’t always come out the way you think they will. In the best of circumstances, I had to rearrange the look of blocks by cannibalizing parts of other in-progress blocks. In the worst circumstances, I removed certain fabrics completely and  cut new pieces in order to be satisfied with the outcome.

The above, with green and lavender, is the first version of the Missouri Star. I realized, again, that the green needed to be away from the background. I don’t know why I forget that, but I did until it was all up on the design wall. It took me looking at the pieces on the design wall to see how nicely the green and background were blending into each other.

I also realized that there was too much green. I love that green, but a little goes a long way.

Missouri Star block
Missouri Star block

I changed out a few fabrics and rearranged some of the pieces to come up with different options. The arrangement, left, is the iteration with which I am most in love. I moved some of the darker blues from the Flying Cloud Star block into the center, but it didn’t work for me. I tried a variety of the medium batiks that I have been enjoying in other blocks. The combination that I have now is not a usual one, but I like it and I think it works.

Flying Cloud block - 1st version
Flying Cloud block – 1st version

The dark blues in the first version of the Flying Cloud Star (below) just don’t work for me. Somehow they stood out too much, I guess.

I was trying to add in some more of the fuchsia that I used in Mrs. Lloyd’s Favorite in the 12″ group. It is one of the Simply Color ombres and I don’t have much, if any, of the fuchsia part of the fabric left. Thus, the one I used in the Flying Cloud is a different fabric. It isn’t as dark in person as it looks in the photo. It is also a solid.

Flying cloud
Flying cloud

After trying a few different options, decided, again, on the medium value batik. I worry about choosing mediums all the time. They do not seem like a bold choice. I do love those batiks.

Lesson?

MAKE VISUAL DECISIONS VISUALLY

THERE IS ALWAYS MORE FABRIC, SO CHANGE OUT ONE YOU DON’T LIKE.

Week of April 8 Stars
Week of April 8 Stars

The last photo shows the finished blocks and I am pretty pleased with them.

Star Sampler: 4 More 8″ Stars

Week of April 1 Blocks
Week of April 1 Blocks

These are the blocks for this week. Or so I thought. TFQ took the time to go through our list and found, though not her intention,  that I wasn’t ahead as I had thought. She found that I actually finished blocks for the end of the last week not the beginning of this week. I have to say I felt disheartened. I wanted to work on another project, which was why I got busy with these so early in the weekend. So much for clearing the decks.

We have a deadline of getting the 8″ blocks done by the beginning of May and I want to stick to that schedule. Her efforts, fortunately, got us back on our real schedule, rather than the schedule in my head, which is good.

Still I didn’t want to work on any Sawtooth Stars at the moment, even the new patterns. I just left these on the design wall and pretended I wasn’t behind again. This is an interesting exercise in working on one project almost exclusively. It is difficult for me to dedicate so much time to one project, I am finding. This makes me think more about my process. More on that later, I think.

Above are: Chevron Star (actually from the week before as I made the wrong block previously) (upper left) Basic Star (upper right) Home Treasure (lower left) and Stars & Pinwheels (lower right). All of these can be found in one of the Around the Block books.

I am using some of the 12″ blocks as inspiration for the fabric combinations.

Yesterday, I decided to do some cutting and cut out the new blocks. Life goes on.

Sampler Class: Foundation Piecing Part 5

New York Compass
New York Compass

This segment discusses sewing the block together. In order to get to this point, you should have completed parts 1 and two and three as well as part four.

Like piecing all other blocks, you want to sew smaller pieces together to make larger pieces, then sew the larger pieces together to complete the block. In part three, you should have cut any fabric for templates that did not have matching fabric patches. so, inventory your templates and make sure you have a fabric patch for each template. If you don’t, go back to part three.

In part 4 you also pinned:

Pin sections together

Remember that the edges are not quite as smooth on the other  (blue) side, but that is ok. Just remember to sew slowly and carefully.

Outer patches sewn
Outer patches sewn
Outer patches sewn - blue side up
Outer patches sewn – blue side up

Once those two patches are sewn, they might look a little rumpled, but once you turn them both right side up and press the section, they will look great.

Outer sections pressed
Outer sections pressed

Press which ever way you think will work best for your block.

Section D
Section D

Next, we will sew the corner section to the small pieced strip (Section D).

Nota bene: if you did not foundation piece the small strip, follow the directions in part 4 or part three to do so. If you haven’t done any foundation piecing you might want to start with this piece as it is smaller and less complex than the pointy triangles section.

Again you will need to pin. This time you are pinning your quarter circle corner piece and your small foundation pieced strip.

Pin ends horizontally
Pin ends horizontally

Take your quarter circle corner piece and your small foundation pieced strip and pin them together. I, first, line up the straight edges on the ends and pin them together (horizontally). I make sure the horizontal pins are out of the way of other pins and the sewing machine foot. they are used just to make sure my piece is in place while I put the other pins in.

I use a lot of pins. It works for me. I know there are other tutorials that are pinless or use minimal pins, but I want precision and pins give me precision. Put these two pieces together the way it works for you. Remember: you only have two hands.

Sew 2 patches together
Sew 2 patches together

Once you are happy with your pinning, get ready to sew. I put the non-pieced corner quarter circle on the bottom and the pieced part on the top. I try to make this a habit, though it doesn’t matter with this particular foundation pieced section. In some sections, like our spiky triangle section, it matters.

You can rip off the paper before you piece or not. I was having some other problems, so I ripped it off, but normally, I would leave it on until the very last second I could, e.g. before I took the pieced top to the quilter!

Attach your quarter inch foot and sew your small foundation pieced strip to your corner quarter circle. If you don’t know how to sew curves, take a look at the curves tutorial.

Corner with 2 sections
Corner with 2 sections

Once you are finished, press carefully. I press to the side with the least number of seams, or to the side that the fabric seems to be naturally inclined to lay. Your corner will look gorgeous like the one above.

Once you have the small foundation pieced strip attached to your quarter circle, you will sew it to your spiky triangles piece. You will, again, pin a lot, using the horizontal pin trick to stabilize the piece.

Sew Sections Together
Sew Sections Together

Again, as shown in the photo above, I put the foundation pieced part on top. In this case, you are sewing two foundation pieced sections together, so you can choose which you want on top. I chose the spiky triangles section to go on top, but it doesn’t really matter, since there are no points to worry about cutting off.

Next sew the two remaining sections together, press, again, towards the piece with the least number of seams and you should have a piece like the one below.

Finished: Foundation Pieced Block
Finished: Foundation Pieced Block

After all that work, you have a beautiful foundation pieced block. Pat yourself on the back!

Sampler Class: Foundation Piecing Part 4

New York Compass
New York Compass

We are nearing the last part of the foundation piecing class. I know this is a long tutorial, but there are a lot of steps and it is difficult to explain when I am not in the same room with you. I also don’t have a crew, so photographing every single step with only two hands can be a challenge.

Mostly this segment discusses getting ready to sew the major parts of your block together. Yes, there is more prep before you can sew your blocks together. I will give some template tips as well. In order to get to this point, you should have completed parts 1, 2 and part 3. All of the supplies are listed in part 1.

Like all other parts of piecing, your goal is to sew smaller pieces together to make larger pieces. First, inventory your templates and make sure you have a fabric patch for each template.

NY Compass Outline
NY Compass Outline

For any templates that do not have matching fabric patches, cut your fabric.

parts and templates

Based on the photo above, I need to cut 3 pieces. In some New York Beauty related patterns, these are pieced, but in ours we are using one fabric. You can certainly modify any of these pieces to do more foundation piecing.

Cutting fabric patches

To cut out these templates, I place my fabric right side down and the template right side down and draw on the back of the fabric. This is the same for all three of the templates.

Patches should look similar to template

Your patches should look similar to your template once cut out. All of these templates have an element of bias, so handle them carefully.

Outer Edge Patch half cut out

Once you have drawn your template shape on the fabric, you can cut it out. Where possible, I use a rotary cutter and ruler. If I cannot use those tools, e.g. for the curves in the pieces of this block, I use very sharp scissors and cut slowly and carefully. Above you can see that I have cut as many parts of the patch as possible with my rotary kit and am ready to cut the curve with scissors.

Corner template on fabric
Corner template on fabric

Lay your fabric right side down and place the corner template on top, also face down. Draw around it with a Pigma Micron, or similar, pen.

Line drawn on fabric
Line drawn on fabric

Once you have drawn carefully around the template, remove it and make sure your line is continuous. If it is not continuous, carefully replace the template and fix the missing segments.

Line up ruler along 90 degree angle
Line up ruler along 90 degree angle

Line up your ruler with the corner of the fabric patch. You may need to rough cut your fabric first, if there is too much yardage skewing the fabric as you try and cut.

Cut using rotary kit

The corner quarter circle template has a quarter inch seam allowance, so you don’t have to do anything, but cut the line you drew (and all the fabric on the other side) off. You will want to cut so that the line is cut off, but you need to cut ONLY the line off.

Also, these pieces are large, so make sure you can hold your ruler down tight as you are cutting. You want to avoid ruining a whole large piece of fabric because your ruler shifted.

Fabric patches cut

Once you have cut out your fabric patches, you will have pieces that look like those in the above photo.

After seeing the above patches laid out, I decided to sew the two outer pieces together first. Again I want to join smaller pieces into larger sections. Also, the very outer piece has very skinny ends. I want to stabilize them a bit by sewing them to another piece before sewing them to the foundation pieced Section C.

Pin sections together

The first order of business is to pin them together. I apply horizontal pins on the ends and a lot of pins in the middle. My goal is to make the seam smooth. You are working on the bias, so don’t yank too much.

Horizontal pin - close-up

For my advanced students: if you put the horizontal pin in the two fabrics as shown above, the horizontal pins on each side should be out of the way of your 1/4″ foot.

Pinned End
Pinned End
blue side up
blue side up

It is not quite as smooth on the other side, but that is ok. Set this piece aside for now, but remember that when you are ready to sew, sew slowly and carefully. Next, we will sew the corner section (quarter circle, Section D) to the small pieced strip.

If you don’t know how to sew curves together, check out the curves tutorial.

Nota bene: if you did not foundation piece the small strip, follow the directions in part 3 or above to do so. If you haven’t done any foundation piecing before you might want to start with this piece as it is smaller and less complex than the pointy triangles section (Section C).

I use a lot of pins and I know there are other tutorials that are pinless or use minimal pins. Put these two pieces together the way it works for you.

Now you are ready for part 5, which is the last part, I promise. 😉

Tips:

  • If you have to rip out stitches, rip them out from the fabric side, not the paper side.
  • Pay attention to putting the next fabric piece on the foundation.
  • Avoid the bump by pressing!

Resources:

Fabric & Color Choices

While this certainly won’t be a comprehensive post on everything there is to know about color and fabric choices, I thought I could pass along a little information while it was fresh in my mind.

Finished: Foundation Pieced Block
Finished: Foundation Pieced Block

Above is my completed foundation pieced New York Compass. If I were doing this block over again, I would not choose that specific aqua or that red for the small second foundation pieced strip (next to the corner quarter circle). In the grand scheme of the quilt, it will be fine, but this close up it really takes away from the fine piecing of those spiky triangles. The reds, especially run into each other.

That second foundation pieced part is tricky for my particular version, because my quilt is a two color quilt. I can’t introduce additional colors into the blocks at this late stage and maintain the integrity of my plan. I could have paid more attention to the particular reds and aquas I was choosing and chose fabrics for that small foundation pieced strip that stood out more against the red dot of the spiky triangles.

My mistake?

I grabbed fabrics and started cutting. I did not look at all the fabrics together before cutting. I didn’t try different fabrics to see what the change in look would be. I didn’t make my visual decisions visually. This lesson is a good reminder.