Tested and Mother Approved :: Half Circle Runner

Much like the old commercial for Kix the cereal...this design has been tested and approved!  Approved by me, but I don't think that matters in this case!

Half circles have been intriguing to me and when I finally made the time to play with them, I was hooked and inspired!  There are so many options and I was determined to make my mark in the world of circles.  

When I was testing I made several blocks in order to be sure I could line up the seams and get a feel for circles.  Half Circles :: The Test is the result of my efforts.  Efforts I was all to happy to make, happy with the results and happy to use said 'test' blocks and make a runner out of them!

CIRCUS
15" x 42"

In my mind, that was the easy part.  The hardest part, and the part I struggle with the most is quilting.  I remember when I first started quilting and blogging I asked once if quilting really mattered that much.  Naive.  Newbie.  In my mind I thought back then that the design is what spoke, not quilting.  Perhaps that gives you a glimpse into my mind and why quilting scares me!  Quilting does matter.  It's the make or break of any design.    



So we stress about it.  We set projects aside until an idea feels right.  Or maybe we even send it off to a professional who can make the determination of the right design for us.  Granted, this is just a runner.  A small piece that is inconsequential in the long run, but one I want to be killer good!  Which leads me to continually trying to make quilting a part of the design.



I decided to just do...and not think too much about it.  My first decision was thread.  I used Aurifil #5022 in Mustard.  I felt like it would be a good choice to blend into all the colors and not standout too much. 



The first thing I did was stitch in the ditch around the circles.  Then it was diagonal lines around the outside.   I first had my lines marked at 1", and then decided to make them 1/2".  It seemed so simple.  I struggled with making the lines line up, spaced evenly and at the right angle!



Struggle, yes!  I made it through and then had the circles to focus on.  I've never been one to see the big picture...so to say this was easy is a stretch!  It seemed appropriate to add some circles and that's just what I attempted to do!  



I will never say I nailed a pebble!  But...at some point it doesn't matter!  I will always and forever factor in the fact that pebbles are not perfectly round and after washing and the crinkle effect...it matters very little!

After pebbles, was a little swag action and a geometric star of sorts.  



I'm comfortable with how it turned out, enough so that it was time to bind it with a dark purple!  Which made for a very happy night of hand stitching Which I love to do so much.  No sarcasm...I really do!



I'm going to call this little adventure a test that panned out!!  It gave me the confidence to make an actual quilt using larger blocks. The troubling part for me is...lets revisit the quilting...how to quilt it!

 

I don't want to quilt this.  I do not want to quilt this one!!  I do not want to do sub par quilting on this quilt....HELP!

That's where I'm at right now!  My mind says that there is so many options for this design, my common sense says 'you ain't gonna do it justice'!  I believe this is going to hang on my design wall for many months to come!

Normally I don't bring personal into my quilting blog.  However the past few days have been so devastating and heartbreaking that I'd like to make mention and request that you pray for a couple of families.

One of my daughters best friends husband just passed on Thursday of brain cancer.  He first had tumors four years ago and had a clean bill of health until a year ago when the tumors returned. His family grew since then to include Julian (8 months old) as the little brother to Elvie (9).  Aaron and Jessica were one of those couples who you knew were destined to be together as one.  Aaron passed on Thursday at the very young age of 33.  His brain cancer brought everyone to their knees.  Unexpected to say the least.

Also, my ex-sister-in-law succumbed to brain cancer just this morning.  She fought for ten years with colon cancer and in the past month she received the devastating news that she had brain cancer.  She fought valiantly for so long only to have another death sentence handed down to her. 

If you can send a prayer, I know that these families would receive it with open arms.  It's such a devastating diagnosis for anyone.  One, but two...Prayers...that's all that matters.

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL ● MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF 

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

Half Circles :: The Test

I've been thinking about making another circle quilt for some time, but wanted to do something a little different. Usually I make Drunkard Path blocks using print scraps, but not this time!  Solids and half circles came to mind so I set about and started my plan.  Which in reality wasn't much of a plan at all!  

I sometimes have to start a new idea with a test project.  Just in case I can't pull it off as I see it in my mind.  In this case I was drawn to half circles.  Rectangle half circles to be exact.  I figured out the math which is always the tricky part for me.  Latifah Saafir and her Glam Clam ruler came in very handy to make the perfect half circles.



I grabbed my 8" Glam Clam, an assortment of solids and with my fingers crossed...I hoped it would all come together.  I followed the instructions included with the ruler and cut rectangles for the circles and then cut the circle itself.

The outside of the circle was slightly more involved.  As I said I wanted the finished block to be a rectangle with the circle towards the bottom.  By more involved, I mean I had to add an extra two inches to achieve that.  By marking a two inch line with my hera marker, I was able to make sure all the circles were positioned in the same place. 



I think the hardest part or maybe I should say the most scary part was aligning the seams so that it made a perfect circle.  I carefully pinned each seam and for the most part it worked. 



The blocks remind me of beach balls!  After making four blocks and feeling pretty good about my capabilities, I had to come up with a plan for them.  They weren't quite large enough on their own for a decent size table runner length wise, so I made one more.  

Five blocks worked much better for the length, but it wasn't wide enough for my liking.

I certainly didn't want the blocks to gather moss by setting them aside, so I came up with the idea of adding a row of squares along one side.  Right now I have it pinned and ready to quilt.  

Before that can happen I needed to start the project that I really had in mind for the half circles.

Using the 12" Glam Clam ruler borrowed from a friend, I grabbed my Painter's Palette March Madness bundle and went to town cutting!

Sometimes I plan everything from start to finish, sometimes I don't and sometimes I have to roll with the punches and make a few changes.  I wanted the finished quilt to be a decent size and that wasn't going to happen if I only used this bundle from Paintbrush Studio, which was the plan.  No worries!  It wasn't like I didn't have plenty of other fabric to choose from!

The first two 12" half circles I pinned before sewing thinking I'd have better control over all.  That didn't last!  I tried one without pinning and it was much faster and...easier!  And, in order to have perfect, perfect, perfect seams, I glued the seams together before sewing the two half pieces together.  Gotta love glue!  Fun little tricks! 

I'm in the process of sewing all the blocks together with the final layout is to be determined!  And I can't wait!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING ●  LINKY TUESDAY 
LETS BEE SOCIAL ● MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF 

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY