Long and happy day...

There is so much to do, and so much did get done today.  I tested the Simplicity Five pattern and have a few changes to make - nothing drastic, but important never the less.  I redicovered how very important the scan 1/4" seam can be - here is the math!

Ugly piecing!!

If you sew a piece that is 2 1/4" to another piece that is 2 1/4" you should end up with a piece that is 4" wide.

So if you don't, you need to adjust your 1/4" seam and I discovered that my 1/4" seam needs to be nearer 3/16 to give me the result that I am needing.  I think part of that is that one of the fabrics is a Batik and there is no stretch.  So I have learned today that I need to re-evaluate my 1/4" seam with every block that I make as there are so many variables:

Thickness of sewing thread
Fabric variations
Sewing machine
How I feel! - sometimes I am just in too much of a hurry - slow down and take care!

So the first block that I made was about 1/4" too small to make a 10 1/2" square.  So I threw the square away, started again, measured all the seams as I put the block together and finally got a square that was 10 1/2".  And, hopefully, I can pass this information on to my students in class on Saturday, and they will be able to make a well constructed and beautiful quilt.

So, time for a glass of wine and a dip in the hot tub.  And the final thought for the day is this:

Yes - it's been hot (105F), but it's cheaper to wear almost no clothes than try to keep warm!  Bandit struggles with that, since his clothes are permanent.