This quilt - 144 HSTs in a variety of colours - was inspired by my friend's rug / mat for her new conservatory:
and I said I'd make her a quilt to match it ... as you do! After painstakingly selecting the right fabrics, matching the squares, making the 144 HSTs and trimming them all down to a precise 5.5 inches, I figured it would be a doddle to sew them all together into a finished top:
First mistake - I don't do random ... so I spent ages deciding which blocks sat best next to each other. Next step - an easy one, just sewing the pairs together. Second mistake - I am such a fussy perfectionist ... there you go, I've said it out loud. So, after a little bit of unpicking when my points didn't quite match, I had 72 pairs to start placing together in rows of 4 x 12 ... I remind you of my first mistake; this - again - took me ages.
Having decided (finally) on the order, I decided to throw my usual caution to the wind and not pin! The first few blocks were displeasing on my eyes :( So, that was my third mistake - do not stop doing what you know you have to do when you are a perfectionist - so I pinned, pinned and pinned:
And last night, I finished the top ... yay! Do you know what? After all of the hours cutting, arranging, pinning, sewing, unpicking, pressing ... it is NOT PERFECT! Some of my points are not exactly 100% and some of my colours repeat too close together. But does it matter? The overall effect (I think) is delightful and I know that Mandy will love it when it's all complete:
I need to chill out a bit - less than perfect is okay, hey? I'm probably the only one who notices 'the mistakes' and it can stop me from enjoying the overall result. This hobby gives me an enormous amount of pleasure so from now on, I will be less perfect and more pragmatic - and you can (please!) hold me to that.
