New Math

No, this is not really a blog about math, but I created a new equation:

D + C = PS

Discouragement/disaster + Creative thinking = Problem solving.  Think about it!

My forever quilt is almost done.  I was measuring and squaring up the edges to make sure that the stitching of my outer piano keys would not be cut off when trimming the quilt.  On one side only the quilting is too near the edge, noticeably.  The photo below is a little wonky, but you can see how the chalk line touches the blue points.  It should be about 5/8 beyond the points.  The red point is supposed to touch the eventual binding exactly at the point.  This will never work and the other three sides came out right.

No caption needed!

Here is the "D" (disaster/discouragement) in my equation.  Redoing the quilting will not solve the problem. No matter what I do it will show up as wrong and there is nothing I can do about it.  Don't know how it happened.  Clearly pilot error somewhere along the line.   I folded it up and told DH that for the first time ever, I was not going to finish this quilt.  I am ready to move on to something else.

Then comes the "C" (creative thinking) in the equation.  What can you do with a brain that just won't let it go?  That's what I live with, and as I worked on other things around the house I had a stunning explosion between my ears, and BINGO, I had the solution.  I don't know if this will be show-worthy, but it will be kind of cool.  It will also be time consuming.  Mostly, it will be fun.

Finally,  the "PS" (problem solving).  I have always been interested in the designs of the Mayan people of Central America.  I have wanted to do something with their ideas, but when it came right down to it they seemed far too intricate, and I didn't want to tackle the complications.  So...now is the time.  I will add a black triangle to the top of the quilt and appliqué a Mayan (or Aztec?) mask to it.  This should detract from my error hopefully.  Then I will bind the quilt (in orange) and add some prairie points to the bottom edge of the quilt.  I have already sized the design and am in the process of drawing it out.  It is nice to be doing something different.

Mask.  This is a drawing without the main quilt or the
quilting that is already on the quilt.

This will be time consuming and I need to get more black fabric, but it is snowing and I am not driving down the mountain canyon to buy fabric!  It will take awhile to do the mask anyhow and I am going to try a new technique, which I will share, whether fabulous or fail.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you a week without discouragement or disaster.