Variables

>> Wednesday, May 4, 2011

I don't spend much time in science labs these days, if at all. Perhaps I've met a friend in her lab but even that was a while ago. Perhaps it's the distance from lab experiments that led me to violate the cardinal rule of experimentation: minimize the variables. Instead, when I decided to sew up some pyramid triangles for the first time, I also decided it was a brilliant moment to test out using linen in a quilt.

The piecing would have been tremendously easier without the linen contorting every which way. Playing with linen also would have been easier had I been using squares or rectangles, rather than triangles with 2 bias edges (the diagonal grain on fabric, which is much stretchier than the straight or cross grains). But unwittingly making things more complicated than necessary represents a true strength of mine, whether I'm writing or sewing. And in the end, I really like the drape of linen in a quilt, It feels perfect for a summer quilt. This particular one will join a stash of baby quilts I'm scurrying to finish before I embark on a couple of months sans sewing machine (unless someone in NYC would like to lend me one for a bit.) This one is almost done while 2 others are still in the piecing stages, so there may be a few crazy late nights of sewing in my near future.

3 comments:

~Michelle~ May 4, 2011 at 6:36 PM  

I worked with linen for a bee block this weekend also & didn't like it - the weave was pretty loose (even for linen) and it was super wiggley, even when attempting to cut on the grain. However, I think the finished quilt will be amazing! How many of those crazy triangles did you end up with?

Tami @ Lemon Tree Tales May 4, 2011 at 10:29 PM  

Have you tried to starch it before cutting and/or sewing with it? I tend to spray Mary Ellen's on anything before cutting it just to give it a bit of stiffness. I wonder if it'd help with the linen.

Becky May 5, 2011 at 6:41 PM  

Oh, the colors you chose for this one are so gorgeous together! Would you want to share something with us that you've made recently? ‎{Share the Love} link up party is starting tomorrow at mydomesticdesign.com! Please come link up!

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