Wednesday, October 01, 2014

IOP Update

Another block in the endless IOP (Indian Orange Peel) has been completed! 
Woo hoo!
It was a tough one, with a lot of blood, sweat and tears (actually, not much blood but lots of sweat and tears!)
The waves on the left of the block are not an optical illusion, nor is it a result of bad photography. The waves are visible because this is an IOP block that has been handled a LOT and is very wavy. 
"You can quilt that out"... right?!? 
Then I tried to sew this block to it's neighbour in the quilt layout. In spite of pinning the living daylights out of the edge, I had to re-sew this seam 4 times (yes, the number after 3!) and it still is not matching all that well.
The IOP is going on the back burner for a while until I recover from this latest attempt to make progress :)
And to help with my "IOP recovery",  I'll be making a big pot of tea and watching QuiltCam tonight at 9 pm ... come join us!

24 comments:

Jill said...

What if (after you recover) you sew two rows of basting stitches and then 'ease' the blocks together. Similar to setting in a sleeve on a garment.

Terry said...

I love this one, wavy edges and all! :0)

Deanna W said...

That is the one problem I find with batiks...regular cotton you could ease that wavyness in but batiks I find don't act that same way. Good Luck with the other blocks...and yes Quiltcam tonight!!!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I think Jill has a good solution to your problem - and yes, take a step away for a bit.

The Cozy Quilter said...

The good thing about having many projects on the go at once --- there is always something else to work on if one project isn't going well. I like tea too!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

sometimes those curves will get you - I too step away and come back

Plum Cox said...

Even if it was the 4th attempt, the important thing is that you completed the seam to your satisfaction!
I love to see your progress on this quilt - your blocks always look stunning!

Teresa Rawson said...

OMG, but that is a difficult block! Well done on getting another one behind you. Yes...it will quilt out, and I'm sure it looks much worse under critical eye than ours, LOL!

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

Your block looks great! Don't fret over that bit of fullness it will help the quilting stitches look wonderful! It is very difficult to keep fabric from stretching, I find starching the fabric before cutting helps a lot.

Vicki W said...

When I make blocks like these I stretch them so badly that I have to leave the foundation paper in until the block is sewn into the quilt. It's harder to remove the paper but it's a disaster otherwise.
A little break will help!

Scrappy quilter said...

I give you credit for doing a block like this. I don't even try anymore.

Needled Mom said...

I always find that if I step away for a bit I can think about a solution without the stress. The solution usually hits me in the middle of the night!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Was the fabric itself part of the distress? If so, I'd be sure to edit the offender out of any future blocks!!!

Hot tea always helps ... Good for you for taking a break!

Janet O. said...

It looks lovely, in spite of its natural wave. : )
I'm with Vicki on leaving in my papers until blocks are sewn together, or I stretch things out. Yes, it is a pain to get the papers out of the seams!
Sometimes you have to gather strength to face the projects that are giving you grief--and this one seems to be taking a lot of strength!! *LOL*

Teresa in Music City said...

Oh dear! Sounds very frustrating - glad I'm not planning to make this block any time soon! Sounds like you have the perfect "recovery method" :)

Mary said...

I would STARCH that edge if I removed the papers before stitching.
I'm not a PRO at PP though. I never want to be either! This one would test my patience BIG TIME. I'll be watching Bonnie tonight too. Gotta get a binding on so I can hand stitch it down.

Quilting Stories said...

This seems a difficult case... but worth the effort... it's a great block!

Julierose said...

omygosh! What a tough block to match up! And here I am having just 9-patch matching problems you know--that 1/4" thingey!! (actually I MAY have solved it--for that SCANT 1/4"--fingers crossed--except for the cut one hahaha)...lol;) well, each of us has differing amts of abilities--yours are amazing...hugs Julierose

Monica said...

This is such a great quilt, Kathy, and I hope you will get back on the horse soon! It will all be worth it.

Is that a new header photo too? It looks great!

margaret said...

looks a most complicated block but I am sure you will get it into the quilt okay

Sparky said...

how I love this...let me count the ways...1, 2, 3, 4, 5......

Sparky said...

you are having issues...I am afraid I don t see it

Chantal said...

So sorry to hear your block is fighting you. Remember the lyrics of the song; What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger. Kathy, you are getting stronger! Aren't you happy? ;^)

Kate said...

Hope you've recovered from you battle with the waves!