A "New" Sewing Machine!

Wow, it hasn't been a month since the last post.  Who knows, maybe the posts will go up more frequently for the next while. 

My dentist should be able to retire soon.  I've had two crowns in the past month.  Actually the second one is still a temporary, with the permanent one next week.  Anyone wondering why I'm not buying fabric?  (Besides having a huge stash already.)

Between appointments I was able to get into the sewing room a bit.  Four fidget quilt tops are ready to take to volunteer sewing come September.  Now I have no excuse not to get working on DS's Christmas quilt.  It's on the frame, ready to be quilted.  I'm just too chicken to get started!  This top will not be easy to quilt.

Here are the four little fidget quilts:

Each quilt top has a block with a zipper, pockets, embroidery, either tatting or some other textured item and ribbon loops.  One even has a bow and a baby sock.

DH must have got tired of my checking all the garage sales we stopped at for a toy Singer sewing machine.  It's the thrill of the chase, you know.  Anyway, he decided to surprise me by buying one on eBay.  The 1955 Singer Sew Handy 20 arrived yesterday.  She is in great condition, complete with the original manual and table clamp.  A very nice stitch!

The cardboard box is in very rough shape.  I know I'll get yelled at by the "experts" but I plan on doing something with the box to keep the artwork preserved.  But the box will be destroyed.

I'll post a better photo once she is set up properly.

It took a while but a quilt is finished.

Back in December, 2017, Deb from hearts2hands let members know that there would be another New Years Day Mystery Quilt Event.  A number of us started the new year going between our computers and sewing machines.  A great way to start the year!  And a quilt top finished.

Seven months later the top is still sitting on the frame.  As there are a lot of tops that need to get quilted, it was time to start up the Bailey.  Several hours later, the quilting was finished and the quilt off the frame.  Not the quilting pattern I wanted to do.  Instead a simple meander.  But it's done.

The binding was finished yesterday. The quilt has been in the washer and dryer.

Today I've been piecing the backing for the next top to go on the frame.  This one can't take seven months to get done.  It's a Christmas present for DS.  And the quilting will be very fussy.  Time to get at it!

Quilt Tops and Sewing Machines

I had promised myself that I would be better with my blog updates.  Yeah, that didn't happen.  It's been ages.  But a lot has happened.

A molar broke, requiring multiple dentist appointments.  I now have a shiny new crown (I wanted a tiara). 

Volunteer sewing wrapped up for the summer with a great pot luck.  I was challenged to bring vegetable noodle dish.  Never one to do things the easy way (like purchase pre-made spiralized vegetables) I went all out and started by looking for a spiralizer.  Fortunately I lucked out and found a $109 electric one on sale for $39.  Better yet, the store was having a one day sale on the item so my final cost was just under $30.  Not bad.  Now to figure out how to use it.  That lead to a lot of experiments.  Some successful, some not.  My contribution to the pot luck was reasonably received and very little came home.  So I guess it was okay.

DH decided I need another sewing machine.  So he picked up a Sew Handy on eBay.  She should be here in a few weeks, and I can't wait!  We're not sure what year she was manufactured.  Once she's here, cleaned up, and researched, I'll put up a post all about this little machine.

At volunteer sewing, the gals were talking about quilted rugs made from jelly rolls (2 1/2" strips).  They are lovely.  A lot of fabric, batting and fusible web used to join the bat is used.  All the talk about rugs made me think of toothbrush rugs.

About 30 years ago I was shown how to make these rugs.  It was fun, but then other interests took over.  I found the toothbrush tool (toothbrush with a hole to hang it up with, the brush part cut off and shaped to a point).  But I could not remember how to make the knot used for the rug. 

A quick YouTube search and I found several methods, including the one I had been shown.  Naturally, I sent a link to the video to my Mom.  She immediately emails me back to say she was making rugs this way back in the 1930's when she was 5 or 6 years old.  These rugs were used beside the beds on winter mornings when the wood stove would have burned out and those floors were ice cold!  A lot of memories were talked about!  If I ever produce a rug with decent tension, I'll post a photo of it!

DH's parents love going to garage sales.  MIL brought over one of her finds:

A huge pile of flannel.  All in large triangle shapes.  I only remembered to take a photo when the pile was 2/3" cut down into usable squares and rectangles.  It took several days to get all this fabric cut down.  But it will be great for the fidget quilts the volunteers make.

Susan from our MeWe group posted a photo of a quilt she's working on.  As soon as she named the book I realized I have the same book.  And I've never made anything from it!  Off the the sewing room.  Sunny Lanes from Pat Speth's "Nickle Quilts" was quickly made.   This top made a small dent in my 5" scrappy squares.  I might have to make a dozen more to notice any real reduction.  But it's a start!

One of these days I'll get to the quilt frame, finish the quilt already on it.  Then finish the 5 or 6 waiting to be quilted.  Then get this one done!

Another Month!

I'm not doing very well in keeping this blog up to date!  And there are no excuses this time.  I can't even say that I've been busy quilting.

I did make a birthday present.  And it was well received.  I love this wallet pattern.  It's very practical.  And light.  Of course that depends on what's in it.  But at least it doesn't start out as being heavy.  Some wallets (and purses) are heavy before anything is place in them.  Which is why I use fabric bags, wallets and purses. 

This wallet has Daisy Duck on it.  My friend loves Daisy.  But it's really difficult to find anything with "The Duck".  Even at the Disney Parks.  I'm hoping that changes in the future.  But in the mean time.....here's "Her Duckness".

It's been over a month!

Where did the month of April go?  Birthday's have been celebrated.  Funerals attended.  And dentist appointments....too many dentist appointments!

I broke another tooth.  After the repair, I agreed to getting a crown for it.  The dentist didn't appreciate that what I wanted was a tiara.  We had words, he won. 

Then the tooth broke further down.  A temporary filling has been used until the gums heal enough to figure out if I'll need the crown or have the tooth pulled and an implant put in.  Or some other solution.  Who knows. 

I had been happily quilting along with Angela Walter's free motion challenge.  Then the haze on my cataract lens got so bad that I had to take a break.  The lessons have been saved.  The laser procedure that hopefully will fix the lens is scheduled for tomorrow.  If it's successful, then it will be catch up time for the free motion challenge.  I'm really looking forward to that!

I did make it to volunteer sewing last week.  Bringing my trusty Featherweight machine.  But my little machine would not stitch.  After a half hour of frustration I moved over to the pressing and pinning station and let others do the sewing.

Turns out that when I cleaned and oiled the Featherweight, I failed to put in the bobbin casing properly.  There's a little latch ((for lack of a better word) on the bobbin case that has to be secured by the needle plate.  Fortunately, DH was able to figure the problem out right away.

What's happening with hearts2hands Yahoo quilting group?  Looks like we may be moving over to a new platform.  With the Facebook privacy issues happening, a lot of social media companies are in a panic to cover their butts.  Yahoo Groups has new owners and they will be insisting that everyone agree to new privacy contracts.  Which most of us are refusing to do.  If we don't agree, we will be dropped from the groups.

How will we keep in touch?   Over the past 10 years members of the group have become close friends.  Some have met IRL.   We get inspiration and support from each other.  The hunt was on for a new platform for our group.  And Facebook isn't where most of us were willing to go.

One member suggested MeWe.  We checked it out.  Watched and read reviews not only on how to use this platform, but also the privacy protections.  Not bad!  The group has been created under the name A Scrappy Life.  Members are still not only getting used to it, but testing the privacy limits.  So far, it's looking good.  A bit more time consuming.  And there's a learning curve.  But I think we'll get used to it.

That's it for now.   Off to yet another medical appointment.  Hopefully I can spend time in the sewing room this evening.  Even if it's just to clean machines so they are ready to hum after my laser treatment tomorrow.

Next post I hope to share my secret (from DS) project.  I'm loving how it's turning out so far!!!

Free Motion Challenge - So Far

The free motion challenge has been a lot of fun.  First there was meandering.  I didn't think I'd enjoy meandering.  Now with a bit more practice it's kinda fun.

We've done Dot to Dot quilting.  I didn't do that practice, although when you see what I have done in the past, you'll know that I really need to spend more time at it!

 Both of these quilts are from a hearts2hands virtual retreat where we played with the L Block and different ways to put the blocks together.   On one of them I also practiced a grid pattern using ruler work.

Angela had us using an all over leaf design.   You know I had fun with this.  My go to is leaves.  It all started out trying to quilt continuous line hearts.  But the hearts never looked like hearts.  So I went with leaves.  No one ever expects them to look all the same. I've had hours of practice both on a DSM and on the Bailey with frame.

 I still have to try out the serpentine, which is this weeks design.  And get better at curves.   One of these days I'll get a photo up of the practice curves.  The air was blue with my first attempt.  But looking back at the sample now, I think that if an entire quilt was done with these curves, it would be okay.  Depending on the thread choice of course.

On a side note:   I pulled out the Phoenix kit that DH gave me a few years ago.  I'm very confused with the instructions.  But it's not that the instructions are not really good.  I'm sure they are.  It's just my mind set.  I'll get it figured out.  What has me confused is that the pieces are to be fussy cut from one piece of fabric.  But there is also some piecing before some of the cuts.  Because of my blurry eye, I'm not able to concentrate for any length of time to figure out the instructions.   Hopefully when my eye heals things will become "clearer"  (sorry about the pun).  Here's one of the fabric panels (there are four in the kit).

If I make a mistake in the cutting...there is no extra fabric.  Not even on the designer's web site. 

The Dragon Fly Quilt Is Finished!

Finally finished the binding on the Dragon Fly wall hanging.  There is still the mitered corners to stitch down.   And once the decision is made on where to hang the quilt, the sleeve will have to be added.  But the hard part is done.  I know where the mistakes are.  But hopefully one will have to get up very close to notice them!

Before I show a photo of the wall hanging, I have to mention the Virtual Retreat we had with the hearts2hands Yahoo group on Saturday.  A one day event, with lots of emails back and forth.  Virtual meals and desserts were enjoyed (best way to stick to a diet).  Along with quilt block bingo and a mystery quilt for those who wanted to play along.  A big thanks to Karen for doing this for the group!

Here's the top that I made following Karen's instructions:

A Sudoku Puzzle quilt!  What a great way to use up some novelty fabric FQ's that I have.  I'm thinking the next one will be a Yogi Bear quilt.

And now for the Dragon Fly Wall Hanging:

I don't think there is a right side up.  So we'll check out the different ways it hang on the wall.  Yes, there are a few tucks and puckers on it.  But I'm still happy with the quilt.

Quilt Re-Made

Just finished the Star Trek quilt for DS made from salvaged fabric from the house warming gift I gave him back in May.   That quilt had seams that would give way with every washing.   The issue was one fabric that was fraying.

Here's hoping the new quilt stand the test of time.   I used meandering for the quilting since that's what the Free Motion Challenge by Angela Walters had us practicing.  The quilting went very quickly.  I can see why it's a go to for a lot of quilters!

"Ruler" work on mid arm?

I'm so tempted to try ruler work using my Bailey on the quilt frame.  One of these days we will get to a sewing centre so I can purchase the correct ruler foot to use for this type of quilting.

But what if I really don't like that type of quilting.  It's a lot of money to spend on not only the machine foot, but also for the extra thick rulers needed and the lollipop used to support the ruler.  Time to think out of the box before putting out that much cash.

Here's what I found at the dollar store for $3:

It's a light weight "Artist Panel".  Turn it upside down and you have edges that will not go under the quilting foot that is on the sewing machine. 

Here's several photos of how the box fits under the machine next to the foot.  

There is no way the foot will hop over this edge!  So if all you want to do is put some straight edges on your quilt.   Lets say for "Dot to Dot" quilting.  This is a $3 way to go.

The down side is that there are no ruler markings for lining up the seams. 

The upside is there is a lovely edge to hold on to for moving and placing the straight edge. Very easy to guide and keep in place!  And it's so light weight that you do not need a lollipop to support the box.

A bit of fun playing with it:

There is no way I could have free handed straight lines like this.  Can I do complicated designs using this box?  Maybe with more patience than I have.  But for some simple quilting where straight lines would be the right way to go....I'm happy with my experiment.

An update on the dragon fly quilt.  I was so happy with how it was turning out using invisible thread.  Then the thread started breaking, snagging, pieces getting caught up in my machine.  I ended up using black thread to secure the outer edges of each wing and body. 

Once that was done, it was time to secure the tiny bits of fabric that make this quilt special.   Do I change the thread colour for each section?  Contrary to a dear friend's opinion, I do not have that much thread!  So back to the invisible thread.

After a lot of frustration, cleaning the bobbin area constantly, picking up bits and pieces of nylon thread using tweezers....I decided to follow my own advice.  If something is not working...."YouTube it".   Anyone who has experience with invisible thread has already guessed what I had not done.  I forgot to change the upper tension on my sewing machine!  After two and a half dragon flies worth of blue air, things are finally going smoothly.   Hope I didn't just jinx it!

Machine Applique On The Dragon Fly Wall Hanging

Yesterday I asked the ladies at volunteer sewing how they would stitch down the little pieces of fabric on the dragon fly quilt.   

 

Raw edge, button hole and satin stitch were the main suggestions.  Being lazy, I decided on raw edge.

But this morning even that seemed daunting.   Having to turn that large piece of backing under the sewing needle so often was a pain.  And I'd have to do it twice, once for the coloured fabric, and once again for the black.

Sew I put a hopping foot on my machine, used the zig zag setting, kept the feed dogs up, set the machine on slow stitching so I wouldn't get ahead of myself, and stitched down part of a wing using a free motion movement.

 

I'm using invisible nylon thread on the top, and black in the bobbin.   So far, this has worked like a dream.  A close look at the stitching will show that the stitches are uneven.  But you would have to make sure your glasses are on to see it.  No constantly  turning that huge backing under the needle.   I used the zig zag setting just in case I was too slow to move the fabric, plus the needle moving side to side means  I have to move the fabric under the needle less.

 

I sent the above description in an e-mail to my quilting pals on hearts2hands to see if anyone on the group has ever used this type of stitching for machine appliqué before.  I'm hoping that they will get back to me before I go much further.  If they have tried this and found a problem,  I want to know.  Ripping out tiny stitches is not my favourite pass time!  Here's hoping I  hear from them before I have time to get back to the sewing machine!

 

 

 

Free Motion Challenge Week 2

A few of us have joined Angela Walter's Free Motion Challenge.  The first week's video was explaining the project and how to get our practice material ready.

This week we are practicing meandering.  This is definitely something I have never tried.  Not exactly comfortable with it.  So a lot more practice is needed!

Now to practice this on the long arm!

The Christmas Present

Back in October, DH treated myself and my Mom.   He drove us to Leduc so we could attend their quilt show.  Lots of lovely quilts,  A great quilter's market.  And best of all, we were able to see a number of quilts that our friend Liliana had on display.  

The attention to detail and all the embellishments Liliana uses, makes her quilts works of art.

It was while walking around the quilters market that DH found my Christmas present.  A lovely dragonfly quilt kit.  Only thing not included in the kit was the batting and backing fabric.   It's lovely.

The two 365 Challenge quilts are finished.   As is my huge roman tile quilt.  So it's time to start a new project.  The dragonfly quilt will be a challenge.  Small pieces, raw edge appliqué.  Lots of time at the iron and sewing machine.  The hardest part.....following the instructions.  For this quilt it's a must, or the quilter will become lost!

There are 20 wings to put together, then stitch.  Here's the first two.  I know they are not evenly spaced.  But I really don't think dragonflies care.  So I won't either.

Second 365 Block of the Day Quilt is Finished!

The quilt is in the washer as I type.  What a wonderful feeling!   The blocks came from a challenge that started January 1, 2015.  All the blocks were completed be the end of December that year.  The idea was to put all the blocks into one quilt.  But that was way too busy.  So a second centre was pieced and two quilts were made.

The centres of both tops were quilted on my mid arm.  And that's where the projects stopped.  For over a year.   Finally time to experiment.  To one top centre,  the backing was added to, four strips of bat joined to the centre bat, and then the wide border was stitched on.  The borders were pin basted and then free motion quilted using my Janome.   Puckers, pleats and stress galore!   Lots of ripping out stitches and blue air.  Finally that border was quilted.  And the top put aside. 

Then the second top was pulled out to be worked on.  This time the three borders were stitched together for each of the four sides.  Then they were quilted on the long arm.  The backing trimmed 2" beyond the borders.  The borders stitched to the centre.  The backing folded over an inch, then hand stitched closed.  Just a bit of free motion quilting over the space where the top and quilted borders were joined.  Add the binding and the first 365 was completed.  Much easier than the first experiment.  Little puckering and almost no blue air.

Now to finish the earlier experimental top.  Only 2 rows of borders needed to be joined for each side of the quilt.   Instead of quilting it under the domestic machine, these were quilted on the frame.  A bit of backing fabric was wasted, but this was so much easier.   Then add the quilted borders the same as before.  So much easier with the borders having been quilted.  Plus having had some practice with this method in the previous top probably helped.

Using the quilting suspension system made things so much easier.  Both for the free motion under the Janome, and for stitching on the binding. 

Here's the second 365 quilt....

Here's the first 365 for comparison....

Similar, but not identical!   Here's hoping they survive the washing machine and dryer!

Sew what's happening in the sewing room?

What's happening?   The answer is a lot of seam ripping.  Remember this quilt I made for DS's new home?

There was a problem with it.  Every time it was washed, the fabric from the squares would pull out from under the sashing.  Not sure why,  All of the edges were securely stitched.  But it happened.  Loose weave in the fabric perhaps.  Not all the squares had this issue.  Just the light blue.  So that might be the issue.

Wrestling this huge quilt under the sewing machine to make repairs was a pain.  So I bit the bullet and cut the quilt apart.  Dug out the seam ripper and spent hours taking it apart.  All in an effort to save the Star Trek fabric that is no longer available. 

A lot of trimming, starching, pressing and sewing later, here's the new quilt top.

Tomorrow I'll run out to pick up some more batting and I can get this top quilted and give it back to DS. 

The first quilt had been done as a quilt as you go.  This left me with a lot of batting squares and backing.  I'm not one to throw out anything.  So what do I do with the left overs?

The answer came yesterday in an email from Angela Walters.  She's starting a Free Motion Quilt Along.  Quite a few of us from the hearts2hands Yahoo group will be quilting along.  This should be fun. 

Today was spent preparing for the Quilt Along.  My blocks, backing and backing are ready to be put together for the challenge.  Can't wait!

The Oldest Top Is Finally Quilted!

I had a lot of fun making the blocks for this quilt.   So I just kept making them.  The quilt grew and grew.  When I laid it on top of my bed to see how much larger to make it, I had a shock.  It was a king size, plus a generous twin size already! 

Out came the seam ripper and I carefully removed bocks to make the king size top.  Then it sat in a project bag.  For ages!  I was waiting for the opportunity to rent time on a larger long arm.  But that didn't look like it was ever going to happen.  So I divided the top in half, and did each half on my mid arm.

After the quilting was finished, the two halves were stitched together.  I hand stitched the backing closed.  Next was to free motion down the centre seam.

Ever try to free motion down the centre of a king size quilt?  It's nuts!  How do those that do all their quilting on a DSM manage?   If there had been more of the backing fabric, I would have tackled the quilting differently. 

The top would have been divided into three sections.  Quilted using the mid arm and frame.  Then sew the first two sections together.  Free motion on the seam.  Then only 1/3 of the top, bat and backing would have to be forced between the needle and the machine.  Instead of a full half!   Then repeat for the third section. 

At no time would there have been half of the quilt being pushed, shoved, and cursed at while trying to free motion along a joining seam. Oh well.  Live and learn.  And I can't imagine making another king size quilt any time soon! 

The quilt suspension system worked great for putting the binding on.  No drag of heavy fabric to pull the edge of the quilt out from under the machine foot.  Any problems with the binding is operator error.

And now for the quilt.....the oldest top in my collection is finally on my bed!  It's a simple pattern.  But keep in mind how many years ago it was made.  And I still like it!

Where to put those bungee cords....

I finally had a chance to test the quilting suspension system.  What a great idea to have it between the two sewing tables.  Or sew I thought.  The tables are narrow, the quilt large.   No where for the fabric to land after it comes through the sewing machine.

There was a centre seam in a king size quilt to be stitched.  The two halves of the quilt weigh a ton.  One of these days I will weigh the quilt.  Fabric is heavy!  The clamps held the fabric just fine.  The sewing machine, my shoulders and hands felt the relief of not having to wrestle all that weight.   But the garment rack suspension system was in the wrong place.

Actually, ideally the rack should be in an L shape.  Behind and to the left of the sewing machine.  That would be ideal for handling the weight.  But just behind the machine helps so much.   Except for the lack of space on one table.

So the garment rack was pulled out.  The machine tables are again butted up to each other, making one large table.  The rack can be moved to behind which ever sewing machine is in use.  Problem solved!  

I'm ready to free motion some leaves down the centre seam, using my Janome.  Hopefully that part will be finished tomorrow.  Then I'll move the rack to the other side and use the Brother to sew on the binding.  I'm sew looking forward to not having the weight of the fabric drag the quilt out from under the sewing machine foot during that job!

Under suspense?

Adding the binding to my last quilt was a drag.  No joking.  The weight of the quilt kept pulling the binding edge out from under the sewing machine foot.  The binding was finished.  But as I mentioned in my previous post, I'm really not happy with how it turned out.

I know there is a solution out there.  I've watched enough videos while I was avoiding doing something productive.  Sew it's time to re-do the sewing room/quilt studio.

First thing that came to mind was snow carpets from the dollar stores.  After a bit of searching I found the video that shows how these carpets are used.  The slippery side of the kids sled helps reduce the fabric drag.  Cost $3 per snow carpet.

 When working on a large quilt, I can place both carpets over the two sewing machine tables that are back to back.

If I have another quilter over for a sewing session, we each can have a carpet on our sewing table. 

But there is still a lot of drag when the quilt is really heavy.

Next comes looking for videos on quilting suspension systems.  There are quite a few sites that sell these.  But I'm cheap.  (See above using snow carpets from the dollar store instead of the expensive sliders sold at quilt shops and sewing machine stores)

A DIY quilt suspension search lead to some interesting ideas.  The one that did not require putting holes in the walls/ceiling (anyone met my DH?), suggested using a garment trolley.   A quick trip to Jysk and $26 CDN later, I have a trolley.

DH came up with the bungee cords and another trip to the dollar store provided 10 clamps for $2. 

Now for the real suspense story.   Will this work the way I'm hoping it will?  Later.....

2015 365 Day Block Challenge - Finished! Well at least half of it is....

January 1, 2015, a number of quilters (myself included) started a quilting adventure.  We signed up to receive quilt block instructions every day.  And it was a challenge to keep up with these blocks.  Life does get in the way!

The blocks were 3 1/2" for the dark fabrics.  And 6 1/2" for the lighter value blocks.  A lot of different techniques were used.  Who knew there are so many ways to make flying geese or half square triangles?  And lets not talk about Y seams.  Thank you!

When it came time to put the blocks together in a top, I soon realized several things.  The top would be too large to go on my mid arm quilt frame.  And I really didn't like how busy the quilt would be.  My solution was to calm the quilt down by using half the blocks required and substitute tone on tone squares to give the eyes a place to rest.  This meant I have enough blocks for two quilts.

The centres and first border on both quilt tops went on my mid arm and were quilted.  I left plenty of room around the edges to attach the borders.  The borders were to go on using a quilt as you go method.  Each quilt would use a different method.


Confession time.  You know how seams are supposed to be a scant 1/4"....well a lot of my seams are fat 1/8".  Or plain 1/8".  I can only hope the quilts will manage a few washings before they fall apart!

Sew, here's the first Block of the Day quilt.  No promises on when the second quilt will be finished!

A Quilty Start To 2018

New Year's Eve was lovely and quiet.  Good friends came over for the afternoon.  After a pleasant visit they went on their way and we headed over to my Mom's.

We drove Mom around looking at Christmas lights and then came home.  DS joined us for a while and all of us watched some really old black and white Christmas specials while snacking on the appetizers I forgot to serve Christmas Eve.  The shows were memories for Mom, and something new for DS.  Not sure what he thought of these old shows.  Some of them were groaners.

When we took Mom home, DH decided to drive through some different residential areas so Mom could see even more Christmas lights.   I love the introduction of projection lights.  It makes it that much easier for home owners to light up their homes.  The lighting bug is sneaky.  One starts with a projection, then add an inflatable snowman or Santa.  Next thing you know your whole yard is decorated.  Makes it fun for all of us.

After dropping Mom off, we drove past DH's parents to see if the lights were on in their home.  Yep, they were.  So we parked in their driveway and called them to see if they were up to having some company.  They were, so we got our New Year's hug from them as well.  All in all, a wonderful way to spend New Year's Eve.

New Year's Day 2018 started with a mystery quilt.  Merry Meyhem Mystery Quilts hosted this mystery project.  The instructions were great.  Several of the ladies from hearts2hands Yahoo group were participating.  So there were a few emails from the group during the day about the mystery.

While squaring up a block, my ruler slipped and I trimmed off a tad more than I was supposed to.  Okay, a lot more.  And it was the fabric that I didn't have any left.  Do I trim all the blocks down?  Or do I rip out all the blocks, choose a different fabric and re-make all those blocks.  Guess what I chose!  The 8 1/2" blocks are now 8" blocks.  And I was able to get the quilt top finished in one day.  Not sure if I'll add a border or two.  It's a larger lap size now (instead of the twin size it was supposed to be).  A decision for later.