Back where I started

Last week I cut out setting strips for a non-strings version of Sparkling Strings but didn’t get around to sewing because one of the strips was clearly too short and I convinced myself that the logic I used to figure out the sizes must have been wrong and all of the strip sizes must be off.

I spent a couple of days at the end of last week doing math to confirm the quick and easy (maybe too easy?) way I had figured out the sizes in the first place .  My worksheet was a thing of beauty, with geometry and algebra and a touch of trigonometry (anyone else remember SOH CAH TOA?).  And it all brought me back to where I had been in the first place, except for the typo in the size of the unit that was too short…

The whole point was to use a single strip to replace a gazillion white triangles sewn back together to make a pointed strips like this:

As yet another way to check my measurements I made one strip of triangles to measure then was finally satisfied that my strips were cut correctly (except for that pesky strip “G” that started this frenzy of double checking).

Note to self:  Next time just check the piece that’s making trouble instead of assuming everything is messed up.  This seems like the obvious, sane course of action now, in hindsight!

So today I started sewing bits together, and the quilt top is about half done.

When it’s done, the layout will be just like Sparkling Strings:

On a positive note, as I was fussing with all this the last several days I came up with a much better way to explain how to cut the strips than what I had previously written for this pattern in progress, so this will be a much better pattern.  I’m hoping to have it ready for a tester by the end of the week.  If anyone feels like testing it in in the next month or so in return for the pattern, let me know!  It does go together pretty quickly once the cutting is done.

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