Rescuing another quilt UFO

Salvaging  my Sparks test quilt has built my enthusiasm for moving a few more stalled projects to at least the completed quilt top stage.  The one that was closest to being finished was Weathered Squares, which I never got around to sharing here.  I pieced the blocks at about the same time last fall as I pieced the Sparks test, but I wasn't happy with how it looked.  Here's where I left it last October.

I moved blocks around after this photo, but I just couldn't get to something I liked.  I loved the blocks individually, but as a whole, something wasn't right.  Two of those greens don't do it for me.  The blocks seem faded compared to the rest.  So does the yellow.  Maybe the dark blues are too dark and stark.

It all looked just fine as a fabric pull.  Look at these squares all together! 

Fabrics from Fig Tree and Company's Fruit Cocktail
collection from Moda, over grey Dimple fabric from Andover

To get the proper effect I guess I should have left space for the background fabric to peek through between the fabrics, as it does in the quilt. 

An excursion to the quilt shop to pick out new fabric to replace a few blocks should have moved this along, but new projects claimed priority.  The blocks and the new fabric languished on my shelf until this week, when I spent an evening cutting out fabric for three replacement blocks.  The next evening I sewed, then everything screeched to a halt just before I added the last of the sashing in the blocks.  Suddenly, I wasn't sure I liked the sashing in the block.

I wrote this pattern for Connecting Threads last fall for their new Shimmer Tonals fabrics, released in their current October 2024 catalog.  Here's what their sample quilt looks like, followed by the mockup so you can see the entire layout.

Wreathed Squares as kitted by Connecting Threads.  Find the kit and pattern here.
Photo by Connecting Threads.

Do you notice that the sashing that bisects each block through the center and middle is wider than the rest of the sashing in the block?  I did this intentionally for more movement and interest in the layout.  I like the way it looks with these more solid fabrics. 

It occurred to me that with the prints and the busier background fabric I chose, the two different sashing widths might not have the same effect.  I picked sashing out in one block then reassembled the block with narrower sashing down the center and across the middle.  I should have taken a picture of the block before ripping to do a before-and-after comparison, but I didn't think that through in the moment.  I settled for comparing with another block in the same print and value even if not the same colour.

Huh! It did make a difference.  It tightened up the block just a little.  Bringing the print squares just a little closer together helped the prints hold their own against the background a bit more.

Much seam ripping followed, though it did not take as long as I had feared.  It took longer to press everything flat again and pick out all the little thread bits that stuck to the fabric after ripping.  I thought of using masking taped to lift the little thread bits off, but there were some fabric edges that really wanted to fray.  I thought the tape might indulge them in that, so I took a little longer and used my fingers.

Next came trimming.  I trimmed the sashing I had removed to make it narrower.  I was a able to leave some of the short sashing strips attached to some units and trim them on just one side.  That saved me a tiny bit of ripping and resewing.

I then reassembled the blocks with the narrower sashing.  One more evening of sewing and I had a stack of 15 blocks.  I only needed 12 for my layout, but I had three extra with the new fabrics I bought last fall.

After laying out 12 blocks, then switching some around, then replacing some, then moving those around too, I landed on this layout, called it good enough and added sashing and borders.

I also added cornerstones that I left out of the original pattern.  I was feeling lazy about lining up the vertical sashing across horizontal sashing.  Cornerstones make it easier so I added them in.  The pattern is only a suggestion, right?  As an added bonus, the cornerstones pull together that element where the block corners meet.

So, all that to say I finished another quilt top!  It's not dramatically different than where it was headed last fall, but I'm happier with it now.  It probably would have been fine if I'd left the blocks as they were, but in order not to feel like I wasted my time, I 'm going to say this is better!

Looking back though my photos, it looks like this could also have been fun without sashing between the blocks.

Actually, now I think I like it better without the sashing.  Ack!  So many options! 

The sashing is staying.  I'm calling this top done.

I'd love to hear about your adventures choosing a layout or tweaking a design.  Let me know I'm not the only one who waffles!

Happy quilting,

Joanne