Sewing Scraps

▼

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Arkansas Crossroads Quilt - A Favorite

Choose your battles means to be selective of the problems and issues you get involved in.  Instead of fighting every problem, save your time for the things that matter - letting go of the rest. This is my motto for quilting.  I quilt for fun in my garage, not for profit or competition - which means I can choose my battle of what is important to me. 
Over the years what matters to me is a consistent size of a square or block ... even if it distorts the perfection of the pattern.  While not all quilt patterns allow for this type of manipulation, those that do are my favorites.  I want the overall look to be good and ease of assembly for overall enjoyment of my hobby. 
The block for this quilt is supposed to be 8.5" x 8.5" square.  I find it frustrating to have uneven edges, to tug and maybe have wavy rows when I assemble.  I like starched flat and square units to sew together. (I don't know if this wonkiness is the result of bad sewing or if I am just neurotic!) For this Arkansas Crossroads quilt pattern I trim everything to 8" x 8".  
I trim the edge units to 8" wide and also square up some inside bits for good measure. (pix below)
Now, all this trimming will alter the final design.  As you can see from the 'dreaded' red arrows below - my little triangle cap units do NOT extend to the edges of the squares below them. 
And I have no idea what I did a few years ago when I made some of these snowballed units - but they don't line up either. 
However ... this quilt is absolutely beautiful in it's entirety. 
A fun pattern that has only 2 blocks and can be made with charm packs or scraps if desired.
A soft shade of lilac minky and matching binding from Hawthorne Supply Co.  makes it 'meditation' ready for my friend's daughter.  
For more details, diagrams and links to other sources on how to make this quilt - my post from 2016 HERE is helpful. Remember though, I trim down everything which distorts perfection, and is NOT the correct/proper way according to official patterns. 
Artwork: xunantunich
Take my blog posts not as ultimate guidance but one point of view on how to make something.  Choose which battle you will fight when you quilt.  Move on from the aspects that tweak you - and enjoy the rest. 

Materials:
Good Fortune by Kate Spain
White Kona
Warm & White batting
Lilac minky and Lilac Candy Stripe from Hawthorne Supply Co.
Aurifil 50wt. thread #2024 (white) #2560 (lilac)
Size: 54" x 69"
November 2020
at

4 comments:

  1. Rosemary B❤️November 19, 2020 at 5:26 AM

    The quilt is beautiful
    Oh gosh I think sometimes my neurotic perfectionism destroys my joy because I even enjoy unsewing pieces that do not meet my standards. I have learned over the years to make much better care in sewing, but it is interesting to look back and even pull out old projects and see my glaring sloppiness.
    And we all know, no one else notices... and if they do, they do not see it as a mistake.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RuthNovember 19, 2020 at 2:16 PM

      Ah Rosemary, what you say is so true and I am declaring you the winner of any quilting battle with unsewing pieces - wow!
      I think it's great we can refine our standards as we get better, but it's important to embrace the wonky and crooked seams of beginners or those who try and just enjoy. Thanks for your comment :)

      Delete
  2. Kathryn TNovember 22, 2020 at 8:24 PM

    Just visiting because have been following for your Jewel Box Shibori quilt which is beautiful and while I don't have any shibori fabric I want to use up some blue I have that hopefully one of my sisters will like. Bookmarking your site! I love a Crossroads quilt and have made a couple to give away. I like making quilts for family to use! I live in New Zealand.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RuthNovember 23, 2020 at 12:34 PM

      Kathryn - I am sure that your blue Jewel Box quilt will be beautiful. Many shades of blue are like the ocean, and a few tones look like the sky. Blue is such a harmonizing color and versatile as well. I agree with you about the Crossroads pattern - it's a great one to make many times. Thanks for reading the blog and sharing. Keep safe and healthy in New Zealand :)

      Delete