Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Compounding a Fracture....

One thing I really wanted to finish piecing at Quilt Camp in April was my Fractured top. 
Over the years, I have come across several versions of the Fractured quilt in magazines and online. I would tear out magazine pages or print off pictures (in the days before Pinterest existed--lol!) to put in my "someday" file. Eventually, I came across instructions to make the quilt in an Australian magazine, Quilts Down Under. 
Not too long ago, I also purchased Kathy Doughty's book that contains her directions for Fractured (along with lots of other great quilts!).

The (Compound) Fractured Tale:
I'm not sure why (sheer stupidity!), but even though I had Kathy's book with me at camp, when I finally got all my blocks pieced, I followed the chart from the Quilts Down Under magazine article for block placement.
Something didn't look quite right, but I checked and double checked and it was exactly like the placement guide, so I started assembling my blocks.
You probably know where this is going, right??
I had one more row to add when it was brought to my attention that the chart was all wrong. Not just in one place, but all over the place--ack!
Thankfully, Bev had made the quilt and knew that there were errors in the placement guide and I would need to use the photo of the quilt to get the blocks in the correct alignment. Or, I could have just used the chart in the book which is correct--yeesh!
I needed to remove eight blocks in various rows and rotate them, so I pretty much had to take half of the quilt top apart and put it back together. I packed everything up and set it aside to tackle at home.
Lesson learned --when it doesn't look quite right, investigate further!



After a lot of reverse sewing, mumbling and muttering,  I finally got my quilt altogether. It's not my usual type of quilt, but I love it. And I love that I was able to use so many fat quarters from my stash. I know it's hard to see in the photo, but I just straight line quilting in each "fractured" piece. 

This is a pretty big quilt--queen sized! I procrastinated all day and ended up having to take my photos into the sun--not the best way to try to get a decent photo--sorry!

And because I procrastinated so much this month, I finished the binding by machine with a blanket stitch to save time! 
Fractured was my June One Monthly Goal and also one of  my 2016 Finish-A-Long projects.
grab button for RedLetterQuilts2016 FAL

14 comments:

  1. That quilt is sooooo beautiful! I'm glad you got it all worked out - the result is certainly worth the trouble it put you to!

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  2. I have the pattern but never made the quilt - I will remember to look at the photo for placement if I ever make it -- yours looks lovely!

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  3. Such an eye-catching design, and I love your color scheme!
    I'm glad you got it all worked out eventually. : )

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  4. this one is really gorgeous--love all those blues and yellows...
    i have Kathy's book and have that one earmarked for "someday"..hopefully soon. I need a new project for us here....still working on cass' quilt....hugs, Julierose

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  5. What a GREAT finish! It is wonderful! If you hadn't mentioned your pictures weren't what you hoped, I wouldn't have thought a thing of it. Your picture is just fine because the focus is on the amazingness of your quilt anyway!

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  6. Congratulations! This is such an eye catching quilt! I had the same problem on my Hunter's Star quilt, I was following the lay out in the magazines chart and found it was wrong, so frustrating.

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  7. After reading your post I now understand why this is such an accomplished finish this month. SO glad you shared your frustrations as well...knowing every quilt wasn't smooth sailing reaffirms I"m not alone that some finishes are a little bit more challenging than others. :) :) So proud of ya for getting 'er done!!

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  8. Wow! That is a spectacular finish. Kind of like fireworks on the 4th of July. That quilt has been on my list and I have the book. Someday.... Sorry that the magazine pattern was so screwed up. I don't understand how mistakes like that get past the chain of proof readers. But I'm glad you got it fixed up and done. It's really impressive.

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  9. Wowsers!!! Congratulations on totally awesome finish!!! You're so good at getting your UFOs finished.

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  10. Beauty! I really love the controlled chaos of this pattern, and your colors look very rich together!

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  11. Looks like a quilt design that would take some thinking as you sew the blocks together. I like it!

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  12. This is so fantastic! I love the way you've used colour in it. Thanks so much for participating in the Finish-A-Long, on behalf of all of the hosts!

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