Thinking Outside the BLOCK! A Mystery Quilt - Project Number 12

I took all the pieces out of the bag and started sewing, again. Looked like I only had 4 more blocks to complete. I have been working on this quilt on and off for a couple years.  So I was on a mission to finish it this time.

I was stitching along, making great progress. It was Minutes for Me: 15 minutes on Wednesday night and 25 minutes on Thursday night.  My husband fell asleep in the chair on Friday night, so I stitched for about an hour! I pressed the center intersections of my four patches. It made them lay nice and flat.  

Didn't feel good on Saturday, as I had my flu shot on Thursday afternoon.  I always swell up at the site of the shot. I took an antihistamine on Friday night to help with the reaction.  I moved kinda slow, but I managed to sew on and off all day Saturday. I even got four loads of wash done and our sheets changed! Pretty good.

It was looking great!  I was so pleased. At this point it looked like I had enough pieces cut to form another row, so I kept sewing...

I had to individually make some four patches to create three more blocks.  

Cool all the blocks were complete! Yippee!   I was so happy!

Oh no... some of them don't line up!

Oh no... some of them are bigger and some of them are smaller! 

I could not just square up the blocks at that point, because the seams won't match up when I sew them together! There is almost a 1/2 inch difference in the sizes!  Oh no!

I do know why this happened.  

Let me explain... 

This quilt has been taken out of the bag about 5 different times during the past 3 years. Each time I sewed a few blocks together and used a different sewing machine.  I have three sewing machines.   

My first Janome sewing machine is 15 years old and I love it the best.  It has even "almost died" twice! The second time it almost died, was when it locked up completely. I cleaned and oiled it and was going to give up on it. Before I put it away, I tried moving the hand wheel one more time and it moved! I have now been sewing on it for the past two years.  I use it as my camper sewing machine.  It is a Janome 4000 and I love it!

I also have a Janome 6500. I love this machine too. I don't always take it to a retreats as it is too heavy.  It usually sits on my dining room table.  It is perfect for stitching bindings on customer's quilts to spread out the whole quilt on the big table.  I sew my 15 minutes at a time on it too - Minutes for Me!  This machine is about 7 years old and runs like a charm!

My third sewing machine is a Janome 3000.  I bought it when my Janome 4000 almost died the first time, about 10 years ago.  My 4000 sewing machine was in the shop for more than a week (something was wrong with the bobbin casing). I needed a sewing machine, but I couldn't afford to buy another 4000 machine, so I bought a step down version of it.  I like my Janome 3000 sewing machine and I take it to retreats, as it is lighter then the 6500. It sews great. So far, no problems with it, but it also doesn't have all the hours of sewing that the 4000 and 6500 sewing machines have on them.  Those minutes add up fast when you sew all the time!
I did not include a photo of the Janome 3000, as it looks just like the Janome 4000, only it has less embroidery stitches.

So needless to say at this point, every time I took the mystery quilt out of the bag to sew, I used a different sewing machine, depending on where I was --- at home in my dining room, at a quilt retreat, or at the River in our camper.
I know you are suppose to start and complete a quilt on the same machine, even if they are the same brand and you use the same 1/4 inch foot, you still shouldn't switch machines.
But I did! 
Now I have a problem...  

What are my choices?

• Put the blocks back into the bag and never take them out the bag again.  Then when I die someone else can figure out what to do with them. This would be an option, if I didn't like the colors, but I love the colors.
• Stretch, press, starch, and pull each block.  Then stretch as I stitch them together and try to make them fit.  That is not a choice for me, as it will not look good!
• Make two little quilts --- one with the larger blocks and one with the smaller blocks. That's a good choice!
• Add a new design element using uneven lattice strips and off set them to create a completely different effect.  I like this choice best!

I am going to solve my problem by using creative problem solving, because I can think outside the BLOCK!  
First I will line up all the blocks by size.

The smaller blocks in one row and the larger ones on the next row and then alternate the rows.

I believe even the intersections will still look cool and the original pattern will still flow through the quilt design, thus creating an unusual connection of the blocks. 

I like it!  I like thinking outside the BLOCK!
What do you think?
What would you do?
How have you solved a similar problem?


I cut the strips and started sewing. I will take photos of the process and share the re - construction of my quilt. Tentatively, I plan to have the quilt top complete with photos by Tuesday night and will share it for Hodgepodge Patchwork Tuesday, as tutorial.
You may have had this happen to you and you may want to try it!


Thanks for following along...
Marcia 
P.S. I am planning another type of similar project in January, but this is a quilt top, I started and I do not like the colors or the pattern.  I used a really cool fabric in it, so I am going to completely transform it into a quilt top I will like. 


Linked with:
My Original LIST of UFO's from Oct. 18th
Life in Pieces: 15 minute Challenge Tuesday - Nov. 1, 2011
Today's Creative Blog: Get Your Craft On Tuesday - Nov. 1, 2011
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesday's Treasures - Nov. 1, 2011
Freshly Pieced Work In Progress Tuesday Nov. 2, 2011
Savy Southern Style: WOW Us Wednesday - Nov. 2, 2011
Somewhat Simple: Strut Your Stuff - Nov. 2, 2011
It's Sew Stinkin Cute Linky Party-Nov. 3, 2011
Picket Fence: Inspiration Friday - Nov. 4, 2011
2805 Potpourri Friday - Nov. 4, 2011
Quilting in my Pyjammas: Favorite Things Friday - Nov. 4, 2011
My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch a Can 51 - Nov. 4, 2011
Confessions of a Fabric Addict: Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? - Nov. 4, 2011
Roca and Company: You ROCK #8 - Nov. 4, 2011
Stuff and Nonsense: fridays unfolded #40 - Nov. 4, 2011
Homemaker in Heels: Weekend Craft Soiree and Blog Hop - Nov. 5, 2011
Sew Many Ways: Sew Darn Cute #39 - Nov. 6, 2011
Pieceful Life: Little Quilt Monday - Nov. 7, 2011 (I linked here, because this can even happen when making mini quilts - so I shared my solution.)
Sew Happy Geek: Manic Monday - Nov. 7, 2011
Canoe Ridge Creations: Sew Modern Monday - Nov. 7, 2011
Chef in Training: Tuesday Talent Show - Nov. 8, 2011