Yes, Sandy, I did spell that word correctly, copied it directly from Wikipedia!
As I was anticipating reading today's Daily Deal, I found my self whispering, "Let it be Summersville, let it be Summersville!" Am I clairvoyant or what? It IS Summersville! The only problem is, I wanted a Summersville jelly roll, and it is a layer cake, which I already have. So I bought some yardage for borders for a quilt I am making from Summersville.
Somehow I was taken by this cute fabric, which looks like a kid scribbled on paper with all his primary colors, but he especially liked black, because there are more black squares than any other color. I was trying to think of what to do with this cute fabric, because it needed a pop of color, since all of the prints have the same value. I also wanted something to try out my new Curvemaster curve sewing foot and my two new Drunkard's Path templates. So, I found some Kona solids in the same colors as the "scribbles" on the cloth, and am in the process of making lots of Drunkard's Path blocks.
The tutorials online for the templates say that you can get 4 7-1/2" squares and one or two 3-1/2" squares from a fat quarter. Since I have layer cakes, I can only get one 7-1/2" square from each piece, but by pairing it with the solid, I think I'll have plenty. I'm saving some of the colored scribble squares to make some of the smaller blocks. I think that template is designed for charm squares, hope so, so that I can get 4 out of one layer cake square.
So far, I've had mixed success with the sewing the Drunkard's path blocks. I found that some came out perfect, and others, well, let's just say, rip it, rip it, rip it! I think I found the problem and a way to solve it. With one block, I ripped 5 times. I realized that if you stretched the piece that looks like an L--you ended up not having enough length in the "pie" shapped piece to have it come out even. It is very easy to stretch that L shaped piece. So, I sprayed the troublesome piece with spray starch and it came out perfect, the 6th time I sewed it! I was determined to make them come out right. I have done about 16 blocks, and some came out great, some are tolerable, and some need ripping and redoing. You have to go slowly with the machine to match as it goes through the sewing area. That is why this foot is good, because you can see about 1/4" in front of the needle, and can align up closely. It was sort of addicting, I wanted to do more, but had other pressing things on the top of my quilting list.
The templates came with two possible patterns, and I think this will be like the half square triangles that I love making, you could do a bunch of different patterns using the Drunkard's Path block. But, I guess I know why they called it that, because when you are finished sewing, ripping and resewing, you certainly do want a stiff drink! But it is fun, and a challenge, and you all know me, I love a challenge.
Here's a poem my father taught me--I think it has been my mantra for life:
It couldn't be Done--by Robert Guest
Somebody told him it couldn't be done
But he with a chuckle replied,
That maybe it couldn't, but he would be one
That wouldn't say so til he tried.
So he buckled right in, with a trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried, he hid it.
He started to sing, and tackled the thing
that couldn't be done and he did it!
So don't tell me it can't be done! It is my "gauntlet", lay it down and I will cross!
