In Studio with Carolyn March 2024
I feel like I’m living in a dream!
Isn’t that what we say when our life changes in the direction we had hoped to someday reach?
Oh, the relief when a dream turns out to be a good one!
Hey there!
See all those numbers in that photo? Yep, that's been my world for the past few weeks. Crunching numbers, living and breathing them! It feels like I dream in numbers now.
Back in the day, I was okay with math. I even homeschooled my kids during grade school - though I can't say it made me a math whiz. Luckily, I had an amazing math teacher in high school, which definitely helped when it came to homeschooling. I always thought I never really pushed myself enough in math. But now? Enter Excel! Those formulas are like solving puzzles, and now they take care of most of the math for me. Plus, I've got my kids who are way better at math than I ever was.
My future looks like I'll be immersed in numbers for a bit longer. More patterns are on the horizon, so stay tuned for what’s coming next!
I’m going to take you on a little walk through my testing process these past weeks.
Let’s take a look at this block. It came out nearly perfect the first time around. Well…it was perfect…by itself.
Then I matched it up with its mate.
Those nifty white corner pieces didn’t want to nest together between the two blocks.
That was a no-no in my book.
Now, let’s take a look at the second block.
You see, there was this little process for the second block.
I didn’t want to make a pattern where people HAD to deal with a dozen biased edges. I wanted to minimize them. Make them friendly so to speak.
For days this was the only process I could think of. So I wrote it this way and sent it out to the testers.
And wouldn’t you know it?
My brain clicked in my sleep and voila I had a method that made more sense. And easier to boot.
Yes, the biased edges were still going to be there so easier was the nicer path to take.
Finally, it all fits together
Struggling to get the size right between the blocks wasn't enjoyable, but it was needed. It's important for anyone using this pattern to have a smooth experience. I hope everyone who tries this pattern becomes happy friends of mine, not frustrated customers.
And tweaking math made the two blocks fit together smoothly. Well, for me it did. My hope is that it will fit just as nicely for you.
I mentioned All A-Whirl Quilt Pattern in the last blog post and I’ve shown peeks of the original process (for one block) above and now it’s out to pattern testers. I’m still so nervous! There’s nothing like being a newbie at something! Fortunately for me, I have some great testers who are willing to put up with my newbie status.
Oh, did I mention how fortunate I am to have such exceptional pattern testers? I cannot help but emphasize it again - I truly have some of the most amazing pattern testers any quilter could ask for! Their input has significantly enhanced the quality and enjoyment of this pattern. I am eagerly looking forward to sharing my process through this pattern with you. Even more thrilling is the prospect of unveiling the talented testers once the patterns are officially launched.
And with that in mind.
I would love to take you all through the process of this quilt once the quilt pattern has been released. Meaning a Quilt-A-Long could be on the horizon.
Once again. I have no clue how to do a QAL! I’m taking a small course on running a QAL. I hope it makes all the details clear, but I’ve just started. I don’t know when or how it will happen yet. If you have ANY helpful ideas please let me know!
I’m still taking pattern tester forms. I plan to keep making patterns for a while, so having a variety of testers is important to me. If you want to be a part of our pattern tester team, please hop on over to the Quilt Pattern Testers Page and sign up. I would love to have you along on this journey!
And don’t hesitate to pass info on to your friends or family that may be interested in signing up.
Hi! I’m Carolyn,
I'm a one-woman shop in Alaska providing high-quality longarm quilting services and quilt patterns. My goal is to give my clients quilts that will make them happy to use or give away and patterns that bring smiles to those who make them.
Much love,
Carolyn
