A bit of truth

Gamelan block
Originally uploaded by littleshika.

Sometimes I realize that I'm not the experienced quilter I like to think I am. Take for example, my Gamelan block:

Yesterday my copy of Kerr & Ringle's Modern Quilt Workshop came in the mail. I have been intrigued by all the talk and quilts that have been made for the Modern Quilt Along, and even tempted to join myself. I poured over the book for hours yesterday, and really liked the Gamelan quilt. I have pieced curves by hand before on japanese-style pouches, and I didn't think this would be such a big deal. So I chose my fabrics, and gave it a go.

Yikes! What happened? Well first of all, i read the instructions, but didn't exactly follow them. (My dad liked to tease my mother about this when I was younger. He'd say, "Did you read the directions?" "Yes." Mom replied. "Did you follow them?" was his retort. Why is it that i'm turning into my mother more and more all the time?)

The book clearly says that you need bilaterally symmetrical fabrics. They even give examples of "not quite bilaterally symmetrical" prints. I think my fabric may have actually been bilaterally symmetrical, but as I was cutting my pieces I noticed that the bands of the pattern didn't always match up. so.. i guess the individual bands were bilaterally symmetric, but the whole piece of striped fabric wasn't? anyway.. as i was putting it together, i realized that piecing curves, as I originally thought, isn't my weak point. BUT, precision cutting and piecing are skills that still elude me. If you want to see what I mean, and can't already from the small flickr photo, just view it in a larger size over at flickr, and share in my dissapointment.