Coins Quilt Progress

Last weekend I found some time to stitch together the strips for my coins quilt -- paying special attention to the seam allowances.  Despite my best efforts and the use of a 1/2 in. foot on my machine, my final strips are 1 in. too long!  Each step along the way I measured and adjusted and re-measured.  A little math explains the difference -- there are 26 pieces in each strip for a total of 25 seams.  So each seam is off by only .04 inches.  I suppose no matter how well I measured, this small difference was bound to go undetected.  And I can't really determine if the difference was in the cutting or the sewing. 

At least I can take solace in the fact that all of the three strips are the same size.  So I'll just have to cut the middle strips and side borders one inch longer.

Here's my question to all experienced quilters out there.  Is this acceptable?  Or should I be worried about this 1 inch difference?  In the end, I guess the simple fact is that I really did try to get the seams exact and I was still off, so I probably have to live with it.

In other news, thrifting season has begun!  While there haven't been too many garage sales yet, the church rummage sales are in full swing and today I picked up these sweaters for $1 each.  Two are cashmere and the other is 100% wool.  Combined with some thrifted sweaters I got last summer and the bag of colorful scraps I purchased from Betz, I'm ready to try out some projects from Warm Fuzzies!

There are a few more sales tomorrow, so we'll see what they bring.  Last weekend I missed out on 2 looms at a church sale -- and we arrived only shortly after the sale began.  Tomorrow we're getting up bright and early!

Comments

[Christy]

As a quilter, let me say that the size of the finished item can be adjusted with the size of your borders, etc. AND it's your quilt. Unless it HAS TO BE some size to fit something (a crib, a bed, etc.), it doesn't matter.

I'd be glad that the three 'coins' pieces were the same size and sew on. :)

[pam]

So did you really use a 1/2 inch or a 1/4 inch.Difference could be the thread, the pressing, but if you're consistant, what the heck. Did you calculate how long its supposed to be, maybe the pattern is wrong? Sometimes I measure the seam alowances to make sure my foot is correct. Consistancy is good, so if they're all the same, why worry?

[Tsoniki]

I agree with the thinking of they are all the same size, so it's okay.

I found a few wool sweaters at a thrift store a few days ago! I'm excited to make a few things from Betz book.

[Jane]

When I first started quilting back in the early 80s, an experienced quilt maker in our group told me not to sweat the small stuff. In her words: "Would a blind man on a galloping horse at midnight notice??" An extra inch or two on the length of the quilt isn't going to make any difference. If you'd already cut your sashing and borders, I would have suggested that you trim one of the end coins by an inch.