LoL! I adore Finding Nemo and this is what’s been stuck in my head all night. As I mentioned at the beginning of this year, I am focusing on finishing UFOs that have been stacked in my cupboard in the studio. Well, I finished another one 2 days ago and made tons of progress on a 3rd one just today. What gets me is this, I pull out a project that was shelved, lay everything out so I can get a good look at it and then… I just sit there, having absolutely no clue what in the hell I was thinking when I started it! Grrr! So, I end up going the opposite direction with it and make it into something truly “new”. Take the rag quilt I just finished, originally it was inspired by Leah Day’s Free-Motion Project, and was to finish at 63 blocks set 7X9. Yeah, I don’t think so. 
I redid a few of the blocks due to them being unbelievably horrible! Finally set it 5X7 and it will now go in the car for a utility/emergency quilt. Here is the finished pic, minus the final washing,:
So, that’s another one down. The extra blocks I had originally cut will go into the 10″ square bin for later use in something else.
This is what I pulled out last night, and then proceeded to obsess over. What on earth was I thinking?? I do remember buying the Jelly Roll these bricks were cut from, I thought it was gorgeous and couldn’t wait to use it! Well, I’m sorry, but last night all I could think was ”this is just gonna be too horrid to finish!” Here is what I’m on about:
Do ya see? No, well then look at what else was with this pile…:
I was just not impressed with this and think that may have been exactly why it was shelved. So, I slept on the issue. Then I thought about it some more today while I did the dishes, swept/mopped the entire house(1600 sq. ft., no carpet, just hardwoods), and deep cleaned the bathroom. AHA! I think I may have a solution… maybe. After dinner, I head to the studio and put it to fabric. This is the progress made in a few hours:
It’s really hard to tell here but there are now 3 braids made. I thought there may be enough bricks to make 7 braids but, I am one braid short so will just do 6 across. But, it still needs … something… it’s just way too busy and, quite frankly, a bit u-g-l-y for my taste. Although, the pics of it look much better than what I see in person. Hmm, so… this is where it is now:
Now I do have a reason for doing the sashing the way it is. The next 3 braids will be done in the same setting but mirrored(2 then 1). The black polka dots will be set on the bottom of those 3 to help even out the immediate draw they have on the eye. I am hoping the black will really help break up this “mess” I got going. I will say that once the braids are all together and sashed, I will be turning this so that the V’s point up instead of down. Also thinking of throwing some red into the border(s) to bring that out as well. Finishing with a piano key border or maybe a pieced square-in-a-square or flying geese using the leftover bricks set in black. I don’t know yet, I reckon I will just start with finishing the braids and then going from there, huh? LoL! I sure do hope all ya’ll had a better, less stressful, day of quilting than me.
~theHippieQuilter
I love this. Definately agree on the RED for the borders. It will really draw you to the red in the quilt.
Will you tolerate my silly question tho? I have a stack of 3×6 strip in a zipperbag waiting for a project. (I always seem to cut too many). Is there a pattern on line somewhere for this design? I know you call ed them braids, but curious about the sewing process. Any help you could give me on a name of the pattern or source would be great. Keep having fun quilting! I love following your blog.
No question is silly, I am always willing to help anyone in any way I can. So, I will put the link to the very first Braid I made when I started quilting years ago. I will warn ya though, these are very fast and easy so do tend to become addictive, like Log Cabin quilts are for many quilters, me included! This pattern does have a specified size but, I have found you can use any rectangle in any size ya want as long as they are all the same size(for trimming reasons). I hope this helps! http://www.quilterscache.com/B/BraidBlock.html
Also, if ya search the net ya can find lots of variations to the basic braid I gave the link for. I would love to try one with cornerstones that are added to every other strip(in the center of the braids), as these look really neat when finished.
Thank you for the link and the quick reply. I can see why you love to make this pattern.