So keeping a time log has been an interesting exercise. If you read that last sentence and thought it sounded about as exciting as busting out the seam ripper or basting a quilt, just click away from this post now.
Last we left off, I had cut all my strip sets into 320 quarter-square triangles. I spent half an hour pairing those triangles up to be sewn (and owning Jeopardy — there was a category about Texas today!)
And then it took a little more than an hour (or one This American Life podcast) — and a bit more than a bobbin — to piece them. Now I'm down to only 156 units. (If you're good at math and you're noticing that those numbers don't exactly add up, it's because I made my first strip set into two blocks right off the bat.)
After another hour of pressing...
...I got to pair up more triangles. This took half an hour. (The new Modern Family was awesome. If you missed it, it's worth Hulu-ing.)
Another bobbin, another This American Life podcast, another hour, and the blocks were all pieced. One more hour at the ironing board, and ...
... voila! Finished blocks. All 80 of them.
So, to sum up:
Eleven hours, ladies and gents. That's almost $80 of labor at Texas' minimum wage, and you're just looking at a stack of (frankly, pretty simple) blocks. This is why I don't sell quilts.
— 2 hours — 1½ hours — 4½ hours — 3 hours
I honestly didn't notice until I had this all written out and was proofreading that I accidentally inserted a pun toward the end. And it occurred to me during my last 20 or so minutes of ironing how appropriate this block is for this exercise.
But isn't it such an enjoyable way of spending time!
ReplyDeleteYeppo! Ya see, this is why I don't keep track of time. Just like getting ready for a night out, beauty takes a little time...I'd just rather not have a SPECIFIC number on that time!
ReplyDeleteLove this, can't wait to see how it comes out. You should check out the Creative Girds rulers of 60 and 45 degree triangles, the ones you use with strip sets such as yours. I made a quilt this year with them, and boy, does it save you time. Folding the strip in half, you can cut two triangles at one time. Cut out the whole thing in 45 minutes.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, as a fellow astronomy geek, listen to Doctor Jack's Soapbox Seminar. iTunes. From 2008 but still up to date. Hope you enjoy it.
Goodness that's a lot of time. But at least it's a lot of time doing something you enjoy. It looks great to me (and totally doesn't look simple, even if you think it is). I made an inadvertent pun the other day: "I start teaching a crash course at Czech Airlines next week." Didn't even catch it the first time I said it.
ReplyDeletei kept track of the time it took me to make a quilt once and was surprised at a few things.
ReplyDelete1. the overall time
2. the amount of time i spent pressing
and 3. the time it took to cut and put the borders on....
i'm with you.. this is why i don't sell quilts either! here is my post on how long it took me in case you want to read it sometime http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/2010/09/how-long-does-it-take-to-make-quilt.html
Wow, I never realised quite how much time it took to make quilts. I've been thinking about making a double hourglass quilt, and whilst yours has taken a while, it's also not taken as long as I thought.
ReplyDeleteYour post is making me think about just getting on and doing it rather than being put off by the length of time it's going to take (I've only ever made baby quilts so am used to quick wins!).