Aaarrggh!!! Another Day Wasted

Well, wasted by my standards.

Today I printed out the instructions and pattern for the first block of Fiesta (http://www.fatcatpatterns.com/). Of course, I printed it out twice, because fortunately, it dawned on me that I needed to go in and change my printer settings to not 'scale to page'. I've done this before and wondered why my pieces didn't line up on the layout. So today, I'm patting myself on the back for remembering to put on my thinking cap.

After that I spent more than a couple hours perusing the fabric.com website looking for suitable fabric. They had a sale that ended Monday night and I always like to take advantage of a sale if I can. That was a huge waste of time because 2 hours into it I realized that I would never be happy with colors picked over the internet from a computer monitor. I need a hands-on fabric shop visit with my bolt of black fabric in tow. You know what I'm talking about, where you start amassing bolts in the corner of the shop and you're sitting on the floor laying them out, and the other customers are tripping over you, until you find exactly what you think is a complimentary selection....that is, until you get it home in front of an actual window and see it in full daylight and realize that you were so off on that shade of red and now you've got to bag it all up and go back for a second round of picking.

Sometimes I wish I had a personal shopper in each fabric store to make these life-altering fabric selection decisions for me. Life would be so much easier!

And speaking of easier, let's chat about that cute little Checkerboard Hearts Valentine quiltlet I was planning on working on.

Let's begin by saying that nowhere on the pattern envelope is a credit for the designer, or a copyright. I've discovered why.

Nowhere on the two pages of instructions do those things appear either. The first page of the instructions is a bunch of irrelevant information about cutting template pieces and applique info. I guess it's in my pattern because it also includes some sketchy directions for making tea dye because the quilt is tea dyed when done. Toss this paper aside, particularly since I have no desire to take a spray bottle full of instant coffee water and squirt it all over a project made with lovely quilt shop fabrics, that took a considerable amount of time to put together for the sole purpose of making it look like it was dragged through some Saloon and run over by a couple of covered wagons.

Here's page two of the instructions:

Are you serious? Where's page 3? Exactly what am I supposed to do with:

A bunch of 2" by WOF strips, a hunk of what must be the outer border, and a hunk of muslin. I'm a Thangles girl, what do I know about HST that measure 1-7/8"? Am I supposed to cut all those strips into little two inch squares and piece them together? Why can't I sew them together long ways into tubes and pick out a random seam to create the rows? And exactly what am I using for that checkerboard border? How many of those strips am I cutting down to an inch and a half? And is that rather large hunk of fabric really for the outer border?

So I'm counting off blocks in the photo, and I'm doing all these calculations (and as we all know....I DON'T DO MATH!)) just trying to figure out the finished size of this thing (also not to be found on the instructions or the envelope), to be sure that hunk of fabric is enough for the outer border, as well as to figure out if those few measurements that pop up on that single sheet of much to be desired instructions are finished sizes or not. (they are)..

What I really can't believe is that I paid $8 for this pattern. (What was I smoking that day?) And the sad part? There's another kit and pattern by the same people in the closet for a little pumpkin quilt.

Excuse me while I run screaming from the studio.