Sushi Shuffle

In between two projects which were “must-dos”, I managed to squeeze in making Sushi Shuffle a “shouldn’t be doing” which some would say is a “dream” but for me turned into a scream because that’s what Quilt Karma does sometimes, especially to my aging Asian mind. I was tempted to name my latest quilt Screaming Sushi but thought Sushi Shuffle would give a better image.

Anyhoot, while I putting away my fabric purchases made from last month’s Maine vacation, I purchased yardage of the black/gray/white Stof print (lower left corner). I knew I could use it  as backing for a quilt I would someday make with the other Stof prints which are stored  in my box of Teal fabrics. For such a small box, this has been a start of many quilts made as I mentioned in this Post. And wouldn’t you know just opening this box inspired me again to make the Sushi Quilt so I stopped working on my secret project.

No surprise that I wanted to make another Staggered Strips and Brick quilt with my initial fabric pull. Except for the black prints, the other prints were stored with the Teal stash. I knew someday I would make a quilt using the two fish prints on the left which were the color inspiration for the quilt. I did end up pulling some more gray and taupe prints because you can never have too much fabric when making a Staggered Strip quilt.

I decided that the Sushi Shuffle quilt would have (4) panels measuring 8”x72” each of staggered strips and three panels of 4”x8” blocks each also measuring 8”x72” since I wanted to feature the Stof prints purchased almost five years to the day from The Fabric Nook in Granby, CO which are the green and black and the gray and black print. I had to find some other prints which would complement the Stof  prints and was lucky to find the black/taupe which is by Basic Grey and from the Basic collection. Even luckier was finding the wonderful Stof print I didn’t remember purchasing, on the right and it wasn’t with the Teal box but with low volume prints. The orange Fish print is a Moda print which was stored in the Teal box. Have you notice my use of “the Teal Box”? I normally would refer this as my Teal Stash, but after making Sushi Shuffle, I’m thinking it’s like Pandora Box, not evil, but it does unleash sometimes untimely inspirations.

I really thought the Sushi Shuffle was going to be an easy and quick make and was I wrong as soon as this crossed my mind. I had to include a photo showing the seven panels so you understand how this quilt went from a dream” to a “scream”. First of all, I thought I was being smart by remembering that the strip panels needed to be on the sides of the block panels because I don’t like the way it looks when the blocks are on the outside. I also was going to add strip panels on the top and bottom but remembered that I don’t do this when the strip panels are vertical.  When making lap size quilts, I like at least an 80” length since we are a tall family and  now would have to settle for a 72” length since I already cut them this length before remembering I should have cut them 80”. But what really started the screaming was when I was sewing the two panels, what should have been the final seam, one with #1-#4 with #5-#7 and it did not line up. It seems that whenever I make a vertical Staggered Strip quilt there is always a problem with the panels lining up evenly and salty language is always used.  This time there was a 1” difference and I had to take the two panels apart. I thought maybe the solution was to also take apart panels #4-#7 and resew them back together.

I was so happy after ripping out two long seams that the panels lined up (left photo) but there was a problem. I don’t know how I did this but panels #4 and #6 were switched and finally corrected it after ripping more seams apart like three-four times, I lost count (right photo). I will say that this was not the original layout since panel #1 and #7  somehow got switched in all of the shuffling. If you’re wondering how I came up with the name Sushi Shuffle, I did want a name that tied in with the fish prints but really settled on Sushi because I was saying the four-letter “S” word a lot, especially after realizing I had to rip seams out again and again. Sushi is a nice alternative word for a swear word to use especially around the darling Granddaughter. And Shuffle was what I did and I do like alliteration when naming my quilts. I did mention before Screaming Sushi was in the running but also Senile Strips because I had to be with the many times I sewed the panels together wrong.

I did end up sewing panels on the top and bottom and wonders of miracles I sewed them in the correct spot. I really did want this top to be 80” long and since the panels were already made I decided to add them. I do like the way this looks. After the flimsy was  made, I did set it aside for the secret project that needed to be finished.

It’s no secret now that I am participating in the book launch blog hop for Kelly Young’s, My Quilt Infatuation, latest book “Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs which will be released on June 21st. My quilt made for this book launch is a Finally Finished and I am very excited to share it along with the other quilters who are participating in this book launch. This is another great book by Kelly and has converted this once pieced-back resister.

And to show how inspiring the book is, instead of backing Sushi Shuffle with just the black and gray Stof fabric which was my original intention when I bought the fabric, I did a pieced backing using the leftover strip panels and fabric chunks. The way I see it, I needed to use up the scraps, as encouraged in “Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs” and not put them away in the Teal Box because I don’t need another future project. I plan on staying away from this box for awhile. It feels good to spend just a little more time and thought into my quilt backings and making it a nicer Finally Finished.

Here’s are close-up pics of the machine quilting with straight and wavy lines using CT Essential Thread in Stone The binding done by machine was with the Basic Grey black and taupe print. Sushi Shuffle measures 56” x 80” (approx.)

I always like to close my posts with a “glamour” shot of the quilt and thought Sushi Shuffle would look nice in front of a Sushi restaurant. Unfortunately, there isn’t one close by so this one is made possible by PicMonkey. The colors in this quilt does go with the restaurant, doesn’t it? Knowing the reason why I’m using Sushi, I didn’t think it would be pretty if I used a photo of Outhouses, right?  Now that my May Misbehaving may be over, it’s time to put together my flimsy for my other mmmust-do, the Rainbow Neighborhood QAL parade scheduled for the end of June. We’ll be leaving soon for a vacation in the mountains and I’ll be visiting The Fabric Nook to see if they have more Stof fabrics to add to the Teal Box.

Wishing everyone a Safe and Happy Memorial Day Holiday.

Linking up with:My Quilt Infatuation/NTT