tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post3500983743492484649..comments2023-07-10T07:16:00.209-05:00Comments on outofthebasement: Quilters and MathKayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05669924514599648160noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-49887885348849505072009-03-14T22:25:00.000-05:002009-03-14T22:25:00.000-05:00I am also completely impatient with quilters who g...I am also completely impatient with quilters who groan about the not-very-complicated math involved in quilt calculations. Let's all banish that "OOOH, math is HARD!" thought from our heads.The Calico Quilterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01772374749065425388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-46576072011057397712009-03-04T00:48:00.000-06:002009-03-04T00:48:00.000-06:00thanks for this post -- I also get frustrated answ...thanks for this post -- I also get frustrated answering the same questions over and over for a couple of friends in my mini-group. One of them barely knows that a square has 4 even sides! And one of the clerks at a local store doesn't realize that she can do whole numbers and fractions together on the calculator... she'll add up all the amounts (for instance a total of 4.5 yards) and then first multiply our the 4 yards by the price, and then multiply .5 yard by the price. Crazy -- she's been doing this for years!floribundahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04580721857582350448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-85163073107755198632009-03-03T13:58:00.000-06:002009-03-03T13:58:00.000-06:00I'm one of those people who like "math" with an ac...I'm one of those people who like "math" with an actual degree in applied mathematics. However, I can still get befuddled when it comes to figuring out a quilt problem. Why, because I try to feel my way into a solution. I really have to stop and remind myself to approach the problem logically.<BR/><BR/>I do agree that not panicking is the first step!Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05888359861332076596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-90267064235714241552009-02-25T14:37:00.000-06:002009-02-25T14:37:00.000-06:00You're right. I just like to whine. I am, truthf...You're right. I just like to whine. I am, truthfully, an embarrassment to the quilty family. It's also a reflection of my laziness. <BR/><BR/>Good lord this is turning into a confessional. Well, it is Lent and all... Sheesh. Now my Catholic guilt is setting in, too...*karendianne.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15557033346962825857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-74114465083005792082009-02-24T17:47:00.000-06:002009-02-24T17:47:00.000-06:00I think a lot of people are scared of the "idea" o...I think a lot of people are scared of the "idea" of math. One day, someone implied that math is HARD, and that idea just stuck! I did very well in math at school, myself - even landed in an accelerated maths class. Not sure what happened, tho. I am like Calico Cat - I always add wrong, or forget to add seam allowances or make a simple mistake (it's taken me forever to get that HST formula!). Fortunately I have accepted the inevitability of frogging!Liz in Kansashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13313745653387343456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-57686776564868182682009-02-24T17:17:00.000-06:002009-02-24T17:17:00.000-06:00Very thought provoking, Kay. I'm not sure why so m...Very thought provoking, Kay. I'm not sure why so many have problems with it, but it's so necessary to make your quilt come out "right". I have a friend who doesn't understand why her quilts don't square up or why she can't make a block properly - she refuses to take the math into consideration and then blames the pattern for being too complicated. (She doesn't read blogs, so no harm here.) I also think a lot of people have problems with the math because of a right brain/left brain thing, but I agree with you - a few simple formulas are all that's necessary and taking the time to get a little help makes a world of difference!<BR/>Cheers!Candacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15520872958009985226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-48330918961070156872009-02-24T16:08:00.000-06:002009-02-24T16:08:00.000-06:00well i have a problem with quilt maths - mainly be...well i have a problem with quilt maths - mainly because i think metric, so i find following patterns in imperial difficult. mainly because i can't 'visualise' the measurements. im ok now with inches and quarter inches - but anything beyond that is tricky. ive tried adapting patterns to metric, but that doesnt work either becuase my rulers are in inches. sigh. i do completely understand your point though - the maths is the same for working out borders or half sqaure triangle regardless of the measurements - in my case though I am so unfamiliar with the measurements the maths freaks me a bit.<BR/>when i was in grade three i could never remember 7x8= the teacher had me stand in front of the class every morning and say my 7 times tables forwards and backwards until i got it right. every morning i got to 7x8 and drew a blank. im rather good at my 7 times tables now, but rather more generally scarred, mathwise, for the experience! :)Paula Hewitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14420354497597866436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-16061445518072211752009-02-24T15:51:00.000-06:002009-02-24T15:51:00.000-06:00Well, a sore subject for us all. Adding fractions...Well, a sore subject for us all. Adding fractions is a bit tough-I have to remember how to do that-it takes me a minute. I cook and sew so fractions are not an issue. Geometry is tough-I was too young to grasp it in Junior High and I never took it in college. Math is just about foundational learning. It isn't rocket science right? Wait a minute...<BR/><BR/>I will get clobbered for this but oh well. I go back to the way that a lot of women are encouraged to speak-hesitantly, without conviction, and with pauses and "ums" and "ers" and "oh, I can't do this, that, or the other thing" Oh, and "I am afraid to TRY COLOR!!!!!!!!" There I said it!<BR/><BR/>Good post as always-rant all you want!<BR/><BR/>By the way-if you go to my blog, check out "Christmas In July"-the writer is a teacher and has A LOT to say on this very subject.Libby Fifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13532162740012986996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-34095324659735385872009-02-24T12:55:00.000-06:002009-02-24T12:55:00.000-06:00I have never had any help with math/algebra/geomet...I have never had any help with math/algebra/geometry in school and had to fumble around on my own. I get the correct answers but when I had to show or prove my work people (as in math teachers) were amazed. That said, math does not bother me at all. I like 'figurin' and I'll employ any tool that helps me. A former career was as a technical illustrator; guess what I used in that job? Geometry. O, btw, the book mentioned in the previous comment was written by Bonnie Lehman and Judy MartinPaula, the quilterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17662592713610165406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-69641605831674269602009-02-24T12:43:00.000-06:002009-02-24T12:43:00.000-06:00I've never found "doing the math" for a quilt proj...I've never found "doing the math" for a quilt project hard, just time consuming. Especially when I make myself double check it to make sure it's right. I not done that a couple times and lived to regret it. It always amazes me to when people get frazzled about trying to apply mathematical principles to sewing. Applying it to quilting I can do. Applying it to fitting cloths or knitting is another situation altogether. I have an older book that I just love. It's called Taking the math out of quilting. Not sure of the author, but I sure wish they had one for knitting. <BR/>PS Kay are you coming to Barb's?Moonlit Goddesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09525832078711085869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-80920666454925224502009-02-24T09:44:00.000-06:002009-02-24T09:44:00.000-06:00I think some of that "math phobia" is an attention...I think some of that "math phobia" is an attention getting show for women.<BR/><BR/>The other day I was at the thrift store looking through the fabric bundles. They were rolled tightly and taped with the measurements written on the tape. I can usually eyeball a measurement pretty well but in a bundle I am at a handicap. So, there were two bundles I bought and immediately opened. They were definitely not 4yards as stated on the label. They were actually 1 yard. When I brought it to the attention of the ladies at the counter, they got very defensive. Sure, it's a thrift store and yes, the price was low; but, my point had been to them to show whoever was measuring and marking fabrics what 1 yard really is on the yardstick.<BR/><BR/>It bothered me all day and into the next, especially since one of the bundles I left behind said it had 10 yards and I knew darn well that it didn't have that much. It finally dawned on me that the (from the handwriting) young person who had labeled all the bundles thought a 1/4 yard was 1 yard and had priced all the fabric by that standard. It brought to mind (again) that children/teens cannot read a yardstick/ruler and have no concept of distance/length (and the comparison to the ruler). <BR/><BR/>I remember when my boys were small and velcro sneakers were first popular. My mom quipped, "Be sure and teach them how to tie their shoes" and so when the digital clock showed up I was very careful to make sure my boys could first tell time from an analog before any digitals were allowed in the house. <BR/><BR/>OK, I guess I should have written my own post. But, I do understand your point and so agree with you!Debra Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14959081275116311853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20933408.post-11920053276718149142009-02-24T09:34:00.000-06:002009-02-24T09:34:00.000-06:00I "know" math, but those 1/4 inch seams ...I "know" math, but those 1/4 inch seams trick my up regularly... I just can not wrap my brain around the concept... That's not 100% correct either...<BR/><BR/>Let's just say that I wanted to make a 9-patch variation where 2 sides are made up of a rectangle instead of 3 squares & I convinced my self that all I had to do was multiply 3.5 x 3 to get the measurement that I needed to cut. (You & I Both know that that is wrong, but I make that very mistake 99.9% of the time when I am not following a pattern.)<BR/><BR/>Oh & with that 7/8th bit, I cut bigger & trim to size - poor pressing & sewing skills to blame there... (I got Thangles for a HST pattern that I want to make...)The Calico Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06319271181930512880noreply@blogger.com