Bordering on a Nightmare ...

These borders - GRRR - yup it's a nitemare ... ah well .. I'm not going to / can't start my kitty quilt until I have finished them .. this poor quilt .. heh .. warning .. when you get 'directions' that say "For a roughly 4" border, cut center strips 3 1/2" wide...cut outer strips 4" wide...cut these into 3 1/2" widths, then stagger.. "roughly" is a relative term to to about within a mile :S. I figured that to fit his bed, these borders needed to be 5 1/2" wide (this quilt was originally a twin pattern that has been graduated to a double now - please see Kyle's Quilt) .. so following the precept above - I cut 5 1/2" strips and 6" strips .. my bloody borders are now 7 3/4" and i have some spaces to fill; 23" on top and bottom, 16" on the sides - normally i would just cut more fabric .. bah .. well the directions rather killed that idea ..

I do love the look of the diamonds, I should have done half square triangles method instead of this way .. might have used less material and wouldn't be stuck piecing the holes.

My idea was to 3 diamond sets - 2 at the top and bottom and 3 on the sides. Originally there was going to be a diamond in each corner with these sets equidistance, but when I saw the 45 degree cut I had another idea .. meet up the diamond sets in each corner with yellows. so that left me spaces between (23" on the top and bottom; and 2 8" spaces on the sides) which I was originally going to fill with the blue fabric which I don't have enough of now. I know the borders were to be scrappy, but that would be taking to wayyy to far to do another blue fabric.

thinking out loud now
My options are:

1. cut strips and fill the spaces with strips of fabric used in the diamonds;
   
2. i can put the above straight or on an angle
   
3. piece like crazy to make it all the same fabric
   
4. i can do horizontal strips with red, green and blue with the blue on the outsides of these striped patches - yellow is minimal and I really don't want to hit my yellow stash as it's not got that much in it AND I will need those for the sunny stars that I might need to make
   
5. do the same as vertical
   

I'm just really hesitating to do any cutting since the fabric I have left is so minimal .. it could all fit, I would likely have to piece a loose scraps together, but it can all fit .. just to make it fit ..

I'm so frustrated by this; this didn't work out the way I had anticipated .. I did tell Kyle that I would have his top done by the time he came home from his dad's (normally it would have been done), and I've been working on this border all bloody day and I've just about had enough!

**sigh** .. I'll get it done .. promised him that i would .. and I can't let my boy down ..