Whoop!

Just a quick update so I can link to Sarah’s Whoop Whoop post!

Are you tired of Block-a-palooza yet? Here’s block 7..

and block 8.

I decided the “K” quilt wasn’t quite long enough, so I added a little to the top.

It’s breezy in Tennessee today.

Back of “K”

Some blocks made for K’s little brother..

and other little brother.

The sport themed blocks are 15 inches square and the circles are appliqued onto them. When I started to center the circles onto the squares, I knew I needed to streamline the process or I’d be folding fabric in quarters longer than my patience would hold out! 

So I made a template from poster board.

Placed it on the square.

Sprayed the back of the circle with adhesive and placed it in the cut out circle.

Removed the template and smoothed it out!

Easy peasy! They’re ready for applique.

Amber and I are going to the Flea Market in Nashville, so I gotta run! Have a groovy weekend!

Flea market is next weekend and yes, we drove 50 miles to find out! Google is my friend.

Me and the Flying Geese

The Block-a-palooza quilt-along was my introduction to making flying geese. Five of the first seven blocks include them and so far there have been three different methods of construction. You can check them out by clicking on the button in the right side bar and following the links. All of the tutorials are well written and easy to follow.

My problem was that all my geese had a nasty little curve on the bottom.

My seams were straight so that wasn’t causing it. I tried starch to stabilize the bias cut which helped a little. I loosened the pressure on my presser foot to no avail.

I finally stumbled on a solution and I’ve highlighted the steps in the little tutorial below that made my geese fly straight!

Here’s the “no waste” method of making flying geese which is the one I prefer. I believe this method was created by Patti Anderson and it’s the one Kaye Prince at Miss Print used for her quilt-along block. Thanks to Dora for pointing me to Patti Anderson!

For this example the (1) large square is 4.25 x 4.25 inches.

The (4) small squares are 2.375 x 2.375 (2 3/8) inches.

Place a small square in opposite corners of the large square.

Draw a line diagonally.

Sew 1/4 inch on both sides of the line.

I like to press this so it lays nice and flat to cut.

Cut on the drawn line.

Here it comes!

The original instructions call for pressing toward the points, but I get better results if I press the seams open!

Place another small square in the corner of this piece.

Draw a diagonal line and sew 1/4 inch on both sides. Press flat if you want.

Cut on the drawn line.

Press the seams open! Repeat for the remaining piece.

Nice and straight!

The solution was as simple as pressing the seams open instead of to one side. An experienced quilter would probably have suggested this right away, but it’s good for me to go through the process of solving it for myself. I don’t know why pressing to the side wasn’t successful for me like it was for others, but whatever works!

Happy Valentines Day!

 

Technorati Tags: flying geese,block-a-palooza

More Block-a-palooza

Block-a-palooza Block 5

Block 6

Here are the first 6 in order

There’s a flock of flying geese in these blocks and I had a crazy time getting them tamed. I’ll post about that a little later.

 

The K quilt top

 

I can’t back up far enough from my design wall to get a good picture! The “K” block I showed you last week was not working, so I changed it slightly. I had this put together once and it was completely out of square, so this is the second assembly. Lesson learned…measure carefully as you go!! A tiny eighth inch discrepancy in several pieces added up to 2+ inches off from top to bottom. You’d think I’d know better by now!

I’m linking up to Sarah’s blog. Check it out!

 

 

Technorati Tags: applique,block-a-palooza,flying geese

Where did the week go?

I felt very productive this week, but don’t have a lot to show for it! My almost 80 year old mother-in-law is famous for saying “I just can’t work like I used to.” We like to replace the word “work” with whatever’s appropriate at the time. Last weekend it was “I just can’t carry drywall like I used to.” It has to be said with a straight face to have the correct impact. Then we laugh at ourselves hysterically. Don’t you wish you were here? You could help carry drywall.

Speaking of drywall, the remodel continues to plod along. At least the hard stuff is done, like plumbing (YAY!) and most of the new wiring. I’m so glad my smarter-than-normal-people-need-to-be hubster knows how to do all these things without flooding the house or shooting sparks out of his head. I finished the new laundry room (drywall tape and paint) and it may get a door today. The new mudroom needs another layer of mud and then paint, which I should have finished this week, but I just can’t work like I used to.  

On the sewing front, I finished two more blocks for the Block-a-palooza quilt-along. There’s a Flickr group if you’d like to have a look.

Block 3

Block 4

Blocks 1-3

 

Here’s an applique block for another quilt on the design wall.

 

I hope to have this one finished and two more started this coming week. Wish me luck!

I’m linking to Whoop Whoop at Sarah’s. Go check it out!

In case you’re wondering, Helen has regained her cat door privileges. Apparently, not being able to bring live prey into the house put a damper on the game.

 

TTFN

Technorati Tags: quilt-along,Block-a-palooza,applique