Jul
5

Twisted Blossom – Block 1

Posted Sunday, July 5th, 2015 in QAL | Read More

Sew Kind of Wonderful is hosting a free QAL, July 1-August 31, using the Quick Curve Ruler. This was of great interest to me because I bought the ruler when I saw a demo at the local quilt shop last spring. I have wanted to try it but was not ready to start the larger project for which it was purchased.

I had to purchase the Metro Twist pattern to make this block. I went to my LQS  where I bought the ruler but they did not have it in stock. They offered to order it but I didn’t want to wait to start my block. I ordered it online and did the digital download to have it instantly.

I looked through my fabric stash and found a small bundle of fat quarters that I bought but didn’t have a plan for its use. I divided it into 4 colorways and added some fabric to it. I cut into the reds before taking the following picture. You will see them in the finished block.

This is the first block.

This is the first time I have used the Quick Curve Ruler. I liked the way it was constructed. It was easy to cut the curve with my 45 mm rotary cutter. It was very sturdy which made it stable while cutting.

The pattern seemed a little complicated. I read through the entire pattern before starting. I went back and concentrated on just one step at a time and it was not difficult to follow. Because the pieces are right and left sided, it is important to cut half of them right side up and the other half right side down. The other important direction to follow is where to start sewing the curved piece. One side starts 1/4 inch from the top and the other side starts 1/2 inch from the top. The illustrations are very good and give you this information.

The curved pieces are VERY EASY to sew without using any pins. I did use tweezers to hold the end while sewing.

I hope this encourages you to join me in the quilt along! Happy Sewing!

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Dec
14

Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt – Part 3

Posted Sunday, December 14th, 2014 in Grand Illusion | Read More

This week the blocks are easier to cut and  assemble. The piecing was quicker because I made strip sets, re-cut, and sewed again. I pressed each strip in opposing directions and was able to nestle all the seams and sew without pinning.

I had a large piece of solid green that was left over from the Zelda quilt I made for Tristan in 2012. I  used the  this green fabric for all of the blocks rather than making them scrappy. I used fat quarters for the other colors in this block.  I have been able to find all the fabrics I needed in my fabric stash. It feels wonderful to make a small dent in my piles of fabric!

Here are my 120 blocks for clue three.

I am linking up to Bonnie’s link up page.

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May
23

Organizing the Fabric Stash

Posted Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012 in Fabrics | Read More

Several years ago my family bought me a Sauder armoire for fabric storage. I filled it with my stash, folding  and organizing by color. As I pulled out and added fabric to it, it became very messy. Last week I couldn’t stand it anymore! I took all the fabric out and refolded it. I wrapped each piece around my 6 X 24 inch ruler and then folded the piece in half. If a piece was under a half yard, it went into the scrap basket.

I am hoping that my stash will stay neatly folded and organized. I can now pull out a stack of fabric without the rest of it falling out of the cabinet. I am planning several scrappy quilts to use the large collection of scrap fabrics.

BEFORE

AFTER

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Feb
10

March 2010 Tablerunner

Posted Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 in Fabric Stash, My Projects, Patterns, Quilting | Read More

I am having so much fun making these table runners because they are fast and easy to make. I am also enjoying choosing  fat quarters from my stash.  I am trying to do something a little different with each runner rather than following the pattern exactly.

I scattered eight shamrocks on the center of the runner and reversed the colors used in the center and border. The pattern called for  green  squares in the center  and beige squares in the border with a shamrock on each border square.

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