Sewcialites: Block 10

Trying to get everything caught up, it was handy that my block nine and block 10 of Sewcialites both ended up using the same print fabric because I worked on them simultaneously. I figured out how many of each size/print/solid I needed between the two patterns, did all the cutting at once, and then sewed them individually.

Sincere by April Rosenthal was a simple-to-sew block that was refreshing after trying to match the seams on block nine. This block was delightful, and looking at it finished, and it's the kind of block that makes me clap my hands happily (which is something I do when a finished project or piece of a project makes me happy).

The finished block reminds me of a flower, and I'm wondering what it would look like if you made several and turned them into a table runner. That's a project for the future though, I have got to catch up on everything I want to finish.

Sewcialites: Block 9

While I love this time of year, it's been especially hard during this pandemic. Being stuck home all the time, not seeing extended family, and losing daylight hours is tough on me and my ability to complete projects.

I didn't get to block 9 of Sewcialites until a week after its release. Gracious by Vanessa Christenson is an exciting block that uses corner squares. Instead of drawing the line, I did use my Mini Folded Corners Ruler for this one.

When I put the four pieces together, I had a little bit of trouble matching up all of the seams. It was a little more challenging than I was expecting, but I got it done!

Sewcialites: Block 8

Slowly trying to get myself back caught up on my imaginary list that doesn't matter since I don't have any actual deadlines on the current projects, I sewed block eight of Sewcialites last night. Soulful by Joanna Figueroa is labeled beginner but contains (one of) my quilting nemesis(es), flying geese.

I feel like every time I have to make flying geese, I end up with super wobbly squares that then get sewn into even more wobbly blocks, so you can understand why I was a bit anxious about this one. I can't be sure, but I think part of the issue is drawing the line and then sewing on the line. I suspect my errors come somewhere in this step. Yes, it should be easy to draw a diagonal line and then sew it, especially since the line is right there for me, I don't have to imagine it, but I inevitably end up too large or too small.

As I sat in my sewing space, pondering this relatively easy block, I looked up at my pegboard. I saw Doug Leko's Antler Quilt Design Mini Simple Folded Corner Ruler (that I received in a past Sew Sampler Box). I had used it successfully on a previous project instead of the draw line/sew line technique, so I decided to give it a go for this block.

For matching points, I used Kimberly's tip from the Livestream and drew a line 1/4" in, and matched that to the point on the flying geese square using a pin.

My final block is still a little on the wobbly side, but overall, if I step back and look at the block, I'm happy with it.

Sewcialites: Block 7

What a week, huh? I've been pretty off and on this week crafting with everything going on, but I did take some time today to work on block 7 of Sewcialites. Named Kindred, it is designed by Bonnie Olaveson and is considered intermediate. I think that if I hadn't watched Kimberly's Livestream demonstration of this one, I would've been a little lost. Kimberly detailed how to make the pieces a little larger than called for and then trimming down. This was a lifesaver for me.

With all of the tips from the Livestream, this intermediate block came out beautifully for me. The size is just about dead-on, the points are looking good, and it's a pleasing design. Since I've been working on the Journey 2 Nebula, I have a lot of experience with the bias edges, but I was a bit anxious to work on this block even with that.

Overall, I'm happy with this block. I don't think I would have been able to figure out on my own how to increase the size and then trim, so I'm glad Kimberly showed how to do that. Now that I've worked through it with this block, I might have the skills to figure it out for another similar block.

Sewcialites: Block 6

Block 6 of Sewcialites is called Devoted and is brought to us by Robin Pickens. This one is rated experienced, and I would definitely agree with that rating. It took me about an hour and a half to complete. There are a lot of small HSTs in this block. The block is nearly all HSTs! We've discussed my trepidation around HSTs before, but maybe by the end of this project, I'll feel a lot more comfortable with them.

I did use the Triangles on a Roll in the 1" finished size for the smaller HSTs and made the two larger ones the traditional way. I'm still figuring out which way I prefer, but I think I like making larger and trimming down. My finished block is more accurate when I do that versus using the triangle paper and trimming on the lines on that.

It is a stunning block. I'm not 100% happy with the way mine finished as it's a little wobbly, but the block design itself is striking. I might remake this one after I make the next block with the fabric. I want to make sure I have enough, though I'm sure I will since there is a significant portion of the fat quarter remaining.

Sewcialites: Block 5

Block 5 of Sewcialites is called Wisdom and was designed by Sherri McConnell. That's two Sherri McConnell patterns for me this week, and I'm pleased with the way both of them worked out. This week's block is labeled as beginner, and that's just what I needed this morning. An easy block that makes me feel accomplished. Even though I have finished things this week, it's been a tough week outside of my crafting, so it's extra nice when crafting works out.

This block, like many of the others, includes half square triangle blocks. Again this week, I skipped the Triangles on a Roll, mostly because I knew it would be faster to do it the way the pattern shows. I cut my squares a little large to trim down the HSTs to the perfect measurement.

For the cutting on these blocks, I haven't really broken too far into the yardage. I'm still using stips I cut for the first couple of blocks. They're just about used up now, though. I have them labeled at the selvage with a Frixion marker, so I don't have to remeasure the strips each time.

It came together in under 45 minutes, including digging out the correct fabric and cutting. The final block was just about 6.5," and nearly all of my seams meet where they're supposed to. There's just something about this block that makes me happy. I might prop it up on my desk for the next week to give myself something to smile at when things get tough.

Sewcialites: Block 4

Spirited, the Vanessa Goertzen designed block 4 of the Sewcialites Quilt Along released on Friday. It was a fun block that took about an hour to complete, including cutting.

I enjoyed this block and created my HSTs the traditional way instead of using the Triangles on a Roll. I did cut my squares slightly larger as insurance to trim my finished HST blocks down to the exact size needed.

I love the finished look of this block. The fabric I chose does take a little away from the exciting shape that forms from the contrast between solid and print, but it also does a fantastic job of hiding my slightly off areas.

Spirited was a pretty straightforward block, and I didn't run into any issues when assembling. It even came out just about exactly 6.5" with just a little wobble to trim off the edge from my corner squares.

Sewcialites: Block 3

Oh boy! A whole block of HSTs. Just looking at the pattern this week has made me break out into a bit of a sweat. It turns out the sweat was probably a bit warranted.

Block 3 was designed by Brigitte Heitland of Zen Chic and is called Affection. I know the joke has been made in the Sewcialites group on Facebook already, but I'm going to go ahead and make it myself. I do NOT have much affection for this block. I appreciate what I learned from it, and I'll happily carry those skills with me as I continue quilting, but I certainly do not feel any kindness, goodwill, devotion, or friendship with this block. (Yes, I looked up synonyms for affection. The thesaurus has long been my friend both at work and in the outside world.)

The block is rated as experienced, and yes, yes, that is an accurate rating. It is not for the faint of heart. How tough can it be, it's a bunch of HSTs, and if you have triangle paper, they're practically already made? Well, kind reader, let me tell you, there are all kinds of ways this block can go awry. I did fine making the individual HSTs, but once I started piecing the block together, that's where things got a little dicey.

Matching the corners correctly when attaching the strips of HSTs to the larger HST caused me a bit of a fit, particularly one corner (I’m sure you can see it…it’s right there). I used my seam ripper three times, and it's still not perfect, but if I fiddled with it any further, it wasn't going to end well. There were several places I had to ease the strip in, and even then, there are places where it's not as good as I'd like it to be. It is likely my perfectionism speaking since it's pretty darn close to 6.5" and looks like the picture, especially from a distance. Overall, I'm okay with the block and look forward to the challenge of next week's.

Sewcialites: Block 2

This week's Sewcialites block, designed by Lisa Bongean, is called Loyal. This block is labeled beginner, and it was a lovely, quick sew after work today. It only took me 40 minutes from grabbing the fabric to trimming the block. Because it was so speedy, I didn't take many pictures or use the Alphabities.

There is less contrast between the solid and print fabrics this week, but I'm happy with how it looks. Overall, the quilt will have heavily contrasting and lower contrast blocks, so I think it will balance out. I did use a design board for this. It's nice that the fabric sticks to it, so things don't go wonky if there's a breeze. (Yes, this has happened to me more than once, including recently with the Jawbreaker layout.)

Loyal is another block that uses HSTs, so I grabbed my Triangles on a Roll. I utilized the 3.5" strip of solid that I cut for last week's block, so I didn't have to wrangle with a larger piece. I also had a smaller scrap that I trimmed to the required 1.5" square. For the print pieces, I cut a 3.5" strip from the fat quarter and used that for the piece I needed for the HSTs and the rectangles.

Before assembling, I double-checked the finished size on my HSTs. Since last week's block came out a hair large, I don't think I'm hitting precisely the right spot on the line when trimming my paper. The HSTs were a tiny bit larger than the 3" size the pattern called for, so I trimmed it off.

Sewing this block together was a breeze since there weren't many seams to match. Trimming it was also relatively easy, and the block ended up closer to 6.5" than last week's.

It was nice to have a quick block after the more complex first block, almost like a palette cleanser. It also leaves me extra time to work on the other projects on my list...and there are many. I'm hoping that I'll have a few things to share after this weekend (or over the weekend).

Sewcialites: Block 1

The day finally came! The Fat Quarter Shop released Block 1 of the Sewcialites Quilt Along this morning. I had all of my fabric starched and folded nicely, just waiting to be used.

I printed out the pattern and took a look at what I would need to know. It is designed by Lissa Alexander, and rated as an intermediate sew. It contains HSTs and hourglass blocks. Neither of those blocks is my forte, even using Triangle Paper from It's Sew Emma, but I'm looking at this whole project as a skill-building exercise and trying very hard not to get too stuck on perfection - a problem for me in my daily life.

As I reviewed the pattern, I used a tip that I've learned over the years while knitting sweaters and designs with multiple sizes. The sizes are usually listed in parentheses, and it's easy to get lost while you're knitting and knit to the wrong measurements. To prevent later aggravation, highlight or underline the size you're using throughout the pattern, so your eye is drawn to it. I went through the printed pattern and put a box around the measurements I would need to pay attention to.

After that, I went digging in my bin of Triangle Paper. Since I'm sewing the 6" blocks, I needed 1" Finished Triangle Paper, or a size close to it that I could trim down. I had 1" in my stash, so I unrolled it and peeled off what I needed for the HSTs in this pattern. I figured out what size of rectangle I would need in place of the cuts listed in the pattern for traditional HSTs. I went with 2.5" x 8". I cut out the rest of my pieces and labeled them with the Alphabities.

Earlier in the day, I watched Kimberly's Livestream, where she sewed the block and collected some tips. I was particularly interested in the final block assembly recommendations because I didn't want to lose my points or end up with a wonky-shaped block.

The tips worked! I haven't lost any of my points. As for squaring up my block, it's a HAIR larger than the 6.5" that it's supposed to be, but when I sew the whole quilt together, I shouldn't lose any of my points either. Hopefully...we'll find out in June. ;)

Sewcialites: Planning & Prep

For the last couple of weeks, I have been starting at my stack of fat quarters for the Sewcialites Quilt Along, wondering how I would decide which fabric to use for which block. Fat Quarter Shop released a coloring page, but these are prints, which changes the look, so I didn't think I would get an accurate representation.

I don't have fancy quilt design programs, but I remembered that I have Photoshop as I was staring at my computer. After work, I did some quick Googling and figured out how to create fill patterns and use those with the paint bucket tool. Then, after a little bit of trial and error, I was able to make my layout!

I have the same number of HSTs in the same layout as the original layout, but I did change the orientation of a few of them. I think messing around with those took me the longest out of the entire layout. I kept changing colors, color combinations and even had them all solid background for a bit. For the solid colors, I pulled a screenshot of the fabric I was going to use (I looked up the Confetti Cotton coordinates that went with the fabric line I'm using), used the color selector tool, then filled the HSTs with the color.

It wasn't without its hiccups. Once I filled with the pattern, it was difficult to change to another fabric on some of them because of the way the paint bucket tool works, but I used the polygon lasso tool to select the area I needed and then filled it. It doesn't look as perfect, but it's still good enough for me to get an idea of which fabric I'm using.

After I filled in all of the patterns and colors, I watched the Fat Quarter Shop Livestream, where Kimberly went through each of the blocks, matched them to their number, and then filled in the square at the top, so I have a second reference point. I'm giving myself a little pat on the back for this, and I'm excited to start Sewcialites.

Off to starch my fabric!

Sewcialites Quilt Along with Fat Quarter Shop

Last week, Fat Quarter Shop announced their nine-month quilt along, Sewcialites. You get to choose between 3" blocks, 6" blocks, or 9" blocks with a final setting of 27 1/2" square, 54 1/2" square, or 81 1/2" square.

I wanted to purchase NEW FABRIC for it so badly, but I have plenty of stash that needs using, so I went digging around in my various drawers and boxes. What I found, other than a lot of fabric, was a stack of fat quarters, background, backing, and binding I had purchased in April of 2017 and had intended to use for another project. I have absolutely no interest in that project anymore, as happens when you have big plans, and then everything else is more appealing.

This is Ava Rose from Riley Blake back from 2017. With all of the fat quarters and yardage, I have enough to make the 6" blocks, so that made my decision. There will likely be a couple of blocks that aren’t very high-contrast because I don’t have enough of the colorful ones, but I think I’m okay with that. I may pick up a couple of coordinating solids at the end for the HSTs, but luckily that is a decision I don’t have to make right now. I'm excited that I'm going to be able to participate, even if I don't get the joy of playing with new fabric, and it's another way to work down my stash, so win-win, right?