Modern BOM - Block 2 - Bordered Star

Happy Spring! What beautiful weather we've been experiencing. I hope to finish my work early today and get out to soak up some of this sunshine!

Our second block this month is called Bordered Star and I quite enjoyed it. There are a few segments to complete, but by just concentrating on one at a time you'll find it all comes together nicely in the end.

First, of course, is to cut all the pieces you'll need. I suggest you make a note on your pattern as to which fabrics are your Colour #1 - #5. This will help greatly in keeping everything organized. 

 

The first step is easy enough...actually none of the steps are difficult, it's just a matter of doing each step carefully. 

Here you can see I've sewn the 2 large squares together and sliced them on the diagonal...

I will be using two rulers that I find useful...keeping in mind that neither of them are necessary, you can easily complete the pattern with the technique you are familiar with. 

The first ruler I am using is the Bloc Loc, which I sometimes use for squaring up HST's. There is a slight "ledge" under the ruler that sits nicely on your seam. The trick to this ruler is to remember that the "letters" on the ruler, sit on the "lower" fabric (both start with the letter L)...

The next step is to snowball the corners...sewing on the dotted line that I have shown...

This is actually where I am using the second featured ruler, The Simple Folded Corner ruler. I quite like this ruler and use it whenever I can because it gives good results. Again, not necessary, of course, to use this ruler.

Next up is making flying geese. Again, this is where I sometimes will use my Simple Folded Corners ruler...and again, not necessary, but it does give good results. Make 4 flying geese using your background fabric and Colour #1

Then we make 4 more flying geese...being very careful about paying attention to your colour positioning.

This is the point that I will give you a little tip to have success at blocks with many different elements. Take the time to make sure each step results in an accurate size. For example, your flying geese should measure 2.5" x 4.5", unfinished.

Here I show all the segments of my block, ready to be sewn together...including 4 HST's...

Lay your units out carefully according to the picture in the instructions. 

Sew your flying geese units together, being careful of placement, as well as the centre HST's. For this I pressed my seams open to reduce bulk, especially since I am using Shweshwe fabrics, which are thicker than your normal quilting cottons. What you have now is basically a 9-patch to sew together.

And there you have it, a beautiful Bordered Star block! I really do like this block.

I did check with Lana at Quilt Junction...she does carry both rulers that I mentioned, although at the moment she only has a smaller sized Bloc Loc than what is needed for this block. I have no affiliation with the rulers, just passing on techniques that I find helpful. 

Please remember to post your blocks on Instagram if you can, using the hashtags #tqgmodernbom and #twilightquiltersguild. It's also nice to see a group picture of your blocks that we've done so far. 

From here on out we will go back to releasing one block per month. 

You can find the link to the instructions HERE at the blog post for the Twilight Quilters' Guild.

Modern BOM - March, block 1 - Starburst

Another new block already!

As stated before, we are doubling up on blocks a bit to fit the 12 blocks into 10 months. 

We will have a second block in March. Again, I figured this made sense as it's still not "sitting in the garden" weather, and we are still somewhat limited in going out and about as of yet.

This month is a paper-pieced block called Starburst...

I will be your cautionary tale...please check the size of the paper-piecing units in your photo copy...it should be 4.5". I have never had a problem with the sizing on a photo copy, so I just went ahead, and when I got to this stage of the block...

...my block measured 8" square, instead of 8.5". I checked back with my photo copy and the units only measured 4.25".

If you happen to make the same mistake as me, you can fix it easily. I just made the background strips wider. I cut them 3" wide and in the end just had to slice a sliver off the block to bring it to the required 12.5"...

In fact, maybe it's a good idea to make your background strips a little wider anyway in case your block comes out a bit wonky, then you can square it up nicely in the end!

Here are a few more tips for you...

When cutting the paper units apart, don't cut on the cutting line just yet, leave a bit extra all around as you can see marked in red in my picture. You will trim the unit to 4.5" once all the fabric has been sewn on....

Usually when doing a paper-pieced block you would leave the paper in until the whole block is pieced together. For this block I chose to remove the paper after the 4 units were completed. Up to you!

When it came time to sew 2 units together, there is a lot of bulk in the spot that will become the centre of your block. I found it especially so using the shweshwe fabrics that I am using as they are a bit thicker than regular quilting cotton. In this next picture you will see that the unit on the right has some wonky sewing where I've circled...

The circled area shows where my sewing machine struggled to get over the bulky bit.

I remembered a tip I'd heard for getting over the bulk of seams while hemming jeans. The tip was to get your presser foot propped up to the same level as what the bulk is. You can see in the picture below that I folded a piece of cardstock a couple of times and placed it under the presser foot. It worked like a charm, as you can see by the seam in the picture above that is not circled. I've been told that some machines do have a foot that helps for this sort of thing...for Pfaff it seems it's called a "hump jumper"!

When it came time to sew the final seam I couldn't figure out why I was having trouble getting over that last "hump"...then I figured it out...

....I'll take it as the sewing gods reminding me that it's been a very long time since I changed my needle.

I then proceeded over that final hump very carefully, manually making the stitches one by one, raising the presser foot and moving my block along with each stitch. Hopefully you won't have a probably if you are using regular quilting cotton, but do be careful.

And so I have my block finished. Of course, the white background strips are wider than they are supposed to be....but only you and I will know, right???

One last tip....if your centre doesn't turn out as well as you might hope, do what I would do, applique a circle over it and it will be beautiful. If you do choose to do that, maybe carefully snip away the bulky bit behind the applique. A little strategically placed applique cures all!

You can find the instructions HERE on the Twilight Quilters' Guild site. 

Remember to post your blocks on Instagram using the hashtags #tqgmodernbom, and #twilightquiltersguild. If you don't use Instagram but would like to share you can send a picture of your block to me and I'd be glad to do it. It's also nice once in a while to include a picture of all your blocks that are completed so far.

Have fun!

February Modern BOM - Block 2 - Curves

 The block for this segment of the BOM is called "Curves".

It is a good introduction to sewing curves. If the thought makes you nervous, just push that thought aside and dive in. I promise the block will be nice in the end, even if it turns out a bit different than the one in the instructions....which is what happened to me!

It wasn't the curves that gave me a problem...I really don't know where I went wrong. I thought of re-doing the block, but then realised that this is a good lesson in itself. My block looks fine and no one will ever know that it isn't "as it's supposed to be". This is supposed to be our hobby...and be fun...it's not worth getting our knickers in a twist about it.

On that note, the following is how constructed the block, and how I "fixed" it. By the way, Stephanie Sinden has made this block, and it did turn out...so it can be done!  (I think I may have jinxed myself on the previous block, when I said it was my favourite, and nice and easy to do!)

Here are my fabrics cut out as per instructions. I ended up needing more background fabric to fix my block, so make sure you pick a background fabric that you have extra of, just in case you find yourself in the same boat!

My fabrics all sewn together...

Here is where I've marked my first curve. 

...and then cut that curve...the white bit on the left is discarded, the white fabric on the right of the curve is what we are sewing to the printed fabrics...

We are not going to use pins to attach the two...trust me!...

Slowly sew the two together, bringing the edges together as you sew. I would say if this is your first time trying this just sew an inch at a time, pause, then bring the next inch together. I find that using the "needle down" feature is useful for this if you have the option on your sewing machine.

These next pictures show my progress. Somewhere in here I've gone wrong....and I feel bad that I can't advise you better than I am. All I can say is follow the directions and see how it goes (sorry)...

So....at this point the block should be done!....but mine came out too narrow, not even close to the 12.5" it should be. I think it was more like 10"!

So, to fix mine I flipped the block around 180degrees and repeated the process with another white strip. I think I used a piece 4" wide to make sure that I had a block big enough.

I used my 12.5" ruler to cut the block to size...

...and here is my finished block. It is not like it's supposed to be, but it's a nice block nonetheless...

So this month's lesson is to not be uptight about perfection....I know that in traditional piecing we have to worry more about being precise, but that is not the case in most modern piecing, and especially true for this block!

Please remember to post your finished block on Instagram using the hashtag #tqgmodernbom and #twilightquiltersguild. I can't wait to see your blocks! It's also nice to see pictures of all the blocks you've made so far.

To access the instructions for this block, we are going to try something a bit different. You can find the instructions through the website of the Twilight Quilters' Guild...HERE. Just scroll down that page and you will find a link to the Curves block instructions.

P.S. Please don't let my difficulty with this block scare you off, obviously I'm missing something, just not sure what it is! If it makes you more comfortable, you can always do a test block first. 

February Modern BOM - Block 1 - Raw Edges

 First off, I have to say....this is my favourite block so far!

I hope you like it as much as I do.

At first glance I thought this block was hand-appliqued...and I worried some of you may balk at this. Then I realized it was done by machine, and I balked a bit!! I've not done much applique by machine.

Oh well, all in the name of taking one for the team, right?

So I began.

First thing is to cut 25 assorted squares @ 2" and sew them together to form a checkerboard block...

You will need to make templates for the 2 sizes of circles needed for the block. You can do them in paper and use pins to attach to your fabric ....or do like I did and use freezer paper which you can press to your fabric with a dry iron. This is what I do in all of my hand-applique. 

Another idea....you can search around your kitchen for appropriately sized items to draw your circles....bowls, plates, etc. They don't even have to be exactly the right size...close is good enough!

On my copy of the pattern, the large circle was a bit cut off on the sides. No problem...I traced what I could, then rotated my freezer paper to trace the rest of the circle.

You will use the ring as a template for your 8.5" circle of focal fabric. You can see that I folded my circle of focal fabric into quarters and gave it a LIGHT press, and I also did this with my background fabric. Doing this makes it quite easy to make sure the blue circle is centred just right on the background fabric.

For my blue fabric I actually used the other side of a piece of Shweshwe fabric so that it would be a nice match for my block. Please don't let this confuse you...you will pin the large circle on to your background fabric RIGHT SIDE UP.

Now the fun part...machine stitch your circle on to the background using any stitch you'd like....even a regular straight stitch if you like. I chose to use one of the fancier stitches that I never get to use, just to be adventurous.

A caution here...remember to have the proper presser foot on your machine! You need to use an open foot to accommodate the wider stitches. (Unless you have chosen to do a straight stitch, of course)

If using a decorative stitch make sure your bobbin has lots of thread on it as these stitches use much more thread than your average stitch and it would be a pain to run out of bobbin while stitching the circle.

Now the scary part...flip your block over and cut away the background fabric from the inside of the circle, taking care not to cut through your appliqued circle. If you do, don't worry, you aren't the first!!! (Yes, this has happened to me before!).

Now use your 7" circle template to cut a circle out of your pieced block...

...I used the fold lines on my template to help me centre the template onto the 25-patch.

Place the circle on to the block...

When I first tossed the pieced circle on to the block, it just happened to be positioned en pointe...

.....which I actually liked better. One of those happy accident moments. Play around with yours and see what you like best.

Once you have it placed to your liking, pin it down and applique it in place. You can use the same decorative stitching as before, or a different one...up to you. You can see here that I had my trusty stiletto in use. This helped me to make sure the seams of the pieced circle stayed flat and behaved themselves. I have to say, once you get used to using a stiletto you are never without it. I did not take it with me on a retreat once and I couldn't get over how much I was reaching for it. I wasn't aware of how much I actually use my stiletto without even realizing it. 

Once the stitching is done, flip your block over and remove the excess fabric from behind...which is my blue fabric.

  A side note...you can think ahead to how this will be quilted. If it's to be quilted by hand, then it is preferable to do the cutting of the excess layers. If it will be quilted by a longarm, the added layers won't be a problem if you choose to leave them. I really can't comment on how it would work on a domestic machine.

All that's left to do is take your threads to the back and bury them and your block is complete!

I hope you liked making this block as much as I did. 

So, this quilt pattern has 12 blocks but we are going to be working on them in only 10 months. You will be getting a second block this month...I'd say two weeks from now on February 22nd.  I figured it would be best to squeeze it in now as most of us are currently stuck at home.

You can find the instructions HERE

Remember to post your block on Instagram with the hashtag #tqgmodernbom so we can all see your lovely work. Maybe even include a second picture of all of your blocks together so we can see how it's going?

Have fun....and remember, if you have questions you can always contact me at sandra.croley@gmail.com.

January block.....Pixels!

 So, this month there is good news and bad news.

Good news....This is a pretty cool block!

Bad news....probably the most labour-intensive of the bunch...not difficult at all, just a bit time-consuming. But it's worth it.

The key word this month is "organization"!! ...and I'm here to help you with that. Of course, go about the block however seems easiest to you...I'm just sharing what worked for me.

As I worked on my block, I reminded myself of the old adage...how do you eat an elephant?...one bite at a time! So just settle in, do each step carefully, and before you know it you'll have a beautiful block!

First pick out your fabrics...you will need 6 feature fabrics and one background.

And, yes, I know my directions are printed in black and white...it seems that I need to buy a new colour cartridge for my printer!

You'll see though, to keep my fabrics organized, I marked the colours of the fabrics onto my directions. 

Then do the cutting. You can see in this picture how I kept mine in order so I wouldn't mix things up.

Because of all the pieces involved, and the size of them, it's important to do precision piecing, with a scant 1/4" seam. You know your own expertise...if you have doubts about your precision abilities, please see the following special note.

Special note:

 If you are nervous about the size of the pieces and the amount of seams in this block, here is an idea for you.

For the background pieces for Blocks A & B, cut the pieces a bit wider. 

For instance Block A, the pieces that are cut 1 1/8" x 2.5, cut them maybe 1 1/4" x 2.5" instead. Do the same for the other background pieces for Block A...and for the background pieces for Block B. 

 This will result in a slightly larger Block A (&B), which you can then trim down to a precise 2.5" block.

Gather together all the pieces you'll need for Block A...

Sew them together as per instructions, and repeat for Block B.

I then organized my blocks like this...

Now the fun part! 

Following the diagram at the lower left of your instruction sheet, lay out your blocks. You'll note that the instructions advise you to rotate some of the blocks so that you never have to worry about seams creating bulk. You can see this in the circled bits in the picture...this was before I rotated a few of the blocks to make them play nicely together. 

I sewed the blocks into together and was happy with the result!

I'm not going to lie...this block took more time to construct than the previous ones....but it was not difficult. 

Please remember to share your completed block on Instagram using #tqgmodernBOM so we can all look at your block.

You can find the instructions....HERE

Please note...the link may  not be active until after Monday evening. 

Have fun, everyone...can't wait to see your blocks!