Finished: Nine Patch

Today we are making a Nine Patch. This is usually the first block I teach when I teach beginning quiltmakers in a Sampler Class context. You will need:

Supply list:

• rotary cutter
• rotary cutting ruler large enough to cut 4.5″ squares
• rotary cutting ruler
• fabric (2-3 different)
• Optional: Mary Ellen’s Best Press (or similar)
• Optional: pins
• sharp trimmers or scissors
• thread for piecing
• sewing machine
• Iron
• ironing surface

Key Block

I have marked the rows and patch with letters and numbers so I can more easily refer to them for you.

Nine Patch: Center

Step 1: Cut fabric. You need 9 squares 4.5″x4.5″ each. I like to use a different fabric in the center of the nine patch block. It adds interest, especially to a 12″ finished size.

Adding Reds

Adding Blues

This block is actually the first block I teach in the sampler series. This particular Nine patch will be in the quilt I am making with Frances. You have seen it in different photos on the blog.

Move Fabrics Around

Step 2 (above): After you cut the squares, move them around to make sure you have the placement of the fabrics in the right place.

Start Sewing

Step 3: Prepare to start sewing.

start, usually in the upper left hand corner 9row 1 patch A and row 2 patch D), everything else being equal. In general, if I don’t start in the upper left hand corner for other blocks,  I start by sewing smaller units/patches into larger patches.

Sew patches together in groups of 2

Step 4: Place fabrics right sides together and place into machine. I have my quarter inch foot on my machine and I sew 2 patches together to make a unit that will fit into the upper left hand corner of the block.

Sew patches together in groups of 2 (front view)

The edges of the patches are lines up so that the bottom fabric is not showing when I sew. Fabrics are right sides together.

Patches Sewn

Chain Piecing

You can certainly take the sewn patches out of the machine, but this is a good time to talk about chain piecing. I have other bits and pieces handy so that I can keep sewing, so I will put them through the machine after the patches for the block on which I am working. In the above photo, you can see scrap pieces for a journal cover. I find it is much easier to work on sewing scraps together rather than another block. For my journal covers, I sew pieces together any which way. I don’t have to worry about putting the right patch in the right place or not cutting off triangle corners. This method gives my brain space to concentrate on the block at hand.

Once you have done some blocks and know how you work, you can certainly put the next group of pieces for your current block through the machine after the first set. Also, if you feel confident, then go ahead and put the next set through the machine.

Cut off Chain Piecing

Step 5: After you have put your second group of patches, or your scraps, through the machine, cut off the sewn patches apart from your second group of sewn pieces. I usually just put one set of chain piecing through my machine after my set of patches for my current block, especially if I have a lot of fiddly placement. I would rather unsew one set of patchwork if I make a mistake than many.

Trim threads

Step 6: Trim threads.

I dislike a bunch of long threads hanging off the back of my finished blocks. The best way I have found to deal with that is to trim as I go along. Trimming threads is a personal preference. I find it makes my blocks look a bit better and there is less of a chance of anything getting caught in my machine as I sew further along in the project.

Set Seams

Step 7: Bring your 2 sewn squares over to your ironing board and press the threads on the seam allowance from the back with the patchwork closed. You have not yet opened your piecing to look at it from the front.

I have no idea if this step really sets the seams. Fons & Porter do this and since there doesn’t seem to be any harm in it, I started to do it as well. If you skip this step, your patchwork will not fall apart.

Open Patches

Step 8: Open your patchwork so that the seam allowance is pointing towards the patch that will be in the very upper left hand corner.

Seam Allowance Points Away

Step 9: Point the seam allowance, referenced above, away from you.

You could also point it to the side (either right or left depending on which is comfortable based on the hand with which you press). Above is the way I do it, which probably depends on the size of my ironing board and habit.

Press

Step 10: Swoop your iron carefully from the patch without the seam allowance to the patch which is laying on top of the seam allowance. In my case I am swooping carefully from the red towards the aqua dot.

Place Sewn Patches on Design Wall

Step 11: Place sewn patches on in their spot on the design wall (or design floor or design table).

Place Sewn Patches on Design Wall (detail)

You will notice that they are quite a bit smaller (1/2″ to be exact) than your other cut pieces. No panicking is necessary. The patches are smaller because you have used 1/2″ of fabric for the seam allowance. You are on track, if your block looks like the two pictures above.

Sew Next Patches

Step 12: Take the center patches (from row 1 patch B and row 2 patch E) and sew them together. Again, you will place your right sides together before you sew.

Use Chain Piecing Techniques

Step 13: Follow steps 3-11 for these patches and the right hand patches (row 1 patch C and row 2 patch F).

Press Opposite

Step 14: Above we pressed towards row 1. After sewing row 1&2, patches B&E, you will press the seam allowance towards row 2. Patch E will be on top of your seam allowance.

Used Another 1/2"

Step 15: Place your pressed patch on the Design Wall. You have used up another 1/2″ of fabric.

After you have sewed all the patches for rows 1&2 together, you will need to sew the patches for row 3.

Step 16: Sew row 3 patch G to patch D. Yes, patch D is already sewn to patch A. Don’t press yet.

Step 17: Follow the directions in Step 16 for patch H and patch I. Wait to press.

Step 18: Press patch G towards patch G.

Step 19: Press H towards patch E

Step 20: Press patch I towards patch I

Nesting Rows

Step 21: Lay the column with patches B, E and H on top of the column with A, D, and G. Make sure that your seams look like the photo above – nested into each other, not resting on top of each other.

The reason to pay attention to pressing is that you can ‘nest’ the seams when you go to start sewing the rows. Nesting seams is when the seam allowances are pressed in opposite directions so that they rest against each other.

Sew Left Column to Middle Column

Step 22: With the column with patches B, E and H on the bottom, sew the column with A, D, and G to the column with patches B, E and H on the right side.

I did use some pins at the seam allowances.

Step 23: Set seam between the left and middle columns.

Step 24: Press seam allowance between the left and middle columns in whatever direction suits you.

Lay Left Column on Middle Column

Step 25: Lay left column (with patches C, F and I) on top of the middle column.

It looks like the top row, but really is the right column. I just have it turned so the right column is on top.

Step 26: Pin at seam allowances, if desired.

Step 27: Sew left column (with patches C, F and I) to the middle column.

Step 28: Set seam between right and middle column.

Step 29: Press seam between right and middle column.

Finished: Nine Patch

Step 30: Congratulate yourself! You have successfully completed your Nine Patch!!!

Nota bene: I may update this tutorial or make clarifications, changes as necessary

I found it interesting to break down the process step by step and try to explain it. Here is what I came up with.

Double Pinwheel

This is the block we are making today. You are making 12″ finished block in the Double Pinwheel pattern. The unfinished block will be 12.5″.

Double Pinwheel - Another View

It is ok if your finished products looks like the above photo.

1. Cut 4 squares 4″x4″ for pinwheel part of block (mine are red in the above photos) and 4 squares (also 4″x4″) from the background fabric (my background fabric is aqua in the above photo). This will allow you to have enough extra fabric to trim the half square triangles before you sew them into the pinwheel. I like trimming. Also cut two 6.5″ squares for the large background pieces. Use your background fabric for the 6.5″ squares.

2. Cut all of the squares in half on the diagonal.

Layout your patches

3. Lay out all of your patches to you can see how the block will look. Start thinking about how you will piece it.

• Notice how the patches don’t look like they are the right sizes? That is because of the seam allowances. It will all work out in the end. I promise.

4. Put one background patch and one pinwheel patch right sides together matching the hypotenuse (longest side) of the triangle.

• Handle the triangles carefully by not yanking on them.


Gently put triangles under presser foot

5. Sew one background patch and one pinwheel patch together along the hypotenuse of the triangle. I sew them with the background patch on top.

Use your hands to guide not yank

• Sew all patches with the same color fabric on top. It will help you keep them organized.
• My fingers are just keeping the hypotenuse up against my seam guide.


Chain piecing, baby!

• I use chain piecing to piece all of the triangles. I try and prevent them from falling off the back of my table so the falling triangles don’t yank on the ones still under the presser foot.

6. Sew all triangles needed to make pinwheels.

7. Press towards the pinwheel fabric.

• I set the seam like Fons & Porter suggest and then open the seam and carefully press the seam open towards the pinwheel fabric (red dot in my case).

8. Line up diagonal line on your ruler (hopefully you are using a square ruler with a diagonal line) with the diagonal line you have sewed and trim your new half square triangle (HST) block to 3.5″.

• You will need to make this cut twice for each patch as you cut two sides, turn the block 180 degrees and then trim the other two sides.

9. Arrange your sewn HSTs on your design wall to you can be sure that the HSTs are arranged in a pinwheel block.

10. Make a note to yourself (use a pin, eyeball it, pinch it) which sides you are going to sew together.

Sew 2 HSTs together

11. Take 2 half square triangles and place them right sides together underneath your machine’s presser foot.

Nested HSTs

• The seam allowances on the diagonal should be nested together. This will work if you have pressed all of your HSTs towards the pinwheel fabric. In the above photo you can see how the diagonal seams are lined up when I lift the corner of the fabric to show you. (Professional stunt quiltmaker, please do not try this at home with your machine running!

12. Making sure you are sewing them in the right orientation, sew two half square triangles together.

13. Press these half pinwheels towards the background.

• You should have 2 pieces of 2 half square triangles ready to sew into a pinwheel.

Important Matching Spot

14. Nest the 2 half pieces together and sew along the middle of the pinwheel. In the above photo I have put the pin in just to show you about where you should sew.

• When you sew try not to cut off the point of the pinwheel center. You will see a V made by the seams you have sewn previously. Make sure you err towards the seam allowance (on your right looking at the needle of the sewing machine) and don’t cut off that V. Ideally, you want to sew one thread towards the seam allowance on top of that V.

V

• You can just sew over the middle (.5″ on either side of the middle) to make sure your points match, then you can go over the whole seam once you decide if you like the way the center looks. The ripping out is easier if you only have an inch to do.

Middle Sewn to Check Points

When you open the block (with just the middle sewn) you can tell whether or not the points will match.

A NOTE ABOUT POINT MATCHING: It is really important that you know your tolerance level for points not matching. My points don’t always match and either I leave them or rip them out. If my points are 1/4″ apart, I usually rip them out. If they are 1/16th of inch from one another, I will probably leave them. It is important to know:

• what you are trying to achieve (practice block or show quilt)
• if you are going to think about that seam not matching late into the night and it is going to prevent you from sleeping.
• deadlines
• whether the quilt is a gift to a prize winning quiltmaker or a baby who will drool all over it.
• How busy the fabrics are (can you actually see the seams matching?)

Be kind to yourself when you think about whether to agonize over a seam not matching. Have fun, there is always more fabric and don’t make yourself crazy.

15. Sew the halves together, along the whole side, for both pinwheels. If you have sewn along the middle for an inch, make sure you stay on that line when you sew the whole side together.

Pressing Perfection

• See that nice little square that the pinwheel makes in the center?

16. Press the pinwheels patches in the same direction as the other triangles. It will look like the seam allowances are spinning.

17. Sew the large 6.5″ background square to each of your pinwheels.

18. Press towards the 6.5″ square/background.

19. Nest the two pieces (which are made up of a pinwheel and a background patch).

20. Sew over the middle  starting from about .5″ on either side of the middle to make sure you have not cut off points.

21. Sew the 2 pieces together starting on one side, sewing over the middle where you have already sewn and continuing to the end of the block.

View of Pressing

22. Press whichever way the seam seems to want to go. I like to press each half of the seam towards the background. It makes for kind of an ugly pressing job, but I am not going to quilt over that center anyway, so, for me, it doesn’t matter.

• You could trim the seam in the middle, but I don’t do that. Jo Morton talks about doing that and you might want to check out her website and YouTube videos.

3 Sampler Blocks

Look how nice the 3 blocks look together!

George X's Monkey

Sadly, no child close to me is really very interested in learning to make quilts or about any fabric related opportunities at all. I am hopeful that Kathy‘s Jessie may take an interest, or one of the nieces will come around eventually.

You can imagine how thrilled I was when George X (11YO) came over and was interested in making a small stuffed animal. One reason he was interested was that The Child was not home and George X had nothing really to do. I explained the basic process to him and we got started.

I gave him a large sheet of paper folded in half. On one half, he drew the detailed version – his ideal. On the other side, we drew the pattern together. He drew and I told him how to do it.

Detailed picture

I knew I needed to get him to stitching pretty quickly, so I tried to keep the process simple. After he cut out the pattern, we picked fabric, pressed fabric, cut out the fabric and he began stitching. I tried to show him what to do, inspire confidence and supervise. I tried really hard not to hover. It was easier since I had a project I was working on as well.

Monkey Project

I wanted him to do as much handwork as possible for two reasons. First, I wanted him to get the feel of the piece. Second, I was using the machine.

Learning to Stitch

I had him sew the tummy on with a running stitch. Yes, it is raw edge applique’. I know that the tummy will ravel, but I will help him fix any problems.

George IX came home and George X lost interest in fabric. Video games were just too tempting. I put the piece away – with all the parts – for the next time.

I was pleased when George X excitedly wanted to show his parents what he had done. I look forward to working on the monkey with him again.

The Girl with the Green Lips

Last weekend I posted the latest iteration of the Tarts. Mostly, I get really nice, short comments on my posts. I was surprised and delighted to find a long and thought provoking comment from SherriD.  She wrote:

“You are more of a trained artist than I am, I think. You’ve taken classes or studied art perhaps? So I am only asking these questions in order to understand as I have not taken any art classes or quilting classes for that matter.

1. Why did you choose to have the purple background and the pie’s innerds almost the same shade? (btw, I like the orange crust very much!)

2. On three of big corner pots, are you going to embellish them with perhaps something like thread painting?

3. Have you considered adding cookies or scones? I noticed that you have in a row, cream and sugar, then two cups, then a cupcake with another cup.

I hate to say things about someone else’s work but I really am curious as to the “why” in your projects. This is such a happy quilt in process. I love the colors and have really enjoyed watching the progress.”

Thanks to SherriD for taking the time to post a comment – a long and thoughtful comment. I thought responding through a post would be a great way to spark conversation about SherriD’s thoughts among all of my readers.

I was not an art major in college, though my major did allow me a lot of opportunities to take classes outside of the required courses. I took art history classes, studio art classes, Swedish, German, political science (blech!) and many others. I have also taken a lot of continuing ed and adult ed classes in art practice. I am not so much trained in art as informed by the classes I have taken.

In a roundabout way, I have tried to answer SherriD’s questions below.

I have taken a number of art classes and lots of quiltmaking classes. Many people think it is a badge of honor or courage not to have taken any classes and to have taught themselves. I applaud you for your fortitude. I just don’t have it in me to learn by myself. I learn by someone showing me and by doing, so I take classes regularly. While I am not interested in taking art practice classes right now and I am interested in taking more quiltmaking classes, I enjoy taking classes, in general, for a number of reasons:

1. I don’t learn well by myself with books, especially something completely new.
2. Even if I never finish a class project I always take something away from the class or the teacher.
3. I like being a  room with other people. I enjoy seeing what they are doing and how they are reacting to the teacher.
4. I work mostly alone, so classes get me out of the workroom.
5. Classes re-energize me when I get back into my workroom.
6. I get turned on to new sources of inspiration, such as books, blogs and websites by the teacher and students in a class.
7. Classes clarify things that I don’t understand.
8. I am a visual learner so I learn best when someone shows me how to do something.
9. Classes make me think about things in different ways.

The Girl with the Green Lips, detail

This is one of my favorite pieces from a studio art class. It is colored pencil on Bristol Board and I took the class from Wayne Thiebaud’s assistant at the time. I wish I remembered his name, because I would LOVE to thank him. You might recognize the image from an old Lancome ad featuring Isabella Rossellini. I also took a framing class after college and framed this piece myself.

The other thing I do is practice. When you see a piece of pie appliqued down as part of the Tarts, what you see is the final piece. Sometimes I sketch many, many drawings before I make a pattern and cut fabric. I don’t consider myself to be an accomplished drawer (if that is a word). I do feel like I am getting better and I feel like I am getting better because I practice. Drawing skill is not something with which I was born. I feel that most people don’t have it when they are born. Drawing is a skill a person needs to practice. If you want to draw well, practice. You will draw a lot of crap before you draw something great. The thing to remember is that if you practice you will draw something great.

Tarts, June 14, 2009, with Pie

SD: “1. Why did you choose to have the purple background and the pie’s innerds almost the same shade? (btw, I like the orange crust very much!)”

Facing on Side A & B

One of the things I really had a hard time understanding was the difference between what I needed do on the top/bottom (designated as A and B) versus the left/right sides (designated as C & D).

On the top/bottom you need to cut a facing rectangle that covers the entire top or entire bottom from side to side. I cut the piece a little longer (mostly because I am too lazy to measure more than approximately unless I MUST) and trimmed off the excess after I pinned the pieces to the top and bottom. You can see in the photo that I followed Jeri Riggs directions by pressing a 1/4″ on the long side of the facing that would NOT be machine sewed to the quilt. Once the facing pieces are laid out, trimmed and pinned, I machine sewed one facing to the top (A) and the bottom (B). Note on the sewing: The key is to sew starting on the short side (Side C) of the facing starting at the edge of the pressed over 1/4″ seam, go around the corner, continue on the long side (very top of the quilt t0 Side A), go around the corner and continue along Side D to the edge of of the facing where you have pressed over the 1/4″ seam. You are sewing a seam that is like a big U. You will have no part of the A & B facings flooping around.

Sewing Facing for A & B

The only reason I flipped the bottom of the quilt over (photo right) is because I have a small sewing table. If you have a large sewing table, you only need to flip it if it is creating drag on the quilt as you sew it. I found that I needed to have a bit of my mind in machine quilting mode because I was dealing with the whole quilt. This is a small piece and I would recommend trying the process out on a small piece so you get the feel of the process. If you have an old machine quilting test, it might be a good piece to use to try this technique out. Of course, you can always make a little quilt-let.

Aligning C & D

This is a little bit blurry and I apologize for that. In the photo (left) you can see Side D laid over Side B (bottom). Note how it does not extend to the bottom of the quilt. You need to cut the facing pieces  for Sides C & D shorter than the facing pieces for Sides A & B. By cutting the facing pieces only 1/4″ – 3/4s” over the A & B facings, you reduce the bulk in the corners.

On Sides C & D, only sew along the long side of the facing. The raw edge of the short side of the facing will be covered by facings on Sides A & B once you flip the facings to the back.

Now the machine sewing is complete and you are ready to flip the facings to the back of the quilt.

Flip over Side C & D

The picture to the right shows the quilt after I flipped Sides C & D. Look at the bottom right hand corner (by the green olive) and you can see the seam with the batting. This means that after you complete the machine sewing you flip sides C & D to the back. I pressed the folded edge (edge of the quilt where you machine sewed) so that the facing would stay to the back. After pressing, I pinned the Sides C & D facings to the back of the quilt to keep it in place until I could hand sew it down.

Finished and Flipped Piece

This picture is serving two purposes. First, it shows how the piece looks after you flip all the sides. Flip Sides A & B after you have successfully flipped, pressed and pinned Sides C & D. After flipping Sides A & B, press and pin those facings as well. Because Sides A & B have been machine sewed in a U shape, pinning is optional.

After you flip all the sides, I finished the piece using hand sewing. I think this technique requires hand sewing as I can’t think of another way to finish it. You machine only people may be able to think of another way to finish the piece. If you do I would like to know. I don’t mind handwork, as you have probably noticed. I just sat down and did it with some matching thread and a Harry Potter movie. Only got through a small amount of the HP movie as the handsewing went really quickly.

After pressing and pinning, the only problem I had was not poking myself with the pins as I hand sewed. Normally, I use metal hairclips on a regular binding, however they won’t work on this facing technique, because it is too wide.

The picture above also shows how the quilt looks when the facing has been completed.

One thought about this process, which Maureen pointed out to me, but I didn’t understand until I did the process, is that the facing becomes a design element on the back depending on what fabric you use. In House & Garden, above, I used the same fabric I had used for the back, because I don’t really care about this back (may frame this piece; we’ll see ). One thing about testing this process is that you can see what you are facing on the back.

Remember I couldn’t have done this without Jeri Riggs laying the groundwork and Maureen helping me figure out the practical details.

Let me know if you have any questions or need further clarification. I also want to hear your stories of making facings. I may update this page based on new information and things that you tell me.

Sarah started the blog on May 5, so you are not too far behind. She mentions The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain book as one of the resources. You can add this to your list of drawing sites to review, in addition to Gabi Campanario (who now posts at the Seattle Times site) and Urban Sketchers.

Being a good librarian I looked at some books, but could only find references to needle-turn and raw-edged applique’. I fumbled around for awhile and came up with the following process.

Cake block pattern

First, I draw the pattern out life size on a white sheet of sketch paper. (I know this doesn’t look like white paper, but see the Weekend Work post for an explanation). I usually draw in pencil to start.

Machine Applique' Pattern

Next I draw out the patterns on individual smaller sheets of paper. If there are parts that need to be in different colors or need to be separated for some reason, then I make separate patterns for them. For example, I made a separate pattern each for the cake, plate and whipped cream, above.

Tracing Machine Applique' Pattern

I put the  Steam-a-Seam 2, or other fusible of your choice, over the pattern and trace the pattern onto Steam-a-Seam 2.

Traced Pattern on Fabric

After that is done, I trim the fabric to the approximate size, then press the SAS2 on to the wrong side of that piece of fabric.

Finally, I put all the pieces together, press the fusible on to the background and satin stitch around he edges.

The paisleys and little 3-petal flowers would be too difficult for me at this stage, but perhaps later. Still, the whole idea is to get your muscle memory into shape. That flowing doodling kind of motion is what you want to achieve when longarming.

You can see how into those sashing curved designs I was. I really wanted them to work. I may still use them in another quilt even if they aren’t perfect.

One of the things I did when I was in the machine quilting groove was make a worksheet of designs for my quilt class. It has some basic designs and ideas on it. I still need to make the other class information, but at least this part is done.

I know I haven’t mentioned it in a while. Frankly, they all kind of bailed on the basting part and I don’t know if they will continue. It is a little disheartening, but I have an idea in my mind to teach a class like this elsewhere at some point (no plans at this time), so perhaps the work won’t all be wasted.

I tried out the machine as well and found it very easy to drive. Kit, one of the shop owners, had already loaded the machine with fabric for us to work on. She gave us a lecture on preparing the quilt for the machine and how their program of learning to load and use the machine worked. I thought she was a good lecturer and gave many good hints for preparing a quilt to be longarm quilted.

I have worked with a longarm quilter for awhile and know how she wants things prepared. I was surprised to hear that Always Quilting likes things a little differently done.

After the demo, we went to the back room, had lunch, worked on projects (see later post for pics of my work) and had our regular meeting.

I ended up signing up to take their their longarm quilting training in January. Their policy is to take the training and then you are allowed to rent the machine. I don’t expect that I will quilt all of my quilts myself, but I think it will be good to quilt some of them myself, and perhaps, less expensive. In any case, education is always a good thing.

All in all it was a fun day.

I would suggest that you read the book by Jinny Beyer on handpiecing, as she has a lot of good tips, though she doesn’t recommend using a felt tip. You can use a mechanical pencil to mark, if you want.

I am using templates and handpiecing them. I use a black or red Pilot (formerly SCUF) ultrafine point felt tip pen to mark around the templates. I use grey Aurifil thread and a thimble. Sometimes I put wax on the thread to keep it from tangling. Use whatever needles you like. I use betweens for piecing.

Practice with the felt tip on fabric. You want a thin line with no blobs at the end. I usually run over the end of the template a little and start lessening pressure on the tip right at the end of the template. If you leave it in one place too long, you get a blob. Blobs are bad for precise handpiecing and they look ugly, too.

Trace around the templates on a hard surface. In this case, I am using the book as hard surface. Trace on the back/wrong side of the fabric.

That tiny print says to flip the template 180 in order to get the most pieces out of your fabric. I was cutting 4 pieces from each fabric, but found that to be too many. I will use the ones I have, but am now only cutting one or two. I am trying to keep this quilt to a reasonable size (HA!) and to have as much variety in the fabrics as possible. If I like the fabric, I can always go back and cut more of it, right?

I trim around the templates by eye. I don’t measure the seam allowance. I try to keep it to arounda quarter of an inch and not to get too close.

Detail of trimming.

Here are the pieces cut out.

Here is the pinning. First, I pin right in the corner just inside the drawn line. I poke it through the foreground (colored) fabric first.
This is the back of the pinning. Same deal goes here. I come up through the back. Get the pin right in the corner where the drawn lines intersect and just inside. Remember you have drawn around the template, so the drawn line is a little larger than the template. This is why I try to pin AND sew just inside the drawn line.

Here (above), the pinning is done. Note that I put two pins close together at the beginning, but I take the first one out right when I am ready to sew, so I can start. The second one holds the pieces together while I get started. I try to make small, even stitches that are evenly spaced. Remember to look at the back as you sew so that you are poking through the back right inside the drawn line.

It is ok that the piece is wrinkly, because you want to match up two curves that are going in opposite directions. Use the bias to make them match.

How the Pieces Go Together

My whole philosophy, which I am pretty sure is a general quiltmaking philosophy, is to go from smaller to larger. This means to build the blocks by making the smallest patches into larger units and then putting the larger units together to make a whole block.

First, take one corner piece and one background piece and sew them together. Sew/pin with right sides together. Curves require, at least for me, a lot of pinning. For pinning, start at each corner and put pins in by lining up the corners of each piece with each other.

When you sew the corner and background together you will have a unit that looks like the above unit. You can see how the felt tip lines show through, which is another reason to sew just inside the drawn lines. They won’t show on the front of the quilt if you keep them in the seam allowance.

Seeing the felt tips lines here also allows you to see how they line up, if you do the piecing correctly.

Add another background unit. Note: I am trying to use all different fabrics in each position in the block, but you don’t have to do that.

Now you have quite a large unit. You will need two of these units per block.

Sew the center patch to one of the corner (foreground) units.

Here is how he unit looks once the middle patch is attached to a corner.

Sew a second corner to the center patch.

With this unit complete, you are ready to attach the side unit to the center.

So, just do it. Attach a side unit to the center.

Once you add that unit to the middle piece you are nearly there. The above piecing is the hardest part (but not like you are taking the SATs without a prep course), because the seam is long and the middle section is quite floopy. It also takes a LOT of pins. Make sure you sew through where the seams match several times to keep it strong and make sure the seams line up. I care about that stuff, but you don’t have to match your seams.

I don’t always press the patches after I sew them, because I am sitting on the couch watching TV while I sew (why do you think I have a hand project?) and am too lazy to trudge upstairs to press. It makes the piecing a lot nicer if you press as you go.

Add the last unit and you are done!

Completed square. I usually trim the block after I am done with the hand piecing. Make sure you don’t cut over any of your seam lines, because your piecing will unravel if you do. This is not machine piecing.

First the inspiration:

This sun can be found in the sidewalk on 30th near Church and I have been admiring it for years. I was finally carrying my camera around this week trying to get a photo of a really stupid bus ad (not successful), so I took the opportunity to snap a pic of this sun. One thing I like about it is the detail in the rays.

I saw this flower on 2nd Ave near Cabrillo, which looks much better in the photo than in person. I like the way the composition came out. I also thing those little lines (stamen???) are cool. This flower looked flat, but was very 3D when I looked at it.

Now on to the work. Just to warn you the following work is only indirectly mine.

As some of you may remember, I have been teaching a beginning quilt class for the past ~2+ years. We had been on extended hiatus and I finally forced the class to meet in order to see where they were in the process so we could either move forward or agree to give up on the class. Fortunately, they agreed to go on, because I would have been a bit depressed if they just wanted to bag it.

We looked at each of the sets of blocks and agreed to work on machine quilting next. I had another type of machine applique’ on the agenda, but I think the students are done with making blocks.
Above are the blocks that Beth has done. She started out making two color blocks, which posed different issues during class. It was good, because we had to discuss issues of contrast and placement of color in the blocks. That is the kind of look that she wanted and her blocks turned out very well. She needs to make one more block and we had a long discussion about the color of sashing. The problem is that a number of the patches in each block will drop out if she uses the fabric she has used. We discussed muslin, navy and black. My advice was to go to the quilt store and lay the blocks on top of a lot of different colors to see what look was best for her.

All of the blocks are supposed to be 12″ finished. One problem both students reported is that their blocks are wildly different sizes, ranging from 10 1/2″ – 13″. I gave them all of the templates, so something happened between then and the sewing. There is a lot of margin for error, but I didn’t have a pat answer for them. I’ll need to refer them to Sally Collins’ book. I’ll have to think about that problem, though, so I can address it in my next class, if I ever teach again. The solution for this class is that they will have to add frames to their blocks to make them a uniform size.

These are Alice’s blocks. Alice is Indonesian and does beading and Indonesian dancing. These blocks really reflect her personality: friendly, bubbly and very creative.

The two photos above are details.

Alice had a lot of fabric with her so we were able to discuss how to pick out the fabric for the sashing.

For various reasons, only some of which are related to quiltmaking, I have been thinking about commitment lately. I know that people are busy, but it seems odd to me that people give up on activities they enjoy so easily. I have not been able to sew a lot lately, but I have been reading magazines and working a little bit on my hand piecing (photos to follow). I understand that people are busy; I am the queen of juggling. I understand that people have to prioritize and that life intervenes. Still, it is annoying that people will just give up on something and not care if another has spent a lot of time organizing. I wonder if people really value time.