Wednesday, May 17, 2006

9-patch block

Woohoo. Machine piecing. Chain piecing. Woohoo.

Okay, so it's a lot faster!! And not a little scary. I am not very good at sewing slowly on my machine. Maybe it's not me - maybe my machine just likes going fast :)

As you can see from the photo - not too bad. One point is a little wonky, but our instructor said we can blame that on the cutter (her), as she couldn't guarantee our squares were perfectly square! I thought that was very generous of her. But seriously, it was a good lesson in how important it is to make sure your seams are lined up exactly when you're piecing and to ensure you stick to your 1/4" seam. Especially when you're planning to join your 9-patch block to another one! I don't think I'll go for a geometric quilt just yet!

Also last night we starting collecting fabrics for our quilts. I'm going for an oriental theme and picked some luscious fabrics. I got home last night and looked at them and realised I had too many patterns and not enough 'plains' for the contrast needed to make this quilt look good. So I headed back to the shop today and bought some more! The fabrics I picked last night are in the photo - the cream fabric is backing for some of the blocks, including the applique blocks. I like them, but it's going to be interesting to see how it turns out!! I'll post regular updates on how it's coming along. I hope that the top will be finished by the end of the course. I don't know how much time I'll have once I go back to work (oh my god that's coming up too quickly). Hopefully I'll be able to find a little bit of time for all the projects I have in mind...

In fact, my next project after I finish the sampler quilt for our couse is going to be Tonya's lettered quilt. I'm thinking of doing a quilt big enough to fit a single bed, for when Romily graduates to a 'big girl's bed' some time in the future (no doubt sooner than we think!).

2 comments:

Judy said...

Great Job Lily! It looks just right. Believe me it is important to learn all the bacis in the bginning just so you can know how things are supposed to go. I think it makes it easier to then throw out the rules and do your own thing!

The 1/4 inch is hard to maintain without a little help. I have tape on my machine...several layers actually so I have a ridge there. It makes it a breeze the keep the seam perfect. I cut a length of masking tape on the roll and peeled back this chunk and it's placed right at the 1/4 mark and runs down from right before the needle to the edge of my machine's table thingy. I can take a pic if you want. Then I put the fabrics together and slide it against this edge and I am off and sewing. No worries!

Love the fabric..it should be very exotic and pretty. Can't wait to see the coming along. Good job!

Tonya Ricucci said...

Oooh pretty and luscious. So sorry you had to go buy more fabric ;)