teaching sewing confidence, tip by tip

Monday 4 March 2013

Strip Sashing My QAYG: The Something NEW Sampler: Completed

and here it is
 
my finished Something NEW Sampler Quilt



The first thing I did was try a few colours for the sashing deciding on Kona Robin Egg; here are my ideas and thoughts:

 I haven't done QAYG before, so I read some posts and watched some videos online and then I thought about it all for a day or so. I couldn't get to grips with how the blocks would actually be joined. It seemed that the batting would remain in separate pieces - it would be butted up to itself, but it wouldn't be physically joined. This worried me; in fact, it bothered me a lot, so I decided to ignore everything I'd read and seen and join the blocks together in my own way.

And here's how I did it:

I cut the 10 blocks to size and then zigzagged each row of blocks together - so 5 sets of 2. I didn't worry whether or not the zigzag caught the top and backing fabric. I knew this would all be enclosed in the sashing strips anyway - the objective here was purely to join all the batting and create a solid quilt from the 10 blocks.

a zigzagged top join
Two zigzagged rows - you can see on the top left that the quilt top hasn't been caught into the zigzag stitch.
Now I need to cover each of these short joining seams. I decided that there was so much stitching already visible on these blocks that an additional row of straight stitching wasn't going to 'spoil' the look of the finished quilt - also, I really wasn't up for hand stitching all these joining strips into place.

For the quilt back, I cut each strip 1.5" wide, folded it in half, pressed it, then opened it out and folded each outside edge in to touch the central pressed line and pressed again. The photo below shows a folded and pressed finished strip, and a narrow strip is sewn into place. The width of this strip, when pressed and finished, is 3/4". I then straight line machine-sewed both edges of this strip onto the back of the quilt using a 1/8" border along the joined zigzag seam to cover the join. The two stitching lines showed through on the quilt top, but these would be covered on the top side by the broader strip that I added next.


For the quilt top, I cut 2" wide strips, which I again folded in half, pressed, opened, folded the edges into the central line and repressed. This gave me a finished 1" strip which I sewed along the zigzag seam on the top of the quilt to cover the join. As this strip was 1/4" wider than the backing strip, it covered the stitch lines easily. Again, I stitched 1/8" from both edges.
And that's how the finished top strip looks.
 Here's a look at the quilt back so you can see how the stitch lines show through from the front joining strip (one of the stitch lines is the straight line on the circle fabric just below the blue strip, and the other is totally lost in the stitching on the duck fabric):
 
I don't know about you, but I can live with those extra lines of straight stitching rather than doing lots of hand stitching on this quilt, and after all, this quilt is all about machine stitching.

Next, I zigzagged each row of 2 blocks to the next row.

Here are all the blocks zigzagged together - Quilt Top

and Quilt Back
At this stage, I realised that I hadn't needed to add the joining strips a row at a time using my method. I could much more easily have added one long joining strip to the back and then the top, and this would have ensured that the stripline ran much straighter down the length of the top and the back.

Since joining the blocks, I've been told by my friend Annette, who does a lot of QAYG quilting, that there is a QAYG method where you can add the joining strips from the back of each strip using a zigzag stitch that joins the blocks together securely and the machine stitching isn't visible from the front. This method sounds great, but I didn't come across it on the internet (if anyone knows where I can find a tutorial, please let me know) - all the methods I saw used straight stitch only.

By now, I'd also had enough of pressing the strips and remembered a tool that my quilt tutor, Christine Janove, had shown me a year or so ago, Clover Bias Tape Makers. These great little tools make bias strips, which basically is what we are making to cover the joins on a QAYG quilt, and they are so straightforward and quick. I was straight down to my LQS and purchased a red 3/4" and yellow 1" (NB: the measurement for each tool is the width of the finished bias tape it makes, not the original fabric strip width).

Here's how they work for anyone who hasn't seen these before. The remainder of the job was done in a couple of minutes.
Feed-in the fabric strip
The fabric comes out at the other end perfectly folded in half with a central seam.
Pull the handle on the tape maker to move it along the fabric and follow with a hot iron over the folded fabric pressing the folds into place.
It takes seconds!!!




So all that was left to do was add the horizontal seams, square up the quilt, and machine bind it, and here it is:

and here's some behind the scenes shots of my faithful quilting assistant
Tatty straightening the quilt ready for the photoshoot
Tatty says, "That's A Wrap."



Not sure what I'm going to do with the quilt now - it's not a snuggly, cuddly quilt; two of the blocks are pretty thick, making them less flexible - Cathedral Window and the Folded blocks. It lends itself more to being a play mat or wall hanging; Flicky says it looked like a bath mat, and today when I had it rolled up to take out for the shoot, it looked rather like a beach mat. Maybe I should give it to Tatty; she seems pretty happy lying on it; what do you think?

I've had a complete blast taking part in The Something NEW Sampler blog hop, I've learnt loads, made new friends, and it's been lots of fun. I'd like to say a huge thank you to Amy, Heidi, Chelsea, Jess, Lindsay, M-R, Heidi, Alyssa and Becky for their excellent tutorials and an extra-special thank you to Amy @the cute life for organising the Hop and Flickr group.

Thanks, everyone :)
You can follow The Something NEW Sampler on Flickr.

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88 comments:

  1. I really like how it turned out, it is beautiful! And Tatty looks very cute laying on it. I think this quilt has her name written all over it.

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    1. Doesn't it just Martha? - Tatty's a true quilt dog through and through! :)

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  2. Looks great you were right about the Robin's Egg for the sashing!

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    1. Thanks - the photo doesn't show the colour differences enough but the Dusty Blue - which is in the quilt itself just deadened everything. I had some Robin Egg in and tried it and everything just popped - particularly the orange and yellow :)

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  3. Wow, this looks really, really good!!!

    Nana

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  4. Your quilt looks absolutely awesome Chrissie! I really like how your documented the way you put your QAYG blocks together - I have never understood how that works before!

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    1. It was all new to me too Adrianne, so it's not a tutorial as such but just wanted to share what I learnt/discovered - when I actually started sewing I realised the sashing is just a cover up for the seams and if you don't mind your sewn lines showing then just sew bias tape over them - nothing fancy to it at all!

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  5. Hello! You can try looking at this tutorial: http://eltallerdegeorgina.blogspot.com.ar/search/label/Tutoriales. She is amazing!
    Good quilting!

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    1. Wow Silvana, thanks so much, she is brilliant at explaining how to do this and better still is her quick way to do Drunkard's Path curves. Thank you so much for sharing, it all makes perfect sense now :D

      For any other visitors reading this reply - this QAYG zigzag strip sashing tutorial is absolutely incredible. You can go directly to her youtube video here. Although it's in Spanish, it really is irrelevant, you can understand everything she does visually - take a look! :)

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  6. Oh how I LOVE this little quilt - much more "do-able" for my aging hands with arthritis. I'll be getting one of those bias makers - I just did mine the old fashioned way. This is an lovely and awesome quilt!
    JoAnn

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    1. Thanks JoAnn and for the follow too. My neck didn't appreciate me doing all the fmq, even on the small blocks, but if I'd just done straight quilting it would have been incredibly easy and no strain on my body. Thanks for dropping by :)

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  7. What a lovely combination of methods! The cathedral windows section is probably my favourite but the others are a wonderful complement to each other. Thanks for showing the process of choosing the sashing too. I always think it's very helpful to see the thought process behind certain steps, like choosing the Robin Egg blue. Good on you for jumping in and trying out your own method of putting the blocks together with a sashing too! Well done all around!

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comment, it's been fun to trial the different techniques. I'd by no means profess to be an expert now in any of them, but something like this does give you a taste of what you might like to go back and experience some more of! Thanks for dropping by :)

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  8. It looks wonderful! I always wondered how the QAYG blocks were assembled in the end without a seam!. I've read many people's comments that QAYG is the ONLY to quilt. I guess if you don't mind sashings in every quilt. I love your color combo! if yours had been an example, I probably would have joined this group. :)

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    1. Oh Ann that's such a great point about the sashings and I forgot to write in the post how I felt about them. For me they totally take over the quilt and become the focus of it, detracting from the blocks - as you say, okay sometimes but surely you wouldn't want that in every quilt you make. I'm not sure if this was even more the case with this quilt because these blocks were only 7.5" x 14.5" finished - maybe a bigger block could stand up for itself against the sashing more.

      You also have to put so much thought at the start into the direction of each block and the order of each block within the quilt so you can put the appropriate backing on each piece and in the right direction (of course if you use the same non-directional fabric on the back of each block this is irrelevant). I think I prefer to be a bit more spontaneous with my backing and even with my quilt top.

      It was a great technique to try and I'll have to do it again at the end of the year at least because that's the technique being used for the Skill Builder BOM that I'm taking part in too but I don't think I'll be giving up my normal quilting methods for QAYG just yet! :)

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  9. What a great modern looking quilt. Love the colors.

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    1. Thanks Bonnie - it's got a bit of everything in it I think! :)

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  10. It turned out great. Thanks for the detailed method. I have never don QAYG before either.

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    1. Thanks Chris - not so much a tutorial but hopefully my experience covers some of the things we all 'wonder about' before we actually give QAYG a go! :)

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  11. Wow, that's amazing! Your colors are lovely and I think it finished just right!

    I've seen those bias tape makers and never thought of owning one. I like what you did with yours. Thanks for sharing.

    Visiting from Anything Goes Monday.

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    1. Thanks so much. When I was shown the tape makers last year I didn't think I'd have a use for them so I didn't bother buying any and then I had one of those light bulb moments last week when I realised just how I could put them to good use! They aren't that expensive compared to a lot of the quilting tools out there either. :)

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  12. Just joining in the chorus of what a lovely modern quit you have made. The colours look great and you have reminded me that QAYG is something I meant to add to my To-Do list!

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    1. Thanks a lot Frances and how funny that you meant to add QAYG to you To-Do list because visiting your blog and seeing your Nearly Insane Quilt reminded me that I bought the Dear Jane book two months ago and haven't done a single block yet. A friend suggested I make 2 blocks a month so it'll only take me 10 years to complete but it'll take me a bit longer than that if I don't even start it!

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    2. HA i've been meaning to do the dear jane blocks as well!

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    3. Oh Amy - Dear Jane, I must have been a little bit crazy the day I agreed to that one!!!

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  13. It looks fabulous, Chrissie! Way to go!

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    1. Thanks M-R, how's your blocks coming on? I can't believe what you're still managing to do with your broken wrist! :)

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  14. Superb!!! It looks great, and I loved hearing your thoughts/comments on the QAYG method. I've never done it before because I was wary of the joining methods (so I'm glad you addressed that), but I'm very intrigued to try it because of the mobility it allows for FMQing the blocks. Such an excellent finish and all your blocks work really well together! Great choice on the sashing color, too. All around amazing :) Thank YOU so much for sewing along!!

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    1. It was my pleasure Amy, thanks for organising everything and it gave me the push to start using my Flickr account properly - well better than I did, there's still so much more I could do on there. It's been a great experience trialling each technique and it'll be interesting to see which I end up going back to over time. Thank you for your wonderful comments, encouragement and support :)

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  15. A lovely project Chrissie and I like your joining method. Well done.

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    1. Thanks Lin - it was incredibly easy joining it all this way :)

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  16. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again!


    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino

    The Chicken Chick

    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  17. Judy Doenias over at TCQ gives great classes in QAG.

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    1. Thanks Ruth, I know Judy and ventured into the wonderful world of Hexies (or in my case Coffins) with her just a month or so ago. I've wanted to do one of her QAYG classes for over a year but the timings just haven't worked for me. Have you done classes with her too?

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    2. I've done 2 QAYG classes with her, and an attempt at Dear Jane. Forget DJ: I just don't have the patience for it, although I learned a lot.

      Just finished 2 classes with Charles John on paper piecing (not EPP; that I can actually do on my own). He's a great teacher, too.

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    3. Charles is great isn't he - I did a Double Irish Chain class with him last year. I do a lot of foundation paper piecing, trialling patterns for a Scottish girl based in New Zealand, Juliet of Tartankiwi, I have another to test today. I've just been talked into buying the Dear Jane book (I have no idea why I gave in and agreed!), I've calculated at 2 blocks a month it'll take me 10 years to finish it, so no hurry there then!!!

      I'm surprised I haven't bumped into you yet at CQ, I practically live there and sometimes my husband thinks he should just have his salary paid directly to them :)

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    4. We probably passed each other in the midst of fabric drooling.

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  18. the QAYG method is secure, I assure you. But if there is one thing I have learned in quilting, there is always another way! Your way is great too. The other way, there is a lot of pulling and tugging to get those binding pieces where they are supposed to be. Your way may be easier;) Beautiful quilt.

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    1. That's good to hear Danielle and finding out more ways to do the method does interest me but I don't know that I want to keep producing quilts with such a strong and obvious grid structure. I've got a feeling this won't be the last QAYG I ever do!

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  19. Thanks for sharing your process. Great finish! Visiting from Anything Goes.

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    1. Pleasure Karen - maybe something in there will help someone else trying to get their head around QAYG! :)

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  20. Wow that is just so amazing!!

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    1. Thanks for that Sue, I wasn't sure about it at all as I was going along but it all just suddenly came together - probably once I fmq'd the blocks :)

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  21. I'm stunned---in a good way. That is amazingly beautiful. It's no wonder you have a zillion comments on this awesome quilt.

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    1. Thanks so much, that means a lot. It really seems to have sparked some interest doesn't it?! I feel a bit bad now that I haven't got a clue what to do with it. At lunchtime today I decided it deserved to be moved from it's rolled up position at the bottom of a pile on a chair so I pressed it and hung it on a door in our entrance hall. It can't stay there - it's hanging from a clothes hanger on a door frame and I can't get the hoover out without it falling off - and there in lies my dilemma - aesthetic beauty or housework ... mmmm, that's a tough one! ;)

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  22. It's stunningly beautiful! The Robins egg was a good choice.

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    1. Hi Carin and thanks, I'm pleased with how the colour choice worked out - those colours are 'singing'! :)

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  23. It turned out pretty. You have some nice spots for taking pictures and thanks for sharing your method. The color you picked for sashing is great.

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    1. Thanks - I waited 3 days for the grey skies to turn blue before I took the photos a bit of sunshine makes everything look better and I always feel so lucky to have one of the most famous backdrops in the world to work with (I still can't believe that's my view everyday when I look out of my window) :)

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  24. I'm glad you talked about the joining method. I've been worried about how that will feel on the Skill Builder BOM to have the "gaps" between each block. It's a long way away from having to worry about that yet, but I think I'll keep this in mind!

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    1. It worried me so much too, though Danielle, in an earlier comment on this post, assures me that it is secure. Maybe I should just have given it a go and trusted all those who've gone before who know what they're doing!

      I've been wondering about the Skill Builder finish, I'm not sure what method of QAYG we're going to be using for that - although we've left a lot of extra fabric around the main block at the moment so I think that opens up our options whereas I'd already created the blocks for this quilt at the minimum size and quilted to the edge. Do you know if Alyssa has ever mentioned how we'll do it?

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  25. The quilt came together very well, and it looks great. Keep tweaking your method. I made my first quilt, a quilt as you go back in the 70s, and it was a true disaster. Most of the modern methods more than take care of the problems I had, but I think yours is going to be one of the better ones.

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    1. Thanks for your lovely words of encouragement Stella and hope you're feeling better soon :)

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  26. Your quilt turned out beautifully! Thanks so much for sharing your QAYG method. It looks a lot easier than the regular way. ;)
    I'm planning on using this method for my QAYG: http://maureencracknellhandmade.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-quilt-as-you-go-tutorial.html
    I'm a little nervous about the fact that the backing isn't quilted along with the rest of the block, and I've had to clean my machine a few times because of the extra lint build-up, but I think it's going to turn out okay. I really like having my quilting show on the back of a quilt, but since this one is going to be a bed quilt, I figured it would be fine to use this method.
    Thanks again for sharing! Your pictures are gorgeous!

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    1. Wow, this is another method again! I took a look and added it to my QAYG pinterest board - it's really interesting but as you say I'd be nervous about sewing so much uncovered batting - it's good to hear it's working even if you have to keep doing some extra machine cleaning. I'm not sure that I'd want backing fabric that's only attached to the batting every 12" x 12" (as an average block size) but this isn't an issue with the Something NEW Sampler given the smaller block size. I'm really interested to see how yours turns out, looking forward to the photos :)

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  27. Beautiful and what a great way to join the blocks! Have you washed it yet? That should soften it up some. Thanks for sharing.
    Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

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    1. Do you know Connie I haven't - guess what's going in the washer right now? Thanks for the tip :)

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    2. The quilt's been washed now and it's so much softer. It's also very crinkly due to the density of the quilting and for the first time ever I'm not in a rush to iron it flat - I like how it looks, it really suits this quilt. The Cathedral Window and Folded blocks are still heavier and more solid than the rest but have softened off a little. Anyway the quilt is very usable now as a quilt which is a result :)

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  28. Gorgeous quilt Chrissie! and those bias tape makers are brilliant!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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    1. Aren't they Jill, wish I'd remembered about them before I started making the strips! :)

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  29. Thanks for sharing your sashing method. I keep having trouble wrapping my head around this stage of the QAYG technique. Your pics really help.

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    1. Hi Jen, I'm still not sure this is how you're 'supposed' to do QAYG but the quilt's been washed and used now and it's all held together brilliantly so I'd say it works. And for me having the machine sewn lines visible on the strips doesn't detract from the quilt whatsoever. I'm pleased with the outcome :)

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  30. it looks amazing! I think it'd make a great bathmat. I never understood how QAYG blocks were joined either. I have a bias tape maker and I CAN'T make it work! It just spews out a twisted, creased strip of fabric!

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    1. Lol Wendy - is it this same make/model of tape maker? This one couldn't produce anything other than perfect tape but I do follow it closely with the iron to make sure those folded seams are pressed flat immediately. :)

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  31. Chrissie, I will definitely be bookmarking this! I've just started to try FMQ, and I think I can manage 12" blocks under my machine but definitely not a full quilt! Thank you :D

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    1. Go for it Sarah Lou - it's certainly much easier than managing the weight of a whole quilt when you're fmqing, great to hear that this might be useful to you :)

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  32. Great quilt, the colours are so happy! I like your method of joining the blocks and must give it a try for future projects.

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    1. Thanks MC, I really like your orange blocks too and especially the way you've joined them together :)

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  33. Chrissie, this just couldn't be more stunning. I love it!!

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    1. Thanks so much Heidi and it came in second in the end so that's really lovely and I'm thrilled at my 10 x 1/2 yard fabric prize too :)

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  34. Darlin'! I absolutely love this quilt! I have seen several different QAYG tutorials online but I haven't tried them out. This one looks great! I love the zig zags and I really love the sashing. Genius :) The fabrics are amazing too! Krista @ A Handful of Everything

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    1. I'm thrilled that you like it. I couldn't get to grips myself with so many of the QAYG tutorials out there and I couldn't figure out why they all wanted to hide one side of the stitching on the sashing strips when you could still see it on the other side - so I figured why not just have it visible on both sides. I can see that it might spoil some of the quilting designs for some quilts but for this one it really didn't! :)

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  35. I LOVE the combination of colours and fabrics, Chrissie!!! I like the idea of quilt as you go, as it seems much easier than trying to quilt a whole quilt at the end. I found it quite difficult feeding my only quilt through the machine... the bulk and the weight. I needed more hands and a bigger gap between the needle and the side of the machine (I'm sure there's a name for that). Pinning this for future reference.

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  36. You're a genius, ChrissieD! Love this and thanks for sharing it all! What you did do and what you would have done differently...

    Lorna:)
    http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Lorna, I know it's not a 'real' tute but if there's something that is useful to anyone contemplating QAYG then that's really great :)

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  37. The one thing that stops me from making a big quilt is having to quilt it. I've seen many tutorials for quilt as you go quilts but this one is my favourite so far. Thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

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    1. I looked at many QAYG tutes Maria and it seemed to me that they were all unnecessarily complicated and time consuming. I realised you just need to join the blocks somehow (zigzag or overlock stitch) and then make a front and back cover for the join (so I made my own bias tape and machine stitched it on front and back). It's almost a year on and the quilt has held up brilliantly, I'm really pleased with it. :D

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  38. After the Jelly Roll (http://madebychrissied.blogspot.com.es/2013/10/introducing-autumns-golden-gown-jelly.html) this one is probably my favourite quilt. I love the different techniques and the colours.

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  39. This is really great! Thanks so much for sharing your method!

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  40. What a truly amazing tutorial. I had something similar in mind but the 2 widths of the sashing strips what just the "icing of the cake". I could never have figured that out myself. Thank you so much - this must be the best QAYG I have seen this far. Lotta

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  41. I am working with qayg as well. going slow for me. i like your ideas for not hand stitching. will try that next. thanks for all the great information.
    Linda

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Chris Dodsley


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