Chev N' Hex & Diamond Carat Blocks - Skill Builder BOM: April/FMQ

FMQ is now complete on my two April Skill Builder BOM blocks.  I wasn't looking forward to making these blocks at all, and so I put it off, then I didn't make the May blocks either because I hadn't done the April blocks.  A week before the June blocks were available, I thought it was time to sort myself out, so I got stuck in to get up-to-date again with the BOM!

So here are my 2 April blocks:

CHEV N' HEX BLOCK

Alyssa introduced us to English Paper Piecing using a pre-cut applique foundation similar to interfacing (see image above) rather than card templates - this can be left in the finished block and breaks down when the quilt is finally washed.

Instead of thread basting the pieces, we glued the fabric to the templates and then glued the seams back into place.  I used Aleene's Tacky Glue (fast-drying glue pen), and also Aleene's OK To Wash-It (permanent fabric adhesive).  The Tacky Glue held the fabric in place quicker than the OK To Wash-It, and the OK To Wash-It was visible through the fabric for a day or so after I'd glued the pieces and then it disappeared - must have needed longer to dry out properly.  I found the glueing process messy and, even though I'm a very clean and careful worker, I frequently got glue on the fabric's surface.

I also found that the applique templates, which were incredibly like interfacing, didn't have a firm and solid enough edge to allow me to cleanly fold the fabric back over them and get the crisp seam line to sew along.  This was frustrating when joining the pieces together as the edges didn't butt up to each other as perfectly as I expect when I'm doing English Paper Piecing - you'll see what I mean more when you see the photos of the next Diamond Carat block.

 Look how you can see the glue showing through the fabric, particularly on the green sections above.

I decided to try out Alyssa's suggested machine sewn method of joining the pieces.  Basically, I surface sewed the pieces together using an invisible top and bottom thread and set my stitch to zig-zag with a 0.9 width and 1.0 length.  This method was soooooo quick and easy, and although the stitches are visible (I'll show you these more in the Diamond Carat block), it's really not that bad.

And here's the finished quilted block:

Kaffe Fassett -Bekah

DIAMOND CARAT BLOCK

On this Diamond Carat block, you can see how the surface zig-zag stitching works - and just how visible it is.  Creating the centre star's tiny points wasn't easy - there was so much fabric to fold back, and the interfacing wasn't solid enough to give good crisp lines.  The pieces didn't come out to perfect sizes as you would normally expect with English Paper Piecing, and then the pieces didn't line up well against each other.   The fabric surface is also dirtied with glue.

 You can see in the photo above that the pieces didn't lie well next to each other - there's overlapping, gaps and unevenness along the seams.

Below is the finished quilted block - I quilted as close as I could to the seam lines to try to hold the pieces in place more firmly, and then shadow/echo quilted each line as I didn't trust that the zig-zag joining method would hold the block together well over time.

Kaffe Fassett - Lake Blossoms

Next Time: We'll be doing Foundation Paper Piecing - something I'm well practised at already being a pattern tester for Juliet @Tartankiwi, so it shouldn't be too difficult ;)

Related Posts:
Woven Star & Woven Chevrons Blocks - Skill Builder BOM: March/FMQ
Woven Star & Woven Chevrons Blocks - Skill Builder BOM: March/HSTs & QSTs & Bias Sewing

Em Dash & The Mood Blocks - Skill Builder BOM: February/Basic Piecing and Bias Sewing
Sound Wave & Magnum Blocks - Skill Builder BOM: January/FMQ
Sound Wave & Magnum Blocks - Skill Builder BOM: January/Piecing

A Year Long Quilt? Well I'm Very Excited About It!

Will Ye No Come Back Again? Absolutely, Next September!

Bonnie Chairlie's noo awa', Safely ower the friendly main; Mony a heart will break in twa', Should he ne'er come back again.

Will ye no come back again? Will ye no come back again? Better lo'ed ye canna be, Will ye no come back again?

Traditional Scottish Song

What a week! Flicky and I have had a marvellous time in Scotland where we spent 3 days in St Andrews, checking out the town, being shown around the University and meeting with Admissions and one of the Modern History professors.

Allow me to introduce you to the University of St Andrews ...

And here's some photos of the Cathedral and Castle;

the beaches and golf course;

and the St Andrews town centre.

but these are my favourite photos:

Flicky sitting at the entrance to the School of History, St Katherine's Lodge, where she will be studying

 and Flicky battling the elements, the wind so strong she could barely walk,
but just check out that Manhattan City Quilter carrier bag!!!

The weather wasn't our friend, freezing temperatures, winds and snow, but Flicky loved it.  The University and people of St Andrews made us very welcome and we quickly learnt just how special it is that Flicky has received an unconditional offer from this ancient seat of British learning, who still hand pick only the students that they feel will suit the way of life and study methods.

So Flicky is pretty certain that she will be accepting their offer and we've already booked our trip back for her admission in September.

After St Andrews we headed off to Glasgow via Dundee.  The weather was dreadful but we did squeeze in a bit of shopping and a trip out to the 'Armadillo' to see the English comedian Jimmy Carr, which was excellent but nothing that I can repeat here ;).  Flicky also had her first experience of being caught in a football crowd at Glasgow Central Station - jeering Scotland fans singing "we hate England more than you" to the Wales fans was incredibly intimidating and frightening but I told her to not speak so she wouldn't give away our nationality and we were quickly on our way.  It was the one low point of our trip but at least she's a bit more prepared now for when she encounters that sort of behaviour again.

I did have to take a photo of the sewing machine wall at the All Saints store in Glasgow.  I know this is a regular feature in All Saints stores but I always think they look amazing and yet it makes me a little bit sad that these machines aren't being used anymore.

We spent our last 3 days in Edinburgh, again the weather was too bitter to do the touristy things so more shopping and eating and catching up on some rest and sleep in our beautiful apartment.

 

We did look up at the Castle as we shopped our way along Princes Street
and we enjoyed some delicious Flirtini cocktails

We didn't worry too much about not really seeing anything as we figured we'll have plenty more opportunity to do everything properly over the next 4 years that Flicky's studying here.

Oh and look how much of my EPP Coffins I managed to do ... don't do a close up on my stitches because you'll see everyone of them screaming at you - my appalling eye sight, a smattering of turbulence, narrow seats (yes we fly economy) and an overhead plane light on a night flight don't lend themselves to beautiful, invisible stitches!!!

It's good to be back though, although I love doing EPP, I'm very, very happy to see my sewing machine again!

For details of other fabric, yarn, trim and notion stores that I've visited around the world along with the NYC stores I love, exhibitions and events I've attended and wonderful people I've been lucky to meet click the links below or in my side bar :D

Coffins And More Coffins

Remember this?

and I did say at the time 

"I'm not sure if this is something I'll be doing lots of - I can see that it's a great travel project still I like my crochet for that."

Well two weekends ago when we visited Washington DC I didn't take my crochet, I took my coffins instead.

There you go, that's me on the train from NYC to DC, maybe somewhere around Philadelphia, and just look at the concentration on my face!  That'll be the concentration on my face before my shocked expression at the public display of affection by a couple in the seats diagonally opposite from us that caused the whole carriage to take action against them and the guards to have them removed - and all this in the quiet carriage!!! 

There wasn't much time for sewing on the trip but I did manage some and here's where I'm at now:

I started with one design in mind but as you can see I've decided to extend each line of coffins out a little.  The other fabrics are Kaufman Essex Linens - Med Aqua and Sand - haven't decided what to make yet - maybe a cushion or a bag, we'll see but I do know I want to applique the coffins on to these linens. 

I guess you could say I've been converted (again!) and guess what I'll be taking to Scotland with me?

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