adventures of a quilting diva

I’ve learned a thing or two during the first 12 days of Dear Diary 2010. For example, there are some blocks that I would really rather not make multiples of. A four-inch 16-patch (shown above) is one of them. I don’t mind making one every now and then, and this quilt is the perfect place for it.

The purple and black Square-in-a-Square at right is another one of those blocks I don’t see myself making more of. (The dime is for scale.) It is pieced for real, not painted, stamped or fussy cut. I can’t imagine why I ever made it in the first place, but I can see why there is only one.

I was digging in my scrap box for more of the sheep fabric, but couldn’t find any. What I did find was this little gem, already inset into the muslin and just waiting for me. I think it fits in rather nicely.

happy quilting! =(^_^)=

Today for Muse Monday, I’d like to ask for your inspiration. The following are blocks from my guild’s 2008 autumn block exchange. It’s about that time of year for some good autumn projects so what would you do with the blocks below? More about the blocks here.

(The unfinished one on the left is my unfortunate basket. I pieced it wrong and didn’t have time to fix it before the exchange deadline. Luckily all the others turned out OK and I had enough good blocks to exchange. I’ll have to finish piecing it before I turn them into something though.)
So, any ideas?

Put your hands in the air where I can see them. … Much better.

While there is a time and a place for perfectly matched seams, there is also an equally important place for moving on and getting those quilt blocks completed. Just keep sewing and with practice you can achieve those perfect seams one day. In the meanwhile you don’t want to rip your fabric (and your patience) to shreds. Quilt-making should be enjoyable.

If that mismatched seam intersection bothers you too much, try covering it up with a well-placed button or bead. This little trick can be so much fun that once you master your piecing you might not want to give up the embellishing!
Ric-rac embellished seams are another nifty option.
What are your favorite cover-ups?

For a fresh look, why not mix it up with piecing and appliqué together in the same block. You’ll get an interesting variety of shapes without knocking yourself out with complicated piecing or fussy appliquéing.

The diamonds in the corners of the Sakura block are quick and easy to appliqué. Each corner would need 5 separate pieces if they were paper-pieced and custom templates would have been necessary for regular piecing. The blossoms dancing across the block add movement to an otherwise basic 9-patch variation.

The gentle curves of the flowers and leaves in the Tulip Basket block are easy to appliqué and contrast nicely with the angular pieced basket.

Here are some tips for you if you’d like to try mixing appliqué and piecing together in your quilt blocks:

• Simple pieced blocks with fewer rather than many pieces work best for appliquéing on top of.

• Pressing the seams open for pieces that will have appliqués on top will reduce the seam bulk and help your appliqué stitches to be smoother.

• If you prefer to press your seams to one side, just appliqué slowly and carefully over the bumps.

• Simple appliqué shapes will show up best on pieced backgrounds (and they’re the easiest to sew too!)

• Bright, warm colors (think hot pink, orange, yellow, red) will help the appliqués pop into the foreground.

• Light, cool colors (think aqua, blue, green, purple) will help keep the background in the background.

• I used fusible web on my blocks, but there’s no reason you couldn’t try needle-turn appliqué over a pieced block. Just needle through the top layer of the background only, avoid appliquéing all the way through the seam allowances.

happy quilting! =(^_^)=