Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Mary Jane's June Blocks

I got these 8 blocks made but did not have time to photograph and email to you last night.  Sorry Sophie.  Also, now I groan at the basket and donate my chances.  I did have fun making these blocks and hope they are acceptable.

2 comments:

  1. I love your blocks. The b/W print really pops.

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  2. I agree that the baskets are beautiful, but I'm afraid that a few of the handles aren't really flat enough along the bottom edge to be fair to the ladies who received them as part of their winnings, so I don't think they should count as chances, either for you or donated.

    But the good news is that it is only the second day of the month, so you may find time to fix the bottom edge of a few of the rickety handles and they are DEFINITELY fixable. Looks to me like the top side of the handles went on smoothly enough and you would only need to take out the handle/basket seam and the stitching on the bottom side of the handle and then steam and work the fabric to get it to lay smoother.

    Although most of us are taught to not to use steam when quilting and also not to distort our blocks as we press them, when shaping bias, steam really is your friend and helps shape the curve. Also pressing the sharper curved areas first works the excess fabric into the straighter/more gently curved areas so it doesn't get tucks in it. Pulling the edge down/pressing towards the bottom of the block rather than perpendicular to the stitching on the outer edge shortens the fabric in the inside curve to help it lay smoothly as well.

    I woke up thinking that I needed to photograph and blog some tips on making those handles and I will try to do it this week. I wanted to make some more blocks (in the correct colors) anyway. I'm just not sure when I'll be able to get to it.

    I was also remembering something Jane Sassaman talked about in a class I took from her some years ago. When you go to all the trouble to turn under the edges on applique, if you are stitching it down on the machine, you want the stitching to highlight that edge. Stitching that is close to the edge and parallel with it will do that.

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