After reading my title
did you think I had escaped to some
exotic warm tropical island?
I could only wish, but instead
with the busy holiday season and
a dilly of a holiday season cold,
I've been working on my
vintage ocean wave blocks.
Minus one block
the center blocks for the quilt
have been stitched.
You can tell right away
these 30's and 40's prints
do not create the same graphic design
that you typically see with this pattern.
The fabrics are not very high contrast.
So there isn't the dramatic distinction between lights and darks.
As compared to
this antique Ocean Wave
with early 1900's fabrics
I repieced and quilted in 2011.
The 30's fabrics make more
of a mosaic pattern with all
of the prints and colors meshing together.
I have more half blocks to piece
and then I think I'll have enough leftover pieces
for a simple border.
Hand piecing has proved for me the only
way to handle the inconsistent seam allowances.
After marking the finished size triangle
on the wrong side of the fabric
the seams have varied from 1/16th to 3/8".
It's simple been the matter of
carefully matching and pinning
the marked sewing lines and
stitching on the line on both triangles.
I don't stitch the seam allowances down,
but rather allow them to flip
to one direction or the other.
This allows me to get right up to the spot where
I need to match points.
I'm in the habit of making a couple small
back stitches with a knot on one side of the seam,
passing through to the other side,
doing two back stitches with a knot
and then continuing on sewing.
It may seem like a lot of extra steps
but it adds some extra security that it
won't come undone at the seams and it
keeps the seams snugged up tight together.
It's the rhythm of my hand piecing.
Just like the soothing sound of the waves
lapping on that warm sandy beach.
Until Next Time-
Kyle
