Flower Garden Blocks 1940's

Taking on another Quilter's beautiful

Flower Garden blocks has been a 

lovely way to start the new year.

If you remember, I bought these

blocks at my Quilt Therapy silent auction

in November and throughout the holiday

I have been enjoying slowly piecing them together. 

There ended up being 97 individual blocks.

I have sewn them into long panels 

and are now sewing very long

zigzag seams.

 

All the while, 

I have been trying to figure out,

why the blocks were sewn both by machine

and by hand.

Were they sewn by two people or

if not, 

what was the Quilter thinking and what was the plan.

Well, I  figured out

she was a very efficient and systematic person.

She had come up with a plan

where she could save time and still

stitch perfect blocks.

Because she was not using an EPP method

she could vary her method of sewing.

Here's what she did.

After cutting out all her hexies,

and there are no pencil marks to indicate

she drew around a template,

she began sewing them together with a 

1/8" seams allowance.

Remember she did all

that fussy cutting .

A very talented quilter.

Step 1.

Then after machine piecing part of the first ring,

she sewed the two hexies on the sides 

to complete the ring by hand.

This clever Quilter found herself 

half the time at her machine and

the other half sitting and hand stitching.

Now look what she did for the next ring.

These next hexies would be floppy.

By leaving the seams allowances free

and because she used an 1/8" seam, 

she could easily insert and connect

other sections of a ring.

Do you see a pattern?

A bit of zigzag zag stitching.

She could work on multiple blocks at a time

sewing a bunch at the machine

and then finishing the rings later.

Here's the third ring.

Sew individual plain hexies to 

the second ring, 

sew 4 plain hexies together in a row, and

then attach these to both sides.

There's a completed block.

She could work on a bunch

of these at a time.

Her combination of methods seemed a

very efficient use of her time and skills.

But that's where she stopped.

I couldn’t think of a combo

method to sew the blocks together.

Could that have been part of the 

reason she put all these beautiful blocks away?

Whatever the reason, I feel very

fortunate to have been the next part of the plan.

So, slowly, 

 I've been zigzaging these together. ❤

Until Next Time-

Kyle

The Gentle Lapping of Ocean Waves

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 

Hand Stitching

I've had several people ask me

 if I would share my hand piecing secrets.

 Nothing I do is a secret, 

so here are a couple of my how to tips.

 I use only cotton thread 

and pick a color that blends

 with the darker color

 rather than the lighter side.

 I  use a #10 between needle.

 I use this size needle for almost everything.

 Pieces that are going to be hand pieced

 need to have the stitching line

 drawn on the wrong side of the fabric.
The sewing line is important here.

 Then cut out with a scant 1/4 inch seam.
The cutting line isn't the important line in hand piecing.

 Place right sides together. 

Using straight pins match up

 the pencil lines.

Check the other side.

 I knot my thread and start with a back stitch.

 Then I use a small running stitch
 pushing the fabric onto the needle.

I usually get 4-5 stitches on the needle
and then slide them off.
 Small even stitches work best..

 When I start the next set of stitches
 I'm in the habit of starting with a back stitch
and then the running stitches.
 Better secure than sorry.
 
 I end with a back stitch and then a knot

When I attach multiple pieces together and
I get to another seam allowance,
I treat it as if I were starting and stopping a single piece,

 then poke the needle through to the other side of the seam
 and begin the pattern again.

 I do press as I go,

 just like machine piecing.

. Because none of the seam allowances are stitched down,
 you can manipulate them any direction that best fits the block.

 Ready to give it a try?
 Hope so.

 Until Next Time-