tip: directional prints on flip-and-stitch corners

there are lots of times when i want a directional print to be facing a certain direction when i'm making quilt blocks or components: hsts, flying geese, chevron blocks, economy block corners, snowball corners, diamond block corners (like wensleydale), and more. in the star cornerstones for "pinky stinky edna" i want the pieces in the star points to be going the same direction as the center block. this is completely personal preference in this case, but it's an effect i'm aiming for.

these corner triangles are made with the flip-and-stitch method where a smaller square is placed right sides together on the corner of the base, a diagonal seam is sewn to create a corner triangle, the excess of both fabrics is cut off 1/4" away from the seam, the new corner is flipped out to replace the part cut off, right side up, and is then pressed into place.

so how do i get the print going the same direction from each side of the star?

this is the square of the strawberry print i want to add to the bottom left corner of this two-strip sashing piece. the piece is vertical and i want the strawberries to run in the direction shown in the photo.

first, i identify the direction the piece should be facing and then the part i want to show in the corner. for this one, the part i want showing is turned in the bottom left as shown above.

if i fold the top right of the square under the bottom left corner, i can see how the shape will appear once sewn together, flipped down, and pressed into place. the bottom left corner my finger is on is the part i'll use to orient myself when putting the right sides of fabrics together for sewing the seam. 

when i turn the square over so right sides of fabrics are together, i want that bottom left corner to now be in the upper right corner. that same corner that was under my finger in the upper photo is now where my finger is pointing in this photo. no matter the orientation of the corner, the thing to remember is:

 the corner of the square that you want to be the finished corner piece of the triangle needs to be placed in the diagonally opposite corner when you have the square flipped for right sides together. 

so again, here that means the lower left corner (when the square is facing up and is in the direction you want the fabric to appear in) becomes the upper right corner when it's flipped over and the fabrics are right sides together.

when fabrics are right sides together, i mark the diagonal line i'm going to sew the seam on. don't forget to mark and sew the seam for the bonus left-over hst from the corner, too. 

once both seams are sewn and the corner cut off, the new corner piece if flipped out and pressed into place. and you can press open your bonus hst as well. 

voila!

i figure out these little tips for myself, often through trial-and-error, then i tend to forget them when i need them again. i'm going to start recording them and gather them together on a tips page for myself so i can remind myself what i've learned when i need it again. maybe it'll help someone else, too.

misc. little bits

some chain piecing d5 did for me. these are rows for the 16 patch blocks for our "edna" quilt.

normally, i jump back and forth between projects a lot, working on whatever suits my mood at the moment. i recently started three new projects in one day. i expected to be rotating amongst these as i went along. however, uncharacteristically, i'm actually using a different thread color for each project. so once i had this pink thread on the machine, i was locked in to working on "edna."

i dislike changing threads on my machine with a strong passion, which is why i usually piece with white thread exclusively. i'm not sure why i decided to do different thread colors on these three projects, other than that they have very different colors, but i'm actually going to have to stick with one project until the top is done! this spool is keeping me faithful for the moment. no project infidelity here. who even am i? 

 i spent a while fussy cutting these darling heather ross mice on white to use in the low-volume 16 patch squares for "edna." i'm using the ones that have pink clothed mice in "edna" and setting aside the ones in yellow, green, and blue for another project.

many of the mice are not perfectly centered, but i was able to cut the 2.5" squares i needed pretty well from this print with barely any waste. there are a few odd bits that aren't square that i can still use for scraps, and some sections in the thinner strips (1" - 1.5" i had to cut to get the 2.5" strips to come out right) that were just plain white. i trimmed those down around the printed pieces and discarded the white parts. all-in-all, i'm quite pleased with what i got out of this fat quarter.

while doing all this cutting for so many different projects at once, i've been so good about cutting small leftovers for scraps and filing them away in my scrap drawers (which i recently expanded). all the cutting mistakes or change-of-mind cast-offs have been going straight in the scrap drawers, which makes me feel like they aren't wasted after all. give them a new purpose and it makes me feel a whole lot better about not being able to use them wherever else they were going to go. i should have the precut makings of some scrap quilts on hand pretty soon. this is exciting! i'll need to figure out which patterns to use (hello, jolene's books).

the leftover strip pieces or squares are easy to put in their place. it's the larger pieces i don't want to reshelf but almost could that i'm having trouble making decisions about. for example, this piece that was 6.5" wide. 

because i don't have any specific scrap projects in mind that this fabric would be good for, i'm hesitant to commit it to any certain sizes of strips. i could cut a large variety and combination of sizes from this since i store scraps in increments of 1" to 5" wide. how do i decide what to do with this one?

i finally landed on cutting one 2.5" strip as that's the most versatile width. then i could put the remaining 4" strip away in the 4" drawer. in the future, if needed, i can cut it down to something else smaller. yes, i like this solution.

tip: bonus hsts when stitching-and-flipping

i realized a long time ago that i could make hsts out of the trimmed triangle bits you get when using the stitch-and-flip method to add points to corners of blocks like flying geese, houses, or snowballs. i have been saving those triangle trimmings from projects like "shelter in place" and "olmstead's geese," using them for leaders-and-enders. 

recently, at some point as i was trimming tips off and then sewing them together, i realized i should just do both seams before trimming the tips. when making hsts two at a time, i make both seams and then cut. this is the same idea. if you don't know what i'm talking about, read on.

this method works when you're adding small squares on to larger pieces. mark the small square from corner-to-corner as you already do for the shape you're making. this is the line you'll be sewing on.

then move the ruler 1/4" further out toward the tip you're trimming off and make another diagonal line. this is where you'll be cutting the tip.

sew along the corner-to-corner line.

then use the inner diagonal line, the one closer to the tip, as your marker. sew a 1/4" to the right of this line.

*two notes about the above photo: 1) i don't know why my seam looks wonky at the end because it's not. it's a straight line. some sort of optical illusion with the print of the fabric and some bending, maybe? 2) there is another line to the left of the first seam in this photo. ignore it. that was just another mistake in the series of mistakes i made while working on this quilt. i marked a whole set incorrectly but i couldn't erase the pencil line and it's on the back of the fabric anyway. ignore it.

once you've sewn both seams, trim the outer triangle off by cutting down the second pencil line. now that seam is wobbly. no optical illusions here. yikes.

mistakes to avoid: 

do make sure there's not other fabric under the piece you're trimming or you'll cut something you didn't intend to.

 also, i may have cut on the wrong side of the outer seam a time or two. pay more attention to where you're cutting than i do.

press open and (eventually) trim all your cute little bonus hsts you just made.

i'm going to incorporate mine into the back of the quilt or maybe save them for another project. i'm undecided.

isn't this better than tossing all the trimmed tips? i think so. if you don't want yours, send them to me.

basting away

this weekend i unexpectedly got some freetime and i decided to get some quilt tops out of the "needs a backing" queue and have a back-making & basting party. once i have quilt tops pieced, i enjoy moving several of them through the next phases to finishing in batches.

i had 5 completed tops that needed backings: "frosted forest star", "fall paint lake", "aunt bets mother's day", "melonaide brightside", and my crossroads quilt.

i had already ordered backings for "fall paint lake" and "aunt bets mother's day", so i started with making those two backings. the first was just two large prints sewn together - easy and done quickly. for "aunt bets" i wanted to add a strip of scraps from the top between the two large pieces i had selected for the back. that took a bit more time, but not much.

a little tip from when i was basting "fall paint lake" - the seam wasn't laying down well (i may have actually neglected to press it when i finished the back a few days ago), so i grabbed my little manual seam roller i keep at my sewing machine for pressing open small seams i don't want to do at the pressing table. i baste on my tile floor, which made a great place to press with the roller. it worked like a charm! i didn't have to untape the whole thing from the floor and wrestle it across the pressing table, which would have been so much more work.

friday night, when i got the two decided backings done, i took a break from backings and pieced a bunch of strips together for a fall scrap quilt i'm working on. then i started looking for a back for the "frosted forest star" and got stumped. it has very specific colors on the front, and not many at that. plus, it's supposed to feel like a winter forest, so i wanted any print i might use to fit that theme somehow. finding that combination proved impossible in my sewing room and online (where colors are especially hard to discern). i'm just going to keep my eyes open and wait that one out. or maybe eventually decide on a solid  backing in colors from the top.

that was basically the end of my productivity until this morning, when i knew i needed to either get those babies basted before anyone woke up or it wouldn't happen. it was finish up or clean up because there was an explosion of fabric all over the front part of the house and that needed to end. three days was enough.

i got up early and basted the first two quilts as soon as i rolled out of bed. that was going to be it, but i thought i should go ahead and see if i could quickly knock out "brightside", too. over the weekend i had begun to consider a butterfly print from the "stay gold" collection by kimberly kight for ruby star society. after i decided on it, i began to have a vague memory of maybe actually purchasing it for that purpose. remembering that would have saved me some time, for sure!

i had quite enough to make a full backing from just this one fabric, and i was tempted to do so, but i didn't feel like piecing it together because i didn't think i could do it in a way that would make me happy with the results. 

i remembered there were leftovers of a coordinating melon-colored sateen that we used as the backing for d5's "the pleasantest thing", and i decided to use that as another piece for this backing. they coordinated perfectly and i zipped that up quickly, too. the spray basting part takes maybe 25 minutes, start to finish, so i managed to get that done also.

this quilt happened to get the very last piece from my 2nd giant batting roll of "warm and natural" quilt batting. when i saw the roll was getting low last year, i tried to replace it with a new one from joann crafts, where i had purchased the 1st two, and discovered they no longer sold that brand. i couldn't locate it online, either. i don't know if the company folded or if joann crafts just switched brands. i've been satisfied with this brand and really liked having it on a roll at my disposal in my sewing room. i bought the new brand joann craft now carries, but it doesn't seem the same at all. i guess we'll see soon what it's like. it's the end of an era in my quilt making journey.

once i had "brightside" basted, i began putting away all the things i had pulled out of my sewing room and spread around the adjacent piano room floor over the weekend. there were also a few already basted projects i was taking stock of which i had laid out on the floor. when i pulled them up to put away, i found "crossroads" top laying there under them! i hade completely forgotten this was another top i wanted to get backed and basted.

i was supposed to be going to the pilates gym in less than an hour, but i was itching to see if i could get just one more basting job done, so i began rummaging through my stash to come up with a backing. i found enough yardage of a lovely heather bailey print to make up one side of a backing. if i was going to piece the rest from smaller fabric cuts, i wasn't going to be able to do it before going to the gym class, so i was looking for another large cut. there is lots of heather ross also in the "crossroads" top, but i couldn't seem to find a large piece.

then i spied the beautiful yellow sleeping beauty print and there was enough of it! most of the yellows in the top are more gold in color, so i was wavering a bit. i looked at the light blue owl and pussy cat print and rapunzel prints. they would have also coordinated well and been lovely backing picks, but i would have to order yardage of them, which would mean waiting to back and baste this quilt another day. so i decided to go the easier, more cost-effective route and used the sleeping beauty print. i'm happy with it, no regrets.

i hustled and got the two pieces sewn together, then basted as quickly as i could. i went 5 minutes over time, which would mean being a tiny bit late to class, but i was so happy i'd managed to get everything done.

then i tried to quickly rinse my feet off to remove the spray basting they had picked up, as well as the bits of thread and fuzz stuck to it. my girls had been saying all morning, "mom, your feet are so dirty!," and i knew they were right but i hadn't realized just how dirty they were. four spray bastings had taken it's toll. 

after a full minute i did not have trying to get everything off, i knew i was beat.

 

pilates is a barefoot practice at my studio and there was no way i was going in there with grimy, grey, sticky, thread-covered feet. so i missed my workout for the day.

but hey, i now have FOUR quilts backed and basted!

some spray basting thoughts

i've got a backing made, and this pink and navy improv quilt is now basted.

have i ever mentioned that i like to keep the paper label scraps from the batting roll and use them to cover the floor and baseboards around the quilt sandwich while i'm spray basting? the warm and white batting roll (i get mine at joann crafts with a 40% off coupon) comes with a thin paper label wound with all the layers of batting, so whenever i unroll some batting for a new quilt, i also get a long strip of paper to rip off.

by putting it down on the perimeter of my quilt when i'm basting, it protects the floor and keeps any sticky mist from settling on what's nearby. currently i have enough paper to go 3 deep around the quilt. i also have two old towels i keep tucked away in my sewing room for this purpose. i usually lay the towels over the carpeted staircase base or at my sewing room doors, depending on where i've positioned the quilt.

when i'm done with all the basting, i put all the paper strips in a stack and roll them up to stow away with the towels. they don't take up much room at all and really help keep things neat and tidy when i'm spraying that adhesive everywhere. i do try to stay very close to where i'm spraying on the quilt layers, just a few inches away, but the mist still floats a bit sometimes, especially on the perimeter of the quilt. i've got plenty of photos of gummy feet or socks to prove it. (if you followed the "socks" link, obviously i got on the spray basting train! thank you, odif 505.)

some people use old sheets for this, which would also work well. i like the convenience and compactness of the batting roll label. plus, i'm upcycling the papers.

when i was pulling the tape off the basted quilt once it was together today, i had another idea to try.

i'm rather notorious for sewing the extra ends of the backing to the quilt body while i'm quilting. that's one of the reasons i don't give myself as much wiggle room as i should when making the batting and backing larger than the quilt top. standard is 3-4" on all sides. my margins are often closer to 1-2". i also hate the waste, so i make my overage a lot smaller than i "should," in most cases.

today i noticed that the excess batting around the quilt top was sticky and i decided to fold the excess backing over to the top of the batting. i think this might help keep it out of the way when i'm quilting! there's certainly less flopping around now. i'll let you know how it works.

a just for fun photo because i noticed my dress was coordinating with the quilt backing.

here's one more color coordinated photo: my backing fabric and new pink steam iron. i'm giving this oliso iron a try. i don't really know much about it, but someone (can't remember who?) recommended it. i saw a discount code at suzyquilts.com, and ordered it direct from the company for 20% off and free shipping (suzyquilts20).

today is my first time using it. the whole smart handle/retractable platform/horizontal resting is quite new to me. i've only used it on the backing today, so i can't really say what i think. but it did do a really nice, tight job on getting my backing seams wide open and flat.

again, i'll report back when i've had more experience with it.

thread minding

keeping thread spools and the matching bobbins together is a concern for me. a few years ago i was excited to find out you could buy a type of pin to lock the two together while not in use.

unfortunately for me, the type i got (clover, i think) didn't fit my aurifil threads, which are the type i use most. i could get the bobbin to stay on the pin, but the pin didn't fit into the aurifil spool. i went ahead and used the ones i had by just placing them in the spools. they could get knocked off easily, but it sort of worked.

this weekend i was putting away fabric and noticed this funny little plastic contraption taped to on online order i received a while back. i wasn't sure what it was at first, then a lightbulb went off in my head and i tried it with my threads.

and hey presto, we have a fit. they hold together so well you can lift both by the end of the pin.

i found more on amazon (here) in a 40 pack. you can get more, but i found that amount to be sufficient. i don't know exactly what brand they are or what they're called as it was hard to identify that on amazon, there seemed to be several that looked the same but had different names, but the link will get you there. or search "bobbin thread holder clip". apparently you an also get them with some little clips that go around the bobbin to stop it from unwinding, but i didn't get those. i'm just really happy to have clips that work with my aurifils!

directional prints in a chevron block

when i got back to making my chevron blocks (after 4 years of 2 blocks hanging on the design wall), i found 2 squares of that yellow stripe fabric already cut and hanging on the design wall with the 2 blocks i had already completed.

i pulled a fabric i wanted to pair with the stripe from the stack of fabrics i had selected for the project, and without thinking too much got to work making the hsts for the chevron block.

everything was going really well until i began to arrange the 4 hst blocks into the chevron formation and realized i hadn't taken the directionality of the stripe into consideration when making the hsts. ugh.

i searched and searched the mountains of fabric in my sewing room, certain i had more of that yellow stripe somewhere. but to no avail. there was no choice but to put the block together with the stripes going in different directions.

this especially perturbed me because the red daisy fabric is a favorite old print from sandi henderson's meadosweet line. it's been out of print for a while. fortunately, i am plenty stocked on it. but i didn't want to unpick the block and redo all those bias seams on the hsts. i hoped the stripe was pale and subtle enough that it wouldn't stand out and that it wouldn't bother me. however, the longer i looked at that block as i worked on the rest for the quilt, the more it did bother me. so i will be unpicking it and making a pinwheel block out of it to use on the back of the quilt instead. i found a different yellow stripe to pair with the red daisy print and made a new block for the quilt top.

and, by playing around a bit, i figured out how to get the directional prints all going in the right direction. it's very simple, really.

when you are marking the fabric with the diagonal line to form the hst pairs, simply draw the diagonal lines in opposite directions across the directional print on the pairs, as seen above.

this will give you exactly what you need. simple, right?

if you happen to have 2 directional prints, it's a little more complicated, but not much.

you still start by marking the two fabrics with opposing diagonal lines, like above.

then it sort of depends on which way you want your two directionals to run against each other. this will be slightly different with each set of fabrics. basically, it requires turning the print you aren't marking a quarter turn from where you have it placed in the first pairing.

i didn't photograph this as i never fully perfected it in my mind, but i found if i simply made one pair of the blocks first, then i could figure out what was needed for the second set by laying the pair together, right sides facing, and peeling back the corners along the diagonal line to see how the blocks were going to turn out.

(these aren't directional prints, but you can see what i mean about peeling the corners back to see what your block is going to look like.)

by comparing the already made blocks to the second set i was about to sew, i could see which way i needed to turn the fabrics to get the desired blocks. just play around with it and you'll see. you definitely still need to draw the lines in opposing directions on the first fabrics that you are marking. once you've drawn those, go from there.

i was SO very happy to get this block right! and the stripes even lined up nicely.

now the question is, does this work the same for other blocks that utilize 4 hsts, like the pinwheel? i should know as i just made a pinwheel quilt, too, but i really can't say. i'll let you know when i unpick that first daisy and yellow stripe block to make a pinwheel.

nice and flat - a pressing tip

 i picked up this flat block tip from  alison harrison at cluck cluck sew a while back and it has been working like a charm. so i thought i'd share. alison uses some inexpensive "floppy" books she picked up at a garage sale. i use some old phone books i had lurking in a back cupboard. anything that's floppy with some heft to it, that you don't mind getting warped, will work just fine. because of the heat involved, it's likely over time the book cover will show wear so don't use anything you care to keep tidy.

the technique is really simple: when you've pressed your block, set your floppy book down on top of it and leave while your block cools, 30 - 60 seconds. usually, i lay out the blocks or pieces i'm pressing in a row across my pressing board, and move from one end to another, covering up the pressed blocks as i go. i have a couple of phone books on hand, which makes doing batches easier. usually by the time i've gotten to the end of the row, the first blocks are cool. i can move them out of the way and do another batch, rotating out blocks down the row.

letting the blocks cool completely (or nearly completely) before you move them is key to getting the fabric to retain the shape you want. while hot, the fibers will continue to change shape when moved, so let them alone until they cool.

sometimes, when i have an extra stubborn block with lots of seams, i'll even leave it sitting under the book overnight after i'm done sewing for the day.

also, i prefer to do this before i trim my blocks. i find they hold the final shape much better if i've let them get properly flattened out first.

 these pinwheel blocks for my valentine's quilt have several seams meeting in the middle, which is a lot of bulk. i have yet to master the nesting seams technique, but the floppy book system is working really well to get them nice and flat anyway.

lecien sugar flower collection circa 2010

nice and crisp!

i had a stack i'd used the books on and a pile that hadn't been flattened. the book pile was definitely flatter across the board. once i saw the difference, i went right ahead and flattened all the blocks before thinking to take a photo to share. but trust me, it helps a lot.

happy pressing!

gypsy wife, section one

section one, under construction

it's time to get started!  this month, we are beginning at the beginning - section one. i've included a photo of the graphic with my markings this month so you can see how i've gone about identify pieces.

section 1 - click to enlarge

section one components

blocks (measurements given here are unfinished; book identifies them by finished size)

6.5" hourglass block, dbl bordered (uses 3.5" hr gl to start, pg21), pg 21*
5.5" puss in corner block, pg 13
4.5" pinwheel, pg 19
5.5" square in square, bordered (uses 3.5"sq in sq to start) ; pg 22 for sq-in-sq instructions, pg 23 for adding border
3.5 " square in square, pg 22

* the 6.5" hourglass block with double border is not clearly identified in the original booklet. the errata pg on ms. kingwell's blog notes that the instructions for it appear at the top of the right hand column of page 21.

i completed all the blocks for this section in my previous attempt at this quilt. my thoughts on section one's blocks at the time i made them can be found here.

the 6.5" hourglass block starts with with a 3.5" hourglass block, and becomes a 6.5" block when borders are added.

strips (all are 1.5" wide, except dark grey strips, which are 1" wide)

these are given by number, left to right in the following format: 

id number: measurement of each piece, bottom to top (T total length needed for the entire strip in all sections)

38: 6.5" (T 31.5")

39: 1.5" (T 23")
40: 1.5" (T 23")
41: 1.5" (T 25.5")
42: 1.5" (T 25.5")
43: 1.5"  (T 29")
44: 2.5", 5.5" (T 38.5")
45: 2.5", 5.5" (T 35")
46: 2.5", 5.5" (T 35")
H: 2.5", 5.5" (T 43.5")
I: 2.5", 5.5" (T 43.5")
47: 2.5", 5.5" (T 43")
48: 12.5" (T 41")
49: 12.5" (T 41")
50: 6.5", 3.5" (T 44.5") optional: 4.5", 2.5", 3.5" (T 45") see notes below
51: 2.5", 3.5" (T 43")
52: 2.5", 3.5" (T 44")
53: 8.5" (51.5")
54: 8.5" (51.5")
55: 12.5" (T 55.5") - this is optional if you don't want to encounter a partial seam to attach this strip to section one after you make section two. see notes below


there is a partial seam between strips 50 and 51. you could avoid this by converting the 6.5" strip into one 4.5" strip and one 2.5" strip. i realize these two numbers don't equal 6.5", but you have to factor in the additional seam allowance by adding 1/4" for each side of the cut, which is 1/2" total. (and i hope i've done that correctly!)

strip 55 runs alongside the right side of sections one and two, requiring a partial seam, also. this could be avoided by using a 7.5" and 12.5" strip to piece it together.

other things to note

the instructions in the pattern give the finished measurements for each block. this means what it will measure once it's been sewn into the quilt. if you want to know the unfinished measurement, which is what i use most often in these posts because i want to know how big the block is supposed to be before i attach it to anything, add .5" (1/2 inch) for the seam allowance that hasn't been taken in since the block isn't sewn into place yet. briefly: finished measure + .5" = unfinished size

i've previously shared thoughts on optional cutting tools that are helpful for this project here.

what the pattern calls "square in a square blocks" are also commonly called "economy blocks." i've previously written about making them by the pattern here. and there's a tutorial for a different method than our pattern uses, here.

some thoughts on pinwheel blocks are here.

some of the 1" wide strips are paired together (B&C, F&G, H&I). yes, when sewn these do equal the same as the 1.5" wide strips. so technically you could just use a 1.5" strip in place of these. however, it gives added interest and variety to the quilt to vary the width occasionally as the pattern does.

seeing how my section two blocks look under section one as i select strips

work ahead options

section six (june) has several square in square blocks that will fall below section one in the same strips. because june is a large month, it might be helpful to make a few of those sq-in-sq blocks now, especially since you can see what strips they will be in. there is 1 - 3.5" and 1 - 4.5" sq-in-sq blocks in section six which lie in the same strips used in this section. specifically, strips 38-40 and 39-42.

if you really just want to keep moving, get busy with section two!

Section two - March

Blocks

9.5” Pershing pg 6

7.5” courthouse steps pg20

6.5” sq in sq (4.5”), bordered pg 22.23

2 – 3.5” sq in sq pg 22

8.5” old maid puzzle pg 17

Strips

H – 8.5”

I – 8.5”

47 – 8.5”

53 – 7.5”

54 – 7.5”

55 – 19.5” (optional 7.5” if piecing it with section one's portion rather than using partial seam)

if you have any questions, please ask in the comments. if you are a no-reply blogger, please email me directly instead.


#GypsyWifeQuiltAlong2016 on instagram

a little bit of heart and a book review

 a few weeks ago i got a copy of jen kingwell's new book, quilt lovely, and instantly fell in love with 99% of the patterns. in love, as in "i absolutely must stop all other plans and spend all my quilty time for the next few years making these designs." they really are spectacular. as you may know, i've had my qualms with ms. kingwell's pattern writing for gypsy wife so i was a bit leery of a whole book of her patterns, but the absolute gorgeousness of the designs makes up for any weaknesses in pattern clarity. i am in need of several new quilts for our new mountain cabin and i think these will be absolutely perfect for the place.

doesn't this one say "cabin" to you?

the day after my book arrived, i was feeling less than inclined to work on my several wips laying around and picked up quilt lovely to see if there was something i could dabble in. i find taking a break from what i'm working on often helps me clear my head and refreshes my interest in the project which has gone stale. many of the patterns in the new book require templates or other involved processes, so i settled on making just one courthouse steps heart block from one of the pillow patterns, "she loves you." i figured i could make just one and work it into gypsy wife somehow if i didn't want to make any more.

the pieces for this block are so tiny! 1" high each. most quilters will throw something that small away. it reaffirmed to me that i'm not completely crazy for holding onto such small scraps, something i have a propensity to do. i started out by cutting pieces to the sizes needed and lining them up in rows according to size. there is a pile of color and a pile of neutral for each length.

first block - not very heart-ish

 the blocks, made up of four smaller component blocks, finish at 6" square. i love the combination of all the colored scraps in the hearts against the neutrals. i had fun digging through my tiniest scraps to come up with bits for the blocks. i completed one block after a friday morning sewing social with my friend, becky, and another evening session with fellow blogging quilt friend, kate, from quarter mile quilts. (kate and i met through blogging and instagram, and finally got together in person for some sewing, chatting, and chocolate. sew fun!) yes, it took me a whole day to complete one block.

putting together that first block taught me a few things about fabric choices, as well as how to put the blocks together. kate said she was surprised i could talk and work on such an intricate block at the same time. well, really, i couldn't. not very well.

 i made not one but three of the smaller component blocks incorrectly! almost enough for a whole heart. ugh! oh well. they're not wasted, i'll work them into something somewhere. and they are pretty cute all on their own. i might just make one more and put them all together into one jumbled courthouse steps/log cabin block.

anyway, after getting my first block finished, i had learned a few things and wanted to test my ideas out, so i made another block. also, i didn't feel like it looked much like a heart at all. i hoped that by making more than one, side by side they would start looking heart-ish.

 it does help to have more than one to give the effect of a heart. i'm thinking about making a row of them for a quilt, maybe a whole quilt out of the intricate blocks from the pillow patterns in the book. those patterns were written as pillows so you wouldn't have to commit to making a whole quilt out of them. they would be amazing that way but the work involved would be quite extensive. anyway, maybe a row of each kind would make a nice quilt altogether.

so here's what i found while working on these blocks:

1. absolute neutrals or nearly-neutrals were best for the white space parts of the block, the not-heart parts. originally i thought just low-volume was going to be good enough but i could tell immediately that i didn't want any low-volumes with color in them and weeded them out. but even low-volume prints that had an obvious pattern, like the floral or comma print i used (see above) were a little too loud, competed with the eye against seeing the heart shape formed by the colored strips. i had very few nearly-neutral low-volumes as it was so i had to invest in a few more tone-on-tone prints and solid colored neutrals for future blocks. upon closer inspection, the ones used in the book mostly seemed to be various colors of white, cream, ecru, etc. i like the effect of having different colors but the low-volume prints i used were a bit too attention getting.

good options

2. low-contrast, high-volume prints were best for the colored sections. by that i mean it was better if the print didn't have a super busy design or a lot of white/light colors in them, if there was little contrast within the strip's design itself. bold colors were best for if the prints were too light, they didn't show up well against the neutral strips. they sort of got lost and the shape of the heart did, too. if a light colored or high/contrast-busy strip was included, it was better to have it closer to the interior of the heart, not on the outer edges.

not-so-good options

these are all prints i like and prints i even used, but the ones with a lot of contrast between the colors within the print itself, especially with a lot of white, didn't define the shape of the heart very well at all. i tried to make sure that if i did use them, the white sections were facing inward, touching another color rather than turned out against a neutral strip. what really helps the most is to have a lot of contrast between the color strips and the neutral strips, however you do that.

here's a case of where i had a colored print with white in it and when all the seam allowances were hidden, i ended up with mostly white showing! i didn't expect that tiny tip of the heart to come out looking like this. it would have been better if i had used a solid or tone-on-tone print here. that white half of the top pink strip, coupled with the yellow part of the next strip distorts the shape of the heart because they basically disappear.

 in the book, ms. kingwell suggests considering the backside of fabrics as well as the front, for their effect. this worked nicely with some of the neutrals i was using. you can see above, that if you turn them around so the wrong side is showing, you get an even subtler effect of the print.

so now i have two nice little hearts hanging out on my design wall while i get back to work on my other projects. i do find that stepping back from them and viewing them from a distance really helps them look heart-ish. and some day when i have a whole row of them, they will probably look pretty lovely and heart-like together.

daisy do - the cover quilt - which i will eventually need to make. by hand.

there are several things i really like about the book other than the gorgeous patterns. there is some introductory writing about each of the designs. every quilt has a story and i like when the designer shares that story or at least some thoughts about it's inception. also, each quilt is photographed in use as well as fully laid out flat with a complete view of the top. seeing a quilt from different angles gives you different perspectives on it. there are no pictures of the backs, but ms. kingwell does not piece her backings, preferring as few seams on the back as possible, so they aren't relevant here. there are clear, colored assembly diagrams for the blocks as well as the whole quilt for each project. quilting ideas are also included, with basic sketches for some of the projects. in addition, i enjoyed reading ms. kingwell's thoughts in the appendix sections. all quilters have their own techniques, preferences, and reasonings, which can vary widely, so i appreciate hearing her ideas and rationales.

spinning around - composed of three different pinwheel blocks - is the other top contender for my favorite

as for what i think of the pattern writing this time around, i'd say it's improved. the pattern that i followed for this block was pretty good, it had nice color illustrations that helped with assembly. however, it wasn't labeled with where the different sizes of strips went, even though they were numbered in order of placement. with the help of the illustration i could accurately guess which was which and still got the block assembled. a beginner might have more confusion over the process. browsing some of the other patterns i'm interested in i could tell that some of the other instructions were not super detailed, like how to sew the template pieces together. it's just the nature of her writing style and of these types of quilts, meant for more experienced quilters, that there are levels of assumed knowledge. i know and accept that now. if i can't figure out something from written instructions that are rather general and don't include diagrams, i'm sure there are tutorials and videos online that will help. overall, it's a splendid book full of really, really lovely quilt patterns. especially if you love scrappy quilts with dozens of prints per quilt and want challenging projects that will push your skills. which i do.

this book has been read and browsed nearly every day since it got here. even if i only ever just looked at it, it was a worthwhile purchase for all the viewing pleasure it gives!

if you've seen the book, which pattern is your favorite?

linking up with lee's wip wednesday at freshly pieced