SHOW AND TELL--Your Blocks

[Barbara B.]

Think “soak”, not wash. Lay blocks in a sink or pan of warm water and leave them, 15 minutes or so. Drain, lay flat on fluffy towel, roll in towel then allow to dry flat. You could use a dry iron to speed the drying process—easier to leave overnight. Don’t wring or scrunch the blocks. There should be no distortion to stitches this way.

[Helen W.]

I thought I would try out some various ideas before deciding on technique and fabric selection. Probably not going to go with black or dark background
because it shadows thru. Would need to fuse a light woven interfacing on the appliqués. On these I tried to cut the black out from the back but not very
successful at that. I used glue turned edge technique using Applique Wash Away fusible paper. It worked good for turning the edge. I ended up soaking it
over night, because it did not break down after about an hour when I checked it. I pressed it like Barbara said on a towel face down. Need to run the lint
stick over it because I can see fuzz on the pictures. The blocks looked better before washing. I did Ricky Tims Cross over Couching technique with #5 DMC Pearl Cotton. It was fun to play around
but probably not going to use these ideas. HelenW

[Ellen L.]

Thanks, Helen. I have 6 different background fabrics to use, all of which have some bit of shiny in them. For stablilizer, I used Ricky's Stable Stuff Poly. It's printable, so I ran it though the inkjet printer for the pattern, and it doesn't need to be washed out. Works great for the glued turned method. Just saw your blocks. I love the couching technique you used.

[Barbara B.]

Helen, you are wise to test a few samples before beginning. There are 40 appliqué blocks so, unless you just want to jump in and practice as you make them, doing some pre-work samples is a good idea if you want to know which method you prefer before beginning.

Having said that, of course, it is perfectly fine to use different methods for those 40 blocks. Only someone who gets really close to the finished quilt might be able to tell hand vs. machine, raw edge vs. turned edge.

This quilt could be a “sampler of techniques “ if you so choose. Most quilters today would not be likely to do this, but “It’s your quilt, you get to decide.”

[Jill B.]

Barbara soaking the blocks is the best thing, isn't it? The first Sue Garmon quilt I did many years ago she advised when machine applique to spray starch the background fabric first as this stabilizers the background, I have done this ever since as it works brilliantly and saves me some $$$ instead of using stabilizers, I then use double-sided fusible on the pieces, my first love is machine applique and most of my quits are this. Sue also said when finished a few blocks give them a soak while having a coffee break lol lol which is what I do also, especially when doing a lot of blocks or a lot of intensive appliqueing, gives this aged body a rest lol lol. The blocks I have shown below have all been soaked then swished around, dried then ironed with a light starching..........I still remember her words "swished around" and to realize i remember this after all this time, it is a bit upsetting she is no longer with us.

I also lightly spray starch the back of any "pieced blocks", it makes it so much easier when putting them all together as this way all those seams are laying flat.

[Jill B.]

Anton, that is a great tip to mark the center of your ruler for the tiny 4patch square in a square .

Thanks! Cathtyn

[Ellen L.]

My final month 1 block. Finished before going back to school. The flamingos are a bit shy on this one, peaking out of the flowers. I do love pink birds!

[Jill B.]

Your block is lovely and especially the fussy cutting.

[Jill B.]

So many lovely blocks as yours is, also love the fussy cutting of the dogs so cute.

[Linda R.]

Ellen's block is beautiful. I love her colors.

[Linda N.]

Finished the applique blocks on Sunday; if it weren't winter, I would have finished sooner. You see, snow removal, skiing and undecorating got in the way. Today I hope to do the sho-fly blocks.

[Barbara B.]

ljkn52, your applique blocks look great--good job!

[Diane O.]

This isn't my finished block yet, but I was just so happy with how these came out I just had to share with other quilters that would understand my joy. Usually when I do any sort of Square in a Square block, my edges are no where near being even, which is why they are almost always made over sized and trimmed down. As I was making my 4 patch on point squares, I was delighted to see this as I was pressing that last triangle open.





I know that they will be trimmed down, and that the accuracy of those edges aren't vital, but since I decided I wanted to work on my accuracy while making this quilt, seeing how accurate my edges were in these units made me happy. Now to finish the Shoo Fly blocks, so I can get pictures posted of those.

Diane in Colorado Springs

[Margo C.]

Diane, I have learned that heavily starching my fabrics before they are cut makes my piecing a LOT more accurate. It also minimizes stray threads during construction and makes pressing crisp by reducing stretch. I will also heavily starch my appliqué blocks before machine stitching the shapes in place. As for these four patches, Barbara’s tip about lining up the point of the triangles with the seam of the four patch is brilliant! Thanks Barb!

[Linda N.]

I haven't starched in the past but for some reason I did starch the background of the applique and the applique itself on this project. Somehow I forgot about that while doing the patches for the Shoo Fly blocks; I will starch them in the future. Thanks for the reminder.