The BIG REVEAL!

[Barbara B.]

Today November 15, 2023 Alex Anderson did the BIG REVEAL of the 2024 BOM--PICK A PETAL by Jen Kingwell.
Watch the video on Facebook or YouTube:

https://www.facebook.com/10004530600...10941071704910

[soniasimone]

I'm so excited! Jen is my favorite designer, and I've done a few of her quilts now.

Like Jen, I do all my piecing by hand, so if anyone wants extra hand-holding I'm here for it.

[Pat A.]

Barbara, two questions.

First how big are the pieced blocks?

Next, I watched Alex after she was live and don't see a link to the drawing she mentioned. The live chat comments aren't viewable after the stream is no longer live, or if they are I can't find them. Can you post the link to that entry?

[Barbara B.]

Barbara, two questions.

First how big are the pieced blocks?

Next, I watched Alex after she was live and don't see a link to the drawing she mentioned. The live chat comments aren't viewable after the stream is no longer live, or if they are I can't find them. Can you post the link to that entry?

https://thequiltshow78384.ac-page.co...Quilt%20Update

The two primary blocks and the log cabin blocks are 8" finished.

I got the link to the Kit Giveaway from the Newsletters that come by email. If you aren't signed up for those you should do that so you don't miss good stuff like this.

Sign up for the Newsletters on the Home page: https://thequiltshow.com/

[Carole B.]

Very excited to begin this Jen Kingwell BOM! I was fortunate to take a class from Jen this summer on hand piecing. Templates have been ordered!

[Helen W.]

Carole B.
So happy to have you back on the BOM forums. Which class did you take from Jen Kingwell?
Are you doing it in cotton or wool felt? I have not made any of her patterns. I googled her and
really like her patterns Bring Me Flowers and Burrows &Boughs. In fact I might get the Bring
Me Flowers pattern and resize the blocks to replace some of the ones I don't care for in Pick a Pedal.
I was thinking about using butterflies or birds in the white appliqué go cabin block border since the abstracts type flowers aren't something I really like. I was thinking I might go with Jason Yenter
fabrics. I have made a couple of his quilts this past year and love all his rainbow type fabrics. I have a lot of left
over fabrics from Enchanted Garden and when I finish Rainbow of Jewels I will have even more.
It is all so much fun. HelenW

[Kyla V.]

I am very excited for this BOM! I immediately knew what I was going to do. I am doing it as a stash buster for my 1930's reproduction fabrics.

I do need it to be bigger and I am figuring out how to enlarge it. My thought is maybe adding a row of 4 inch log cabin background blocks around the center. I would then need to add some extra blocks around each of the borders.

I would love to hear if anyone else has any ideas for enlarging this quilt?

Kyla

[Barbara B.]

I would add another border of Log Cabin blocks next, that adds 16” to both sides.

[Helen W.]

Kyla, I agree with Barbara. If you put the extra log cabin border just before the last half circle border you do not need to adjust
each of the other borders. Do you want a rectangle or square
quilt? Do you have a specific size in inches that you want it.?
Is it for a queen size mattress, king size or you don't know.
I did some old school copy and paste to give you a rough idea
of various options. I will post them below in a separate post
since I don't the option to add photos here. HelenW

[soniasimone]

I love Helen & Barbara's suggestions for making it bigger.
I think this will be perfect with 1930s repro!

[Carole B.]

Carole B.
So happy to have you back on the BOM forums. Which class did you take from Jen Kingwell?
Are you doing it in cotton or wool felt? I have not made any of her patterns. I googled her and
really like her patterns Bring Me Flowers and Burrows &Boughs. In fact I might get the Bring
Me Flowers pattern and resize the blocks to replace some of the ones I don't care for in Pick a Pedal.
I was thinking about using butterflies or birds in the white appliqué go cabin block border since the abstracts type flowers aren't something I really like. I was thinking I might go with Jason Yenter
fabrics. I have made a couple of his quilts this past year and love all his rainbow type fabrics. I have a lot of left
over fabrics from Enchanted Garden and when I finish Rainbow of Jewels I will have even more.
It is all so much fun. HelenW

Hi Helen! I’ve been lurking in the forums, but hope to be active in 2024! I took a day-long class with Jen at the Maine Quilts show on hand piecing. Right up my alley, so I’m excited to practice this new skill on this BOM. I do plan on doing this in cotton. I started Halo in the class but haven’t touched it since. Too many other projects going on! No idea what I’ll be using for fabrics for this. Not sure the small collection of fat quarters I have accumulated qualify as a stash. Hoping this BOM will help me get over my intimidation in choosing fabrics!

I’ll leave you with this small wall hanging I did last year as a BOM with Sue Spargo. Happy Holidays!

[Helen W.]

Carole, What a treasure that darling little tree wall hanging is. Your workmanship is beyond belief.
Is that the one called Tinsel? A friend of mine in Colorado just signed up for a block of the month
that is a Sue Spargo called Tinsel. She said it was trees. It starts in January. Are you planning on
doing Pick a Pedal as a scrappy quilt palette or are you going to do a palette you pick the colors
for. I am really excited for this new BOM. Should be fun. HelenW

[lehab375]

That is lovely. It looks like a lot of work!
Linda

[Beverly C.]

Oh my goodness, your wall hanging is beautiful!

[Helen W.]

Response to Kyla asking for option to make the quilt bigger. I have 4 possibilities.
If you click on each picture you will be able to see the size in inches.After posting the sizes in the little text box, they don't show up so.Picture 1 is 72 by 88 Picture 2 is 88 by 88; Picture 3 is 80 by 96; Picture 4 is 96 by 96. I am assuming that the half circle blocks are 4 by 8 inch blocks. Hope this give you some ideas. To get the the whole circle block you just do a mirror image of the original and sew them together.
HelenW

[Helen W.]

Response to Kyla's request for options to make the quilt larger than 72 by 72. I have 4 possibilities.
Hope this gives you some ideas you like. To get the whole circle on the outside border, make a mirror
image of the original half circle and sew together. HelenW
CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE ENLARGED IMAGE

[lehab375]

Thank you so much for adding these pictures. I didn't get it with just the words and it makes perfect sense once I can see it.

Linda

[Kyla V.]

Thank you Helen! I had planned on doing the same thing - old school copy and paste - but this last week really got away from me. I am thinking about the 88 x 88 square because my first instinct is to keep it close to the original pattern/design. However, it does bother me that there are an even number of squares in each border and the corners are NOT all the same block. I am still not sure exactly what I am going to do yet.

[Kyla V.]

Thank you everyone for your input. I have been doing a lot thinking about (and cutting/pasting) and I am still undecided. It seems that this quilt is going to be - as my grandma would have said - "fiddly", so it would be a lot of extra work to enlarge it. My original idea was to put it on my queen sized bed, but I am not so sure that this is the right quilt for my bed. My husband (6'3" and 240 lbs) isn't always delicate with things and I won't want to put it on my bed if I put that much work into it.

Also, I am currently working on a Jen Kingwell quilt that will be done in the next couple of months (it will be my first quilt for a show). I have decided not to make a decision right now and see how it goes for the first few months of this BOM.

[Helen W.]

Barbara, I know you highly recommend the templates. I was looking at them in the shop.
A lot of unusual shapes. I can see why it would be hard to do it without them. My question is
did you do your blocks by machine or by hand. How challenging is it to do those weird shape
ones by machine? HelenW

[Barbara B.]

I am just getting started. One block I converted to machine piecing then appliquéd the curved shapes on each side, easy. The other main block I found challenging to hand piece and close to impossible to machine piece. So I am on a mission to try to convert it to be easier to complete, there are 20 of each. Worst case scenario, I will replace the second block with an alternate.
The center Star, log cabin blocks and fans should be easy to machine piece. I haven’t gotten to them yet.

[soniasimone]

Barbara, you have a lot more quilt experience than I do, but I've done a fair few of Jen's quilts by hand and I think I can help you with the block that's giving you problems.

I got my templates today and am doing a test block of the one that has the orange peel-shaped pieces.

DM me if you'd like some thoughts!

I've hand-pieced Wandering Wife, Golden Days, Bowie Stars, about 1/3 of Caution Curves Ahead (working through that one), and a bunch of Glitter blocks. Also I lead the Jen Kingwell club at my LQS.

[Judith A.]

I am excited about this BOM. I have been a member of TQS for a long time, but haven't quilted lately after the death of my husband and then the death of my son a few months later. Just haven't felt like it. However, I am getting excited about making this quilt. Pick A Petal is such a cheerful, happy quilt with such cheertul, happy fabrics. Makes me smile just to lpook at it. Great choice of fabrics TQS and Kristin!

[Carole B.]

Carole, What a treasure that darling little tree wall hanging is. Your workmanship is beyond belief.
Is that the one called Tinsel? A friend of mine in Colorado just signed up for a block of the month
that is a Sue Spargo called Tinsel. She said it was trees. It starts in January. Are you planning on
doing Pick a Pedal as a scrappy quilt palette or are you going to do a palette you pick the colors
for. I am really excited for this new BOM. Should be fun. HelenW

Hi Helen, Yes, this is Tinsel. Such a darling little quilt! Haven’t decided on fabrics. Think I’ll wait to see what is called for in the pattern and get some inspiration from others.
Received my templates yesterday. They are great for hand piecing. I’ll be curious what areas she says to machine piece.

[Helen W.]

Carole, A great way to get a palette that has colors that work well together is to pick a focus fabric. One
that is a print with lots of color and you really love the fabric. Then you pick fabrics that are the same colors
and they can be different values. Like if it had a blue, pull light medium and dark blues of the same hue.
That almost always work to make a beautiful, colorful quilt. Helen

[lehab375]

I did a template of the month quilt a number of years ago from Jen Kingwell (she called it TOM) and when I did the blocks, I kept thinking they were close enough. When I got to the end and went to sew everything together, I discovered that close enough was not good enough! That is why there are so many black pieces in the quilt - I had to add something to make quite a number of blocks big enough. This is the quilt hanging in our guild quilt show when the guild was still active and doing shows, so May of 2018. That probably means I did the blocks in 2017 and got it done in time for the show. My husband told me to use up my fabrics that I already have and to not buy the kit this year, so I just got the templates. He also told me to use a more toned down palette, so I guess that's what I'll try for. It may not happen, but it will be all batiks rather than prints, so he may be OK with lots of color. He won't allow this quilt on the bed as he says it is too loud and he can't sleep. I think he's crazy because when you're sleeping, it's dark and your eyes are closed, but we use it in the living room and family room instead to keep him happy.

Linda

[Helen W.]

Linda, I am starting a notebook for Pick A Petal and your quote "I discovered that close enough was not good enough".
is going to be on the first page.
That is sage advice. And a picture to prove it. Was the quilt hand pieced, machine pieced or both? Contrast often draws
your eye to it. The black tends to catch your attention. If you had used pieces of fabric of the colors in the quilt for the odd
sized sashings it would not be as noticeable. I zoomed the quilt and it looks like you turned the outside edge of each block
that did not fit to the others. What a lot of work. Were you a TQS member at that time? Your problem would have been a good one to post in forum. I can think of several work arounds. HelenW
.

[lehab375]

This was through WebFabrics, so not a part of TQS. I think I was a member of TQS, but since it wasn't through them, I didn't post anything. Everything was machine pieced. I didn't have large enough pieces of anything left which is why I went with the black. I remember measuring each block that had to be sewn next to another block and adding a black strip so they were the same size. I know there were lots of tears while I was putting this one together. My husband would regularly ask why I was crying this time!

Linda

[Helen W.]

Barbara, So I am just thinking ahead. Might go with straight line instead of curved templates on the orange peel block.
No decisions yet, way to soon. Just thinking ahead. Would do the orange peel curved pieces with turned edge and wash
away stabilizer. Piece the 8 inch block then put the applique the 4 ovals on top. I also found a picture of a quilt that
uses the shapes from Pick a petal in side by side blocks. That would be another one I would consider. HelenW

[Barbara B.]

These are both great options. I made the one with corner petals using two sizes of circles but that is a lot of work. The straight lines are so much easier to machine piece. Might have to make a test block of this. I just don’t think I have it in me to hand piece 20 of those blocks.

[Barbara B.]

Barbara, you have a lot more quilt experience than I do, but I've done a fair few of Jen's quilts by hand and I think I can help you with the block that's giving you problems.

I got my templates today and am doing a test block of the one that has the orange peel-shaped pieces.

DM me if you'd like some thoughts!

I've hand-pieced Wandering Wife, Golden Days, Bowie Stars, about 1/3 of Caution Curves Ahead (working through that one), and a bunch of Glitter blocks. Also I lead the Jen Kingwell club at my LQS.

Great, Sonia. I am open to all suggestions for hand piecing that block. Tell us all about it, I will start a new TOPIC for that block.