MONTH 3 -- Ask Questions Here

[beachsewgolf]

Here are the photos

[beachsewgolf]

These are photos of machine pieced block from my previous post. I know not colorway of original but there are flowers.

[Janet C.]

I would like to purchase a hole punch. Should it be 1/8 or 1/16?
I know you mentioned it on FB but I forget what you said.

[Sheridan D.]

I purchased the 1/16, perfect sizes for using a pencil or pencil type marker to mark dots.

[Barbara B.]

1/16 if you can find it, 1/8 will work in a pinch

[Helen W.]

I made several of Barbara's alternate month 3 blocks successfully and wanted to try the pieced "Sonia Sequence. " After 3 days and many hours of struggling, piecing and repiecing with and without glue and pins, I am able to get to the first gentle curve. But when I try to piece the second gentle curve it never fits even if I try to finesse the seam allowance. I always end up with a volcano that will not respond to blocking or ironing or else there is a gap that is too wide. I have tried ironing under the seam allowance of one side or the other (concave or convex) and then gluing but this hasn't worked either. Half of the semicircle can be sewn and the other half has a gap or both halves of the semicircle have gaps. Gluing the crescent seam allowance worked for the crescent 9-patch blocks, but not here. Is anyone else having this problem? Any tips before I abandon this pieced version?

Annette, A couple questions. Can you post a picture of the back of the block? Are you drawing the sew lines? You can check
to see the the thread of the stitches are on both lines, so the seam is not too small and not too big. I have made a lot of
Judy Niemeyer quilts that were based on circular centers. It is critical to have all the unit end up exactly 360 degrees when finished or you
get a quilt that has a volcano or won't lay flat when sections are connected. Since this flower is a form of circle I think the
problem is probably in your seam allowance. Are you using the orange templates or printing your own? If printing your
own do a double check on that 1 inch square to make sure the pieces are the correct size. HelenW

[Annette M.]

Thank you Helen. Terrimeggers is right about precision for this block. After many tries I got a passable block by using all the sew lines and stopping at all dots-not going beyond for any seam. My templates are printing accurately. I use card stock for them and use the adjacent piece to mark the seam. I also make the outer piece larger on 3 sides to have a generous allowance for trimming. I try to make sure the petal is 1/4” from the raw corner. If it is not, then I “unsew” and try again.

[terimeggers]

I had a very concave block 2 block on the the first one I made. The second one was concave too but not as bad. I almost gave up but thought about it and realized I won’t get better at this if I don’t keep trying. I tried one more time, making the seams and dots perfectly line up. I have drawn the lines carefully and the dots and slowly sewed together. The 3rd one came out much better. I didn’t realized how much precision mattered on this block. I will keep going and do the rest of the 20. Hopefully I get faster at it. I started doing it by hand sewing but switched to machine stitching and got better precision with the machine. This has been a real challenge, but I am increasing my skills as a quilter by taking on the challenge and continuing on.

[LORI M.]

I’m experiencing similar frustrations. I had to draw my own templates and the printer 1” square wasn’t 1”. The first Month 3 block was too small. Redrew the templates at 110% then the block was about an inch too big. Redrew the templates at 105% and my block was very ruffly - I thought I could guess at the seam allowance when cutting out the templates. Redrew the templates using an accurate 1/4 inch. For this block I couldn’t get the middle square part to look right. Finally tried doing the 2 horeshoe shaped pieces which I should’ve done to begin with. That’s the best way to get it to look nice! It’s a real lesson in perseverance.

[Barbara B.]

I’m experiencing similar frustrations. I had to draw my own templates and the printer 1” square wasn’t 1”. The first Month 3 block was too small. Redrew the templates at 110% then the block was about an inch too big. Redrew the templates at 105% and my block was very ruffly - I thought I could guess at the seam allowance when cutting out the templates. Redrew the templates using an accurate 1/4 inch. For this block I couldn’t get the middle square part to look right. Finally tried doing the 2 horeshoe shaped pieces which I should’ve done to begin with. That’s the best way to get it to look nice! It’s a real lesson in perseverance.

There is a Sticky Topic on printing accurate templates. If you haven't read those posts they may help:

https://thequiltshow.com/forum/block...template-sizes

How do I print the paper pieced alternate pattern pieces for block

[Barbara B.]

There are no paper pieced patterns for the alternative block. Can you be more specific what you want to print?

When you sew the middle square (month 3) do you sew just from dot to dot? For easier petal insertion?

[Barbara B.]

Yes, I think that makes it easiest if you are piecing the petal in.

[Helen W.]

How do I print the paper pieced alternate pattern pieces for block

I drew up a paper pieced version in EQ8. You could do the same with quarter inch graph paper. I put an extra 1/4 inch around the
out side of the block for wiggle room. It worked fine. I applique the leaf petals. HelenW
CLICK ON PHOTO TO SEE ENTIRE PICTURE

[Starr N.]

Where can I find Barbar's alternative block 3? Thank you. I struggle navigating the forum.

[Barbara B.]

It's in my Month 3 blog. There are links to my blog on the main page of the BOM under LEARN--where my Facebook Lives are found,
Here is the link to the Month 3 blog. If you follow my blog you will always get the blogposts:
https://bbquiltmaker.blogspot.com/20...l-month-3.html

[KMICHAEL]

I am struggling with this block. I have cut it out 2 times. I have drawn and sewed on the lines from dot to dot following Barbs instructions. My block keeps turning out like a bowl. So frustrating…grrr…please help, suggestions would be helpful…not ready to give up yet!

I went back and watched the video with Jen Kingwell...thinking my issue might have something to do with cutting or not cutting my fabric on the bias/stretch of the fabric.

[Helen W.]

KMichael, You really picked fabrics that look good together. Sounds like you are doing what you need
to do. More questions, are you machine stitching or hand stitching? Did you try the glue baste technique that Sonia posted a long time back? Did you cut the outside border piece a little larger
so it is easier to square up?Curves are notorious for sucking up a little extra fabric. Some designers allow for that by using a an extra 1/4 inch at the edge of a circle, then adjusting. I assume your block came out 8 1/2 inch square since you did not
mention a size issue. If you are hand piecing it might be that you are stretching the bias curves
as you stitch.Stitching tension is a part of hand piecing that I have not yet mastered. I know the block I tried turned out much like yours, only I got half a block done
and decided to make my own version of a flower block and gave up the hand piecing. Did your
block lay flat in pieces before adding the red petals? If you machine pieced, maybe using more
pins on the concave/convex if not glue basting. Fold in half marks on both pieces, fold those halves
in half, that give pins at each quarter, then between those every half inch. it keep it so it can't push
the fabric forward as you stitch. If you are using a walking foot, it should not push the top fabric forward. If you
are machine piecing take a close look at the sew line you drew on the bottom piece. Are the stitches
staying on the line. Any chance you can post a picture of the back of the block? HelenW

[Gail E.]

I was having a similar problem with my first few blocks then I realised that I wasn’t paying attention to the way in which I was cutting out my fabric. You definitely need to cut all your fabric parallel with the selvages. Hope that helps.