Month Two Ruffled Roses

[Annis C.]

Month two is finally finished on my Christmas BOM. The lattice border was a challenge since I chose not to use paper, but an extra seam here and there made everything fit. The bigger challenge was figuring out how to arrange them for a scrappy look. I had them all arranged and was numbering them for sewing when I realized I had 9 across instead of 8! So after removing 2 of them I had to rearrange again and I'm not sure I got them perfect but they will have to do. If I'd known I'd made the extra ones I would have left some of the red pieces out. The checkered border that replaced the slat border and the floaters were sewn together first to make one unit then mitered. That was a challenge too. I marked the miters first from the front then sewed a basting stitch so I could see how far to sew on the back and keep the squares lined up in the corners. This quilt now measures 16" finished. Now to find time to do the mini quilt which will measure 8".

[Margo C.]

Annis it looks fabulous, and I love the checkerboard border!!

[Jo H.]

Annis -- I LOVE IT and in fact, WANT IT! LOL I love your border. Mitering that must have been a doosy of a job.

[Eileen K.]

Annis, that quilt is adorable! JoJo can't have it-it's mine! :lol: :lol:

[Constance G.]

Annis,
No need to "leave the red pieces out"...the lattice looks perfect as it is!

[Norma H.]

I think the reds just add to the beauty

[Jill B.]

I agree with everyone else the red gives a lovley look and looks just great.

[Margo C.]

Annis, I have a few questions for you. What is the finished size of each checkerboard square? Are you using starch during construction? How about steam?

Your piece looks so flat and square, it is a real inspiration!

[Margo C.]

Annis, you block is wonderful. I also love the checkered border. I plan on adding a checked border to my quilt someplace. I love checks and stripes.....that is why I was so attracted to the lattice border. I guess I am just a square person.....Grin :roll: :P :lol:

[Annis C.]

Annis, I have a few questions for you. What is the finished size of each checkerboard square? Are you using starch during construction? How about steam?

Your piece looks so flat and square, it is a real inspiration!

The checkerboard squares are 1/4". I didn't use starch and almost never do. I've used Best Press a few times when fussy cutting which results in bias edges because I won some at a Quilt Show a few years ago. I've never purchased any. I always use steam unless I'm working on paper. I've learned to press only the seam and not the whole block by just using the edge of the iron. I like an iron with a sharper edge instead of rounded. I cut the checkerboard strip on the crosswise grain because the dimension that direction gave me the length I needed in order to end with the dark square at all corners. Those squares aren't perfectly square. I cut the floaters on the lengthwise grain and sewed them to the checkerboard strips first on the checkerboard side. I cut them wider than needed and trimmed them to the right size before sewing to the center and lattice border. After sewing the lattice into groups of 4 with a scant seam allowance, I squared them again to get an exact 2 1/2". I used Sue's instructions to sew with the presser foot against the previous seam when adding the floaters to the center and lattice border. I learned to do that a few years ago when I started making miniature quilts. The second floater was wider than 1/4" so I adjusted the needle to get the right width. I use an open toe applique foot whenever I need to see what I'm doing. My machine doesn't have a 1/4" foot with enough space in the middle like the Bernina. That's the only complaint I have on the Pfaff machine that I use for all of my piecing and I also always use the dual feed.

Right now I'm working on the lattice border for my miniature quilt. It's going together quite easily so far, much easier than the slat border, and I hope to finish it today.

[Margo C.]

Thanks for the info, Annis! I love the tip about adjusting the needle position!

[Jo H.]

Whew.... After today I have dubbed myself the world's slowest piecer. I finished the lattice strips today and it only took me 11 hours!

For me that was some serious piecing with all of those areas to match, consistently verifying that each block stayed consistent size wise, and remembering which way to press all those seams! :?

Thank you Margo for your instructions on the swirling and pressing of the seams. As long as I've been sewing, I've never been shown how to do that. How did you know that if you press with the points up and the seam to the left, that it would also help with the matching when sewing the blocks into strips. I was impressed!!!

Now I need to do the interior borders. I made the lattice first instead of the borders. Hopefully by the end of next weekend and before the end of February I will actually be done with February. :shock:

I'm beat and hubby is making supper for me. He's such a sweetie. 8)

[Constance G.]

JoJo,
Fear not! You will not be alone in playing "beat the clock" next weekend. I have also found this month to be more challenging than I expected! My lattice squares are all pieced and trimmed, and sewn into groups of 4, ready to arrange on the design wall. Hopefully, no major glitches between now and the end of February. :wink:

[Annis C.]

Here's month two for my mini BOM. Definitely a challenge! The slat border was easy to do but very slow to see results. The sections for the lattice border went together smoothly. Of course I did them all on paper so didn't have to worry about seam allowances. When it came to assembling all of these sections and attaching them to the center, that was another story. There are definitely imperfections, but from a distance it looks good enough for me. If you can find them you're looking too close. If I were to redo this I would probably skip the mini piping and use a tiny crumb catcher or border instead. And I would skip the miters too. But I don't plan on a redo so this will have to do. I added the next floater so I could miter it with the rest of the borders and finish the outer edge of the lattice border so I could remove the paper. It will be trimmed to 1/4" or less.

[Annis C.]

So how big is the mini block now aj?