Questions for Sarah - Month 2 (February)

[lsipes]

I fused them all down and then did the applique stitch. If you're careful the pieces with the "pie piece" fused over them should form good inside points to stitch them easily without a big hassle.

[lsipes]

Thanks so much

[Sarah V.]

Fudsy - you can do it a couple of way! I fused all the applique shapes in place and then stitched everything all at once. Make sure you fuse them in the correct order as they do overlap. Or... you can fuse the first layer down, stitch, then fuse the next layer down, stitch, then fuse the last piece in place and stitch. The only possible advantage to doing it this way is that you can hide the thread ends.

Hope this helps!
Sarah :-)

[Sarah V.]

I was wondering if we could do the majority of the block as paperpiecing vs. applique?
Jen

[Sarah V.]

Sarah,

On other threads there are discussions of the size of the month 1 finished circle. I haven't seen a definitive answer as to the FINISHED size of the circle and attached borders. Could you enlighten us? Mine finished at 16.75 inches. Is this too small? Should I re do it?

Thanks,

Caryl

[Sarah V.]

Jen - It would be possible to paper piece the blocks for month 2 if you modified the existing templates just a little. The small circle would end up being appliqued over seam lines which is not ideal. Appliqueing the whole thing is a lot easier!

Caryl - the center star should be 11" diameter when finished. When the pieced border is added, you should have a 15.5" finished circle. With the outer border on you should have a 16.5" finished circle - 17" including seam allowances. If you have a smaller circle, then it may be that your seam allowance is too big. It could also be that you have shrunk the fabric a little if you have been using steam when ironing. And if you haven't pressed the seams totally flat that might cause the block to be smaller than it needs to be.

Hope this helps!
Sarah :-)

[Doreen L.]

I don't see a blue line for sewing H to template C so is there an overlap there and the stitching is beside the appliqué on template C? If so, I assume you he stitch all around piece F

[Sarah V.]

Are you referring to the blue line mentioned on page 7 in the second bullet point? If so, this blue line is shown in the diagram - it is not blue on the template, but a solid black line. Piece C hangs over the edge of the stitching line - so when you add piece H the edge of C will be in the seam allowance. Sorry if this wasn't made clear :-)

[sydney d.]

Hi Sarah, im stuck on placing J & K, i know u say stitch to the edge of the block but thats not enough of a guide for me without a picture guide :?
& im having trouble guessing where to line it up, apart from using a light box to see the exact line, Is there something im missing,

thank you for everything so far, your a great teacher

[sydney d.]

I have just finished my first block two. I also had trouble working out where to put the B and C pieces., The way I did it was using the paper from my fusible to mark the spot and then placing the material on top and carefully pull the paper out. On my first attempt I put the point of the material on my basting line and couldn't work out how to attach I and K. I didn't realise there was a seam allowance on the B and C pieces.
I also didn't have any room for error with the J and K pieces. I suggest pin and check before you sew, and make sure the dotted cutting line will be covered after you have sewn.
Hope this helps.

[sydney d.]

Hi Sarah, im stuck on placing J & K, i know u say stitch to the edge of the block but thats not enough of a guide for me without a picture guide :?
& im having trouble guessing where to line it up, apart from using a light box to see the exact line, Is there something im missing,

thank you for everything so far, your a great teacher

The way I attached J and K was folding the paper template on the sewing line and trimming the background fabric to 1/8inch seam allowance, Lay this seam allowance on top of the J piece. Pin turn back to check that you have all cutting lines covered. Open the paper flat and sew on the solid line. Press and repeat for K. This is probably not the way Sarah does it, but it worked for me, as I paper piece this way also.

[sydney d.]

Hi Sarah, im stuck on placing J & K, i know u say stitch to the edge of the block but thats not enough of a guide for me without a picture guide :?
& im having trouble guessing where to line it up, apart from using a light box to see the exact line, Is there something im missing,

thank you for everything so far, your a great teacher

The way I attached J and K was folding the paper template on the sewing line and trimming the background fabric to 1/8inch seam allowance, Lay this seam allowance on top of the J piece. Pin turn back to check that you have all cutting lines covered. Open the paper flat and sew on the solid line. Press and repeat for K. This is probably not the way Sarah does it, but it worked for me, as I paper piece this way also.

Hi Maree, Thanks for the tip, I havent done any paper piecing at all until this. Seeings they were all fast asleep in the US & i really wanted to get on with it i did actually decide to draw/continue the sewing lines out beyond the pattern so that i could at least get a better guide of where they were, but i shall keep your idea in mind for the future, thanks again

[Sarah V.]

Hi Syd60 & Maree,

Sounds like you are figuring this out! Holding the block up to a light source (the window, a light bulb) or using a light box is how I get the pieces lined up when paper piecing. The pieces should be big enough to cover the areas they are supposed to cover. One of the advantages of piecing onto stabilizer and leaving it in is that if there is a gap between the edge of the fabric and where it should cover, you can still use the foundation to determine the seam allowance for putting blocks together. Extending the line beyond the edge of the block is a great idea to give you a reference point - but don't stitch beyond the line specified!

Let me know if you have any more questions (or if I have missed a question that you have asked :-) )
Sarah :-)

[Joan D.]

Like Maree I too total missed the seam allowance on B and C and cut on the solid line thank heaven for this forum, and I had only done one. I can hear Alex PAY AAAATTENTION

[sydney d.]

Hi again sarah, i am in a hell of a mess with putting this centre in the centre of the diamonds, i have pinned & unpinned 5 times, hand tacked & stitched all the way round once & am about to unpick all of that again, my fabric is really starting to fray & all the foundation paper & tearaway is falling apart from all the handling so im losing my lines for placement guide. i have followed every line exactly all the way & up until now everything has fit nicely , but now my outside is way too big for the centre .

Really hope u have a magic wand

syd