BLOG 306

BLOG 306

Since I last posted my blog, we have entered our dog days. Not as in the Winston Churchill/depression/black dog days, but as in Tam and Nicks/bouncing/Labrador days. Jasper and Bonnie are here to stay for a week whilst their ‘people’ go on holiday. This means a certain amount of disruption at home as the cats have to decamp and go and live at the top of the corridor in our bedroom, bathroom and utility room. This in turn necessitates that we move down the corridor to the guest room so firstly, we can hear the dogs at night (24” thick walls tend to dampen noise!) and secondly, we don’t get disturbed by the night time wanderings of the cats! What a palaver. That said, they are great fun to have around and the regular walks have been great. They are enthusiastic whenever they see you, unlike cats that barely raise an eyelid!

 I have decided to name the latest scrap quilt ‘Flower Power’ as I will be using all my floral fabrics throughout. The design is corner log cabin sewn using a paper foundation method and it will be set on point to make it more interesting. And how do we do it? … here goes!

 

PATTERN: this was drawn on cheap computer printing paper cut into a square. The corner square is 2” and the strips are 1 ½”.

             Pattern

FABRIC: All my florals have been cut into 2 ¼” strips and the corners are cut at 2 ¾”. (They are cut larger than necessary to give a bit of wriggle room with this method.)

             Fabric strips

                 Corners

FOUNDATION METHOD: pin the corner square on the unmarked side of the paper so that 2 edges are level with the paper and cover it with the first strip. Pin through the paper to prevent any slipping.

              Row 1

On the marked side sew on the line from beginning to end using very small stitches (these need to be small so that they perforate the paper, making it easier to remove afterwards.)

              Sewing

I like to sew two at a time to save thread. Once I have the second square under the needle I can release the first one (I call this leap frogging!)

                 Leap frogging

On the unmarked side, fold the paper pattern out of the way and reduce the seam allowance to ¼” using a rotary cutter and ruler or scissors.  

               Trim

On the unmarked side fold the fabric over so the right side of the strip is visible ready for the next strip of the same fabric.

                Strip 1

On the same side, pin on the next strip of the same fabric so that it is roughly level with the edges of the other two pieces of fabric. Turn to the marked side and sew on the line to complete the first row.

            Strip 2

            Row 1/next fabric

 Continue adding 2 strips to each edge of the square trying to go from light through medium to dark. (HINT: There are two sides to a fabric and sometimes it helps to use the WS to create a smooth transition between rows). There are 4 rows in total.

                 2 Sides

                4 rows

When complete, place the block fabric side down and use a rotary cutter and ruler to trim away the excess fabric to the size of the paper. Hold opposite corners and tug to tear the paper and repeat on the other two corners. Remove the paper and place the block on a design wall and watch the quilt grow.

                Tug to tear

                WS and RS

                 Design wall

                 A busy bin!