Sunday, January 24, 2010

Storm at Sea

Well, it's been exciting morning already and it's only 8:45am! When I was checking the blogs I follow this morning, there I was! On Brown Paper Packages, I was featured as contestant number two for the "So You Think You Can Quilt" contest. I'm so excited!! It's going to be so much fun!! I feel like I have been stuck in a rut lately. I have been doing so many store samples, commissioned quilts, and quilting for others that I really have not had the time to just play around with fabric and see where it leads. So I signed up for the contest to get my brain cells perking away.

Every month there is a theme and you have to create a quilt around that theme. Then all the quilts are posted and you can vote on your favorite. Each month one person is eliminated and thrown off the SS Fabricholic ship. Just kidding about being thrown off a ship though won't that be cool if we could all be stitching away on a cruise ship. Hmmmm....maybe some TV execs can pick up on that idea for the fall lineup. Anyway, each month someone is eliminated until one person remains. You can play along too and stitch your own quilt around the theme. Fun huh!

In other news, I finished stitching together my Storm at Sea blocks and I'm putting it all together now. I made the quilt using a Square in a Square ruler. Here's how it works and the example features a square within a square within a square block. That's a mouthful!

Here's what the ruler looks like. Each side features a particular angle. I'm using the 90 degree angle for this block.

Here's the block before I get started with the ruler. I made the first square within a square and now I am adding the second framing square.



Time to get cutting with the ruler. You line up your 90 degree angle with the seam lines. Note how the ruler has a built in 1/4 inch seam allowance. Then you slice off the extra fabric.

Then you turn the block and do the next side, again lining up the seam allowance with the 90 degree lines.


Keep turning your block and cutting off the extra fabric until all four sides are done.
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The finished block comes out really good with perfect 1/4 inch seam allowances. You won't be sewing your points into the seam allowance when you use this ruler! BUT, the downside is the technique generates alot of waste. Here's what's left after cutting one block.
Now I know what you are saying....I could save the triangles for something else. And you're right! But then I have more scraps and I already have a whole shelf full of scraps. So I am not going to use the ruler again. I'm going to stitch up the rest of the quilt today and post the compeleted top tommorrow. Have a great day everyone!

kathy

1 comment:

Darlee said...

If you find yourself enjoying the process... then just do it!! There will always be another project to use what is left over...