I have no shortage of cute novelty prints. In fact, that was one of the primary things that I realized when I did
my 6 month fabric fast. I hardly touch my novelty prints. It is apparent, though, that I like to buy them! This is (most of) my current collection. Ahem!
Well, I have finally found a good use for these cuties! The pattern is the Tell Me A Story Quilt, from
Amy Friend's new book
Intentional Piecing. I'm not prone to fussy cutting, because I hate to waste fabric, so I'm fussy cutting responsibly. Hahaha! I am carefully planning my cuts so that I don't make Swiss cheese out of my fabric. Rather, I am producing square or rectangular scraps that can be
easily used later. (Messy scraps drive me crazy!)
I love that Amy recommends in the book to make your fabric selections one block at a time. I probably would have done that anyway, but it's good to have formal permission. Ha! I don't have a ton of this background fabric on hand, but it was a strategic choice. I selected this aqua Moda Bella solid because I should have enough to make a pillow cover, but not a whole quilt. This way, I can't change my mind later on.
I do not need another quilt WIP!
I'm not a huge paper piecer, but I do like to do it occasionally. I love the accurate results it produces! Plus, it's kind of fun to sew through paper. :) One thing I dislike about paper piecing is the 1/4'' flaps that remain unsewn on the edges of the block. (See photo above.)
It occurred to me yesterday, that if I sew through the seam allowance area (the gray shaded area) when I am sewing the very last seams in the block, that fixes the problem. No more flappy seams. Hurray! I would caution you, though, to make sure that you do this only on the outer-most seams. If you do so prematurely, you will have to do some stitch ripping. I also learned that yesterday. :) Now I'm wondering why I haven't tried it before! (Who knows, maybe this is paper piecing common knowledge?) Either way, it's kind of a game changer for me. I love learning new and useful things!
I've been having a lot of fun with these! Each block will finish at 6", so I only need 9 for a pillow. Sweet! (Har, har.)
20 comments:
Those are some cute blocks. :)
Your blocks are adorable! Yes, you always start your stitching in the seam allowance (which is why I mark it on my patterns) and continue stitching 1/4" beyond the end of any stitch line. Hopefully figuring this out means that you can now love paper piecing! Yay!
Oh, and I stitch though the seam allowance on both seams--not just the one like you showed. When you go to sew the next piece on, just pull the stitches off the paper--no need for seam ripping that way!
Carol Doak in her wonderful Craftsy class says to start your stitching 1/2 inch ahead of the line and end it 1/2 inch after the line ends. I use her method and have never had any trouble with seam allowances.
I love novelty fabrics. I made a few I spy quilts, which help me justify all the cuteness!
Oh what a clever idea - the blocks are so cute and dainty; you could tell a story by lining them up like emojis couldn't you!
What pretty blocks, this is going to be a lovely quilt. I'm assuming this s for a child, they are going to love it! Blessings, Gretchen
I have always kept on sewing into the seam allownace. What flappy bits? :)
I have a soft spot for cute novelty prints too. This is a perfect block to feature them.
Only 9 blocks? But what will you do with the rest of those lovely novelty prints??? You know, these blocks wold make darling pin cushions. Just sayin'!
I love paper piecing! Can't wait to try this! Thank you!
Amanda Jean,
I have been wondering for quite some time now what you do with all your wonderful quilts and other projects! Do you gift many of your creations? If so, I will bet everyone wants to be your friend!!
Your blocks are adorable! I'm not usually one for fussy cutting either, for the same reason...all the unusable fabric left over! I may have to give it a go with strategic cutting, though, as I always like the resulting fussy cut blocks.
Those look so cute.
You have quite a collection of novelty fabrics! I love how the blocks are turning out. Paper piecing is a lot of fun and very relaxing. Enjoy!
Oh you make me giggle! I love reading and seeing what you are creating and working on. But I must say, only 9 blocks isn't going to use up much of your novelty fabrics 😊
Oh,YES! The answer to what I will do with the novelty double gauze prints that I just ordered! Yours are so cute!
I love those. Can't wait to see the pillow. What a great idea to tell a story with the novelty fabrics.
So very cute and even though I am not a "modern color" fan, your little blocks look great and will look nice on a pillow - right - no quilt? LOL
Super cute blocks! And I'm guilty of having too many cute novelty prints. What a great idea!
What I REALLY want to know is......how are you going to quilt your Epic quilt?? I made a smaller one (approx throw size...blocks are about 6"square) and am quilting 1/4" on each size of every seam. It's taking forever (using my domestic vintage Elna 62c). It's mindless sewing though, so it is relaxing, just time consuming....
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