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.)
Those are some cute blocks. :)
ReplyDeleteYour 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!
ReplyDeleteOh, 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!
ReplyDeleteCarol 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.
ReplyDeleteI love novelty fabrics. I made a few I spy quilts, which help me justify all the cuteness!
ReplyDeleteOh 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!
ReplyDeleteWhat 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
ReplyDeleteI have always kept on sewing into the seam allownace. What flappy bits? :)
ReplyDeleteI 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'!
ReplyDeleteI love paper piecing! Can't wait to try this! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAmanda Jean,
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteThose look so cute.
ReplyDeleteYou 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!
ReplyDeleteOh 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 😊
ReplyDeleteOh,YES! The answer to what I will do with the novelty double gauze prints that I just ordered! Yours are so cute!
ReplyDeleteI love those. Can't wait to see the pillow. What a great idea to tell a story with the novelty fabrics.
ReplyDeleteSo 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
ReplyDeleteSuper cute blocks! And I'm guilty of having too many cute novelty prints. What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteWhat 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....
ReplyDelete