We're in for a lot of fun sewing in the next few weeks. We will be sewing Christmas Cheer by Cotton Way. The pattern can be purchased here. The fabric we will be using is Vintage Holiday by Bonnie and Camille. The kit can be purchased here. I will not be posting measurements of the pieces. You will have to purchase the pattern to find this information.
My name is Deb and I'll be sewing along with you. I'll give you hints along the way and try to make everything easier, so you'll have a quilt ready in time for Christmas!
First - I hope you're excited and ready to go. I put a rotary cutter blade in for smooth sailing and I've wound a few bobbins. (There's nothing worse than having to stop sewing in the middle of a project because you've run out of bobbin thread.)
Second - I went ahead and cut the sashing strips and labeled them. These will make great leader and enders, so you don't have to cut your thread all of the time. I like leader and enders, so I don't have so many threads on my quilt and I don't have a long tail of thread. When you are coming to the end of sewing, instead of cutting your thread, I'll sew, for instance, two of my sashing strips together, then I'm ready to start sewing the next part of the block. I'll trim the thread between the part of the block I've already sewn and the sashing strips, leaving the sashing strips under the sewing machine foot. Once I start sewing the block again, I'll trim the thread for the sashing strips. Easy Peasy...
I'll be posting block information every other Monday.
June 4th - Row #1 - Star
June 18th - Row #2 - Log Cabin
July 2nd - Row #3 - Santa Hat
July 16th - Row #4 - Heart
July 30th - Row #5 - Peppermint
August 13th - Row #6 - Gift
August 27th - Row #7 - Friendship Star
September 10th - Row #8 - Tree
September 24th - Row #9 - Checkerboard
October 8th - Row #10 - Stocking
October 22nd - Putting the Rows Together
If you want to work ahead, you'll know what we are going to be working on next.
For more information, please read here.
If you want to work ahead, you'll know what we are going to be working on next.
For more information, please read here.
I have also cut my binding strips. If you have an extra half hour sometime, get your binding sewn and pressed. It saves time at the end of your project or when it comes back from the quilter and you wonder where you put the binding fabric.
I place all of these items in a box and keep everything close by.
Okay...on to the Star block.
I cut strips of what I will be using for the Star block. For B and D, I cut mine an 1/8" to 1/4" bigger, so I can trim when I get the geese blocks finished.
Here are the fabrics I chose for my C squares.
You will need a total of A=56 pieces
B=56 pieces
C=14 pieces
D=112 pieces
Don't forget to cut your filler and end strips.
I cut just what I needed for my C squares, less waste and more fun...I did fussy cut a few of my center squares. I found what size I needed for my C square and divided this number in half. I lined the center of the ornament up with these lines and cut my square.
As I was finishing up each cut, I placed my Alphabitties on the cut fabrics. These are a great tool to have and makes figuring multiple pieces so much easier. You can find your Alphabitties here.
Following the directions, place a red D star point on your B rectangle. Sew...Trim...Press...
Add other square to the opposite side...sew, trim and press.
I am always left with a somewhat nice looking flying goose.
The way to make it look soooo much better, is to use my Quilt In a Day Flying Geese Ruler for appropriate size. Trim to appropriate size. (If your ruler is slip sliding all over, I use a short burst of my 505 Spray on my Geese Ruler and let it dry. It will be tacky and hold better and then I wash off when I'm finished with a little bit of soap and water.)
The perfect flying goose. You'll need four for each star.
Lay out your flying geese units, along with A and C.
I start sewing rows together. When I get to the middle row, I will sew (if at all possible) with the goose on top. That way I can keep an eye on the center of each goose, so nothing is cut off.
This is an easy block to press also. I press after each row is sewn. Here is a pic of how I pressed my block the first time around.
Everything will line up ever so nicely...Sew your rows together and you have the first block finished.
Only thirteen more to go, but it won't take long.
I am chain sewing all of my flying geese. This way there is very little thread waste and saves time sewing one at a time. I'll trim them all up and get them sewn up into blocks.
If there are any questions, get on Facebook and give us a shout. We also want to see your progress, so send us those pics.
See you in a few days with a couple more short cuts to finishing faster.
Even if you only have 10-15 minutes, you'll have time to sew a few seams, trim, or press...
Deb
2 comments:
Deb,
Should we cut all the pieces before starting? Since we are not starting on the large block I want to make sure I don't run out of fabric. Thanks!
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