We ALL have bunches of 2-1/2” strips, don’t we? Or scraps we can cut INTO 2-1/2” strips!
It was a great day to play in the fabric – to make some speedy 9-patches ((Is there anything better than chain sewing strip sets?)) and to learn how to save those bonus units in useable sizes when doing stitch-n-flip corners for our star points.
We messed with our seam allowances a bit.
If the seam is too wide, the 9-patch won’t come out at 6-1/2” square, so the rectangle we’ve cut for the background of the star points will be too long – and we just can’t go whacking things off. Measure measure measure your unit – not just the seam allowance! Measure the unit itself from side to side, top to bottom, and do what you have to do to get the unit size to come out right.
Remember, there is no such thing as squaring UP – there is ONLY Squaring DOWN! We don’t want to have to do that….fix the seam first!
Have you made a Sister's Choice Quilt? Click the free patterns tab at the top of the blog to find the pattern. And while you are at it, Click the Tips & Techniques tab and click on Bonus Triangle Bonanza to learn about saving those Bonus Triangles in the right sizes!
Do you love cute gadgets? I DO! Look at this sweet thing:
I spied a mouse next to this block!
A very CUTE mouse at that! What do you suppose he could be?
A rotary cutter swallower!!
There is no pattern that I know of. She said she’d had him for years – but I think one could easily be made – isn’t he cute?? Never misplace your rotary cutter again!
I also love learning what other quilters recommend ---These were the finest nicest patchwork pins I’ve ever tried. I’m putting some on order ---the last glass head pins I ordered had such a heavy shaft that it is a pain to pin with them. I want THIN!! Do you have a favorite pin you use?
It was a great day of fun with the Brazos Bluebonnets!
((This is Judy – an award winning art quilter --- and this was her first patchwork class ever!))
Click the image below if you can’t view the slide show on your mobile device. You will be taken directly to the photo album.
 |
| Sister's Choice, Bryan TX 2013 |
Today we are relaxing ---I'm sewing blocks together into a quilt top! A very special soon to be announced quilt top! EXCITING!
I'm still thinking we are a go for Quilt-Cam at 9pm Eastern tomorrow ((Monday Oct 14th)) at 9pm EST. I should know more as tomorrow unfolds and I see how far I get on the order filling for Ring Around the Hexies!
There is a french company called Bohin which makes a very fine pin with a glass top. I have seen them at quilt shows, but don't know of a vendor/store that carries them. Supposedly, the pins are made from piano wire. They are quite nice, sharp and thin, but resilient enough that they don't bend easily. They have a french web site at http://www.bohin.fr/
ReplyDeleteTracy
Hi Bonnie,
ReplyDeleteI just purchased Little House pins, and I sometimes sew right over them! I usually try not to, for the life of my eyes and my machine, but these are very fine.
This is a beautiful quilt and next on my list to make! Still deciding on the colour combination though, only a new quilter so not a huge stash to pick from. Excited about the mystery for this year, found your blog just after the easy street mystery finished so will be fun! I did Lazy Sunday but didn't start till I saw the whole quilt, will trust Bonnie this time to come up with a beautiful combination of colours, and the instructions come out the day after my birthday so it will be my present to me! Keep sewing everyone:)
ReplyDeleteMy thinking has always been start with the best and you will know what you are missing. Clover patchwork pins are some of the best. They are the pins everyone will want to borrow at a class or workshop too!
ReplyDeleteI got to join a Sister's Choice class earlier this year. It is a fun class. This one had perfect timing for sporting those "kitty ears" in the spirit of Halloween! (Check the pattern to find out about "kitty ears".) Thanks for sharing the pics, Bonnie, of all those happy quilters! BTW, I spied a white FW 221J in pic #10. My 221J is black! Anyone else have a black 221J?
ReplyDeleteI use those same pins - Extra Fine with the translucent heads.... after using them any others seem like spikes.... Sure they bend easily but at this point in quilting I am much gentler on my equipment.
ReplyDeleteI also use and love the Bohn glass head pins. They are difficult to find and pricey. The last I bought were $12.50 for 100 pins. A small area quilt shop ( beehappyquilting.com )purchased some after a group of us asked her to. We freely demonstrated how they glide into fabric compared to whatever else is being used. She is carrying them regularly in her shop now.
ReplyDeleteOpps! That is Bohin.
DeleteHah, love the mouse! The pins I like to use for piecing are by Dritz. They're a #110 Super Fine Sharp Pins, size 20, 1 1/4", nickel-plated steel, extra fine, .5mm shaft. I have slighter thicker pins that I use on my design wall, flower head pins I occasionally use - often in lieu of a stilletto when sewing, and yellow ball-headed pins for holding the layers at those rare times I tie a quilt rather machine quilt
ReplyDeletethat's ."...rather than machine quilt."
DeleteI have those pins also. I even bought a box for my newest quilter convert. She was using those horrible yellow headed pins that were very popular eons ago. I only use them to pin the quilts to the leader strip on the quilt frame now.
ReplyDeleteI love those.4mm pins, have them in two lengths. They are so sharp,they just glide through the fabric with NO DISTORTION. How many pins do that?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThose little mice are sold at Miller's Dry Goods in Charm, Ohio (Amish country), as iron skillet handle potholders.
ReplyDeleteThose pins are the greatest, no distortion at all. I have used them for years now as my only pin to use. Bonnie, buy two boxes, one for home and one for the cabin!
ReplyDeleteLove, love those pins. Bend easily and have to be replaced but they go through fabric with no distortion like a "hot knife through butter." LOL
ReplyDeleteThose are my favorite pins indeed. They tend to bend quickly so for some jobs like binding I keep thicker pins at the ready...
ReplyDelete