I'm way behind because of shoulder surgery, but have completed the four-patch strips, sewed the first floaters & the shorter 4-patch strips. My question is, if you sew with the floater on top, how do you make sure that you are outside the intersection of the setting triangles so they don't get chopped off against the floater? I'm really new to quilting, so the precision of the setting triangles was tough. I had to change to a straight stitch throatplate because this new fancy schmancy 9mm Bernini kept eating points. Some of the points are perfect, some a little dull. I'm tempted to just live with it because my outside measurements are ok & this will never go in a quilt show, but I'd like to know for future projects. Additionally, I've noticed that if the two off white background fabrics are very close in value, the points don't show up in the pictures. Mine do have a bit of contrast.

I'm catching up here, just finished the 4 patch border. As I was sewing the 4 patches with their triangles together, I decided not to press anything until the entire border was sewn. Then, I marked the ironing board with the "correct" border lengths, and very carefully pressed the border to that length. This is instead of my usual press, probably distort, and then measure at the end, hoping it comes out ok.

This is such a great project for learning how to cut accurately and sew with a true 1/4" seam allowance. I'm using a sewing machine that has a quarter-inch foot with a vertical bar along the right hand side, and have never been able to get it quite right. This time, I did samples before the actual sewing, figured out how to get it at 1/4", and measured the finished 4 patches.

Thank you, Sue Garman!

Kathy

THanks Lois,
Thats what if feels like. I'm not enjoying this month. I finished all the strips and now my floater border is only going to be 1/2 inch finished. I got the first one on the center block and will put the 4 patches on today. Stilll haven't done the sawtooth stars. March should be easier. I have done many pinwheel blocks. CHeryl

good word-trudging.

THanks Margo,

I did your 1/4 inch testing, and thought I had it all set, but for some reason didn't turn out to be the right size. Maybe I need better lighting by my machine to the right.

I'll just keep trudging alongaand see what happens. Cheryl

Cheryl, just try to get the short ones the same length, and the long ones the same length. Blocking them will help. Don't worry about the width (which WILL change if you block them). The floaters will make everything work just fine and Sue's directions tell us how to figure the right size for the floaters! I think it's magic!

You might want to check your seam allowances to make sure you are stitching correctly. If you measure your FINISHED squares in the 4-patch blocks, they should measure EXACTLY 1" x 1".

If that measurement is off, do whatever it takes to correct your seam allowance for the rest of the project. You can either move your fabric as you feed it under the presser foot, or you can move your needle to make up the difference, if your machine has that feature. On my Webshots album titled THIS IS A TEST, I show how you can check your seam allowance.

And remember....we are dealing with fabric here, and not tempered steel. Minor adjustments are possible!

I have made one long and one short and both are exactly one inch too short. Any suggestioins????? cheryl

Ok, Thanks so much for helping!! Sandi in FL

Sandi, I wouldn't recommend trimming the longer one, but you can probably steam block both of them to get them closer to the same length. Try it and let them dry thoroughly before you move them.
Having them the same length is more important than getting them to 23-1/4", because you can make up the difference with the floater strips!

I've finished my first two rows of the 4 patch, the shorter ones. I measured first one 24", second is 23 1/2. I believe the proper size in Sue's instructions was 23 1/4. Is this going to be a major goof? Can I trim the longer one to 23 1/2 and at least it is equal? Should I wait til I get the longer rows done and see how bad I mess them up? LOL. I use the blue painters tape on my machine as my 1/4 quide, I am using a bit of glue to keep stretching down instead of pinning. The rows don't want to lay flat. I've twirled my seams and tried opening the big seam and that seemed worse. I don't want to steam it and make it more out of shape. Any other advice? Thanks bunches! Sandi in FL

I started sewing my 4-patches to the setting triangles yesterday. Got the two short rows done and they see to be very close to the correct size. Then I will work on the rest after an overnight trip to Merrily We Quilt Along in Springfield for a class. This quit is going to be so pretty.
peg in mo

None of my stuff came out the right size! Too small! But...with some fudging and fiddling I'm making it work. The last floater strip-I cut it too big on purpose so that I can "cut it down to size". It'll be the right size before March!
Sherry

denise-nh wrote:
Denise, if everything seems to be coming up a bit on the small side, you might want to adjust your seam allowance and stitch just a thread or two to the right of where you have been stitching. You can either move your fabric to the left, or move your needle to the right if you can do that with your machine.

Nfiegirl wrote:
Sounds like you are doing great, Pat! Because those two shorter borders are right, you probably stretched the longer ones when you were pressing. Before you resew anything, try blocking them down to the right size. If you pin the two ends to your ironing surface the right distance apart, then pin the edges, you will probably be able to gently steam the fullness in without re-sewing. Let us know how it works for you.