Well worth the wait for photos, Rosemary. Your hand-dyes look wonderful and I can imagine them looking even better in the daylight! Your explanation of how you went about making your blocks was interesting too.

Thanks Nancy, I have been so psyched to try this but I didn't want to be stealing your design. I need to wait until I start adding some of the more graphic fabrics to the mix which will come with the stars and log cabin blocks to see what I would want to put in those amazing sashes. So I am asking official permission to use your design. Please? This is FUN!!

Thanks for the tip about the dogs, I will try it.
And, thank so very very much for posting that pic on the framed block. I just love it!

loise98 wrote:
Hi Lois -

This frame would be very easy to draft yourself, if you wanted to use it. The frame itself just looks like this:

It ended up being an 8" finished block so would just fit on a piece of paper if drafting by hand. Since I was printing it using my computer, I had to print across two sheets of paper and tape them together. And it's some of the simplest paper-piecing you can do! The hardest part is centering the pieced block in the middle, which I just do using the sliding glass door as a lightbox.

Nancy

crocus999 wrote:
Rotten luck! I had a machine that did that to me - turned out it was a fault with that range of machines so I got it repaired under warranty. I ended up selling it because it did not live up to expectations. I hope yours can be repaired quickly and without being expensive. Have you got another machine you can use for piecing so you can keep going?
Marianne

crocus999 wrote:
Just to make sure, since it sounds like you haven't dropped them before, did you try sewing after pushing the button to put them in the up position? You probably already know this, but thought I check just in case. On my machines, you push the "feed dogs down" button again to put them in the up position, but they don't actually move until your first stitch. You probably tried this, but wanted to make sure just in case.

Nancy

PosyP wrote:
Rosemary, I tried the same technique yesterday but ended up with patches that are too small despite using the same method I used for the HSTs. I will do a second lot today reducing the SA on either side of the line by a smidgen and see if I get a better result. I have starched my fabric for these so they should be very stable. Thanks for the photos - always helpful. I often find step-by-step photos more helpful than a video
Marianne

I've just cut my 4 1/4 inch squares and ready to put them together, so I'm glad that I've read these posts before beginning the sewing. I will try to keep the seam scant, for sure.

However,...it may be a while because my dogs just died, my feed dogs, that is. I had them down for some beginning adventures in FMQ, which Lois had encouraged me to do, and now they won't come back up, no matter what I do. I guess the machine will have to go into the repair shop,. I hope it doesn't take too long, I really want to do this project, and had wanted to keep pace.

rehak wrote: They are louder in the 'flesh', I was working on them last night & the electric light does them no favours.

Very nice, Rosemary! I love the soft colors of your hand dyes. They're going to look wonderful together!

Nancy

Part 3

Cut them apart
and press open
then continued as for the pinwheels - check for size, trim & line up for stitching.{!-- ia0 -->CIMG6697.JPG{!-- ia0 -->the one on the right is due for ripping as the vertical line has a dog leg in it that I don't like.

I also tried various different styles of pressing for the seams - I got a nicer result with having the seams open on the second diagonal line, but it made it trickier for the joining up of the squares.

Part 2

I then pressed the seams to the dark side
Redrew the diagonal line onto the dark half, with a chalk pencil(this was the only one I pinned

and chain stitched 1/4" either side of the diagonal line again.{!-- ia0 -->CIMG6692.JPG{!-- ia0 -->

rehak wrote:
I love your the sashing you designed in EQ7. Don't have the software but would love to do something like that with my blocks. Every time I see them I am more and more intrigued. Nice work.

How I did my QST's to avoid sewing cut bias edges

I started off by drawing diagonal lines on the b/ground fabric in both directionsI then chain stitched 1/4" on either side of one line
Next I cut them apart{!-- ia0 -->CIMG6689.JPG{!-- ia0 -->

nb. the white squares were all cut accurately, some of the red squares needed a clean up cut on the 4th side, which I decided could wait until the end