Block 3 was okay. Block 4….I wasn’t sure I’d make it through Block 4, but here I am on the other side.
I was excited for this one. I like this kind of block–symmetry, a little movement, and a generally serene feeling when I look at it.
Here’s how my blocks turned out:
I like the one on the left better than the one on the right. I think the red and blue squares are a bit too strong going across the pink background square.
But that’s okay! My general philosophy when quilting is that I never re-do a block once it’s complete unless there is something awfully, glaringly wrong with it. And since this is going to end up as such a big sampler quilt I doubt it’ll make much of a difference.
A few more HSTs here, but on these I’m happiest about how my points come together on all the little squares 🙂
Okay, so I love this. It feels like those cute feature stained glass windows that you find in random walls of houses sometimes.
I thought: Oh, this has some HRTs (Half Rectangle Triangles.) I’ve done those before and had a little trouble…but the pattern has some tips on how to trim them, so I’m sure it’ll all be fine this time. I was wrong!
Firstly, I sewed a bunch of them together right-side-to-wrong-side like a Class A Space Cadet:
(By the way, I have done this on four out of four blocks of this sewalong so far. I should put a sign on my sewing machine that says “MAKE SURE YOUR HEAD IS SCREWED ON BEFORE SEWING.”)
Next, trimming. I found the tips on the pattern very helpful. The designer suggests that you mark everything on the ruler and line up the diagonal seam with dots you’ve marked ¼” in, which made this very easy. I used a combination of Sharpie and washi tape:
The thing I don’t love is how much waste there was. As you can see in the image above, there’s ½”-¾” of waste at the top and the same amount at the bottom. Is there a way to do this that doesn’t waste so much….?
And then it was time to sew. This was the trickiest part for me, so for anyone following afterwards, starch your fabric before sewing!
Generally, I never starch. I know this probably isn’t true for most, but I consider apparel sewing to be my precise, fussy sewing, and quilting to be my loosey-goosey fun sewing and things like starching just slow me down. But after sewing this block together I’m changing my tune.
I did HRTs before but they were really large–I think they were something like 9” long. These are itty bitty things at only 2” x 3.5”, and there are a lot of them, so there’s a lot of opportunity for your long bias seams to get wonky. If I could go back in time I would starch all of these before sewing.
That said, I made it through and think they look okaaaay after a good press:
It’s not super apparent in the white and blue block, but in the green and red block you can see how the lines have gotten all distorted. Also, these things are barely laying flat even after a good press–should I starch them now? Are there champion starchers out there who can advise?? Everyone swears by Best Press, so the next time I'm working at the store I'll have to pick up a bottle.
Well, I’m going to move on with my life and wait for this to come back and haunt me in a few months when I start piecing everything together.
Choosing blissful ignorance,
Vivian
What is Moda Blockheads? It’s a sewalong from Moda Fabrics where they’re going to release one block pattern every week on Wednesdays from May 28 through November 12. You can see the backlog of all the blocks here: https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/blockheads-6-archive
Block #3: Sunday Best by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs
Here’s how my blocks turned out:
I like the one on the left better than the one on the right. I think the red and blue squares are a bit too strong going across the pink background square.
But that’s okay! My general philosophy when quilting is that I never re-do a block once it’s complete unless there is something awfully, glaringly wrong with it. And since this is going to end up as such a big sampler quilt I doubt it’ll make much of a difference.
A few more HSTs here, but on these I’m happiest about how my points come together on all the little squares 🙂
Block #4: Cat's Cradle by Kiley Ferons of Kiley's Quilt Room
Okay, so I love this. It feels like those cute feature stained glass windows that you find in random walls of houses sometimes.
I thought: Oh, this has some HRTs (Half Rectangle Triangles.) I’ve done those before and had a little trouble…but the pattern has some tips on how to trim them, so I’m sure it’ll all be fine this time. I was wrong!
Firstly, I sewed a bunch of them together right-side-to-wrong-side like a Class A Space Cadet:
(By the way, I have done this on four out of four blocks of this sewalong so far. I should put a sign on my sewing machine that says “MAKE SURE YOUR HEAD IS SCREWED ON BEFORE SEWING.”)
Next, trimming. I found the tips on the pattern very helpful. The designer suggests that you mark everything on the ruler and line up the diagonal seam with dots you’ve marked ¼” in, which made this very easy. I used a combination of Sharpie and washi tape:
The thing I don’t love is how much waste there was. As you can see in the image above, there’s ½”-¾” of waste at the top and the same amount at the bottom. Is there a way to do this that doesn’t waste so much….?
And then it was time to sew. This was the trickiest part for me, so for anyone following afterwards, starch your fabric before sewing!
Generally, I never starch. I know this probably isn’t true for most, but I consider apparel sewing to be my precise, fussy sewing, and quilting to be my loosey-goosey fun sewing and things like starching just slow me down. But after sewing this block together I’m changing my tune.
I did HRTs before but they were really large–I think they were something like 9” long. These are itty bitty things at only 2” x 3.5”, and there are a lot of them, so there’s a lot of opportunity for your long bias seams to get wonky. If I could go back in time I would starch all of these before sewing.
That said, I made it through and think they look okaaaay after a good press:
It’s not super apparent in the white and blue block, but in the green and red block you can see how the lines have gotten all distorted. Also, these things are barely laying flat even after a good press–should I starch them now? Are there champion starchers out there who can advise?? Everyone swears by Best Press, so the next time I'm working at the store I'll have to pick up a bottle.
Well, I’m going to move on with my life and wait for this to come back and haunt me in a few months when I start piecing everything together.
Choosing blissful ignorance,
Vivian
What is Moda Blockheads? It’s a sewalong from Moda Fabrics where they’re going to release one block pattern every week on Wednesdays from May 28 through November 12. You can see the backlog of all the blocks here: https://my.modafabrics.com/inspiration-resources/blockheads-6-archive