My first block feels really light and airy. I chose some aqua prints for the outer ring and took the time to fussy cut the star points and center square.
Before you get sewing, be sure to mark your fabric pieces using the holes in the templates. You will definitely want to use these markings later on!
(Side note: the triangles are not equilateral, so be sure to mark as shown in the pattern so you know which way is up!)
For these outer pieces, I pressed them in opposite directions to allow the seams to nest when I joined them. You can see for these units, I sewed edge to edge (not stopping at the template markings).
When you start assembling the center and joining it to to the outer units, you will want to sew from the markings only (or dot-to-dot). Start at one, backstitch to secure and sew to the opposite side's marking, being sure to backstitch there also. (When backstitching, don't go back beyond the markings.)
Note that I have also taken the time to cut all the notches at the corners - these help to line up all the pieces.
If you need more help with y-seams, check out this tutorial I shared for the Smitten quilt here.
I am still stitching my 3rd and 4th blocks together, but I took a few pictures to show the fabrics I am using. I will come back and add the completed block photos soon!
And finally, block 4 for this month.
Have fun and don't let the y-seam intimidate you! :-)
Happy Sewing!
]]>Piecing the quarter units goes quickly and I chose to press sections in opposite directions to allow them to nest and lay a little flatter. (In the image below, I pressed away from the lighter pink and toward the red/pink spot before joining them to make the square unit.
I really loved sewing this block as it looks so different depending on the prints you choose and where you place colors. In this one, I used the same number of prints for the stars as the previous, but used 2 in the background instead of one.
It never ceases to amaze me how you can mix and match designers together who you would never think to otherwise and it works!
I chose the color scheme for this next one using the green tiger print as a starting point/focus print. I selected a purple, sky blue, and chartreuse green to pick up some of the colors from the tiger print. If you are a little shy about mixing prints, this is a great method - its kind of like getting dressed ... choose a printed shirt and then select a cardigan and skirt that uses similar colors. ;-)
And lastly ... this pretty orange and periwinkle one!
My blocks for this month are probably a little more organized than Jen's originals in that I used a limited number of prints and repeated them throughout the block (like all one background above). You can, of course, go all out and use a different print for every piece in the block. That's what's fun about a project like this one.
Happy Sewing!
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This block has a lot of pieces. It certainly took longer to cut it all out than it did to sew it together! I like to cut and lay them out as a I go - especially for blocks like this where there are reverse cuts of the templates as well.
When you are cutting these pieces, if you can cut the lconcave curve (shown below in pink) on the bias, you will have a little more stretch to work with then sewing the pieces together.
I fold both pieces in half and finger press to mark the center.
I use the folds to align the centers of both pieces and pin.
I usually use a total of three pins - one at each end and then the center one to hold everything in place while I ease the fabric around the curve as I sew. I didn't bother to mark the template markings on these curves and sewed from edge to edge.
My first block is a little more "controlled" and uses less different prints than some of my others. I used two background fabrics and had a little fun with the thin black stripes in the corners.
For block 2, I chose to use four colors - aqua, yellow, blue, and orange. I made a pinwheel effect with my placement of the colors. And I used that awesome Essentially Yours B&W Stripe for the ovals, which I think adds something really fun!
And block 3 ... yup, you will need 3 of this month's block.
I thought I would also share how I have been organizing/storing my blocks. I got this Art Bin off of Amazon and the interior is large enough to hold a 12.5" unfinished block. I keep my finished blocks flat on the bottom and all my templates and fabrics on top. I keep all my backgrounds folded up together and my colors (fat 16ths) together. I also keep my small rotary cutter in the bin so its there and easy to find when I am ready to work on the next block.
Until next time .... Happy Sewing! :)
]]>I chose to follow Jen's lead and make one with the star outline all in the same color and another with a rainbow going around the star.
I love both and especially love the effect of the stripes in the center - totally worth fussy cutting!
This is a block that I think would be really fun to do a whole, scrappy quilt with!
Happy sewing!
]]>If you are sewing with our fabric kits, we've added these prints to our mix from month one....
You'll see that I've used prints from both months in our blocks this month.
I shared some thoughts on sewing curves in our last Delilah post here. The same rules apply here. Be really careful not to stretch your pieces too much as you are handling them.
Once I got the curved units together, I tried to line up, pin, and sew carefully to have the edges of the curves meet or "kiss" each other once I sewed the blocks together.
When you are working on the borders of this block, I highly recommend that you mark the seams. You may have noticed the small holes in the templates - you should use a pencil or other removable marking pen or pencil and make a dot on these pieces.
When you sew these pieces together, match the dots and back-stitch when you are sewing the y-seam/inset seam. I talk about this technique as well as using glue basting for y-seams in this post here from when I worked on Jen's Smitten quilt.
Admittedly, this block takes some patience! My second one was definitely a little less wobbly than the first one. :)
Feel free to tag me on Instagram or send us an email if you get stuck!
Happy Sewing! :)
]]>I like to use anywhere from 3 to 5 pins depending on the size of the block. In month 1, the blocks were a little smaller, so I used three. In month 2, I used five pins on the outer most curves.
I start folding both pieces to create a crease along the center.
Then, I pin the center and then the straight edges on the ends of the two pieces. (On larger curves, I will add a pin between the center and edge pins.)
To sew, I start at the left, sewing with the concave piece on top. I do remove pins as I go and use a stiletto tool to help manipulate the fabric and ease it in as a I go around the curve. I sew these fairly slowly and will stop and lift the presser foot as needed.
There are lots of great videos on YouTube that show how to sew curves. This is a quick one that also shows how to use a stiletto tool.
Someone in the Delilah Facebook group also shared that they like to use Wonder Tape to help them hold the pieces in place. I haven't tried this method, but found a video here if you are interested.
With these first few blocks, another option would be to cut your pieces about 1/2" larger (past the straight edge sides of the templates only - NOT the curves) and then trim to size once assembled.
Regardless of your preferred method, I have found the best way to perfect your curved blocks is practice. :)
Hope this post is helpful to you!
Happy Sewing! :)
]]>We are so excited for it to finally be March so that we can kick off our Delilah sew along featuring the newest program from Jen Kingwell. Delilah is a template-of-the-month quilt block program that runs for 12 months. Each month, we will make a new block for this super fun quilt.
If you are sewing along with us using our fabric kits, here are (most of!) the prints you'll find in your packages this month. We have a wide assortment of colors and styles, featuring mostly small scale prints.
This first block is called Rising Sun and does take a little bit of patience to put together when sewing the curves. We've made two of this 12-inch beauties with our kit fabrics and love how they each look different. This scrappy quilt is going to be so great!
Rising Sun #1
Rising Sun #2
One of the things you'll notice is that cutting the pieces from the templates is super easy! It is also best done with a 28mm rotary cutter. (Club members - get excited - we're sending you one!)
Happy Sewing! :)
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