I decided to follow Jenny Beyers' directions. This meant hand sewing, template cutting and pressing after everything is sewn. I popped everything in a baggie and got some of it done on a recent trip to Montreal. I found the hand sewing relaxing and the corner matching was much easier! I can see why this is attractive to many people. I think I will follow her directions on assembly as it seems I will be trying lots of new things that way. Her videos are really well done and quite watchable!
I am not following her colour requirements. I just cut pieces from the half meters of batik I bought for this project. I don't have a background fabric designated and I don't include as many colour changes in a block as she requires. I will just cut as I feel and hope with fingers crossed that it all works out. She has you plop the block on the pressing mat and press from the right side, letting the seams fall where they may. I have never done THAT before, but it did seem to work beautifully. I wonder if this is only for hand piecing?
Now I am also working on a BOTM for Nancy Zeiman. She will also be introducing techniques and tools each month and the new block will be coming out on the 3rd. Saturday, so my homework will be staggered. Yah!
This month we did a Dresden plate block with strip piecing and alternating strip panels. The top of the panels were seamed to make a point and then the completed plate section was appliquéd with invisible thread. I got way too strippy on the panels. Perhaps if I measured before I sewed? She was working with 3 strips. I ended up with 5 to get the width I needed. If I had measured I could have made 3 work. Just wasn't thinking.
Not too sure I like the invisible thread for the appliqué. It works, but I don't really like the look. Nancy hasn't shown us the whole quilt as Craftsy does, so I'm not sure how it finishes up. She does give you lots of ideas for using just that one block in many ways and advised pulling from scraps of 3 colours (mine are red, beige and blue). I am using a colour for the background block - but I don't have that much of it and I don't know what I'll need - so this could get interesting. Looking forward to it! I made 2 blocks so I have options on completed quilt size.
I got the purse handles I have been waiting for in the mail today, so I will hopefully finish up my January purse this week and start my February purse too. This purse club is excellent, but I am going to need more days in the month. Many, many more days.
And I promised my SIN group I would sew clothing for me this month. We have dinner next Tuesday.
If you're looking for me, I'll be in my sewing room.
