Some Template Tips

The construction continues around my house but it's out of my studio and focused in the living room at the moment.  A new mantel piece has been added and a unsound wall above it has been repaired.  Interesting that light brown outline around the drywall patch is the "shadow" of the woodwork  that must have been around the window that was there when the house was new -- no fireplace, it's an add-on!?!

Always fun to discover more of the house's history.

That gave me time to finish my preparations for the Glitter workshop I'm teaching on Thursday.

I usually spend a few days before teaching a workshop actually working on the pattern and skills being taught to get my brain totally engaged with the topic.  I also decided to demonstrate a second block from Jen Kingwell's book, Quilt Lovely since everyone had to buy the book for the workshop.

(Don't have it yet, just click HERE and order a copy.) 

Mrs. Bannister's Stars is another y-seam pattern and it's presented as a pillow (cushion) cover -- aka, small project, less likely to become a UFQ!! 

I don't usually make samples in the same fabric palette as a book or pattern photo, but it was the easiest way to go this time. 

I did make a diversion by using a single color group for the very pointy diamonds.  This assortment of grays spans 25 years so the variation in the tones is extensive.  It will be okay since none of them will touch each other in the finished piece.

There are beginning to be templates for Jen's designs in this book if you piece in Australia but all the pattern pieces needed are included on a large foldout in the book.  1/4" seam allowances need to be added if you are making templates for rotary cutting (that would be me!).

The first step is to trace the pattern pieces onto template plastic and you can see that I use a straight edge to do that.  My pencil lines are EXACTLY on the pattern lines.

I also extend them beyond the ends of the piece like this -- so helpful is you want to add holes for marking dots later.

Be sure to leave plenty of space between for adding the 1/4" seams as you cut the templates.

Here's a tip from Denise at Mercantile on Main in Coshocton, Ohio!

Glue this sheet of plastic to a second sheet of plastic.  An ordinary glue stick works fine.

I cover the entire pattern shape out beyond the lines to get good adhesion.

This builds up enough thickness of the template to guide the cutter blade more accurately and has eliminated ruining the templates sliver by sliver for me.

Once the glue is dry, you are ready to cut the templates out.  I use a rotary cutter that is set aside for paper and plastic (aka, old blade).  I find that putting a sheet of scrap paper under the template plastic makes it easier for me to see my lines when cutting the templates.

I lay a rotary ruler on top with the 1/4" line just inside the edge of my pencil line.  This give me the most accurate results as I use the templates.  Turn off all distractions and focus on what you are doing.  This is important so that you DON'T FORGET TO ADD the 1/4" seam allowance.

Here's a cutting tip because two layers of template plastic can be hard to manage. 

Typically, the angle of your cutter will be about 45 degrees as illustrated below.

But I found that by lifting the cutter to more like a 80 degree angle, I had more control of the cutter as it moved across the template plastic and keeping my index finger directly above the blade, it exerted enough pressure to cut through both layers the first time.

If you hold the cutter too flat and don't use your index finger to exert pressure where the blade make contact, it will take multiple passes of the blade and it will be difficult to achieve smooth edges.

Since I've worked for so many years with Marti Michell's templates, I have become accustomed to the "engineered" trimmed corners -- they really help with the alignment of pieces!!

So when I can figure it out, I trim the corners of the templates before using them to cut fabric.

Lay the templates out with the edges that will be sewn together matching.

Then flip them together as if you are putting right sides together for stitching and trim off the template corners that stick out.  The lines extended beyond the corners help me align the pieces properly.

Time to cut the fabric!!  I used another Marti Michell trick here -- use the template to measure the width of the strip.  I needed three of these black strips for four blocks.

And how cool is it that when the template is twisted around, it butts right up to the last cut!?!

I've only stitched enough together to be sure my templates were accurate.

Wahoo, success! 

Okay to go ahead and cut the rest of the pieces.

Those grays are going to be just fine.

 

Mary Huey

 

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Workshop Teaser -- Jen Kingwell's Glitter

As soon as I saw Jen Kingwell's book, Quilt Lovely, I recognized that this delightful block which she has named Glitter would be a perfect workshop project using the y-seam technique that I teach.  Participants need to have already taken a basic workshop on the technique with me or used my DVD, Set-In Piecing Simplified to learn it.

I started out with this little group of 4 blocks and have been adding to them all summer and fall -- what fun it is to pick out the fabrics!  Each block is it's own little quilt-let!

One of the skills that is part of the workshop is learning to make templates and set them up for easy, accurate cutting and matching! 

I decided to make a lap size quilt -- there are 66 blocks.  I have not seen anyone put borders on this quilt but I auditioned it just to be sure and decided not to add them.

Last weekend I layered it up with Tuscany Wool batting -- love the loft of that batting -- and began to quilt.  I wanted to keep the quilting simple -- easy for me to complete and easy for my students to duplicate if they want.

My first idea was straight line channels from top to bottom.

As it lay on my work table, the long ovalish shape where the blocks come together caught my eye and I decided to emphasize that with the quilting.

After laying down a grid of horizontal and vertical lines, I used my favorite pumpkin seed motif to create a flower that fits gracefully into the oval.  The best part of this quilting design on this quilt was that every line started at an edge and ended at an edge -- no threads to bury!!

This weekend, I'll bind the quilt at my annual January quilting retreat and then send it off to the Farmpark to hang with the other workshop samples! 

There are open spaces in the workshop and you can register by visiting the Lake Metroparks website HERE.  You already have plenty of fabric so all you'll need to purchase is Jen's book, Quilt Lovely.

Don't live in near me?  My DVD, Set-In Piecing Simplified, will take you step-by-step through the process of learning this exciting method of y-seam piecing.  Just last week, Michele in Kentucky wrote this note to me after purchasing the DVD -- "Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I had a chance to watch your DVD today and used your technique to finish a quilt that was headed to the trash.  I think it has been in a box for at least 3 years.  The instructions left a lot to be desired and I was struggling with all of the y seams.  After watching the DVD, I wanted to practice on something right away.  I pulled this quilt out, followed what you did and everything fit together and the top is now done and ready to be quilted.  The DVDs was fantastic and I'm so glad I ordered it."

It's exciting to know not only was Michele able to understand the technique from the DVD, but she was able to rescue a doomed UFQ!! 

I hope you are able to do as much stitching this weekend as you want!!

Mary Huey