Project Update: 11.03.2021

Hello Friends and Welcome to this week's Project Update!

The beginning of March always comes with some strange weather in southern Ontario. Some years it'll be really mild, other years we'll get snowstorms. Last week, the weather was pretty cold and discouraged me from leaving the house much, so far, this week has been much better. I've found that spending time outside has a huge positive impact on my mood and sense of productivity. I'll have to try to take advantage of this weather while it lasts!

It's been two weeks since my last update, in that time I've made progress on several projects. I'm excited to share that progress!

Block of the Month

In my previous update, I had only made the background of my February block for the National Quilt Museum program. I did manage to finish the block in the few days left before the month ended, although I still haven't started the quilt as you go process on any of the blocks.

I added a few more narrow waves through the background in a contrasting green. Since I was going for an abstract variation on the block in the instructions, I used them to create depth and visual interest.

The instructions recommended sewing the large circle, meant to be the sun, to the background fabric before adding the waves. This ensures that the applique circle is securely attached to the block without worrying if the curve where it meets the waves perfectly matches the piecing.

Since I knew I wanted to use multiple circles, and wasn't yet sure where I wanted to place each one or how they would look with my background, I opted to do those later than the instructions suggested.

Once my background was completed, I gathered a bunch of round containers for tracing. I placed them on my background and ended up liking the sizes of a small margarine container for my large circle, and a shot glass (not pictured) for my smaller circles.

I traced around the containers on the wrong side of the fabric I wanted to use for the circles, spacing them about ½" apart to account for seam allowance. I cut 1 large circle and 4 small ones, but only ended up using 3 of them.

I don't have a lot of experience with applique, but I have learned that I prefer the finished edge of needle turn over raw-edge fusible applique. I thread marked along the drawn line so it's visible from both sides, folded the seam allowance to the back, and basted it in place.

Once basted, I laid all the circles out on the background, imagining which waves they would overlap. I used my 12½" square ruler to indicate the size of the block without cutting the background, I could test out different compositions by placing the ruler on different parts of the background panel. If you don't have a ruler the right size, you can cut a frame the size you need out of paper or cardboard.

I hand sewed the circles to the background over the parts I wanted them to overlap, stopping at the seam I wanted the circle to disappear into. I unpicked just enough of the seam to tuck the applique circle inside, then sewed the seam closed again.

After everything was secured, I pulled out the basting stitches. The next step is to press the block, then do the quilting. I won't press the block until I'm ready to quilt since it's likely to get wrinkled in the meantime.

If you're interested in participating in this BoM, you can find the instructions on the National Quilt Museum website, it's free to participate. Please share a photo in the comments if you've been working on this project too!

As for the March block, I won't be able to print the template for it until this weekend. I'm hoping to start work on it soon!

The second BoM project I'm working on, run through my guild, has not made any progress. Normally, I get together with my Mother on the first weekend following the release of the instructions, but last weekend we weren't able to. I will be working on it this weekend with her, so you'll see my March Wetlands block in the next update.

Original Designs

I've made another row for my Changing Pace quilt. This row was the first that only consisted of blocks with white backgrounds, so could mark it using graphite. As a result, I was able to do the marking really quickly and move on with the sewing. Normally, thread marking adds an extra hour or so to the making of each row, so it was exciting to be able to finish it much faster.

I'm currently in the process of attaching the new row to the rest of the quilt top. There are seven rows left to be assembled and joined to the quilt top.

I'm excited to be making such fast progress, I honestly didn't realise it was coming together as quickly as it is. Before I started tracking my progress in these updates, I wasn't as aware of how frequently I was working on Changing Pace and kept viewing my progress as slow. I had become so used to the speed of a sewing machine that hand sewing, by comparison, seemed immensely slow. As I've gotten better at hand sewing over the past few months, I've gotten faster.

I think what I'm trying to get at is, friends, if you try something new, give yourself time to practice and get used to it. You may be surprised by how much you come to enjoy it!

New Techniques

I'm beginning some experiments with free motion quilting. I've never tried it before, all my past quilting has been done using straight line, walking foot quilting.

Free motion is a totally different experience. You alter the settings on your machine so you're in full control of the feed speed and direction. There are also a variety of different free motion sewing machine feet which can totally alter your experience with free motion quilting.

I decided to start with a quilting pattern known as pebbles, or uses circles in a variety of sizes to fill a space with quilting. Usually pebbles are restricted to small spaces. I started off by making a quilt sandwich and doodling some abstract shapes on it. Then I tried to fill those shapes with pebbles.

You can see there were a few times where I lost control and ended up with a loopy meander instead. My stitching is pretty uneven, and there's a few places where my quilting lines should have overlapped but didn't, but for a first attempt, I think it looks fantastic!

I'm excited to continue practising. Once I've gained some more confidence and experience, I plan to write a full post about what I've learned. If you have any advice for me, please let me know in the comments below!

Mending

While I haven't made progress on the fox pajamas since last update, I have been working on other mending projects.

I had two pairs of pants that needed mending. The first was a khaki pair that the crotch seam tore out of. Luckily, it was the thread that broke rather than the fabric itself, so the pants didn't require a patch. It was a pretty quick fix, just sewing the seam back together again.

I have actually fixed this seam before, I think the thread I used was too fine for the amount of strain it experiences. The crotch seam is a structural seam so it experiences a lot of stress, while something like hemming only really holds the weight of the fabric. I'm sort of expecting the seam to break again because I used the same thread as last time. The only thicker thread I have is black and would stand out a lot and look really strange if I used it.

I might buy a few different, neutral thread colours in heavier weights to use in these types of mending projects in the future. It would be good to have them on hand for whenever I might need them. Speaking of thread, before you give the mended item back to its owner, do a check for any loose threads that didn't get clipped by the manufacturer.

For the other pair of pants, which are navy despite how they may look in the photos, I was asked to replace a button that had come off. Buttons should not be sewn flush to a piece of fabric since there needs to be space for the buttonhole to fit around and under the button. I don't remember ever being taught this, I think buttons are one of those things that are so simple, people sometimes forget new sewists have never done it before.

I learned the method I use from Authentic Victorian Dressmaking Techniques, edited by Kristina Harris. It was originally published as a home sewing guide by the Butterick Publishing Company in 1905, and includes a lot of great tips for making and mending your own clothing. I recommend purchasing a copy for yourself if you're interested in garment sewing, or request a copy from your local library.

The method I learned from that guide is; place your button on the outside of the fabric where you'd like to attach it. Next, place a safety pin across the holes of the button. Sew the button to the fabric, bringing the thread across the pin (note: across the pin, not through it). Once you've sewn through each hole several times, remove the pin and gently pull the button away from the fabric. Loop the end of the thread several times around the thread holding the button, then pass the needle through the loops to tie it off.

If my explanation doesn't click with you, there's lots of infographics online, do a quick search and you should find one!

But back to the pants, the button was the only thing I was asked to fix, but when I looked at them myself, those pants needed a few other things taken care of. There's a tear in one of the legs that needs to be patched, and the crotch seam has torn out. This pair of pants didn't get off as lucky as the other, unfortunately a small amount of the fabric along the crotch seam has torn too. I will have to patch that before I can sew the seam back together, or the fabric will fray and the seam won't hold.

Looks like I still have a little work to do before I'm done my mending. But that's work for another day!

That's all for this project update! I'm looking forward to whatever I end up working on in the next few weeks, including work on the rail fence heart block.

As usual Friends, I'd love to hear what you've been up to. Please leave me a comment below, or send me a message through my contact page or on social media. If you'd like a sneak peak at my projects between updates, follow me on Instagram @vafibrearts or join my Facebook group.

Keep Creating!

VA