Month #5 Diamonds are a Girl's BFF!!!

Happy Month #5 and let me just take a moment to congratulate you on getting this far...

Your quilt is really coming along, isn't it?

Well, this month is really all about the cutting.

If I could give you one word of wisdom it would be to cut like your life depended on it because that is going to help you be as accurate as possible.

Of course, cutting is always important to the accuracy of your quilt, but sometimes cutting that is slightly askew can be made up for with clever sewing and pressing, but this month, not so much.

With this in mind, and with the help of the lovely Misses Nadine and Rebecca, here is a tutorial on how I cut my diamonds:

From each of your 3 diamond fabrics, cut (3) 2 1/4" strips.

Using clear template plastic, cut out your template for border 4A. This will be used for getting the correct angle from your 2 1/4" strips and also for double-checking the accuracy of your diamonds once they are cut.

Lay your diamond template for border 4A on top of the 2 1/4" strip, as in picture, so that the 2 edges of the diamond align with the long edges of your fabric strip.


Lay your ruler on top of the template to get the correct cutting angle and make a cut.







Next, lay your ruler so that the long edges of the ruler lie parallel with the cut you just made.
Now you can cut every 2 1/4" and get perfectly accurate diamonds! How exciting! Double check your accuracy by holding the cut diamond shape up against your Border 4A template. If your diamonds aren't absolutely perfect, try, try again.





Thanks, Nadine for helping me demo this technique for tackling the cutting o' the diamonds!

Next up, we are going to tackle those spiny little side triangles (also known as Border template 4B) in a similar manner... this time with the lovely Miss Rebecca as my hand model.

From your Border Template 4B fabric, cut as many 2 3/4" strips as you can get.

From clear template plastic, cut out the template Border 4B triangle shape. You will use this for cutting an accurate angle and for double-checking your cut triangles.

First, lay your triangle Template Border 4A onto your 2 3/4" strip as in the photo below.



Next, lay your ruler on top of the template to get the correct angle and make a cut.



Now you can cut every 2 3/4" for as many parallelograms (not triangles...bear with me) as you can get.



Finally, cut each of these parallelograms in half the long way to get your triangles.





Check these triangles against your template Border 4A for accuracy.

If they aren't perfect... well, you know what to do.

If they are perfect, we can move on to tips and tricks for sewing!

Tips for sewing these babies accurately:

Remember your dog's ears! Those little triangles should be hanging out exactly 1/4" on each edge of your pieces as you sew them together. Nothing new here, right?

I laid out one "control strip" of diamonds and triangles so I could see what they were supposed to look like as I was sewing them together. Refer to the book for what this should look like. It's all right there on the bottom of page 98. Pay attention to the order in which you lay the fabrics out!!!

From the control strip, I sewed 15 pairs of adjacent diamonds together and 15 pairs of adjacent diamonds and triangles together. Then I added on the last triangle to the set of diamonds and finally sewed the two sets together for a strip. Using this method, I was able to sew a long strip together fairly quickly.

I would go so far as to recommend that you sew a giant strip set together and then just cut from that strip to get your four sides. Having finished 2 of these babies, I think that would be easier and more accurate than trying to sew 4 small strips together for the sides.

Having said all of that, please be aware that I (quote/unquote) "know what I am doing" and my diamonds are by no means perfect. The fabric is very busy and hides a multiple of sins, so please don't beat yourself up if your's doesn't come out perfect, either. Just smile and remember that next month is Nine-Patches which are a buh-reeze compared to these tricky ol' parallelograms and triangles!!!

See you again soon for an easy-peasy month!

XO,

Rhea

PS... as always, call or e-mail me or post comments with any questions you might have!

Month #4 Can you learn a new trick?

Hello to all those of you on Month #4.

Let's do some Card Tricks, shall we?

This month is truly not a bad month at all, and the gals in the class will back me up on this one.

Ready to do some rotary cuttin'?

Alright, having said that, I DO think everyone should go ahead and make their templates for Border 3A and 3B. Why? Well, not so that you can cut everything out by template, but just to have and use for reference and persnickety-ness. Once you've done your rotary cutting of this month's shapes, check them against your template shapes as well. You will have some extra pieces this month, so also use your templates to preview which of your cut fabric pieces will look the best.

Have I convinced you yet?

Oh, and by the by, that last paragraph pretty much applies to the rest of the quilt. Go ahead and make all your templates anyway, even if you don't think you're going to use them. You never know!!!

Some hints for cutting the Card Trick:

• Rotary cut, baby! Each of the 3 fabrics this month can be rotary cut (finally!).

For the 2 "3A" fabrics (which will become the "rectangles" or "cards"):

Cut (3) 2 7/8" strips from both fabrics. Cut these every 2" for 2 7/8" x 2" rectangles.

For the "3B" fabric (which will become the "side triangles" for the cards):
Cut (3) 2 3/8" strips. Cut these into 2 3/8" squares. Crosscut each square ONCE diagonally for triangles.

Note: I didn't list a specific number of rectangles or triangles to cut, as we are going to make these borders longer than they need to be and then chop them to size. You will have extra shapes, but use the extras to get the BEST parts of the fabric.

Before you sew:

Lay out one Card Trick border beside your sewing machine (or, if you are lucky enough to have a design wall, use that). It takes about 10 card trick "units" to piece together a border. Lay out just one side at a time, and make a mental note about the direction in which the cards are leaning. It's okay if your cards don't lean the same way as they do in the book (mine don't), but you do need to consistently lean in one direction.

Sewing the Card Tricks:

• I pieced the borders together one side at a time. I counted out 5 of my 3A pieces from one fabric and then 5 of my 3A pieces from the other fabric. Then I chain-stitched those pieces to 10 of my 3B triangles. That was round one. Then for round two, I fed the chain through the machine again, only this time I sewes triangles to the other side of my 3A pieces. You will be amazed at how quickly the card trick border goes when you follow this method. Once I had 10 "units" pieced together, I sewed them into ALTERNATING pairs (as in the book/picture), the pairs into quads, and so on until I had 10 units sewin together in a diagonal row. I gave it a quick press and checked to see if it was long enough. If it's not long enough, keep adding units until it is long enough. Once it is long enough, use your rotary cutter (again with the rotary cutting!) and squared my edges off.

• You are piecing diagonally, so make sure that you have 1/4" "dog ears" hanging off the ends of your piecing. If it looks wrong to you, take a pin and do a trial run. Adjust accordingly. Don't get frustrated by this step: you will have mastered diagonal piecing by the time it is all over and that is sooooo good for your brain! Lucky YOU!!!

• For the corner posts, pay attention to the cutting suggestions on the Color Key. Get the most kick-ass parts of your fabric. Those of you with reds will be able to get 4 squares that look exactly the same. Those of you with blues have a little more freedom: you will notice that I cut 2 squares of one "flower" and 2 of a different "flower" in my blue version.

Have fun and next month we'll discover why "diamonds" are a girl's best friend!!!

XOXO

Rhea

PS You should read my Love Letter to Kaffe... It's very funny (If I do say so myself!!!)

Month #3: It gets easier, I promise!

Hello ladies,

I get it, I get it!

Month#2 was hard!

Well, it's good for your brain to be challenged!

Some months will be easier than others, but just take it one piece at a time.

And, Month#3 is truly not that bad.

Speaking of... here are my tips and words of wisdom for Month #3:

To make Border Template "2A" and "2B" you can either cut using the templates (if you're really bored and want to kill a lot of time) OR... do what I did, which is to rotary cut squares and then crosscut diagonally ONCE to get your triangles.

Here's how I did it:

For Template border "2A"

• Cut (2) 2.25"x 45" strips

• Cut these into 2.25" squares, making sure that you get at LEAST (30) squares

• Crosscut each of these squares once diagonally to make at LEAST (60) triangles.

• Check these triangles against the template border "2A" shape in the book for accuracy.

*A little note: in the book, it says that you'll only need 56 of these shapes, but I found that I needed a total of 60. Put another way, each side of your block will need a total of (14) finished "Flying Geese" units, but I found that I consistently needed (15) units per side. When we did this in class, some of the gals only needed 14 units and some needed 15 and some needed a mix of both. I recommend piecing the 14 units together and checking to see if you need the 15th or not. Why does this happen? It's a testament to how different everyone's .25" seams are!


For template border "2B"

• Cut (3) 1 7/8 x 45" strips (I know that's a finicky measurement, and you may be tempted to cut a 2" strip, but trust me, that 1/8" makes a HUGE difference!)

• Cut these strips into 1 7/8" squares for a total of at LEAST (58) squares

• Crosscut each square ONCE diagonally for a total of at LEAST (116) triangles

• Check these against the template border "2B" in the book for accuracy.


Piecing the Flying Geese Units:

• Finished units should measure approximately 1 3/8" x 2 1/4".

• Make sure that your Geese are flying all in the same direction (either clockwise or counter- clockwise around the center of your quilt)


Template C (the corner posts):

• One little note about this: in my block, you will see that I pieced the Template "C's" into the corners according to how they did it in the book. I am kind of regretting this and wishing that I had done my own thing and experimented with something a little more "symmetrical," as in the corner posts from last month. I encourage you to play around with the composition of the corner posts a little bit and see what you come up with.

And... I think that's it!

Have FUN piecing your quilt: It's getting bigger and bigger, isn't it?

See you again soon!

XOXO

Rhea

Month #2: Piecing En Pointe

Some helpful hints for month #2:

• As you are cutting out your 32 triangles (also known as template "G") and you are very frustrated and thinking of some interesting words that begin with the letter "F," I have a nice trick for you (courtesy of the lovely Miss Liz Stebbins). Make a square out of four "G" templates placed side by side, touching each other, so that all 4 points meet in the middle of the square (sorry I don't have a picture for this). Measure the size of that square and use your rotary cutter to cut 8 of those squares and then cross-cut them each twice to get 32 little "F" triangles.

• For those of you doing the Hot Red kits, you'll want to get your Pansy border centered just so. Fabric is rarely printed straight on the grain, so instead of driving yourself cuh-razy trying to rotary cut, use the following trick: On the wrong side of your fabric, draw a line with your pencil or pen through the center of the Pansies for a length of about 13" (as in the photo above). Next, mark a line 3/4" above the center of the Pansies and another line 3/4" below the Pansies. These last two lines will be your cutting lines, and this way your pansies will be perfectly centered when you cut out your 1 1/2" strip!
(Ta-da!!!)

• Concerning the last, solid border for each of the colorways (that would be the Cobalt Paperweight for the blue kits and the Pansies for the Red), the book tells you to trim your 1.5" strip to 12" long.
Don't do it!!! Wait until you have measured the length of your square and cut your strip to that length (which may be a little bit more than 12").

Here are photos of what the finished blocks will look like and photos of your color keys.

Good luck, have fun.

As always, if you have any questions, put a bee in my bonnet!

XOXO,

Rhea

Month #1: Here We Go!!!

Alright ladies, we are off to a terrific start. Here is a photo of some of the kits ready to be sent here and there. Now they are all out in the world and becoming quilt blocks. Yesterday we held the first BOTM class at the store and it was a lot of fun. For those of you sewing at home here are your key cards and pictures of the finished blocks. This month you will be using Template Center A through Template Center E. That will get you as far as the pictures show: as far as the edges of the center star.



And speaking of, you will probably notice that I changed the center star around a little. Yes, I confess, I changed one of Kaffe's compositions. Why did I do this? I wasn't crazy about the star's shape, which was more like a Friendship Star than an Ohio Star. Every time I looked at the quilt, it jumped out at me and not in a particularly good way, so I changed it. Some of the gals in my class kept the original shape of the star and some changed it. It is completely up to you. The quilt police will not come and get you if you change yours to an Ohio Star and the Alewives police will not come and get you if you don't. I promise that this is the ONLY change I have made to the quilt and there will be NO such changes in the future. Thanks for bearing with me!!!

I have posted a picture of Rebecca Townsend's finished block: she is one of the gals who kept the original shape of the star.



The second photo is Nadine Raley's block. Nadine made the switch. I think they both look great. Putting aside for a second the idea of the 2 different star compositions, this is also a good example of how 2 different people making the SAME block out of the SAME fabrics can get 2 different looks. Rebecca's block has that purple dahlia center and Nadine's block has those turquoise paperweights peeking out at you. Great job, both of you! I am loving those nice clean points and corners!

Good luck, and don't forget to leave comments for each other, too!

XOXO,

Rhea

Before you get started...

Hello fellow Block-of-the-Monthers!

First of all, let me thank you for being crazy enough to tackle the Postcard Quilt.
No doubt you have been receiving strange looks when you show people what it is that you are attempting to create. Let me give you some good news: I have been working on this quilt for 2 months now myself and it is very addictive. I guarantee you are going to have a hard time stopping every month and be begging to receive your next set of fabrics early. I created this blog just for you in the hopes that this would be an easier, more fun and more interactive way to give you your instructions and special notes each month. I will post many pictures as the quilts develop and encourage you to post comments and encourage each other with the progress you make!!

We have people who are participating in the Postcard Quilt right here in Maine and people who are participating at all corners of the country. Most notable participants are Susanne Grant who is all the way out in Seattle (Hi Susanne!!! I miss you so!!!) and Liz Stebbins who is receiving her BOTM all the way in Key Largo, Florida (Let me know if I can deliver your fabrics in person, Liz, especially once it gets to be February!!!).

I have a little "pep talk" prepared for you all: Please remember that this quilt is all about the process. If you speed through it and look for shortcuts it will not be as rewarding as if you take your time and enjoy the different piecing techniques. None of the individual sections of this quilt are "difficult" by themselves, but the bigger picture can be overwhelming. That's why this is such a great block of the month project. I encourage each and every one of you to view the project this way.

Once again, thank you all for participating in this very fun endeavor. I have already had such a good time and we haven't even gotten going yet. So, without further adieu, here are your first official words of wisdom:

• Everyone should have a copy of Quilt Road by Kaffe Fassett and refer to the Postcard Quilt directions for your piecing layout. Read the instructions for the quilt and note that they do NOT recommend "Squaring Up" at any time and they advise you to use steam in your iron. Normally these are quilting no-no's. The call is yours, but be warned about their recommendations so you can make an informed decision. if you have the time, read the introductory sections of the book as well. There are some great comments about the Postcard Quilt as well as some different color variations.

• Each month you will be receiving a small amount of extra fabric, in case of boo-boos. If you truly screw up and need to replace your fabrics, please call me and let me know ASAP, as some of these fabrics are no longer being printed. I have some on reserve here at the store, but if you decide you want them it would be prudent to let me know SOONER rather than LATER.

• I highly recommend setting yourself up with a design wall. This will aid immeasurably in keeping your composition organized. For the first few months the wall does not need to be large. You can use a half yard piece of flannel or something similar.

• Please remember that accurate pinning and ironing are just as important (if not MORE so) than accurate cutting. If you hate to pin and iron, this is not the best project for you, because the only way your quilt will be accurate is if you use pinning and ironing to their best advantage. I always "set" my seam with an iron before pressing the seam allowance. "Setting" the seam means ironing the seam while it is still closed (without ironing to one side or the other, exactly the way it comes off of the sewing machine). I don't know why, but this always helps make things "behave." I also recommend pinning any two seams together that are supposed to match up in the quilt top.

• When marking your templates, use clear template plastic (I recommend plain, not gridded, as it shows the fabric design more clearly). Mark the seam allowance onto your template as well, so you can use it to center interesting parts of the design. When marking my fabrics, I used the small end of an identipen (but any preferred marking tool will do) and drew on the WRONG side of my fabric. I also recommend cutting the template shapes for these first few months by HAND with a pair of scissors, as it is much more accurate that using a rotary cutter. Later on down the road there will be a time for rotary cutting.

• The great thing about Kaffe's fabrics is that they change so much depending on which section you see. Use this to your advantage. If you cut a template shape from the purple section of a purple/turquoise/blue fabric, try the same shape in a turquoise section of that same fabric. Play around and have fun. This way it is possible for all of us to use exactly the same fabrics, but still have our quilts come out looking completely different. Having said that, I will show you exactly what I have done with your fabrics each month and you can certainly follow my lead, but I encourage you to branch out and find your own interesting sections of Kaffe's fabrics as well. You know Kaffe would.

• If some months you think I have gone completely off my rocker and chosen fabrics that don't blend in with your "Cool Blues" or "Hot Reds" just keep in mind that I have a master plan and I'm seeing the big picture of what the final quilts are going to look like. I'm going to try and stay 2 months ahead of you BOTM'ers at all times. If you lose all faith in me, just e-mail or call me and I will show you where we are headed and how certain fabrics tie into the final composition of the quilt. Of course, I am expecting that some of you are going to make your own substitutions every once in a while and that's okay, too.


Alright ladies...

That is all for now. My next post will have words of wisdom for Month #1...

Let's do it!!!

XOXO

Rhea