Diane's Roundabout Again

Another stunning New York Beauty quilt by Diane Zdep - can you believe it?  This time Diane has chosen to stitch Roundabout Again.  Have a look:

Although the picture doesn't show it clearly, Diane has done some spectacular free motion quilting in the centre sections.  That pop of blue in the setting blocks along the side adds a lot of zing.  You can see two other of Diane's projects here and here.  Thanks Diane - you do such beautiful work!

My Friends At Paducah

I am always so grateful for folks who generously offer their time and talent and willingly share pictures of shows where my quilts hang.  It takes the sting out of not being able to attend.  Yesterday I received two sets of photos from travelers who made the trek to Kentucky;  for both of these lucky women, the AQS Paducah Show is an annual event.  These first ones came from Gaile Smith, whom I have the pleasure of knowing in real life as she attends our Fibre Arts Festival each year.  Thanks, Gaile!

I taught a workshop on this very quilt last October which Gaile attended so I feel very pleased she got to see it hanging here. I hope she felt a connection to the quilt. Gaile tells me that she sat on the plane with Renae Haddadin who, along with Karen Kay Buckley, won Best of Show.  She learned that these two took a year each to make the top and then a year to longarm quilt it. Wow.  What patience... 

The following pictures are from Lynn, who pens the Nebraska Views blog.

I love the one to the left - do you suppose that was the winner in the Small Wall Quilts category?  I'll have to wait for my show book to arrive to check it out.

Lynn got brave and stepped in front of the camera to share this one of her with the quilt.

A sincere thank you to both Lynne and Gaile for these wonderful photos. 

Today...

 

It was with great relief I received delivery notice that my quilt has arrived on time in Paducah.  Yay!
It was also exciting to see three crocuses in bloom in the garden.  Double yay!
I hope I don`t wake tomorrow to learn these are April`s Fool pranks :)
 

Ready,Set...

Hubby and I decided to take a short jaunt to Maine this week.  It was complicated to figure out the best driving days as our snow forecast was so changeable from one moment to the next.  Before we left, I made sure everything was in place and ready to send off to the Paducah show.  I revamped the hanging sleeve as per their very precise instructions and made a label for the back.  It was a very simple one, done in Word on the computer and printed on a treated fabric sheet.  

After rinsing off the excess ink and allowing it to dry, I laid it face down on a piece of plain cotton and stitched around the edges, leaving an opening to turn.  It was hand stitched to the back of the quilt.

Someone told me you are not supposed to have a label on the back of a quilt that goes for judging, but no where in the very explicit rules from AQS did it say this.  My last quilt that went there sported a label and it was not disqualified, so this one has one as well.  Any thoughts or comments on the label issue?

When I went to get tissue paper to put between the folds, I discovered that instead of sheets of tissue, I had shredded strings that looked like Easter grass.  Thank you Polly and Maddie for doing such a thorough job on the tissue paper...as well as on the padded bubble mailing envelopes which were stored on the same shelf...

The rules for Paducah say that the quilt needs to arrive between March 29 and April 5 to qualify.  That's trickier than it sounds when you are mailing from another country as the package may well get held up at Customs.  I checked at the main Post Office last week for their advice and have decided - taking into account shipping times, Customs, and the Easter holiday - my optimal day to mail is Monday.  But what about the snow...and if our travel back got delayed...?
My last will and testament to those remaining behind...MAIL THE BOX!!!

Alisa's Roundabout Again

I love when folks send pictures of their work, especially when the project turns out this gorgeous!  Alisa Aymar attended the Roundabout Again workshop at Fibre Arts Festival in October and made this:

Lovely! Please leave a comment for Alisa below.  If you would like to make your own, the pattern for Roundabout Again #112 is available here.

How To Sew A NYB Block

So often I hear folks say that they would never be able to sew a curved seam such as in a New York Beauty block, and are too intimidated by the thought to even try.  In reality, these blocks are not a bit difficult as long as you can sew a good, consistent 1/4" seam - as in straight patchwork.  I took some pictures of the process for Marg  a couple of weeks ago and thought that I would retake them and tidy them up a bit for posting here when time allowed.  (ha!) Since there are no more hours in the day in 2013 than there were in 2012, I have decided to post these and ask you to forgive the crooked shots.  

The block below is the same one used in Roundabout Again.  I have my regular 1/4" piecing foot on my sewing machine.  In the picture below, the space inside the green tape measures 9-1/2”, the unfinished size of the block.  You can see that the pieced foundation arch reaches to the 8” mark on the mat.  Since this arch is foundation pieced, you know that it is the exact size it should be;  use it as a guide to line up  the edges of subsequent block sections.  After you have stitched the spikes and carefully removed the foundation paper, stay stitch 1/8” from both curved edges.  No doubt you remember stay-stitching from Home Economics class;  it will not show in your finished work but it helps keep the curved edge smooth in the sewn seam.  Don't fuss over sewing a perfectly straight line, just make sure it is within the 1/4" seam allowance.

Mark the centre point on the bottom edge of the spikes, and mark the centre point of the quarter centre circle.  (I fold it in half and either put in a pin or make a mark with the iron)

Match these centre points and pin.

Place a pin at each end.

Now...If you look closely along the right hand side of the block, you can see where the centre quarter circle is pulling in.  This is usually where the problem lies in having your block come out wonky..

To keep your block true along the edges, pin down both sides at the end of the piece you are adding.  I flipped the patchwork over in the picture below so you can see that I am pinning down along the edge of the pieced arch unit.  You will not be sewing along this edge, the pin just keeps the fabric from pulling in as you stitch along the top curved edge.  You will remove the side pins as soon as your curved seam is sewn.  Make sure you pin both edges.

When it is pinned, it will look like this (below).   The blue headed pins are those holding the fabric to the edge;  again you are not sewing that edge, just the top curved edge where the red-headed pins are.

When I am ready to sew, I flip the piece over to the other side.  Even though we were told in Home Ec class to put the fullest side on the bottom so the feed dogs could ease it in, flipping it over to sew has 2 advantages:  the fullness is now on the top, so you can see if you are stitching any tucks or pleats under your needle, and also you can see the seam where the spike ends, so you know that you should not be stitching past that area for your perfect points.

I pressed the seam towards the centre circle, but would alternate the direction I pressed in the adjoining block  You can see how straight the edges are – without trimming.

I add the outside arch in the same manner – pinning first at the end of the stitching line, and then along the side of the piece I am adding. (see the white pin along the right bottom side of the red fabric?  That holds the edge of the arch true and straight while you stitch along the top curved edge.  

If you have “needle down” on your machine, it’s nice to enable that function;  stitch up to the pins and remove them as you get to them.  Needle down helps keep the fabric from shifting.  Again notice that I am stitching with the fullest piece on top.

I press this band away from the spikes as there is less bulk.  Despite the rather crooked picture, you can see that the edges of this block have stayed nice and straight and it has come out to exactly 9-1/2”.  (I hate trimming!) For me, the trick is all in that side pin.  For the blocks which call for the background section, I add it exactly the same way.

Now...was that so hard?! :)

Roundabout Again...and Again!

Here's another top from the workshop finished up and ready to quilt!  This New York Roundabout Again was made by Colleen Gander who travelled with her friend Delia from Ontario to attend my workshop at Fibre Arts Festival.  Colleen hadn't planned to send a photo until she had this beauty all quilted, but I coerced her into sharing now. (And no mistake, Colleen - we will want to see it again when it's quilted!) She shot it early this morning and the colours are a bit skewed.

I took some of the yellow out in Photoshop, but it still isn't quite right.  Colleen used a delicate red and white toile for the centres.

Thanks, Colleen;  I never met a red quilt I didn't love and this one is no exception.  Looking forward to seeing it quilted!
Kindly leave a note for Colleen on her beautiful work by clicking the word "comments" below.  You do not need any sort of account to comment, simply click "anonymous" at the bottom of the option menu.

First Finish - And It's A Beauty!

No surprise, it's Joan, and look at this - she's even got it all quilted and bound.  (Look at those feathers! )

Skip on over to Joan's blog Ouvrages d'une Acadienne to see a picture of the entire quilt.  It's BEAUTIFUL, Joan!

First Finish?

It's sort of, kind of, the first finish from the workshop...(the qualifiers are because it isn't really the whole quilt and the maker wasn't really in the class!)  However, it is the New York Beauty block from Roundabout Again, and Beth did pop into the class for a few minutes to pick up the pattern and see what was going on.  That counts.

Beth Munroe is a beginner quilter but has been a sewist for a good many years. (I almost termed her a "sewer" but that term written always makes me chuckle as I think of underground waste pipes...I don't want to call anyone a seew-er) Beth watched a quick paper-piecing tutorial at Fibre Festival Headquarters last week by Phyllis Cameron and decided she was ready to tackle a block.  Built-in decorative machine stitches were used to quilt the block.  Beth followed the directions in the pattern to make continuous bias binding which transformed her block into a potholder.  Now Beth is feeling confident and ready to start the quilt!

A Little Inspiration

Last week during the demonstration at dayle's, I finished up the machine quilting on this Christmas version of Roundabout Again.  The angle is a little odd in this picture as it is spread out on the dining room table.  I will take it full on when I get a hanging sleeve on the back.

I put a little flicker of gold metallic thread in each point and did a continuous curve in the spaces between.   The outer ring was quilted in unmarked, free hand feathers using the curved edge of the archband as the spine of the feather.

I used this piece in the workshop to demonstrate the application of binding an inside corner, and also my really easy method of joining the ends of the binding in a diagonal seam. 

New York Roundabout Again pattern #112 is available here.