So grateful for this Mystery Quilt to distract me from everything else and force me to do a fair amount of therapeutic sewing. We all know how I hat to fly from years of business travel, so dreaming of Provence may be as close as I get. And I am ok with that.
I am going to make a wallhanging this year, so my half quote of Clue 2 is done already.
I will be the first to admit that this triangle block is always a tough one for me. Right now, my right shoulder and left index finger are giving me trouble, and it makes rotary cutting hard. Should have used my accuquilt die, I already had it before I ordered the ruler set.So I had to fiddle and fudge and trim a bit. Here is what I learned along the way. It worked for me, but may not work for you.
1. Use a scant seam allowance. I had calibrated my 1/4" carefully on clue one, and was using the same machine, the beloved workhorse, my 301. After my first ten blocks were such a struggle, I considered switching to the Bernina Aurora 430 because it had a quarter inch foot. I just have the regular old Singer foot with the skinny inside toe for the 301. But I didn't thinking I would be back behind square 1.
2. I actually setup my blocks for sewing by letting about two thread widths of the neutral stick out beyond the edge of the magenta. As I sewed, the magenta moved over! It just about covered the neutral or lined up nicely.
3. By my third set, I was cutting the magenta pieces a few thread widths wider than my first set, and fiddling accordingly.
I don't know why I had to resort to these tricks after everyone seemed to sail right along, but so be it. I finished as many as I hope I need!
So, spurred on by this progress and a wave of guilt at seeing the second Advent candle lit on Sunday, I made a fair dent in the Christmas shopping today. Hope to get some gift sewing done this week as well.
I am going to make a wallhanging this year, so my half quote of Clue 2 is done already.
I will be the first to admit that this triangle block is always a tough one for me. Right now, my right shoulder and left index finger are giving me trouble, and it makes rotary cutting hard. Should have used my accuquilt die, I already had it before I ordered the ruler set.So I had to fiddle and fudge and trim a bit. Here is what I learned along the way. It worked for me, but may not work for you.
1. Use a scant seam allowance. I had calibrated my 1/4" carefully on clue one, and was using the same machine, the beloved workhorse, my 301. After my first ten blocks were such a struggle, I considered switching to the Bernina Aurora 430 because it had a quarter inch foot. I just have the regular old Singer foot with the skinny inside toe for the 301. But I didn't thinking I would be back behind square 1.
2. I actually setup my blocks for sewing by letting about two thread widths of the neutral stick out beyond the edge of the magenta. As I sewed, the magenta moved over! It just about covered the neutral or lined up nicely.
3. By my third set, I was cutting the magenta pieces a few thread widths wider than my first set, and fiddling accordingly.
I don't know why I had to resort to these tricks after everyone seemed to sail right along, but so be it. I finished as many as I hope I need!
So, spurred on by this progress and a wave of guilt at seeing the second Advent candle lit on Sunday, I made a fair dent in the Christmas shopping today. Hope to get some gift sewing done this week as well.
This block has been tough for a lot of us. I think I've finally got it. It's a great block to create curves. Can't wait to see how we use it in the quilt.
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