Stonefields Block 19 "The Oscillator," First of Two

Good Morning and Happy Friday, my lovelies!  It's been a busy week, but I managed to finish another appliqué block for my Stonefields quilt (pattern by Susan Smith).  Behold Block #19, "The Oscillator."

Stonefields Block 19 "The Oscillator"

I deliberately did not crop that photo because I wanted to show the difference between my hand stitched appliqué (the green and blue shapes at the bottom of the photo) and my machine stitched appliqué using the stitch I created with the Stitch Designer feature in my Bernina B990 sewing machine.  The size and spacing of the stitches is nearly identical and with Aurifil 100 wt monofilament thread in my needle and Microquilter 100 wt polyester thread in my bobbin, the machine stitches really do look just like my hand stitches in YLI 100 wt silk thread, even under inspection with bright lights and reading glasses.  I'm glad I took the time to customize that stitch on my machine so that I can switch between hand and machine stitching on the same project without any visible difference from one block to the next.

By the way, even using the sewing machine, this is "slow stitching" for sure.  It's like "hand stitching with a machine needle," as Harriet Hargrave said in a workshop I took with her years ago.  Very slow and deliberate stitching under bright lighting, one stitch at a time, constantly pivoting to keep those swing "bite" stitches perpendicular to the edge of the appliqué shape just as if I was hand stitching.  

Size 60 Microtex Needles Leave Visible Holes on Liberty Lawn, But They Will Close Up

The one thing that distracts me on this new block is that the needle holes are more visible on the machine stitched block than on my hand stitched blocks.  I use the smallest size 60 Microtex machine needle for this method, but my size 12 Bohin hand applique needle is skinnier than any needle that could go in a sewing machine.  The other difference is that the hand stitched block below used Tilda quilting cotton fabrics, and I used Liberty of London Tana Lawn prints for my Oscillator block.  The Liberty Lawn is a much lighter weight fabric with a finer, tighter weave and I think the different fabric characteristics are why the needle holes are so apparent right now.  I would expect my machine needle holes to be more pronounced with a batik fabric for the same reasons.  The good news is that needle holes close up when you wet the fabric yarns around them, so I'm not worried about it (I promise!).  It's just an observation.  Every time I step into my studio, my Gemini brain splits into two personalities, The Artist and The Scientist, both asking "What would happen if I tried it THIS way?"

EQ8 + AccuQuilt GO! BOB 2025 Collection: New York Beauty + DWR

Good Morning, my lovelies!  We're switching gears completely today, from the low-tech, needle turn, hand stitched appliqué I shared last time to today's focus: the exciting creative possibilities of computer software and modern die cutting methods to make challenging quilt patterns more accessible and more enjoyable for more quilters than ever before.  😊. Today's blog post includes affiliate links to products I use and adore.

Those of you who've been with me for a while know that Electric Quilt software (the current version is EQ8) is one of my favorite quilting tools.  Before I started using EQ software, I had a couple of really disappointing quilts where I realized only after spending months cutting and sewing blocks that I did not have the right value contrasts to get the effect I envisioned in the finished quilt and too many prints were fighting for dominance, etc.  It is an amazing thing to be able to "try out" limitless combinations not just of colors, but of actual fabric prints in quilt shops today, and know for sure how they will look in your quilt BEFORE you buy them.  

EQ8 software has advanced capabilities that are great for professional quilt pattern designers, but most quilters will get their money's worth out of the program just from using the most basic features.  You don't normally need to draft your own block in the software because there is a library included in the software with hundreds of traditional quilt blocks and then there are inexpensive add-ons that you can purchase to add even more quilt blocks to your library, like the one I'm going to share with you today -- a collaboration between The Electric Quilt Company and AccuQuilt, the makers of the AccuQuilt GO! die cutting system.  This is something I swear I wished into being!  If you already own EQ software and you have also purchased any of AccuQuilt's BOB "Block On Board" dies, you need to pop over to EQ right now and check out the software add-ons that will enable you to design quilts using those dies.  Here's my full disclosure: I paid full price for my EQ software years ago and it has been worth every penny for the money it has saved me in wasting good fabric on lousy ideas.  I have also spent my own money on lots and lots of AccuQuilt dies, some of which I love and use regularly, others not so much.  When EQ first released their AccuQuilt BOB Collections 1 & 2, I bought them immediately because I already owned several of the BOB dies included in those collections.  EQ just recently released a smaller add-on containing all of the BOB dies that were introduced in 2025, the AccuQuilt GO! BOB 2025 Collection, for just $15.95, and I was given this last digital add-on in exchange for sharing my honest review.  I downloaded the 2025 BOB Collection blocks into my EQ software and started playing with them right before I left for QuiltCon...  and that's why I snapped up the AccuQuilt #55392 New York Beauty 9" Finished BOB die with a show discount and lugged it around the show while I looked at all the pretty quilts!

New York Beauty: EQ8, AccuQuilt GO! BOB, + Art Gallery Fabrics

In my opinion, the most useful and life-altering (for quilters!) AccuQuilt dies are the ones for quilt blocks with curved pieces that are tedious to cut by hand, difficult to cut accurately, and challenging to sew together.  New York Beauty is one of those designs, but the AccuQuilt die cut fabric patches can be cut swiftly, accurately, and with automatic notches added to every patch for matching up opposing curves once you sit down to sew.  In the screen shot above, I've designed a 39" x 39" baby quilt, the perfect size for a play mat or stroller quilt, that is completely to scale using mostly Art Gallery fabrics plus a Kaffe Fasset stripe print.  I love it so much!