Ugh — I spent so much time selecting the fabric combination for this 4-Patch Plus block for my Tilda Scrappy Celebration quilt. Then I spent some more time ironing the annoying heavy creases out of my Tilda precuts (definitely a downside of buying Fat Eighth packs vs yardage), and then I spent even more rotary cutting the squares and rectangles for this block, exactly in accordance with my planning notes that I jotted down about a year ago. Do you see anything wrong with this picture?
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| Original Fabric Pull: Hmmm, What's Wrong With This Picture??? |
Well, I didn’t see anything wrong with it until I’d spent about an hour carefully stitching those vertically striped 1 1/2” squares (stash fabric) to solid blue and green 2 1/2” squares. Then I started adding the other striped fabric square to each of those units and noticed that my 3-square units, once sewn together with seam allowances, were an awful lot shorter than the solid blue and green rectangles that needed to be sewn to them next... And then I remembered that the cut-out patches for a pieced unit that is supposed to finish 3 1/2" square should take up more space on the table than the 3 1/2" print square next to it because of seam allowances! Aaargh! I should have double-checked my cutting notes before I started cutting, or at least sewn a single test block before cutting up all that fabric. I didn’t have enough of the blue or green fabric to recut my plus pieces to the correct size (another downside to working with small "fat eighth" precut packs of fabric, no extra to make up for miscuts), and I didn’t have enough of that striped stash fabric to recut 48 larger squares, either.
So I decided to set the red print fabric aside to use in another 4-patch block, recut 3 1/2” squares of the same print with a blue background, and made my plus units work for a 9-patch block instead. I was able to make three of these from what I’d cut out, and I think they turned out pretty cute.
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| Save! 4 Patch Block Becomes a 9 Patch Block |
I like to include a rear-view shot for my future reference, reminding me how I pressed the seams for the block:
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| The Rear View Pressing Plan |
Here’s my in-progress picture. I love lining up all my fabric bits and pieces and watching the block come together as I sew. :-)
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| Blocks In Progress |
And I’m really enjoying my little setup, too, with my ironing board set up at chair height on my left and my little IKEA cart pulled up to my right for my water bottle and my little bin for thread tails.
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| Loving My Pack-Away U-Shaped Setup for Piecing |
However, not sure whether I'll make any more of these blocks before taking them off the design wall and packing them away again. Why, you ask? 🤗
Stonefields Update
I AM SO EXCITED that Gretchen Weaver of Gretchen's Little Corner and Chris Forster of Quilting at the Farm have both agreed to dig out their Stonefields patterns and start making this quilt with me! And now Chris has emailed me that Hanne Schneider of Hanne's Quilt Corner, who had made quite a bit of progress on her Stonefields before setting it aside, has agreed to pick it up again so she will on her quilt with us as well. Woot woot! Hurrah! Yippee!!! Isn't it a wild, magical world we live in, where quilters from Canada, Florida, Indiana, and Norway can come together virtually to work on a project together?
And it's not too late for anyone else who might want to join us, either. Chris says she prewashed her background fabric and cut out a lot of appliqué background squares 9 or 10 years ago before setting everything aside in a box, but Chris is off on a Norwegian cruise with her daughter right now with her box of supplies waiting patiently for her return. Gretchen is working on some other projects and thinks she'll be ready to start her Stonefields sometime in July. I want to start as soon as I get my background fabric, but it doesn't really matter how soon I start. I sew about as fast as a snail stuck in molasses, so you could start yours six months after I start mine and you'll still probably finish your quilt faster than me!
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| 96 x 96 Stonefields Quilt, Pattern by Susan Smith |
The Stonefields quilt pattern is by Australian quilt designer Susan Smith and they still have copies available for sale at Sentimental Stitches, Sweetwater Cotton Shop, and in the U.K. at Pincushion Pantiles. This Etsy seller has one copy of the pattern left as well (that last one is an affiliate link). Fun facts about this quilt for anyone on the fence about making it: The blocks finish at 6", so they will be easier than the 4" blocks in the "Dear Jane"/"In Wartime 1863" quilt by Jane Sickle. The pattern calls for hand piecing, appliqué, English paper piecing (EPP) and hand embroidered details, but there's no reason you couldn't use machine piecing, machine applique, decorative machine stitches in place of hand embroidery, or whatever other techniques you prefer. If all those EPP flowers in the borders are giving you the heebie-jeebies, you can either skip them altogether in favor of a pretty border print like our late friend Nanette chose to do with her Stonefields quilt, OR you make all those EPP flowers with your sewing machine! Check out this tutorial on YouTube showing how to sew EPP hexie flowers with a sewing machine blanket stitch. I know I've seen another tutorial for EPP by machine somewhere that was done differently, sewn from the right side of the project with the two hexie edges butted up together and a tiny zigzag stitch sewn in monofilament thread. If some of the blocks in the quilt look too fiddly for you, substitute a machine embroidered block or something else entirely. No excuses! This quilt is like a box of truffles, something special for everyone, and if there's a weird block or two that really isn't your thing, no one is going to force you to eat it. We are quilting anarchists over here, no quilt police allowed, and anything goes.
Back to my version: Another reason for setting the Scrappy Celebration project aside is that I kind of want to use my Tilda Prints for my Stonefields quilt and it's starting to feel like a waste, cutting them up for boring 9- and 4-patch blocks for a random project with no planned purpose.
I read in the Month One instruction booklet for Stonefields (it was originally released as a Block of the Month pattern but I am not setting any deadlines for myself) that designer Susan Smith used Emma Louise Premium Cotton Muslin fabric for her original Stonefields quilt, and in her supply list she talks about the importance of choosing a "high quality background fabric that can support the weight of the appliqué, especially the EPP border." I'd never heard of Emma Louise fabric but further digging online revealed that it's made in Japan and stocked by Australian quilt shops but no US distributor that I could find. Due to my nature, which is completely outside of my control, the hassle of obtaining this fabric meant that it was the ONLY fabric I wanted to use... Go ahead, all of you -- I'll wait while you roll your eyes at me.
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| Emma Louise Premium Muslin in 706 European Linen, Headed My Way |
The original Stonefields quilt uses this fabric in the Pale Coffee color that Susan says was dark enough to get contrast with white fabrics in the quilt, but the Pale Coffee color looked a little too yellow-cream to me so I went with the European Linen color instead. It appears to be a similar value to Pale Coffee but more of a cool neutral taupe. I think it will play nicely with my Tilda fabrics. Honestly it will probably appear in my mailbox after being shipped from the other side of the world and be indistinguishable from Bella Solids or something else I could have gotten locally, but at least my curiosity will be satisfied and I will be able to try something new. USPS tracking says that this box of Japanese fabric from the Australian quilt shop will arrive in my mailbox TODAY! Can't wait to get started on this project!
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| Peonies For Sale at Whole Foods Yesterday |
Before I drag my lawn chair down to the mailbox to wait for the mail truck to bring my fabric, I'll leave you with this photo of gorgeous peonies that I snapped at Whole Foods yesterday. The colors are glorious! Sometimes when I look at the brightly colored botanical fabric prints from Kaffe Fassett and Anna Maria they look like exaggerations of nature, but then I see real live flowers in person like these, reminding me that Mother Nature's sense of color is anything but dull.
Happy sewing, everyone! I'm linking up today's post with the following linky parties:
MONDAY
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Musings at Songbird Designs
TUESDAY
To-Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
THURSDAY
Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
FRIDAY
Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts
Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre
Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty
TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: TGIF Friday
SUNDAY
Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué
Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework
I didn't roll my eyes at your background fabric selection, this is just how Rebecca Grace is. I'm sure the fabric will be lovely. I'm looking forward to your next post where you will show us the first 4 blocks, the little stars. Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing your sewing setup with that beautiful view. How fun that you'll be doing Stonefields with friends! Those peonies - wow - they'd make a great quilt color.
ReplyDeleteSewing a project with others on board is the absolute way to go! No wonder you are excited! I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of that Japanese fabric. . .I wish I could wait by your mailbox with you!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have caught the cutting error if you hadn't asked. Then I saw that the seam allowances weren't taken into account. I love the color combination and print variations in that block. You have such a good eye.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite the ambitious project you're tackling next. Should be exciting watching it come together.
I have my ironing set up pretty much as you do and yes pre-cuts always have set in folds that take forever at times to get out - but I do love pre-cuts for the variety without buying yardage. I spray and press and sometimes spray again. I'm not interested in Stonefields but will watch your progress I remember some years back when a lot were making that one. Thanks for posting Hanne's page as I had lost track of her sometime ago and will save her address again - I used to follow her many years ago.
ReplyDeleteOh, a quilt along with friends, nothing is better than that! The quilt is beautiful, it's going to be a fun project. Sorry for the blocks too small, but you found a great way to use the fabric you love.
ReplyDeleteHave fun with the new project, and waiting for the fabrics! Till then, you can enjoy the view from your studio, and your comfy new chair ;)
Thank you for sharing and linking up!
I love this quilt！I am particularly drawn to the flying geese and EPP borders. I have a stack of blocks I made a long time ago that got set aside because of not being able to pick anything that appealed to me for borders, so the stack of blocks was set aside. Ironically, I actually made a bunch of flying geese blocks about that same time, thinking I might use those for sashings, and those were set aside as well！So now I think I will pull everything out and make a couple of EPP blocks to see if you may have helped me identify the direction I need to go. Fingers crossed！
ReplyDeleteSandra B
scb23229@yahoo.com
I think your Tilda fabrics will look super in the Stonefield's quilt! Hope your fabric doesn't take too long to arrive. And love your set up in the sewing room, envious of your clutter free look :)
ReplyDeleteYour Stonefield will be stunning! I thought that joining in making this quilt would be fun...until I clicked on the price of the pattern! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteI know... Nanette wrote in her blog that one of her strongest motivators to finish her Stonefields quilt was that it was the most $ she had ever spent on a pattern. My perspective is mixed: Yes, it's a really expensive pattern, especially considering that instructions are minimal, assuming previous experience with the techniques involved, and the quality of the photographs and lack of illustrations does not live up to what I've experienced with similarly priced patterns from other independent designers (like Sarah Fielke, who includes access to full blown written and video tutorials and practically holds your hand every step of the way). A lot of the cost of the pattern probably results from small run printing on decent weight paper with full color photo sheets, and it's a shame that the designer hasn't found a way to sell it as a PDF download to print at home. However, a sampler quilt like this one justifies a higher price point than many other quilts because there are so many different block patterns to be drafted and explained compared to simpler quilt patterns available at lower price points. The pattern is being produced on a very small scale by an independent designer who does not have a big commercial entity printing, packaging, and marketing with the advantages of economy of scale, or tech people to set up a shopping cart web site for her and help her get her patterns into a downloadable PDF format with secure payment service, etc. I know that this is not a quilt-in-a-day, or even likely a quilt-in-a-year project for me, so I think of the pattern cost as an up front investment that will give me creative challenge and enjoyment for the next few years. If this quilt takes me 2 years to finish (which would be a MIRACLE based on my previous track record), then the pattern price works out to be about $8.34 per month. So much less than what we will pay for, say, our Netflix subscription during that same time period. Television rots my brain and Netflix is a giant corporation that doesn't need my money. When I see a fantastic, complicated quilt pattern that gets me excited about pulling out fabric and powering up my sewing machine, I feel good about financially supporting the designer who created that pattern for me. And another reason I don't mind the higher pattern price point is that it's probably part of the reason why I don't see as many Stonefields quilts in quilt shows and on social media as I do other challenging vintage-inspired sampler quilts, such as the Jane Sickle reproductions that were popularized in the "Dear Jane" book by Papadakis some years back. I love that "Dear Jane" quilt but after seeing SO many of them, I'm almost tired of it before I begin, if you know what I mean. With Stonefields, there are enough quilters who have made one for me to get some good inspiration from a browse around social media, but not so many that I feel like I'm jumping on a bandwagon that is already overloaded. If you're interested in Stonefields but the pattern price is a barrier, I suggest keeping an eye out for the pattern at quilt guilds' used goods boutiques or maybe even posting an ISO "In Search Of" ad on a few of the sewing resale online sites. Due to the complexity of the pattern and the instructions being written for an intermediate to advanced maker, I would expect there to be copies of this pattern floating around for resale here and there if you know where to look for them. Good luck! I would love for you to join us!
DeleteRebecca I’m sure you will enjoy every stitch you put in to making this quilt and I’m sure it will be at least a two year project. For me it would likely be longer since I usually have so many projects on the go at the same time. I’m really going to enjoy watching as you all work on this one. Thank you for sharing on To-Do Tuesday. I’m looking forward to reading your opinion of the fabric. I’ve discovered several pieces of fabric from Japan in my Guild sales and absolutely love the quality, colours and feel of the fabric; worth every Penny in my opinion. 😉 Carol
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