Deco is Loaded + Stonefields Prep: Overcasting Appliqué Background Blocks

Greetings, my lovelies!   This will be just a quick update to share what I accomplished in the last few days before I head to New Jersey for my mom’s burial service.  No, I don’t have any hand stitching prepped for my trip, but I did get a little prep work done so I’ll have things ready to stitch when I get home.

My Deco quilt is loaded on my long arm machine and my ruler base is on the machine, woot woot!  When I get back to Florida I’ll be ready to start stabilizing this custom quilt project by stitching in the ditch between blocks with my favorite Aurifil Smoke monofilament thread.  This is a big bed quilt, 102” x 102”, and I’m in no rush whatsoever.  Expect to see dribbles of progress over the next few months on this one.

102 x 102 Deco Quilt Loaded on my Bernina Q24 Long Arm Machine

Second accomplishment, I have made some progress on the prep work for my new sampler project, the Stonefields Quilt by Susan Smith!  The pattern instructions told me to cut out forty 6 1/2” background blocks for appliqué.  I ultimately decided to tear my fabric instead of ripping it per the instructions in Jeanne Sullivan’s book, and I tore my squares at a generous 7 1/2” square so I’d be able to trim them with the serger knife when overcasting the raw edges and still have excess to trim after stitching the appliqué.  I think that was a good amount of trimming insurance as the blocks are about 7 1/4” now after the serger knife trimmed the whiskers away.

40 Appliqué Background Blocks for Stonefields Prepped

Did I really need to overcast the edges on these little blocks?  Debatable.  There is definitely a potential for fraying of the raw block edges on larger, more complex blocks that will be handled a lot during hand stitching (like my 19” FrankenWhiggish blocks, still awaiting the final stuffed berries).  These Stonefields blocks are small and relatively simple, so they might have been fine without overcasting.  

I overcasted them anyway because I haven’t touched my Babylock Triumph serger since I bought it several months ago (when I traded in my separate overlock and cover stitch machines for one combo machine that takes up less space).  I needed a low pressure serger task to motivate me set up the new machine and get acquainted with it, and prepping the appliqué backgrounds was perfect.

YouTube to the Rescue: Final Thread Guide on my Baby Lock Triumph Serger

Baby Lock sergers are awesome, beautiful stitch quality right off the bat with minimal adjustments needed, and so quick and easy to thread.  The only confusing thing was trying to figure out where that last thread guide was above the needle when I was looking at the thread path diagram in the owner’s manual, but YouTube came to my rescue.  Screen shot above is for Future Rebecca’s reference the next time I forget how to thread this machine.

WIP Reference: 3 Thread Overlock Narrow, Not Wide!

Here’s another thing I relearned.  It has been so many years since I started a new appliqué project that I forgot how I did this last time.  After experimenting for awhile on scraps of my background fabric, I decided to get out my in-progress FrankenWhiggish blocks to see how I overcast those raw edges.  Sure enough, I did a narrow 3-thread overlock stitch using the right needle, not a wide 3-thread overlock using the left needle as I’d been attempting.  Much better suited to the fabric weight I’m using, and less chance of the narrower stitch not being completely trimmed away when I ultimately trim the blocks down to 6 1/2”.  I fiddled around a little with clearing the stitch fingers and trying to master or re-master the art of turning the outside corner without getting a loop of loose thread at the corner, but then I realized that would take too long with 40 blocks and 4 corners on each block, plus it’s easier to maintain the square blocks with a 90 degree angle at each corner and no distortion if I just serge right off the edge and then do the next side of the block in a separate pass.  Mostly this paragraph is for my own reference next time, so don’t feel bad if it doesn’t make sense to you!

Trimming the Torn Ragged Edges, About an Eighth of an Inch Per Side

That photo is also for my benefit, to remind me where I was lining up the block whiskers to trim just enough away to form a nice, neat stitch.

Next, I selected the four print fabrics that I’m planning to use for my four sawtooth star blocks from Month One.  After considering all the great suggestions I got for prewashing small pieces of fabric, I finally decided to loosely fold each one on a diagonal (not sure why diagonal, but that’s what I did) and put them in separate small lingerie bags.  Then I put them in my Miele washing machine and ran the Handwash Delicate cycle with just about a tablespoon of liquid lingerie wash in the detergent dispenser.  This worked really well; no twisting and excessive wrinkling and hardly any fraying of the fat quarter, fat eight and unwashed scrap fabrics, yet the sizing was removed so the fabric hand feels better and presumably any shrinking that needed to happen is now out of the way.  I hung them on a laundry rack to dry and then just ran an iron over them to smooth out the soft folds.

Sawtooth Star Fabrics Prewashed, Ready to Go

Two of those are Tilda prints but the other two are older Moda prints from my stash.  I already printed out my foundation paper piecing patterns onto newsprint and some oversized (3/8” seam allowances is what I like when I’m cutting out shapes for EPP) cutting templates onto card stock, so I’ll be ready to piece these stars right away when I get home.  Note that the Stonefields pattern directs you to do traditional piecing for these blocks, but we all know Rebecca has trouble following directions.  

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for you for right now.  Not much to show for myself, but it’s been a difficult month with a lot of days when changing out of my pajamas and brushing my teeth felt like a major accomplishment.  I’m hoping the “sewjo” will still be there when I come back, because an empty design wall can be pretty depressing.  Time to start decorating it with some pretty little quilt blocks!

Thank you to all who have reached out to me with your condolences over the past few weeks.  I appreciate you.  ❤️  

I’ll be linking up today’s post with some of my favorite 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