Stonefields Blocks 30-32: " Cara's Surprise"

Well, this wasn't my goal for last week (nope, didn't piece that backing yet), but I finished the next three applique blocks for my Stonefields sampler quilt.  This is a pattern by Susan Smith and the blocks finish at 6" square.

Stonefields Blocks 30-32: Cara's Surprise

So, after machine piecing the "plus" unit for the centers of these blocks, I cut circles out of them with a turning allowance, ran a gathering stitch around the outside edge, and preturned the seam allowances with the appropriate size Karen Kay Buckley Bigger Perfect Circles heat resistant template and a bit of Maryanne's Best Press liquid starch.  I used a little roll of painter's tape to secure the template before pulling up the gathering thread and ironing the seam allowances, to prevent the template from sliding.  I wanted that plus sign to be as centered as I could get it in those circles.

Painter's Tape Kept "Plus" Centered During Starch and Press

It turned out like this, a little wonky but in a way that charmed me for some reason, so I left it be:

"Plus" Distorted a Little During Pressing

I made the plain circles in the usual way, no tape required.  I handled the stars differently, depending on which fabric I'd chosen for the star.  The orange Tilda print fabric was thicker and had more body, so I just needle turned and hand stitched that one to its backing fabric with YLI silk thread in a matching gold color.  The other two stars were from filmy, flimsy cotton lawn, and I decided they would benefit from the addition of a layer of washaway stabilizer to keep the whites nice and bright and to prevent see-through of under layers:

Fusible, Leave-In Stabilizer for Flimsy Lawn Fabric Stars

And no, I have not learned my lesson about coffee in the sewing rooms that have white carpeting.  I remain reckless and caffeinated.

I stitched the entirety of the first block by hand and it took me 2-3 days, off and on.

Star First, Then Plain Circle

So I stitched the block from the bottom layer up, starting with the needle turned gold star, then the plain coral chambray circle stitched in peach silk thread, and then the plus-pieced circle on top, using a beige thread that blended fairly well with the colors in the prints.

Pieced Plus Circle Stitched Last

I trimmed away the backing behind the star before adding the coral circle, then trimmed away the star fabric behind the coral circle before adding the pieced circle, so the back of my block looks like this:

Stitching Completed, Under Layers Trimmed Away

For the other two blocks with the thin star fabrics, I preturned the seam allowances over the stabilizer stars with a bit of fabric glue stick before glue-basting them to the background with tiny dots of Roxanne's water soluble Glue Baste-It.  Having stitched the first Cara's Surprise block entirely by hand, I decided to appliqué the next two blocks entirely by machine with my customized machine appliqué stitch and invisible monofilament thread in the needle, 100 wt MicroQuilter thread in the bobbin.

Preturned Edges are So Easy to Stitch By Machine

My order of operations and background trimming were exactly the same for the machine stitched blocks.  It is nearly impossible to tell them apart.

Cara's Surprise, Stitched By Hand

Cara's Surprise, Stitched By Machine

Cara's Surprise, Also Stitched By Machine

By the way, those inner corners are deliberately covered by the big circle, faithful to the pattern.  I thought about resizing the circle or altering the angles of the star points to keep the circle entirely contained within the star, but decided to stick with the pattern.  Also, VERY belatedly, I realized that instead of going to all of the trouble to applique those stars, I could have just done eight individual triangles SO much more easily with the raw edge bases of the triangles covered by the circle...(!!!)  

Anyway, I'm very pleased with how all three blocks turned out, and tickled that I can get the results I want with either method and choose whichever techniques suit my mood and available time on a given day.

32 Stonefields Sampler Blocks On My Design Wall

My iPhone seems to be automatically increasing the contrast in my photos.  My colors are softer in real life.  Those three squares of patterned fabric below my completed blocks will be used as backgrounds for some of the future appliqué blocks.

33 Stonefields Blocks + 42 Hexagon Rosettes (for Outer Border)

That's all I have to show for myself for now.  Last week's goal of piecing the backing for my Scrappy Celebrations quilt has been kicked into the upcoming week, but there's a lot on the schedule next week with the renovation (if workers actually show up on the days they are supposedly scheduled), so "we'll see."  Oh, and I'M hosting the TGIFF (Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday) linky party on the 21st, which gives me added incentive/pressure to finish something so I can post about it!!  Wish me luck, and be sure to pop back over here on Friday, August 21st for the linky party!

I'm linking up today's post with some of these 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

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

SATURDAY

Scrap Happy Saturday at So Scrappy

SUNDAY

Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework