Ruler Tricks

Hey, do you do this?

To keep a long ruler from turning on you when cutting,

put a smaller ruler behind it.

Still pattern writing here. Hoping our new  Dresden Steps will 

magically appear in RHQ Etsy shop tonight. Or maybe tomorrow...

Dresden Steps

Seen @MQG

Some of my faves from the last meeting I attended:)

Dresden Plate, one traditional and one modern.

How fun is this!!!

Shiloh signs all her work. Nice:)

Signature piece.

Somebody very sweet has a new pillow for her room:)

Genevieve says, doodle feathers every day, pen and ink, and you'll be able to quilt like this.

Corner sets quilting are also stars! Wow - Genius

star-in-a-star detail

Nice quilty bag too!

Shop model - because houses are cool.

Notes on borders

 Done at last! Vacuuming and dusting await, although I have manged to keep up with dishes (thanks to Alex) and meals other than TV dinners. I'm going to call the game: success with hints of panic.

Our version of "Opposites Attract" by Cheryl Armstrong as seen in Fabric Trends for Quilters, Summer 2009, pgs. 74-78. The two outer borders are our addition.

There is only 1/2 yard of red in this quilt. Not enough of the provided white fabrics to make more log cabin blocks, hence the quadruple border to get it up to Mary's required size.

Is there such a thing as a border calculator? I could sure use one! The 2nd check border was Alex's recommendation, and a good one. But then I ran out of fabric on the 3rd black border, requiring the dot corner sets.

Here are some hints for adding big borders:

• Start with a tail. Don't match corners at the beginning of piecing. The tail gives you a "runway" so your border gets a clean start and isn't dragged into the throat plate by it's own weight.
• Raise the presser foot (needle down, of course) every time you stop to finger pin. I find that these little tension breaks keep my borders from stretching, curling and frustrating.

How do you like the round corner pieced border? It was SEW Easy! I will show you in tomorrow's post how it works. Do you think is was wrong to put round corners on a log cabin quilt? After all, log cabins are very square blocks. But this was not a traditional setting, so I went for it. Anyway, Pearl approves.

In the meantime...

We are still collecting photo illustrations and fact checking terminology for Part II: Finishing, of our first blog tutorial, Very Easy English Paper Piecing (see previous post). In the meantime, Grandma Mary will be glad to see some progress on her log cabin commission.

Mary requested, "something black and white with a little bit of red." Whenever I hear "a little red," I always think that is a good excuse for a log cabin. This pattern is offset, with larger right & top "logs," slightly smaller on the bottom & left.
Here is a hint I learned working on this project: After the third log is added, it is easier to piece log cabin from the back. Put the upside down block on top, so the new piece/log can be eased in against the feed dogs, and you can manage the 2 opposing seam allowances easier.
Flags of 42 Chain pieced log cabin centers. Does this count as quilt art? Yes, I am too easily amused.