I Am Enough Quilt Along
One of my favorite people to follow on Instagram is Melanie of SouthernCharm Quilts. Her quilts just speak to me.....they are always so soft and inviting and I just adore her style and overall aesthetic. So when I saw she was hosting another quilt along with Havel's Sewing I decided I had to join in.
As a maker, this sew along in particular struck me. I am always.....I mean ALWAYS so overly critical of my work. Critical, to the point that I have abandoned countless projects, that were "just fine" because they were not better then fine....they were not perfect. Perfection, especially in handmade, is a figment of the imagination, but it is only just recently that I have embraced that. So this quilt along is a lesson in imperfection for me.....and learning to see the beauty in it.
And to start our first block is a color wheel! How fun is this.....all the colors you will be using in one focal block. I am so in love with this! Melanie posted a tutorial and template on Friday and my eager little hands got to work cutting and pressing, so that I could complete this block over the weekend. My fabrics were already selected, so it was really just the arrangement that I needed to figure out. I tend to place my fabrics in an organized chaos kind of way.....even though I know there are rules to color order, I typically play until I find an order that makes sense in my head.
I knew I was using a variety of low volume grays and whites for the background, because to be honest it is my absolute favorite.....the scrappy and patchier the better!
In Melanie's tutorial she mentioned for the raw edge applique she was going to be using Charlotte's Web (a fusible thread), in order to cut down on the bulk and stiffness that can often come with fusing appliques to the background fabrics. But, anyone that knows me knows patience is not my virtue and using this fusible web would require me to have to order from Amazon and wait on the shipping. So instead, I opted to run to Joann's and get another fusible thread (bad idea!). Long story short, when you're watching a tutorial and they recommend a product they have used, in a video, with success....just wait and use the recommended product! My alternative jammed my bobbin and I was unable to use it.
I was lucky enough to find another work around though, which was my little roll of Dritz Stitch Witchery that I just so happened to have on hand (lifesaver!!!!!). I cut one piece for each of the 20 blade ends and placed them under the wide part of the blades.
Once I had the pieces cut, I just slipped them under the ends, one at a time, and fused my Dresden to the background pieces.
***I did attempt to cut a few pieces and fuse the inside of the Dresden plate as well, but there were too many seems there, and the fusible bond didn't take as well. So I ended up just fusing the wide ends and then top stitching.***
Once my wheel was fused, I was able to do a little zigzag decorative stitch to finish up my block. I really love how it turned out. I have done raw edge applique before but I have always used other fusing techniques, which as Melanie said in her tutorial, create bulk.
I have to say......I really adore this block. I am considering just making an entire raw edge Dresden quilt because this one just makes me so happy. I love the contrast of the color wheel against the low volume background fabrics too. I'm excited to see how this all comes together!
As a maker, this sew along in particular struck me. I am always.....I mean ALWAYS so overly critical of my work. Critical, to the point that I have abandoned countless projects, that were "just fine" because they were not better then fine....they were not perfect. Perfection, especially in handmade, is a figment of the imagination, but it is only just recently that I have embraced that. So this quilt along is a lesson in imperfection for me.....and learning to see the beauty in it.
And to start our first block is a color wheel! How fun is this.....all the colors you will be using in one focal block. I am so in love with this! Melanie posted a tutorial and template on Friday and my eager little hands got to work cutting and pressing, so that I could complete this block over the weekend. My fabrics were already selected, so it was really just the arrangement that I needed to figure out. I tend to place my fabrics in an organized chaos kind of way.....even though I know there are rules to color order, I typically play until I find an order that makes sense in my head.
In Melanie's tutorial she mentioned for the raw edge applique she was going to be using Charlotte's Web (a fusible thread), in order to cut down on the bulk and stiffness that can often come with fusing appliques to the background fabrics. But, anyone that knows me knows patience is not my virtue and using this fusible web would require me to have to order from Amazon and wait on the shipping. So instead, I opted to run to Joann's and get another fusible thread (bad idea!). Long story short, when you're watching a tutorial and they recommend a product they have used, in a video, with success....just wait and use the recommended product! My alternative jammed my bobbin and I was unable to use it.
I was lucky enough to find another work around though, which was my little roll of Dritz Stitch Witchery that I just so happened to have on hand (lifesaver!!!!!). I cut one piece for each of the 20 blade ends and placed them under the wide part of the blades.
***I did attempt to cut a few pieces and fuse the inside of the Dresden plate as well, but there were too many seems there, and the fusible bond didn't take as well. So I ended up just fusing the wide ends and then top stitching.***
Once my wheel was fused, I was able to do a little zigzag decorative stitch to finish up my block. I really love how it turned out. I have done raw edge applique before but I have always used other fusing techniques, which as Melanie said in her tutorial, create bulk.
I have to say......I really adore this block. I am considering just making an entire raw edge Dresden quilt because this one just makes me so happy. I love the contrast of the color wheel against the low volume background fabrics too. I'm excited to see how this all comes together!
Comments
Post a Comment