Shine On Sampler-Post 2

Bonnie and Camile Quilt Bee

Shine on Sampler-Month 2

Written by Brenda

Oh my goodness! These were some fun blocks to make!  After last month’s bee, I was excited to make this adorable flower and it did not disappoint!

One thing I like to do to be a bit more efficient when I am making my blocks is to work on more than one at a time.

You’ll see in the photo above, there are parts to all three blocks set up and ready to sew.  This does come with some risk!  You need to be very organized and systematic to make this work.  I also recommend referencing back to your pattern frequently to prevent errors.

You’ll notice that even on this longer seam, I do not tend to use pins.  This technique works well for me and I’ll explain why.  Because we are human, most people will have one piece that is longer than the other.  If we are extremely accurate in our cutting and piecing, it will be close to perfect, but if there is a discrepancy between the pieces I am sewing, I will put the longer one on the bottom so that the feed dogs will help ease that extra into the sewing.  I match the top corner and start to sew.  After a few stitches, I stop with my NEEDLE DOWN and find the next matching point.  I will usually pinch this point together or apply pressure to this point on my sewing table so it stays together as I carefully sew towards it.  I continue to follow this technique as I work my way down the seam and have really good success.  

When I made my hourglass/quarter square triangle units, I decided to use a no mark method for them.  I lined up the edge of my quarter inch foot with the start of the unit and the quarter inch mark of Sew Straight guide with the front of the unit.  Then I slowly and carefully sewed across the unit.  Again, this may not be a technique that works for everyone, but I’ve had great success with it.

You see that my units are close to perfect, but there was a tiny bit to trim off.  It was only a few threads worth of trimming which is totally worth it to help with accuracy. 

I hope  you are able to find these little tips and tricks helpful as you are sewing!  Happy stitching!

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