Happy Monday! This week's block is On the Fence by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr. For their block, they did thin white lines on a dark red background. I thought I'd try a rainbow for the stripes.
For this block, I used my new 1/4" foot with edge, which was a suggestion for improving my 1/4" seam allowance. This ended up being my learning block with this foot. I knew from experience to cut the strips longer than the directions said (I cut mine 13" or 13.5" rather than 12.5") because I knew they probably wouldn't line up as perfectly as Weeks and Bill's. I figured that I could then trim the block down to size once it was done.
For this block, I used my new 1/4" foot with edge, which was a suggestion for improving my 1/4" seam allowance. This ended up being my learning block with this foot. I knew from experience to cut the strips longer than the directions said (I cut mine 13" or 13.5" rather than 12.5") because I knew they probably wouldn't line up as perfectly as Weeks and Bill's. I figured that I could then trim the block down to size once it was done.
Within a couple of seams, I noticed that there was some curving. Oh oh. But it was late and I just wanted to keep going. I finished the block and steamed the crap out of it to try to get it as straight as possible. Einh!
So I decided to add a strip of black in, like this.
Does it make it look like the curve is more intentional? Maybe a rainbow effect? Yeah, I didn't think so either. Oh well, it was worth a try. This block may get redone, but I think I'm okay with it for now.
As for the 1/4" foot with edge, I've been using it on a couple of other projects and it's going much better now -- yay! Thanks Kit for the suggestion!
Does it make it look like the curve is more intentional? Maybe a rainbow effect? Yeah, I didn't think so either. Oh well, it was worth a try. This block may get redone, but I think I'm okay with it for now.
As for the 1/4" foot with edge, I've been using it on a couple of other projects and it's going much better now -- yay! Thanks Kit for the suggestion!
Completed Modern Blocks to date:
- Pinball Machine
- It's a Stretch
- Pogo Stick
- Everything Equal
- Woven Block
- Alleyways
- Boxed In
- Scrappy Asterisk
- Higgledy-Piggledy
- Binary
- Pebble Beach
- Parisian Star
Even though it's not exactly the block you set out to make, it's a pretty fun block!
ReplyDeleteI use a foot with an edge on it too! Makes life a lit easier!
Sometimes, a block does not turn the way it's supposed to, and it still looks great!
ReplyDeleteDom
I'm glad it's working for you:)
ReplyDeleteWhen I started to quilt I had a foot with an edge on it. It was a good way to learn! I like your block a lot! I like how you "fixed" your mistake with that black piece, very creative!
ReplyDeleteThe curving may have happened with the order in which you sewed the pieces together. That has happened to me before when sewing from top to bottom. It works better if you sew 2 together at a time to start and keep going like that. I don't know if that makes any sense but it's just a thought!
Your block looks great in the rainbow colours - even with the slight curve! I've had that happen to me before too - like Ginette said, I found it was all about how I sewed them together. Apparently it works better if you don't sew all the seams in the same direction but alternate each one. Not sure if that makes sense, but that was the tip from a Bargello expert!
ReplyDeleteI had a 1/4" foot with an edge on it, and hated it....so I broke off the edge....happy now :)
ReplyDeleteI rather like the curve in your block MR. All your blocks are going to look stunning together. :)
ReplyDelete