Saturday, April 7, 2012

Katy's Block for Amy

It is a four-day weekend here, so I took advantage of the time and feeding off the energy of Wednesday night's local stash sharing, and made up your block, Amy....I will put it in the mail Tuesday.

It is by far the hardest block I've ever made.

I tried to be as precise as possible...all of those tiny little seams to match up made me re-do my seams a few times. Ach!!

I loved picking the fabric out and found it a challenge to choose the colours and patterns so that the size of pattern and colour matched well in the original pyramids, and then noticed how different everything looked once it was cut and sewn together as triangles.

I love the end-product. I love the rainbow effect, and looking at the circles, picking out different fabrics and remembering the stories that came with them. The vintage pieces from Micaela, the orange pieces from Genevieve, the green patterned pieces from Shauna or purple pieces from Shauna's quilting friend Pat, and the larger patterned solids that are quintessentially Amy...each fabric represents personality. I remember buying the brown and tiny flower print from Len's Mills years ago when I first started sewing again, and the splashes of AnnaMariaHorner, who still remains one of my favourite designers.

I think the making of this block has made me a better sewer... I checked my 1/4" seam allowance a few times to make sure I was doing it correctly, because I was really worried about how the block edges would line up. I mostly met the mark...

 I found a great tutorial for beginner quilters to calibrate their sewing machines for a 1/4".
http://www.seamstobeyouandme.com/wordpress/2012/02/09/how-to-get-a-perfect-14-seam/

My final block didn't measure 17.25" by 17.25", but it's almost 17"x17". I hope you can do something with it, Amy!

5 comments:

  1. Katy I absolutely love the block!!! The colors are beautiful! I am so excited to receive these in the mail!!! My block is not quite 17"x17" either...so no worries...I am already mentally trying to figure sashing vs no sashing, quilting, etc. The only thing I am sure on is that on the back of the quilt I will have a label behind each square with each person's name and home listed...somehow...
    Thanks again Katy!!!

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  2. Hi Katy! Since I am a teacher, I feel qualified to give you an A+ !!! Your block is gorgeous!!! It definitely looks like springtime. I love that you have fabrics from so many different sources. Thanks for the additional tips and Amy thanks again for an interesting and exciting new challenge.
    Jennifer

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  3. Lovely block I think it looks great!

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  4. Katy - you go girl!! Look at what you have done. And your way with words in describing fabric choice, stories behind the fabric etc. Love the finished block. I am nervous about getting started on mine...but excited too. Love.

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  5. Katy- Your block arrived today! It is absolutely beautiful! I love all the colors and fabrics. I am so excited to put this quilt together. I think when all is said and done it will be about 60x80! I ordered backing fabric and binding fabric this weekend!
    Thanks again so much!
    Amy (USA)

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