Day 4 - Twelve Days of Sewing at Fabadashery

Canoe block cornerstones - Nearly Insane Quilt

It seems like I was busy in the sewing room today, but have little to show for it.  Firstly, I managed to get three more canoe blocks done for my Nearly Insane quilt, so I think that makes a total of seven, so far.


Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt 2013 block trimmings

The rest of the time was spent trimming the remaining blocks for my Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt.  It seemed to take me ages.  Since I hand piece most of my quilts, mainly using English paper piecing, trimming for accuracy is not something I ever need to do, as the paper templates inside keep an accurate shape.  The quilt may be quick to sew on the machine, but other bits of the process sure take time!
 

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 98

Edge Block 98 - Nearly Insane Quilt

In the Nearly Insane Quilt, the blocks are set on point, so as a result there are these half triangles on the edge. Despite having done fourteen of these edge blocks, this is the first 'star' one I have done.  Each one is repeated twice, and I have found that they tend to be more standard blocks, and that they are perhaps not quite as challenging as those I have faced with the full blocks.

Half Canoe Block Cornerstones, Nearly Insane Quilt 2013

Alongside the half blocks are the half cornerstones, which I mentioned I had been working on in my post last week.  The cornerstones are 2 inch blocks, so when cut in half diagonally, the red triangles are REALLY thin - too thin for even me!  So this is why they are still full size on these half blocks - I will sort the excess when I come to it.


Nearly Insane Quilt - Set on Point

To give you an idea of how all this comes together, here is a mini layout, with the edges, cornerstones and sashing.  I really am itching to start getting this quilt together, but there just aren't enough blocks done yet.

NUMBER OF PIECES:  18
DIFFICULTY: 2/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Triangle, 3/4"  (18mm) x 1/2" (12mm) x 1/2" (12mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Triangle, 13  (76mm) x  2 1/8" (54mm) x 2 1/8" (54mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Kimono Ditzy (843) by Henley Studio, Makower UK
Pom Pom de Paris by French General for Moda #13575-13
Designer Beads (Red) Freespirit for Westminster Fibers

Nearly Insane Quilt - Edge Block 97 and Cornerstones

Nearly Insane Edge Block 97

The Nearly Insane Quilt is set on point, so along with the blocks there are these triangular blocks which go around the edge. These edge blocks are no where near as complicated the main blocks in the quilt, so they get done quite quickly.  Also, most of them are repeated twice.  However, I did have a bit of a hitch this time around.  Although they look VERY similar, the triangles done in the Bias Check, are a slightly different size (on my pattern), but I didn't find that out until I had sewn them on.  So then I unpicked it ....

2" Canoe Block Cornerstones

Also the 6 Month Progress Report allowed me to review areas that needed attention, which made me realise that I was lagging behind on my cornerstones and sashings, so I have spent a bit of time catching up on these.  Now have 30 cornerstones done and 75 sashing strips complete.  I am not sure how many NEED to be done, but I do know I printed enough paper templates, so I am just working through them. I also started to take out the inner paper pieces from the cornerstones - I can see that is going to be quite a time consuming job in the future.

It is time to do some more fabric cutting for these.

NUMBER OF PIECES: 15
DIFFICULTY: 2/10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square, 3/4" (18mm) x 13/4" (18mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square 1.5" (38mm) x 1.5" (38mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS: 
Cream Bias Check Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater for Moda  #5495 11
Redwork Rendevous by Alex Anderson for P&B Textiles
Red Pin Dot (Unidentified)
Cream Pin Dot (Unidentified)