Monday, August 18, 2014

Design Wall Monday--Aug 18, 2014

On my design surface today is a new project, and off the design wall is a finished one. 

A friend has commissioned a quilt for an anniversary gift and I've tentatively suggested a Winding Ways quilt.  A key to that suggestion is the fact that I own a Winding Ways die for my Accuquilt GO! cutter.  We'll choose fabrics together but I pulled a couple from stash to try out the cutter and make some test blocks.

 
I did look at a couple of posts on Accuquilt for some tips on cutting the shapes.  They suggested cutting strips of fabric 10.5" wide, and making sure the selvage edge was placed toward the die label for the grain to turn out correctly.  My fabrics are thin cotton so I layered four thicknesses to get two complete blocks. Easy enough to roll through the GO cutter and peel off the shapes.  The 10.5" width was unnecessarily oversized, I think.  The die itself is only 10 inches, and the blades even short of that.  That left a fair bit of waste that really cannot be used for much. But it was sure quick to cut two blocks!

I'm going to look at a few more tutorials on the block construction.  My test block came out  nearly square and even, but a bit of a miss in the center.  By the time I sew a half dozen blocks, they should all look better than this one :)

Off the design wall are the placemats I started a couple of weeks ago. 


They are about 13x18--I like big placemats.  The quilting with the three-step zig zag took a while, but a pleasing texture emerged.  Four are finished, two more are needed to complete a set.  How do you think I did coordinating with the table runner?  See more design walls on Judy's Patchwork Times.

Speaking of tablerunners, my husband picked up my entries from the County Fair while I was at work last Monday.  He and the person who was helping him traipsed up and down looking for the patchwork tablerunner, finally finding it just the same way I did, by looking in every display case until I found it in the furthest end of the hall!  He brought me a check for my first prize as well--$4.00.  My sister, however, having gotten first prize for her block entry for the Fair Theme Quilt Contest, received a check for $25.00!  I guess I'm entering that contest next year too!

Our grandson came for a visit over the weekend while his mama used the computer here.  He sat in his Papa's desk chair, ready to work. Too cute!






11 comments:

Abby and Stephanie said...

Great block and so visually interesting. I didn't know if anyone still had an AccuQuilt cutter. Great placemat/runner set. Love the colors. Cove is adorable, of course. :o)

Janet O. said...

I think you did a great job on the winding ways block. I don't think I would have suggested a quilt of that design because it looks kind of tricky to put together. : )
The placemats look very nice with that runner!
When did that little guy get so big? When I read "sat in Papa's desk chair" I thought--already?!? : )

Judy@Quilt Paradigm said...

I do not see the miss in the center of your block. . . I even blew it up and looked really hard! LOL Congrats on the $4 check :) Your grandson is absolutely adorable!!

Kate said...

The Winding Way blocks look great. I could not imagine cutting them out by hand.

The placemats and runner look great. Love all those colors.

Karendianne said...

Great Winding Ways block. Good job!!!

Shay said...

Really interesting block configuration Annie. How are you liking sewing curves?

Wow Cove is looking like a grown up kid these days ! Like that sitting – pretty good for a 6 month old. I think he’s going to be an early walker – and then watch out!

Anonymous said...

Glad the winding ways die is being used...it will be darling!

straythreads said...

the cutter would simplify things I finished one this winter that I started 10 or so years ago.

Tanya said...

Cove has gotten so big so fast!!! I can't believe how quickly babies grow. He is a young man practically!

How do you like that accuQuilt cutter? I made a Winding Ways quilt a few years ago (cutting out all the pieces by hand) and it was a dilly to put together. I think I had circles going off into the border. The pattern sure makes a pretty quilt though. Definitely advanced piecing!

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

I love the WW block and use the die cutter for those blocks too; it took me a trial run (or two) before I got the assembly method down pat ( or at least to my own liking). Your placematas are very pretty. Cove is growing up much too quickly, just like my own grandchildren!

Nicole said...

I need to make another Winding Ways quilt. The blue and white one I made needs to go live with one of my sisters. Those blocks are fun to make!

Design Wall Monday--Catching Up

 Design Wall Monday --See more design walls on Judy's Small Quilts and Doll Quilts blog.  I disappeared for awhile, due to computer issu...