Blogger Girls BOM Month Six

Hi Everyone,

Since it is the first of the month, it is time to write about the latest, and last of the blocks for the Blogger Girls BOM project.  I can't believe that this is nearly the end.  Next month, on July 1, we will have the big reveal of our finished quilts--I'm pretty excited about it.

I know that I have some new followers, so to fill you in, I was asked to participate in Monique Dillard's FREE block of the month program for this year.  Each of the participants was asked to choose a block pattern and then Monique designed a really stunning setting for the blocks.  The patterns are available here.  Each month, you make two versions of the same block pattern, but alter the value placement and/or tweak a few elements in order to produce two, very-different looking blocks.  It is really fun and it is amazing how the blocks look nothing like each other.

This month is also a two-fer.  A little birdie told me that Monique is also sharing the pattern for the alternate block.  You can find her blog post about it all here.

So without further delay, here are my two versions of the final block, which was selected by the wonderful Lissa at Moda Lissa:

You know that I can't resist some fussy-cutting, and did so again on the first block.

The second one was lots of fun, too.  

This is one of the alternate blocks needed to complete the quilt.  You will need to make 12 of these to set between the 13 other blocks.

  Did I say yet?  I have mine all together, ready to show next month and I Can't Wait to share it!  I thought that since I have so much going on with moving, etc. that I should get it all together as soon as possible.  I'm so excited about this quilt.

Feel free to check out the other participants at their blogs.  They are making some gorgeous versions of their own:

Sherri at A Quilting Life
Lissa at Moda Lissa
Denise at A Quilters Window
Jodi at Pleasant Home

Have a great day!
JoAnne

Let's Do the Twist

Hi Everyone,

I'm back, just as promised, to continue the saga of my Uncle Sam Twister quilt.  When I left off on my last post, I had made it to the point of having all of the squares sewn together.

(And the picture is still sideways...)

I heard from several of you that Sam looked really great "as is" and I agree!  He looked great and I did have a few qualms about starting to cut it again, but I plunged in anyway, hoping the new version would be at least as good.  I do to let you know that I altered the pattern a bit.  Did I say this yesterday?  I can't remember, but in case you didn't either, or I haven't said it yet, the pattern called said to cut 3.5" squares and then use the appropriate Twister template for those squares.  I only have the mini Twister, and it cuts from 2.5" squares, so that was the size that I used.  Just imagine how big this Sam would have been if all the squares were an inch larger!!!

In case you are new the the Twister templates, they look like this:

You align those black lines onto the seam allowances between your pieced squares and trim around the edges.  It is a good idea if you have a small rotary cutter when doing so, because you don't want to "overcut" too much, or you will ruin another piece.  The pattern tells you how to cut.  I had my largest Lori Holt design board out to place the newly cut squares on so they would stay in order.  (The design board is a piece of foam core covered in batting)  Another important bit to mention is that since the piece is "twisted," the newly cut edges are all bias.  In anticipation of this fact, I heavily starched my Sam quilt before I began to cut. In order to avoid any other issues, I only cut 10 rows of squares at a time.

Here you can see that I have the lines on the ruler aligned on the seam lines of my Sam.  I used the rotary cutter with the blade about the size of a quarter, and it worked brilliantly for this project.

As you cut out the pieces you need, you leave "waste" pieces behind.  This is the reason for the drastic shrinkage between the "before" and "after."  I suppose Bonnie Hunter, and maybe many of you, would keep these, but I just chucked them.  (Yes, I can hear your horrified gasps, ha ha!)

More cutting.

I sewed the first 10 rows together and ended up with this.

I put it above the rest of the Sam so I could see just how much it shrank.  Wow!

Before I began this project, I considered it, as I usually do about any new project.  I had decided that the "worst" part of the project would be all the cutting with the template, and boy was I right!  It was downright tedious!  The little template is small and even though it has little grippers on it, I used a lot of pressure to keep it in place--making my arms ache.  It was a good thing that I was working in batches of 10 rows, as I the break between cutting sessions was just what I needed.  So I cut and sewed, and cut and sewed, etc.  The sewing was really easy.

This is how it came out:

The original Sam measured about 25" x 70" and the twisted Sam measured 12" x 37!"  Quite a difference.  The little squares that I cut using the template finished at one inch!  The finished Twisted Sam is heavy and thick with all of the seam allowances.

Here is the back, so you can see it.

But not only do I have that "finished" picture for you, I have another.  I got it quilted!  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, since it was so thick.  I decided to put on the walking foot and just stitch in the ditch the grid lines between all of the squares.  I like how it came out.

Earlier today, I went to lunch with some of my good Bee friends, and after we browsed in some quaint shops.  There was one shop that was full of banner flags--the cute outdoor ones.  I've never seen so many in one place in my life.  They also had stands in many sizes to hold the flags.  I started picturing using the stands for quilts instead of the banner/flags.  Then I found one that would be perfect for this Uncle Sam quilt.  I wasn't going to get it, though, but my friends made me  encouraged me to get it.  I ended up being really happy with it.  Have a look:

See the stars on the pole and the base?  Perfect!  He isn't done yet, though.  I realized I still need to sew on a small button or else a french knot for an eye.  I will do that later.  I wanted to spend the rest of the evening blogging and sharing him with you.  By the way, even though the stand is for outdoor use, Sam will be staying inside!

One other thing, when I woke up on Sunday, my head was all back to normal--no more vertigo and no more sinus congestion, too.

Have a great day!
JoAnne