Sew Along Update - Week 14

 

I'm a little late to today's party, dear sewists, and I do apologize. I have been MIA here on the blog since returning home from our mini-vacation, and I still feel like I am playing catch-up.

But you're here for the sewing and quilting content, not my excuse making, so let's see what I can do about that!

A definite accomplishment since returning home from our tour of the South is starting yet another Spring Dreams quilt - this time using fabrics with a reproduction look. My stash is full-to-brimming with this style of prints, so it just seemed natural to give this a try.

In last week's update, I mentioned that I was considering making one more Spring Dreams using a Layer Cake of On Maple Lake by Pam Buda/Marcus Fabrics. I paired it with a random neutral I pulled from my stash. I have no clue as to when I bought this, but additional info on the selvage says Troy Corporation, Riverwoods Collection. Hmmm. The year of purchase remains unknown, but I have a lot of it, so it is the neutral in all the 9-patch blocks.

One thing most seasoned quilters know: Fabrics will play nicely with one another more often than not. We sometimes overthink the fabric choices we make. While I have had no training in design, I know that I don't want to put certain fabrics together, but if the "look" and the "style" are correct, then the outcome is likely to please. That has become my philosophy more and more as I work through my stash. 'Make it work'  is my prevailing mantra, as opposed to 'buy something to match.'

Now, a word about layer cakes. I do not have tons of experience with them, especially when I am cutting 2.5-inch squares from them. Theoretically from the 10" square, I should get 16. In the case of this layer cake, even with cutting on the scant side, I found it difficult to yield 16. I have some very small seam allowances. The photo below shows the very narrow seams from all three pieces cut from the layer cake. I hope this does not present problems down the road. I will be sure to address it here if I run into trouble.

While I am finding that the layer cake is slightly smaller than a full 10-inches square, a bonus to using a layer cake is that I have much more variety in my blocks. My prior Spring Dreams quilts were made either with yardage or jelly rolls, and that meant I used longer strips when making strip sets. With a layer cake, the strip sets are more plentiful and only 10" long. This variety has been fun to work with.

I have a time-saving tip. When cutting the units shown above, layer strip sets one on top of the other and cut in multiples. I trust myself to do three at a time. I worry about shifting or slippage if I try more. Be careful to line edges up and make the ends match. Use your fingers to feel the seams across the middle. As long as all this feels and looks spot on, then cutting the scant 2.5-inch strip set should be successful.

So there you have our week 14 update. Wow. Just 3 more weeks to go. On June 21, we will have a Spring Dreams Parade, so if any of you have made a Spring Dreams quilt with us, send pictures! Flimsy or fully-finished - or even 'work-in-progress' - let us share what you have created!

Have a great week, everyone!

Happy Quilting, Friends!