SIZZLE--BLOCK 1

The 2019 Block of the Month from The Quilt Show. This quilt pattern is FREE to Star Members. Join today  to be part of the fun.

Today is the day the SIZZLE patterns become available. Find Block 1 HERE.

TIPS:

1. Becky has produced wonderful videos with all her tips. Find them here: VIDEOS.

2. The 30 pages of General Instructions are available now. I read them several times, highlighter in hand, and refer to them frequently while working on the blocks. Find them HERE  NOTE: the General Instructions were prepared while Becky was making the Warm quilt--the photos are from the Warm quilt but are identical for the Cool quilt--there are not two separate sets of General Instructions.

3. Watch Becky's Show, episode 2401--find it HERE..  NOTE--it is FREE for everyone--encourage your friends to watch too--then get a group together.

4. I have written several blogs about this project:

Get Ready to SIZZLE--making a notebook and other things

Fabric Selection and Preparation--use a Kit or your own fabric palette

SIZZLE Preparation--how to print your patterns and make the Block Corner Template

BLOCK # 1

1. READ all directions carefully. In Month 1 Becky has us cut all the Block Corners--if you are using the Kit, be sure you cut the correct fabrics in the correct amounts.

2. Print 8 pages of the pattern. I used the Vellum in the Accessory kit--it printed very easily and the ink did not smear. Double check the 1" box to be sure the patterns print accurately--this is critical.

3. Cut all the pieces for the block--Becky's method of using squares and rectangles makes this very easy:

In the Cool Kit--the white Lace fabric is a bit hard to tell the front from the back--I turned all mine face up as I laid them out.

4. Be sure there is no water in your iron--no steam when pressing on paper--we don't want to make pulp.

5. Stitch with a SMALL stitch--I use 1.5. Makes it easy to remove paper, hard to unpick--so try not to sew the wrong thing to the wrong thing.

6. When backstitching at the circle, be sure to stop at the circle--our computerized machines have a tendency to do one more stitch. I start at the circle, go forward 4 stitches, then back 3, so I don't stitch beyond the circle.

7. Trim all threads close as you are making the units--a neat unit makes for a neat quilt.

PHOTOS OF MY PROCESS--I won't do this for every block and won't show the same things as Becky does--just my process and tips you may find helpful--this is photo heavy--if you are not interested, skip to the end.

I made one wedge and one diamond to get started--they went together very easily, so I continued to make the units in those pairs. READ THE DIRECTIONS--I didn't and sewed the wedge to the left side of the diamond--the directions say to do the opposite. It doesn't matter, as long as I do them all the same--READ THE DIRECTIONS.

THE DIAMOND: When placing Fabric 1 on the Diamond, be sure Fabric 1 will completely cover the paper pattern, including seam allowance:

Front Side of Pattern--BUTT side of the fabric to the BUTT side of the paper

You might want to use a dab of glue to help hold the first piece of fabric to the paper--glue on paper, not in seam allowance--once the sewing begins, no glue is needed

Add-A Quarter used to trim Fabric 2, ready for Fabric 3

 NOTE: These fabric pieces are NOT exceptionally large but they are Large Enough--be sure you place them correctly--if in doubt, PIN along the seam BEFORE you sew it so you can check to be sure the Fabric will cover the space it needs to cover.

Fabric 3 sewn, ready for trimming to add Fabric 4

While sewing, I check by looking under the paper to be sure the two fabrics stay lined up

Ready to add Fabric 5--note how much fabric is to the right. NOTE--you can't see it, but remember if the seam starts at a CIRCLE, backstitch to the circle, not past the circle.

Ready to trim to add Fabric 6

I love the Add-a-Quarter ruler!

Be VERY sure you place Fabric 6 so the 4" length will cover the paper

Paper is covered, ready to trim

I use this ruler, placing the 1/4" line on the solid sewing line, then trimming the excess 1/4" away from the sewing--this ensures I have a 1/4" seam allowance

Very little fabric is wasted

THE WEDGE:  fewer pieces makes this unit easier/faster to sew--we will use this same shape or very similar lots of times for the nine blocks.

Fabric 1 is cut 3.25" x 3.5"--this looks square but is not. BE SURE you place the 3.5" length so it will cover the paper. The BUTT side of Fabric 1 is on the BUTT side of the paper, covering Fabric 1

Fabric 1 and 2 are sewn, ready to trim both sides of Fabric 1 to receive Fabrics 3 & 4

Add-a-Quarter--use a heavy postcard, place it on the solid sewing line

Fold the paper back over the postcard, put the Add-a-Quarter ruler lip over the postcard and trim, exactly 1/4" away from the sewing line

Both sides trimmed, ready for Fabrics 3 & 4--Lace fabric is hard to tell back from front--double check before sewing

Before trimming excess fabric/paper, a dab of glue on the paper, pieces 3 & 4, will  help keep them in place as you cut

First I used the ruler to trim the two straight edges

I used Karen K Buckley's Perfect Scissors to CAREFULLY cut the curved edge

JOINING DIAMONDS AND WEDGES: remember, I sewed the wedge to the WRONG side of the diamond--READ DIRECTIONS. Mine will work as long as I do them all the same way.

My SECRET for accurate joins--I machine BASTE before sewing. Turn stitch length very long--I used 5.5 here. Carefully pin the units, using Positioning Pins as Becky describes. Baste about 1/2" on either side of the important place where the wedge and diamond meet--I would rather be wrong with basting stitches than those tiny sewn stitches. Yes, this takes time, but not as much time as ripping out tiny stitches.

All that is sewn here is about 1" of basting stitches

Unpin, check the join, if happy, TURN THE STITCH LENGTH BACK TO small
and sew the seam. If unhappy, remove the basting stitches, fiddle a bit, try again

The seam is now sewn--note there is a circle at the center and straight sewing off the edge at the curve. I stitched right on top of the basting stitches. After the seam is sewn I remove the basting if I can easily. If it is sewn completely in the seam, I trim the thread ends and leave it.

One unit joined, trim the "dog ears" as they occur

Remove the paper in both sides of the seam allowance--much easier to do now

Joining two Diamond/Wedge units--my basting goes from 1/2" before to 1/2" after the Fabric 3 joins--note the green pencil lines showing where they start and stop

Checking my basting--that's good--repin, and sew the entire seam. Remove paper from the seam allowances and follow the pressing arrows to press the units together

Four units become a half. Now make another half, exactly the same

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG???

Fabrics slip--it happens to everyone at least once:

This just won't work

FIRST, I put a piece of tape on the paper side to protect it

Use a sharp stitch ripper, working on the fabric side, remove every 3rd stitch, that should do it

This time I used a flathead pin to hold fabrics in place before sewing--well beyond the stitching line

Shadowing Through--when adding a light piece to a dark piece, be sure the dark is not visible--or you will see the dark piece on the front, as a "shadow":

What NOT to do

Place the white fully over the blue fabric

No blue shadow through the white--if you get a bit of shadow because the white slipped, you can trim the blue seam allowance away, as long as it's just a bit

And, of course, at least once you will sew the wrong fabric to the wrong place. We all do. Keeping your fabrics in number order and remembering to sew 2 to 1, 3 to 2, 4 to 3, etc., will help to keep you from doing this. But you will, at least once. The only fix then is to remove the wrong piece and add the correct one. I'm sorry.

CREATING THE CIRCLE: I followed Becky's instructions to join the two halves, creating a circle:

Two Halves ready to be joined

Again, I machine basted the center seam BEFORE I sewed it--there was one join that did not meet as it should so I took that one apart and re-basted it--it was fine the second time. This is time well spent for me--I don't want to have to take the seam apart, with those tiny stitches, to fix problems:

After the center seam is sewn, sew the two remaining wedges to their adjacent diamonds--and you are done the circle!

Once the two halves are sewn together, remove all the paper. This job took me 20 minutes, not too bad.

Remember to turn the stitch length back to regular piecing now that the paper piecing is done--I use 2.0. Piece the four Block Corners to form the background.

Block Corners joined to form Background, sitting on top of the complete circle

 I followed the instructions for pinning--lots of pins--and sewed slowly to set the circle into the background. This is not a race, the point is not how FAST can you sew it, it's how accurately can you sew it. If you tend to sew fast, turn your speed down if that's an option--I did.

20.5" Block #1

THE BACKGROUNDS-- just a thought about the backgrounds. If you are using either Kit, with 3 different background fabrics, be sure you select the correct fabrics for the backgrounds--they are determined by where the block is set in the quilt. If you want to wait until your blocks are all done before deciding where to put them, simply make the block circles and wait to create the backgrounds until the end.  If you are using your own fabrics  and choose to have only one background fabric, each background will be the same so you don't have to wait. 

Mine is being made just like the instructions so I can answer questions as they arise. I have one English Cream light gray corner, and three Mist darker gray corners. This block will go in the lower right corner of the quilt.

Future blogs will not be nearly this long--the basic process is the same for all nine blocks. My best advice:

1. READ the directions

2. WATCH the videos

3. Do your best work--this is not a race

4. Read my blogs with photos--I put a lot of "teaching" into them to help you.

5. ASK questions if you need help--the FORUM is a great place--you will reach everyone working on the quilt:  2019 SIZZLE Forum

This first block should take you the longest--it is the learning curve block. Future blocks have similar construction and each block will increase your confidence and skill. Enjoy the journey.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

SIZZLE Preparation--the Excitement Grows!

The 2019 Block of the Month on The Quilt Show will begin January 1, 2019. It is FREE to Star Members of The Quilt Show--reason enough to join, but you get so much more for your $49 investment. I encourage you to JOIN if you haven't yet.

Watch Becky Goldsmith's show to see how fun this will be: Here

The Sizzle Introduction can be found HERE--Fabric Requirements for both Warm and Cool colorways will help you if you want to make your own fabric palette.

Here are suggestions to help you be prepared to jump in January 1:

1. Have plenty of ink and paper on hand--in addition to the Month 1 pattern, you will have access to a 30 page General Instructions document--I am referring to this frequently so, for me, it is worth the ink and paper to have a printed copy.

2. Have Vellum or very lightweight, translucent paper to print the paper piecing pattern pages--each month there are 8 pages to print, giving you all the paper piecing patterns for that month's  20" block.  The Accessory Kit provides this product--I found it very easy to print 8 copies with my printer, they did not stick together and the ink was dry by the time I walked from the studio to the office to get them:

3. Watch Becky Goldsmith's show, it airs December 30, 2018--this will get you excited for the upcoming Block of the Month. An excellent designer and teacher, you will really enjoy watching her in action.

Things to know:

1. There are GREAT videos from designer Becky Goldsmith, showing you exactly how to make this quilt. PLEASE watch them before you begin--her method is a bit different from what you may be familiar with--follow her instructions for success.

2. Each month there are 2-3 pages of instructions, in addition to the paper piecing pattern. If you purchased the Kit from The Quilt Show, print the Warm or Cool instructions--this will give you the Key to which fabrics to cut for that month's block and exactly HOW to cut that fabric.

3. If you are using the Kit, I strongly recommend you put a small piece of each fabric on your Fabric Requirements pages. I am using the Cool Kit and found some of the blues look very similar--and each person's printer may show different depths of color. With the Kit, you want to know which fabric is which:

Sometimes I found it helpful to use the amount of fabric in the kit to determine which was which, 2 yards vs. 1/4 yard, for example. I cut 1" pieces of each fabric and used double stick tape to put in my notebook. Once this is done, it will be a snap each month to select the fabrics for the block.

4. The first month's instructions include the Block Corner Template, printed on two pages then taped together to make the 10.5" quarter circle. Becky recommends using Laminating Sheets to make this template you will use to make 36 quarter circles. I taped my paper template to the bottom of Quilter's Template plastic--my local quilt shop sells a large piece of this for about $3. I carefully cut out the template plastic, following the lines on the paper--this creates a very sturdy template:

5. The last thing I want to tell you is this is EASY--even if you are new to Paper Piecing, you will catch on quickly and be delighted to see your sections grow into a beautiful block--here is a Teaser, Block 1 parts under construction:

On the first of each month, I will have a Blog that shows how I made that month's block, following Becky's instructions. I am also prepared to answer your questions--please post them on the Forum where there is a Category for this quilt. 2019 SIZZLE Topic--go there to see the previous blogs I've written on this project--Introduction and Fabric Selection and Preparation--full of more tips and suggestions.

During 2019 I am teaching this locally to a class of 15 people at a quilt shop and to The Sunday Sew and Sews, a group of 25 of us who have been working on the TQS Block of the Month quilts since January 2017. All these people ask good questions that will find their way into instructions on my blog. I encourage you to follow my blog for the latest information.

The Sunday Sew and Sews saw my pieces last week and they said the fabrics were even prettier than they thought they would be. If you want a Kit, Cool or Warm, it's not too late to order it HERE.

We are going to have a great time in 2019 making these beautiful quilts. I hope you will join us.

Let's quilt,

Barbara

What's Next?

With my Lifetime Quilt almost done, it's time to figure out what the next long-term project will be. Here are the contenders:

This is an antique I own and plan to replicate:

I love stars and these tiny ones are so sweet:

I have one long-ago start to finish:

And this one to start:

And this one:

Guess I better get busy!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and may your 2019 be filled with Love and Creativity!

Let's quilt.

Barbara