Favourite things

Leila chose 'Favourite Things' for her 'Ringo Pie' queen bee month.  There was a lot of freedom in this theme, the block needed to reflect something about us.  I recently bought this inspirational book, 163 Patchwork Blocks and Quilts.  There is a Flickr group about this book and you can find out more about it there.  You just know looking at the cover that this book is fantastic- sorry to be such a temptress.  It is hard to find- The Workroom stock it when they can and are great at mail order.  Pomadour24 on ebay and etsy sometimes has copies.  Warning: it is expensive!   You need to be prepared to draft with this book, it is all in diagrams in the usual Japanese style and many of the blocks use intersecting Y seams- just saying...

 As soon as I saw this spools block I just knew this was the one.   I love spools block, conquering the Y intersection seams in my first Ringo Pie block was part of my quilting journey and my love of paper piecing.

I knew I wanted my favourite Kumiko Fujita ruler print, ( you can find some here).  I have it in 4 colour ways- one for each spool and I wanted vintage prints for the spool centres- many of these came from swaps with the lovely Chase.

Leila wanted 6" finished blocks for a sampler quilt she is planning so this block is small but it was intricate with 16 Y seams!  I drew the block on freezer paper- you can see the book diagram which gives block proportions and also a picture of the assembled block reverse side which is most helpful.

I am using the same book to inspire me for Pillow talk 9 swap.  I have an amazing partner, and I am hoping that this block will do the trick.  I plan for 9 of these and you can see, Y seams again so I need to get on with it!

FQ Retreat Supplies

I have had a funny week- feeling a lot brighter now but have been off work for 3 days with a viral thing and no voice which is no good for working with young children- so that may explain where the downer was coming from.  I have had my head/neck injections today so everything is a bit sore but they help so much it is worth it.  So I have been using the extra time to get supplies ready for Fat Quarterly Retreat.

 We will be conquering the Y seam with freezer paper piecing- these are the blocks that will be available...

There are 4 spool blocks which vary in difficutly- the easiest are 1st and 3rd working left to right.  And when you have beaten the Y seam into submission, there is a house block, plus I'll bring my Happy House block too.  The spools and house, plus full tutorial details will also be in the FQ Retreat Issue too.  So on to supplies.  I thought a picture might help!

Much is self explanatory but I may as well go through it all with a little explanation.

• Polyester stuffing- I will bring some but if you all go crazy there may not be enough.  I also use rice to give mine a bit of weight but I won't be bringing that to the retreat!
• Pigment ink fine liner, water and fadeproof, around 2mm.  this is a Unipin, Pigma Micron are lovely too.  Amazon/ebay/WHSmiths/Art shops all good for these.  Permanent markers like Sharpies are not good!  I have had the ink from these go throught the freezer paper.
• Reynolds freezer paper.  You won't need a roll.  A couple of A4 size pieces will be enough to do 4 blocks, and that would be working pretty fast!
• Piecing thread- Aurifil 50wt is my recommendation.  Fine cotton thread basically.
• Sharp fine pins. I like Clover Patchwork.
• Small rotary cutter.  This one is 28mm, you could use 45mm but it is harder.
• Scalpel or paper knife.  I will be bringing 6 or so of these, they are very sharp lightweight knives ideal for paper.  I find them easier than traditional Stanley style craft knives.  If you want one of your own, try ebay-'disposable scalpel'
• Washi or masking tape (not sellotape).  I forgot to add this to the supplies list that you all received so I will be bringing a couple of rolls along, but if you have some, bring it!  
• Thread snips or embroidery scissors.
• Small quilt ruler.  My favourite is a Creative Grids 6.5" Turn around.  you can bring larger but smaller is easier to handle for these 4" blocks
• Hand sewing needles if you are not bringing a machine.  Clover Black Gold Quilting Betweens are amazing, unlike any other hand sewing needle I have ever tried.  Their only downside is the eye is tiny and I go blind threading them!
• Fabric scraps- you may need bigger ones than you think!  Think about colours for spools.
• Seam ripper- naturally!
• Finger press- useful if you haven't got an iron.  I will bring a travel iron- which my usual sewing iron!

And to show you that hand sewing works I made two samples, the left is machined the right is hand sewn.  If you haven't done Y seams before, hand sewing at least one block is a great way to understand how everything fits together. 

And the same blocks from the front.  

If you want to stick with one block and make a pincushion, you can bring some ric rac, trim, lace or fabric to bind for a fancy edge- around 60cm or 24 inches will be plenty to go round the edge, and don't forget fabric for the back of your pin cushion.   I have lots of samples and can explain any techniques. Or you could make a few blocks to really master the technique and make your pinnies at home.  The choice is yours!  Any questions, please ask me!