Subtitle: How to fix a quilt block boo-boo
Well folx, somehow we have made it thru 2020 all the way to the month of September. And that means a new block in the free Block of the Month party hosted by Patterns by Jen. Jen has been churning out lovely 2020 Monthly Color Challenge block patterns every month, with each month having a different color focus.
I present to you: cinnamon! (Bird inspiration: cinnamon teal)
When I signed up to participate as a blogger for 2020, I chose months with colors that spoke to me. I mostly play in the warm/earth tones end of the color wheel, so cinnamon was such a natural fit.
Here is my completed block
Astute fabric aficionados will notice the use of Fairy Frost by Michael Miller (color: coin) as my feature fabric. This follows last month's use of neon pink Fairy Frost in the flamingo block.
It was a fun block to try out the technique of 4-at-a-time flying geese (otherwise known as no-waste flying geese). And to give a bit of breathing room, in the face of some of my previous busy blocks.
But what I really want to share with you today is how to come back from adversity when making a quilt block. Because we all know that "adversity" happens. And in this case, it was more adversity than even a seam ripper could have helped with.
Did you notice my block's boo-boo? Not sure how it happened, but I managed to cleanly cut off a corner of the background fabric, after the block was constructed. (If you saw my cluttered, disorganized sewing space, it might make perfect sense. #honestcraftroom as Jen says.)
The old perfectionist me would have cut a new square of the needed size and re-sewn that portion of the block. But maybe I wouldn't have had enough extra fabric to do that--I am making these blocks entirely from stash, after all. So what other option does one have?
Well, you can just patch that bit with more of the same fabric. Not the first time I've done this sort of rescue (not the first time I've cut into a completed block, yikes). And although it looks glaringly obvious when I'm 10" away from the block, I've never had a regret about using this technique once the quilt was complete and in use. The quilting step hides a multitude of sins.
Things to keep in mind if you "patch" a quilt block this way:
- cut off more fabric, if that makes the area to patch a more regular shape (in this case, a 45-degree angle, instead of the random hack that was there originally)
- pay attention to grainline of your patch, where possible (another reason for making the 45-degree angle)
- if the fabric has a strong pattern, be willing to overlook pattern-matching issues (this mottle does not count as a strong pattern)
- oversize your patch and trim to size after it is stitched in place
- press open this seam, so the patched section lies flatter
- due to pressing seam open, consider a shorter stitch length and switching to a matching thread color (seams pressed open tend to show stitching more than those pressed to one side)
- most importantly, don't point out your mistake! Unless you're writing a blog post about it, know one ever needs to know.
Thanks for reading this far. Be sure and go check out the other bloggers who are showing off their September blocks.
Wendy of Pieceful Thoughts
Sarah of Sew Joy Creations
Alla of rainbows. bunnies. cupcakes (that's me!)
Tammy of Tamarinis
Sandra of Textile Time Travels
Joanne of Everyone Deserves a Quilt
And did you know there are SPONSORS? Link up your block at the end of September (to Jen's linky party) and you might win something from one of these generous donors (these are the 3rd quarter sponsors--prizes will be awarded October 1st)
