Thanks to the people that sent me message during these crazy days of pain after the wisdom teeth surgery!
I was knocked out pretty bad but I am slowly getting back to my normal energy level and that allows me to put together this post with many news that were hanging around for few weeks now.
Read carefully because there are going to be announcement about new fandom patterns (many) and prizes ;)
But one thing at the time...
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First, here is Block number 10 of the Disney Mystery Quilt:
The Tenth Block of the Quilt is Upside Down Archimedes.
You can find the pattern in the Free Patterns section.
Have fun, and post a comment below for any question/advice/comment!
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Melissa received the blocks that I made for her for my Selvage-For-Block swap. So now I can share them with you:
She asked me for a Circle of Geese in purple. This was my fist block:
I was pretty happy with that but I wanted to add an extra block because she sent me soo many selvages :)
I wanted to find a similar but different block and I found a tutorial for a block that looked to me as geese in different flock formation (Triple Framed Pinwheel Quilt Blocks)
This didn't turn out pretty as the one in the pattern :( and I was pretty upset with me :( because all those very tiny stripes and triangles and points require super-precision and I am definitely not good at it. So since I was not happy about the block, I wanted to add a third block for Melissa to make up for that second block. And I went back to Circle of Geese but with a twist :) and I got this:
Which I really like :) actually more than the first block! :) so at the end of the day, I decided to consider the second a "weird" flock of geese, all irregular and different one another... if you interpret the block that way, is not so bad ;)
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I received the first blocks from my Block Swap partner. They are very cute owls, but I don't want to show them here yet because I decided to use all the blocks from this swap as my FMQ "practice" sandwitches (similar to the Star Surround QAL blocks) because I don't like to practice on plain fabric and since I didn't put effort in assembly these blocks, I won't feel too bad if my FMQ is not perfect or if I mess up some parts. This takes away the pressure... but at the end I will have very cute blocks to make a quilt or wall hanging, so that's sounds like a great deal to me!! :) So stay tuned to see them in the next weeks :)
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And the final result of my Star Surround QAL adventure are: two Jumbo pillows!!
These are my first experience with FMQ! I tried many different designs... they are faaaaaar from perfect, but I love the two pillows. These are the designs I have used:
- stitch in the ditch and echo star shape
- basic stippling
- stippling with wondering clovers
- paisley/echo shell (it's a mid point between the two ;))
- pebbling
- loose weave
- checker board
- Spiral illusion
In the last block, I had a huge problem and maybe some of you can help me understand why?
I was doing basic stippling and my machine started not catching the bobbin thread any more. I start seeing those huge stitches and at the beginning I thought was a speed problem, but then it kept happening no matter if I was trying to speed up, slow down, reduce tension, increase tension, rethread the machine, changed the needle, etc :( I tried everything... and it kept doing it... not all the time, but very very often at the end. Then I started using the machine with the normal feet for piecing and this never happen again. Any suggestion? Was my machine just too tired of a full day of FMQ?? :) The funny things is that before that I did much more complex designs and I never had problems... only the stippling of the last space of the last block create this problem...
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And finally... the big announcement: next weekend I will release TWO completely new full Fandom-related quilts. The first quilt contain 16 blocks (both paper-piecing and embroidery) and the second quilt contain 22 blocks (just paper piecing) for a total of 38 new Fandom blocks!! :)
All the patterns need to be tested, but this time, instead of waiting for me to test them all before the release, I decided to organize a TAL (Test-a-long) with you! ;) I will release all the patterns and I will organize linkup parties with prizes for people that want to make those quilts with me :)
Eventually all patterns will be tested by me for sure, but this time you can decide to test few of them before I do. Even a single block will give you the chance of winning, so stay tuned for more information about rules and deadlines :)
I don't want to reveal yet the theme of the two quilts... but here are the hints:
Quilt 1. And what is the use of a book...
Quilt 2. I made [my fortune] by being smarter than the smarties and tougher than the toughies.
Your pillows look absolutely wonderful!!! I love all of the fun quilting you did and I never would have guessed it was your first time. Weird on the tension thing, the only thing I can think of it maybe your quilt sandwich was catching your top thread and throwing the timing off.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, thank you so much for the beautiful blocks, They are in my to quilt pile as they will hopefully soon be an adorable wall hanging :)
Hope you are feeling better! Looks like you've been very busy! Love all the purple geese blocks - lovely! And your cushions look great!
ReplyDeleteNice hints :-)
ReplyDeleteOof, wisdom teeth are the worst. Glad to hear you are feeling better. And I am very excited to join you in your TAL! One of them sounds right up my alley. :)
ReplyDeleteYour work looks awesome (as usual *smile*) - I am having a heard time printing off the newest Sword in the Stone quilt block though (#10). It keeps sending my printer into Error Mode where I have to turn it off and on again. Please help :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I don't exactly understand which is the problem with block 10. Which program are you using to print? do you print directly from the browser or do you use Adobe Reader? it may be a problem of the printer and not of the file (I tried to print it and it prints just fine). If you want to discuss that, I can try to help you, just send me a private email (my address is in the patterns)! I am sorry for the trouble!!
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