Ode to a Seam Ripper
Dear little seam ripper, where have you gone?
I’ve hunted, I’ve searched. I’ve been looking so long.
You are bright pink. You should stand out.
You should be easy to see laying about.
But no, you are missing, and can’t be found.
Not on the table, by the machine, under my foot, on the ground.
If I’m to find you I better stop typing this ditty.
It’s time to clean up and stop trying to be witty!
This post is about my big "AH HA"! for the week! This is Week #3 of the Allietare mystery quilt. Bonnie posted her instructions and I began my task for the week...
and...
I learned something new!
(I so love it when I learn something new... and useful!)
Thank you, Bonnie!
This week we were to make "four patches". We cut 2" strips of our neutral fabrics, and 2" strips of our gold fabrics and sewed the strips together. Then, we cut the sewn strips into 2" pieces, after first pressing the seams toward the gold side.
Then (here is where I learned something new!) we sewed two of the pairs together, to make small checkerboards. (OK, so that wasn't exactly where my new learning came in!) Bonnie cautioned us (HERE is the new learning) that when we sew pairs together, the top seam must be pointing toward the needle. The reason being, that as the fabric gets pulled through the machine by the feed dogs, the two opposing seams will be pushed together so they are nested, and the end result will be perfectly aligned seams with no gaps! Now, I am really new at quilting, but I've sewn my share of pieces where I tried to nest the seams. More often than not I was successful, but there were times when I wasn't pleased with the end results.
Here are four of my four-patch squares. The color is a little off, but I think you can see that all four fabrics join together very neatly.
How wonderful to learn something so practical, and something I can use from here on out!
I am not a seamstress but I think you are doing great! Always fun to learn a hint to make your life easier and your seams lay perfectly:)
ReplyDeleteAt this point I a, enjoying the process. When it comes time to put it all together... that may be a different story!
DeleteYep! Clear as mud to me! Which is probably why I only started one quilt and my mother-in-law finished it for me. And actually it was a different mother-in-law that finished it, from whence I started it! Lol! It was in a bag many many years Waiting to be finished. You are doing a great job and yes it is fun to learn something new. I just told my Shug yesterday I like being challenged now and then. But only with fun stuff !
ReplyDeleteCindy Bee
LOL - I think,a challenge for something that isn't fun comes other some other sort of name.
DeleteI didn't touch quilting for years, even though I,had my mother's stash and equipment. I thought it was ridiculous. Now I'm finding I kinda like it!
Haha! No wonder you've had little time to post blogs, look at all the creative things you are doing. Quilting and art are on my list, and I'm finally feeling the desire to add in something more to focus on beside writing and photography. I think it will be drawing first and later quilting. I loved how you told the story of your new barn kitty! I could have used that as a lesson to show my third graders how to structure a tale and build suspense and mystery! I also enjoyed your story of finding your sewing machine. Can you believe I learned to sew on a chain stitching 1898 Singer? I haven't sewed in years, but I certainly learned how to in home ec! You ooze with creativity, my friend. Hope you're safe and warm in the middle of our powder snowstorm!
ReplyDeleteI loved Home Ec. Boy, it would be neat to have that machine now. What a show piece!
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