Adventures in Quilting - 2018-2019 Block of the Month Club - September 2018 - Block 3

Quilter's Haven 2018-2019 Block of the Month Club - September 2018

Sew Simple Northern Lights Sampler

One Spinning Wheel Block

Two Small Pinwheel Blocks

Month three of my Block of the Month adventure mixes it up a bit compared with the previous two months. Instead of just one 15 inch block, we will be responsible for one 15 inch block (the green block pictured above) and two smaller 6.5 inch blocks (the purple and light blue blocks above). 

This month, the instructor also introduced a different way to do the seams for designs like the pinwheel where multiple seams converge together. She suggested that instead of pressing the seams open, we should press them flat in alternating directions so that they fan out together in a flatter, stronger intersection. I had never sewn and pressed a seam like this, but the theory made sense. It's always good to add new skills to the repertoire.

The results? It is not as easy as it looks. I watched a lot of videos on popping / twisting seams to achieve flatter and less bulky quilt blocks. The standard blocks, it appears pretty straight forward, and I will probably end up using that technique for future blocks. There is a really good video on YouTube by Adrienne Reid that goes through the process step by step.

When it comes to twisting or popping seams for pinwheel blocks, it's a slightly different technique that actually involves breaking some of the seams after you sew the block together to achieve the affect shown in the image to the right. None of the videos I watched really show the process up close. I want to actually "see" what happens when the stitches are broken. I ended up just pressing my seams open on my 6.5" pinwheels because I could not get the seam work the way that it should. I will have to keep trying on scrap material until I figure it out. I am sure that it is going to be something simple that creates that Aha! moment for me, and then everything will work.

I do not think they turned out too poorly when all was said and done. I love the contrast of the bright purple and turquoise with the cream background. Along with the two 6.5" blocks, this month also included a 15.5" block similar to the one completed during the last two monthly installments. It has the same edging as those two blocks, but the center incorporates a pinwheel as well as a thin separating flashing. It has a blue green and spring green mingled batik as the contrasting fabric. I am not quite done with it yet, but I will post a picture of the center portion of it below. I just need to finish the border. It should be the easiest part considering I've done the same border on two other blocks, right? Not when you realize three-fourths of the way through that you've cut the center sections of each side a half inch too small. Many Grrrs were voiced. I was very frustrated with myself. Read, read, read! And then read again before actually cutting. And then measure and read again before actually sewing anything. So ... it was rip, rip, rip and re-cut new pieces. Luckily I will be able to use the mis-cut pieces on October's BOM blocks that call for 2.5" squares.

So here (to the left) is my mostly finished 15.5" block and last piece of the September 2018 Northern Lights BOM. You can see the point where the pinwheel slices meet is a bit lumpy. This is the square that I tested out the seam twisting technique on. The other two smaller pinwheels that I pressed the seams open are flat, but this one doesn't look as nice. I may tweak it a bit still before I complete the border around the edge. Better to do it now than after when I would have to take apart even more of the finished block. I will add the final picture when I finish this one up.






And below is the finished block. I'm not 100% happy with the little border. I may end up taking it apart to reset that eventually. We will see how much it bugs me as I look at it on my wall over the next several months.