Tilkunviilaaja®

Now that I’ve already introduced the Oomph quilted zipper bag to you, I can share this progress shot of my quirky quarter log cabin blocks from early 2000s waiting to become zipper bag panels. When I took the photo, I was still considering this way to pair them: However, I soon discovered that I wanted one of my zipper bags appear sort of red and the other one more blueish, so these became the panels for the “blue” zipper bag: One of my favourite phases in the zipper bag making process is when I've sewn the bag into shape and turned it right side out. I can never imagine the finished shape and size beforehand – my 3-dimensional thinking just isn’t that good. So this moment always feels like a reveal. Then, I like to smooth out the bag lining, pushing its corners into the corners of the outer piece, and continue finger-pressing both pieces away from the zipper. I could use clips to hold the pieces in place, but I prefer pins. This time, I even took a photo of the zipp...

Today I’m sharing three simple tests that every quilt block should pass. They’re especially worth doing when you’re making a scrappy quilt, where you may have picked a wide colour variety for the blocks. Before we get to the three tests, though, there’s an entrance exam. If a block doesn’t pass that, it cannot move further in your project. The entrance exam for quilt blocks: sewing a test block If you’re making quilt blocks following a pattern, first sew one block using expendable fabrics. Not poor-quality fabrics though, because if your test block colours work with the rest of the quilt, you may very well end up using it in your project. If the test block turns out to be of wrong size, you can also use it as part of your quilt backing. So it is worth picking decent fabrics even for your test block, though fabrics that you aren’t in love with. I often work out my own measurements for blocks, so I’ve sewn more than my fair share of test blocks. Once I had a particular...

Now, let’s see if I can come up with enough to say about the photos of 9-patches that I plan to share today. Ever since I finished the quilted Rumba bag and bound and finished the Maxim quilt, I've been able to focus on that project wholeheartedly. I've been working my way through my many containers of leftover fabric pieces (they hold resource pieces, not scraps) and pulling out everything that's large enough to yield at least one 2" square. Quite often I find pieces large enough for me to cut three squares but not four. Why is that? It’s so inconvenient because I need two sets of four squares for each block. Or alternatively, just one square because every 9-patch gets either a dark or a light centre square, and it's never of the same fabric as the other squares in that block. Around the centre I sew four lighter and four darker squares. 9-patches usually turn out looking rather nice, especially after I’ve pressed the block. I avoid making ugly ones,...