July block 2007/2008 RCTQ BOM

i love your sun, Jess. the two applique blocks look so cute side by side. who wouldnt love wee bowties and a neat star block too, havent see it before, nice choices. :) brrrrrrrr, jeanne

I LOVE the blocks, but I'm sure going to need some tips on how to applique those rays around the sun! I do reasonably okay with the outer points, but I don't understand how, when you clip to the point to turn the inner corners, you keep from having the applique fray the first time somebody needs to wash the quilt! (I'm doing needleturn, by the way.) I am NOT an experienced appliquer, if there is such a word, and this design has a lot of those inner corners. The only way I know to make something like this secure is to machine applique with a zig-zag stitch, and I don't want to do that on this quilt. One other way I've tried with moderate success is machine stiching two pieces of cloth right sides together in the shape, cutting a slit in the bottom piece, and turning the whole thing inside out, like a facing. Then it's hand stitched to the background. Even so, you have to clip right up to the stitching before turning and it looks to me like it might fray easily. Help!!!

Carole D. - Retired and loving it in the foothills of NW Georgia

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Oooh, good points, Carole. I think I'll do raw edge. Maybe a machine blanket stitch or just a straight stitch and leave the edges fuzzy.

Well, y'all will need to remind me of this when I get around to doing it in a few months (or years).

School starts Monday. I'm starting to get pleasantly excited! I will find a way for these 4th graders to make quilt blocks. However, it will have to relate to the Nevada standards for content.

I'll be inside napping or making quilt blocks Thursday and Friday during our heat advisory -- temperatures around 105º.

LOVE your appliqué blocks, Jessamy!

This year I'm downloading all the blocks when they are announced instead of waiting until I'm ready to do them. Quilter's Cache sometimes gets rearranged! I eventually found them all last year!

Life is slowing down and I think I might actually participate in this!!!! I know, I know - I have to catch up for June. Any ideas how much fabric I would need if I want to use all the same fabrics in all the blocks?

Tricia in Tx

Carole D. - Retired and loving it in the foothills of NW Georgia

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I would do raw edge or satin stitch if I hadn't already done the first one with needleturn. I NEED to learn needleturn!!

I taught sec>Oooh, good points, Carole. I think I'll do raw edge. Maybe a machine

Carole D. - Retired and loving it in the foothills of NW Georgia

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you did one point? with needleturn and you say you NEED to learn needleturn. ok, now i'm confuddled.

i'd think.... using the facing method with interfacing like i do or with thin fabric in 'teardrop' shapes overlapped for the sun points and top with an interfaced circle, would work. interface so you start with nice clean edges to stitch down, no turning under with your needle (fiddle fiddle, ravel ravel, eeeek). just be sure your stitches always go thru the top fabric, not the facing fabric. works for me. hmmmmm, actually cuz the fat end of a teardrop would be under the circle centre you'd really only need to sew two sides of a slighty curved point triangle interfaced, overlap the edges and top with a circle. think'n.......yup, that should work fine and dandy. wait a second....could also be done in sections of several points together or the whole circles worth of points, but for me would be waste'n fabric doin' the whole circle...i think i'd do 4 sets of 3 points or 3 sets of 4 points = 12 points (thats how many on the sun). 4 sets of 3 points is easier to lay straight by folding/creasing the background, yup. sorry for thinking outloud rather than think'n it thru completely then typing what i'd do. holler of its unclear, wont be the first time i made little sense, lol. oh dear. :) cheers, jeanne

buy lots then theres no need to worry, lol. jeanne

Well, I've tried to needle-turn a couple of times and I've managed points, although not sharp ones, but I've never really managed what I felt like was a good inside corner.

What you're say>you did one point? with needleturn and you say you NEED to learn needleturn.

Carole D. - Retired and loving it in the foothills of NW Georgia

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yup, the rays are all one piece in the pix but doesnt mean you cant interpret the pattern to your style/abilitys. the overall look will be the same.

having thot bout the 'full circle of rays', i'm now thinking would be better doing individual points, overlap and stitch in place...rather than in sets of rays, which would/could/might look a bit odd to some folks. the more we thunk bout how to do this or any applique the easier tis to work out what might work best.

i do know what you mean by inside points being difficult thats why i always work out how to do a design without them. there is always a way to do that just gotta work it out. my outside points will nearly always be done with interfacing and careful stitching when i attach the piece to the background. seems to work so far. jeanne

Well, I guess I will just have to go shopping! Thanks.

Tricia > Life is slowing down and I think I might actually participate in

Okay, I guess I need to learn to think "out of the box!" I may try it a couple of different ways to see what works best for me. I agree that the interfacing method of doing outside points seems to work pretty well!

Thanks Jeanne I'd send some of our temps but it's probably about the same here as where you are at the moment :-S dark, grey, cold and wet - you'd think it was winter but it's supposed to be summer

jess

Yikes i never thought that when i "simplified" the pattern i actually made it more complicated! i started with 12 rays and the circle and thought that by making it 1 ray bit and the circle would make it easier (what was i thinking LOL) anyway i have made a PDF of the origional "unsimplified" version with all the seperate rays - that shoulld make life easier - all you then need to do is overlap the rays so they und up showing the same outline as the whole ray pattern you already have.

HTH

Jessamy

Just do a bit at a time - 5 minutes a day can always be found - use it as a treat for getting your work done for instance (always ready to enable )

I hope you don't melt with those temps! feel free to share some of that with people less fortunate to have summer weather hehehe.

and good luck on Monday! (what a wierd time of year to start school - we just started our summer break!)

Thanks Kay!

that sounds like a great plan - especially as if you do find a few spare moments you don't ahve to start your computer up to get tha patterns first (risking distraction and loss of time too!)

btw... can you change my website link to the new one on our websites page? thanks ever so!

Jessamy

I guess I'm too anxious. :) I went back to your website and couldn't find this "unsimplified" version yet. I will wait patiently. LOL!

Carole D. - Retired and loving it in the foothills of NW Georgia

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