If you have been hanging in there with me I am so proud! I know that quilting can be daunting, but it is so rewarding when you are finished. Today you will get the first glimpse of your soon-to-be finished quilt! For most people, right behind picking out the fabrics themselves, piecing the quilt together and matching up the fabrics are the most difficult/intimidating task. Here are some pointers that I have learned:
1. Don't Fret. You/no one else will ever stare down each piece of your quilt and think critically of it ever again. So do not stress too much!
2. Decide what you like. Do you like it when no two pieces touch, do like some corky type piecing, letting some like fabrics touch on purpose? What is your style? Remember this is art and there is no right answer. Do your homework, look all over blogs, pinterest and in magazines for styles you like.
3. Take a picture, it lasts longer. When making the final decision when the quilt is laid out on your floor/table/bed take a picture, really. Stand back as far away as possible while still getting everything in the shot and snap away. By looking at the picture instead of the quilt itself you will be able to see the quilt as a whole and not individual pieces. This will help you see patterns that you may be too close to see without the picture.
Okay so back to you and your quilt...
First take all of your square quarters, match them to a partner, sew front sides together and press. Your pile should have been cut in half. Now take all of your halves, match those with a partner, sew front sides together and press again to create one whole wonky looking block.
When you are matching quarters and halves together, be sure to be aware that your circles edges are matching together. I found that when forced to choose I would of rather have the edges of the circle match more precisely than the inside circle. If you are a dynamite cutter and piecer, you will not have this problem. Me, I am not detail oriented enough to do anything that perfectly!
When you are sewing all these small pieces together, do not, cut each one off after every individual square. Create a chain...feeding one piece in after the other, letting them all stack up behind your machine. You only need to leave one or two stitches in between each piece. This will make things go much quicker...when you are finished you may have something that looks like quilters garland!
So now that you have all of your fully pieced squares it is time to lay it out. The size of this quilt forced me off of the table or even bed and onto the floor. It was the only place it would fit. I always lay out a blanket before I start piecing to avoid dog hair and this allows me to quickly roll it up if I have a crying baby or enormous amounts of indecision and have to come back to it later.
After you have it all the way you like and you are ready to move on, stack all the rows and label them by numbering them. This will help you get these squares back in the same order that you laid them out in.
If you make it through this step you are rounding third and heading for home! Good job! Next week we will sew these bad boys together and start thinking about quilting!
-melissa
If you have joined the quilt along party late in the game here is what you missed! parts one, two and three.