On the Edge

How do you make sure your English paper pieced quilt has a nice edge that’s easy to trim and bind?

I used to get folded over bits of fabric and little holes but after a while I found an easy way to get a nice straight 1/4″ edge. I simply add a 1/4″ to the template and cut it out. I always cut the seam allowance at a 90º angle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I wrap the fabric around the papers I leave that edge unwrapped and trim the fabric flush with the paper.

Then I sew the pieces together with my usual whipstitch and end up with a wonderfully flat edge that is easy to bind without losing any of my points.

I hope that helps.

Happy sewing!

 

Block of the Month 2024

It’s been a while but I’m excited to be back in this little corner of the internet to announce that I’m hosting a free Block of the Month next year. I’ve already talked about it on Instagram but let me tell you all about it here, too.

First, it’s not really a block but a row we’re sewing every month. Here’s the chart of the finished quilt:

 

I realise that it’s not easy to see the quilt properly in this little picture so the link for the chart is here: Chart BOM24

The chart will help you decide whether you want to join in and also make it easier for you if you’re a planner. I’m going to wing it (and probably be envious of everyone who’s planned their quilt in advance) and stick to my technique of choosing my fabrics as I’m sewing.

Every month you get three ‘blocks’ one centre block and two end blocks that square up the quilt.

The width of your quilt depends on how many centre blocks you make. Ten blocks in total give you a quilt that’s 60″ wide. You can of course make it smaller but the length, if you stick with all twelve rows is 72″. If you would like to make your quilt bigger, I can add more rows, but at the moment there are only twelve. Here’s the link to download the rows in the picture above: Chart Pieces BOM24

Every first of the month the blocks will be ready to download here on the blog. If you would like to join in and see what others are making you can check out the hashtag #sharksdinnerbom24 on Instagram. This is where I’ll be posting my progress.

And because you should always end every blog post with a cute picture, here’s one of Olive Nomura Shoulderhopper.

 

Happy sewing! Elisabeth

BOM 2019: NOVEMBER

Last one! That’s right, it’s the last tile for this block of the month. Then it’s time to appliqué the tiles onto a background, quilt and bind. And all this before the end of the year.

I’ve started with the appliqué but have only managed one tile so far. This month has whizzed past at an extraordinary pace and I have to admit that I haven’t finished my October tile. Shame on me, I know. I’ve just had lots of other things to think about and the BOM has sort of faded into the background. The main reason for my inability to sit down and concentrate on my sewing have been the raging hormones in my pre-teen daughter. I’ve simply been too exhausted to sew after all the ups and downs every day has brought.

As a blog post without at least one picture is rather boring I thought I’d post one of my little ‘helper’ Blue looking adorable.

Right, here’s the last tile:

I’m really curious about this one. I’ve had to think quite a bit about where to put my coloured accents but I think I’ve got the perfect placement now. The placement of the coloured fabric is actually the only thing I plan in advance, all the other fabrics are chosen as I sew and I never really know what the tile is going to look like until it’s finished.

Here are the templates:

And here’s the whole tile so you can plan your fabric placement:

I’m going to have to knuckle down, finish my October tile and get on with this one as soon as possible. I have to take things a little easy at the moment as I’ve been diagnosed with shingles. I see quite a bit of hand sewing and tv watching in my future.

Happy sewing!

BOM 2019: October

How can it be October already? I feel like this year has flown past. It’s alright, though, as I love autumn and October is my favourite month. The light is amazing and I love seeing all the autumn colours on the trees. It’s my birthday month and this year it’s one of the big ones: 50.

I love the age that I am, I love that I know who I am and what I want. I love the person I’ve become and I wouldn’t want to change anything in my life as everything that’s happened, good and bad, has shaped me. So I’m happy to say bring on the fifties!

Anyway, enough with the rambling. Here’s my September block which I finished at the last minute and where I added some fun orange accents.

I’m getting more and more excited about this quilt. I’ve started appliquéing the tiles onto the background but haven’t gotten very far yet. I really need to get a move on, though, as there are only two more tiles to sew.

Curious about the penultimate tile? Here it is:

I’m a little bit at a loss on how I’m going to do this one and where I’m going to put the coloured accents. Once I start all of this usually falls into place quite quickly so I’m hopeful that I’ll come up with a plan soon enough.

Right, here are the templates:

And here’s the entire tile so you can plan your fabrics if you are so inclined:

I’m really looking forward to seeing all the various versions on Instagram.

Happy stitching!

BOM 2019: September

How are we in September already? I feel like this year has flown by and I’m sure it’s also because of this Block of the Month, as I have been looking forward to the new tile every time I’ve finished the current one.

Here’s my August tile:

I really like this green with the black, white and grey. And I also like how all my tiles look together on the background fabric:

As you can see Charlie was very happy to help with the layout.

You may also have noticed that my tiles don’t fit on my background fabric. This has meant that I have indeed gone back to my original plan and I’m going to appliqué them onto squares of fabric and hand quilt them before sewing the squares together. This will be my first ever quilt-as-you-go quilt and I’m really excited to try it.

Right. Are you curious about this month’s tile? Here it is:

Here are the templates:

And the whole tile so you can plan your fabrics:

I’m looking forward to seeing all your beautiful blocks this month. Mine is going to be orange (at least if I find a nice orange in my stash).

Happy sewing!

BOM 2019: August

It’s a new month which means it’s time for a new tile for the block of the month. I loved last month’s block.

I was going to do the pentagons in red too but used the grey sketch by mistake and didn’t want to change it when I realised it. I rather like the way it looks and am really happy with how it fits in with the others.

Right, here’s the August tile:

I think this one is a really interesting shape and I’m very excited to start this one and see everyone’s versions. I’m going to use a nice green for this tile, I think.

If you’d like to make it, here are the templates:

And here’s the whole tile for your fabric planning:

Well, I hope you enjoy this block of the month as much as I do.

BOM 2019: July

Time is flying when you’re having fun and I sure hope you’re having fun sewing with me.

I loved the June tile and thought it looked great half finished too.

Every evening I sit in my sewing room which is also my rat room to let my ratties Bailey, Blue and Quentin roam free for an hour or so. So far this has been no problem at all as they all thought that the floor was lava. This meant that they mostly climbed on the cage and on me. However, this week Bailey has discovered that the floor doesn’t swallow her up when she walks on it and has started exploring. Add to this the fact that she’s a little hoarder and suddenly nothing is safe from her. I was sitting on the floor sewing when she swooped in and tried to steal my Aurifil thread. She also tried to get my scissors but they were too heavy for her.

Anyway, here’s the new tile:


This one looks like it’s got little cat faces in it and I might try and play with this a little. This month’s colour for me is red. Once again I have to dive into my stash to see what I can find as I really don’t want to have to buy more fabric. Rather the opposite, I’m trying to lighten my load and use up as much as I can. The problem is, that EPP doesn’t really use up that much fabric at least not when you use lots of different fabrics or scraps.

Right, here are the templates:

And here’s the whole tile so you can plan your block:

BOM 2019: JUNE

I can’t believe it’s June already. My daughter and my cat Charlie have their birthdays on two consecutive days and it’s always very busy at the end of May. I managed to finish May’s tile quite quickly and was looking forward to June’s tile for the last three weeks as it’s one of my favourites.

My little old man enjoying the sunshine (he’s 19 years old)

Before I post the June tile I’d like to show you last month’s tile:

I found it a real struggle to find the right fabrics for April’s tile and I was a little worried that I was setting a trend but that didn’t happen. Once I picked the solid and the grey swirls for the centre square I was off and finished the tile in no time at all. I did, however, feel that I was always using the same black fabric and therefore went and bought a couple of fat quarters. You’ll see them in the next tiles, I’m sure.

Right, let’s get printing:

And the whole tile for fabric planning:

This month I’m going for a sea green or turquoise accent. I have to go through my stash first to see if I have enough of one colour for this block as I’ve just cut lots of 4.5″ squares for a quilt. If not, I’ll have to buy some more fabric. The horror…

Happy sewing!

BOM 2019: MAY

I can’t believe we’re already half way through this Block of the Month once we’ve completed this last tile.

I quite like my last tile which was made with Kona banana:

I did find this tile quite difficult. I have no idea why, but I found it really difficult to choose the fabrics for this one. However, I got there in the end and am rather happy with how this one looks with the others.

This month I’m going for a light pink accent fabric. I have to check which colour it is exactly as I don’t always write down the name. It’s definitely a Kona, though.

Ok, here are the templates for the month of May:

Print out four of each. You can discard three of the center squares from templates 6a.

And here is the whole tile, so you can plan your fabric and colour selection:

I can’t wait to get started and see all your beautiful versions. Happy sewing!

BOM 2019: APRIL

Wow, it’s already the fourth month of my BOM and I’m really hoping that everyone who’s still sewing with me is having fun.

I’ve found last month rather difficult as I couldn’t sew or type as I was suffering from tendonitis. Everything’s more or less alright now, although I still have to be a little careful and take enough breaks. I just about managed to finish my March tile in March, finishing it on the 31st.

I love my last block which I did with Kona Honeysuckle, one of my favourite Kona colours. I’m already looking forward to this month’s colour which is Kona Banana, another firm favourite. I think the four blocks look quite good together, although I’m not sure if I’m going to keep the emerald block the way it is. I feel that the colour is too solid. However, I won’t do anything about it until I have a few more blocks and can judge it properly.

So without much ado, here are the templates for April’s block.

And here is the PDF for the entire tile, so you can do some planning.

Happy sewing!

By the way, I’m preparing a blog post about layouts. I’m using a very simple 3 x 4 layout as I’ve always said that I want to use the quilt-as-you-go method. I haven’t started quilting yet as I wasn’t sure about the background fabric. There are so many different possible layouts, though, that I thought it might be fun to show them here on the blog.

As for the background fabric I have now narrowed it down to two, one white with grey polka dots and one grey and white striped one. The second I’m sure which one to choose I’ll start working on appliquéing the tiles and quilting the first few blocks.