There are MANY days that what I am working on isn’t photographable.
Lots & lots & lots of time goes into the process of making a new quilt pattern,
so much so, you have no idea!
Today is a day that I actually thought (& remembered as I was doing…) to take photos.
I’m working on a new quilt idea that has lots of Mini & Tiny Dresden plates (shocker I know).
What I was working on today involved making a single tree.
Yes, a single tree, ALL DAY.
Pretty sure I could have bought & planted a tree much quicker!
Not only that, this is not the first day that I’ve lingered over said tree.
I knew the finished size,
& that it would be a tree,
but I couldn’t get this tree to materialize, LITERALLY!
Today I jumped in and decided it would have templates.
Yes, I hate having to cut templates!
I like to start out running and be able to cut everything with my rotary cutter.
Don’t you?
Not that you can’t cut this tree block out with a rotary cutter, because I did,
not only the paper version, but also the fabric version.
Unfortunately, it’s not a certain size I can relate to you to cut.
I started with a version of a tree that I incorporated into my
“Oh Christmas Tree” pattern several years ago.
These trees are rotary cut,
quickly pieced, then trimmed to size.
I decided to resize this block to make it fit into the parameters of my new design.
I made a paper block.
Then I made another…
I stapled the seam allowance, lol!
How crafty, right?
Then “trimmed” it to the finished size.
Unfortunately I wasn’t crazy about it…
So, literally back to the drawing board…
I sketched out the finished tree that I wanted,
then I added the seam allowance to each piece.
Next I made templates & printed them out to scale.
I decided to sew the paper templates!
Why not?
“Pressing” them was quite accurate!
Next I needed to assemble the sections.
Quite simple.
So far, so good.
The finished block was perfect.
So, I gathered some newly acquired “vintage” fabrics & cut the pieces.
How awesome, right???
I sewed them just like the paper prototype.
And, voilà!
Exactly what I imagined, finally!
Now, after weeks of designing,
I’m looking forward to making the actual quilt.
If only I could decide on the fabrics, lol.
I hope you’re enjoying summer!
I love waking to the sun streaming into my sewing room once again.
Just Keep Sewing…
Susan
Quilting my way through life! 