Piecing the Puzzle
The mosquitoes have driven me indoors, but that means I have happy news to report: the quilt top is complete! [APPLAUSE]
When I last posted, I needed to sew together my remaining fabric sets and then cut them all into squares. I made ten separate sets in total and cut each into five 8-1/2” (approximately) squares. Result? 50 squares! You actually only need 48 squares to make a six square by eight square quilt, so you’ll have two left over (which you can use as your “get out of jail free” cards if you messed up with cutting, or so I’ve heard).
Before sewing them all together, the challenge is to arrange the squares in the rail fence pattern (alternating vertical/horizontal) while keeping the overall design pleasing to the eye. For me, that means not allowing any of the same fabrics to touch. It sounds pretty straightforward, but this step took nearly two hours… and more than a few brain cells. It’s part of the fun and by laying out everything ahead of time, it will save you from using the seam ripper. No one wants blood stains on their new quilt.
And now the fun begins!
Once you're finally happy with the layout, take a picture! Believe me, you will refer back to it when your cats decide to roll all over your carefully placed squares. Next, sew the squares together into rows. Once complete, this is a good time to trim up the edges nicely to ensure a neat fit. Finally, sew the rows together. It comes together very quickly at this point, which is just so satisfying!
And just like that, you’re done! I don’t think I will make the quilt top any bigger by adding a border, but I’ve got lots of time to change my mind; I will probably not touch this again until cottage time this summer. My goal will be to sandwich the top with batting and backing, do some simple machine quilting to hold it all together and finish it off with a narrow binding. Ready for cosiness come the fall!
Sitting pretty!
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