Friday 7 December 2012

Yay!! but...

Ok, the instructions are now 'live' but I'm not sure that they are written in the most  understandable way,  for me at least.  I found them quite intimidating, and that's as someone who has already put together similar un-symmetrical quilts/wallhangings, so for a novice it could be a complete turn-off. So, just for Kelley, and anyone else who might find it helpful, this is how I approached it.

First of all, as it says in the instructions, cut 2" strips across the width of the sashing fabric. Then ignore the next part which tells you to cut it all into different rectangles and follow me...
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Using the diagrams given in the pattern start to piece together the blocks as directed but WITHOUT cutting the sashing into pieces first. So, first I stitched the sashing in place to the Megaphone angel block, and then to the angel orchestra block, laying the sashing on top of the blocks, right sides together, so I could see where I was sewing, and so that the wadding didn't get stuck in the needle.


Once I had stitched as many blocks as would fit to the sashing strip I carefully cut them apart, first opening out and pressing the sashing strip. (Not sure how visible that is here as the sashing appears much more similar in colour here than in real life). Once that's done, go on to the next block, making sure to follow the diagrams given in Homespun's instructions as to where each piece of sashing needs to go. Just make sure you do use each little piece of sashing that you can while still keeping each section in one piece. By that I mean you don't need to join lengths but make sure you use smaller pieces on smaller blocks, rather than using a new piece each time.


The rest of the instructions are fine (as far as I've got yet) I just found the multitude of little rectangles to cut out quite daunting to be faced with, and to keep track of, so for me this seems like a much more simple way of approaching it.

1 comment:

  1. Lynne - I found your comments about the instructions useful feedback. Thank you. The key advantage of cutting all the sashing strips into individual rectangles is that it helps keep all the blocks the right size. The method that you've used is a commonly used alternative, but it can result in units that are slightly incorrect in size. But - whatever works best for you is definitely the way to go.

    Megan Fisher
    Technical Editor
    Australian Homespun
    www.completecraft.com.au

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