I was so eager to start with the Sugar Block Club's BOM for February called "North Star". I jumped right in and started cutting. Little did I know that this block would really test my patience. I honestly felt like giving up at times.
The paper piecing part of it, was not hard at all. Matching up those points and straight lines with no guides was a the real frustration. Remarkably the center star block was NOT the issue. It was when trying to add the side pieces of the star that made me want to scream... I used my seam ripper so many times, and in fear that I'm causing too much damage to the fabric I decided to sit back for a few minutes, and just think.
And that's when it hit me - GLUE!!! I will use glue... I was sure as hell not going let this block, or rather my impatience get the better of me. What did I have to loose anyway? I was already making a mess of it, it cant get any worse.
What I did was fold the piece that was going on top of the other's seam allowance over a little bit less than ¼ inch. I checked to see if the lines will meet in a straight line and not have the seams overlap and make the 'star point' look wonky. I then put a few dots of fabric glue on the 'star center block' and placed the other piece on top playing around until I got the lines straight, I had to work a little bit fast as the glue set rather fast. Until I was happy with it I then ironed it to set the glue. I then folded the piece open, and sewn as neatly as I could inside the crease line.
IT WORKED! I was so relieved!
When it came to adding the strip to the center piece, I used pins to secure it, and then only removed the pin at the place where I wanted to add the glue not to have the fabric shift around too much.
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| (Left) Snow Blossom - Jan and (Right) North Star - Feb |
I am still considering if I should use the Quilt as You Go method.. Undecided!
Brilliant...I have used glue before as well. Not so much for matching points but for keeping fiddly pieces of fabric nicely aligned when sewing pieces together. Must try this for tricky points or intersections. Beautiful block btw.
ReplyDeleteYou found a great solution to your problem. I have glue in my sewing room, but never think of using it. I hope I remember the next time I have a problem like yours. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh wow - I remember having a similar problem when I was doing some paperpiecing and I used pins a 1/4" in to match up the points. The block was worth the effort! I'm doing QAYG with the skill builder BOM (well, I will be once I get round to it!), i'm a bit nervous but it will be good to have smaller blocks to work on quilting wise and will be another technique under my belt :)
ReplyDeleteI just picked my fabrics and printed out the patterns for this block, so it's good timing to see your post. I like the glue idea - very clever! Your block looks perfect! Thanks for sharing your process.
ReplyDeleteLooks perfect to me;). Well done. I love glue so much I bought a set of "glue tips" that Sharon Schamber uses. Learned the glue tricks from her. Genius!
ReplyDeleteVery clever to use glue- your block looks very nearly perfect!
ReplyDeleteI love that block! It's the reason I decided to join the Sugar Block Club. I just received the patterns so I've got some catching up to do. Hope mine turns out as pretty as yours! :-)
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