Messed Up

 Donna, I am sorry! I precut my material that you gave me, after I made two practice blocks. They turned out fine, but I cut the material wrong! So it is all wrong. So I was wondering where I can get more material for the block. Do you think my local quilt store have some of the same fabric? I don't want you to send more because I feel bad for messing it up, it's not your fault that I did it. Anyway, I didn't know if I could take the fabric and match it up the best I can or if I need the exact. Anyway let me know. Thanks! Crystal

My block for Donna and a tip

I finished my block for Donna today:

I found that the toughest part for me was lining up the fabric for the next piece and then trying to flip things all around and get it in position for sewing.  I worked out a method that made it MUCH easier for me and I thought I would share.  I'm showing it for the last piece because it is just a little clearer but you can use the method all the pieces.

I've sewn the parts before this and I start by folding the paper back on itself at the next seam that I will sew and trimming the fabric to 1/4":

Then I take the next piece that I am going to add and place it, right side up, under the workpiece.  I don't unfold the paper:

 

Line the next piece of fabric with the newly cut edge of the workpiece.  With the paper folded back, you can see where the piece you are adding should be placed for sewing.  I am adding the white in this case, and you can see that it extends beyond the paper on all sides. Hold everything in place and unfold the paper flap, then pin your fabric in place.

Now you are ready to sew the line that was folded down.  After that, the added piece will fold up and land exactly in the right place.  :)

When the Stars Align

The picture above has the pinwheel that I am considering incorporating into the quilt. It stopped raining long enough today for me to try and get some photos.

Here are all the Twirling Stars in a row. I used my screened porch for a little photo shoot : )

These are some of the pinwheels. I think the shapes go well together with the Twirling Star...what do you all think?

Hearts for Haiti

Hi there,
I know everyone is busy, but most of us are mothers and naturally have a soft spot for orphans. My former Department Chair (French teacher) has been traveling to Haiti each January for 15+ years and was there for the earthquake. In the last email we received, she said that the orphanage where she works while in Haiti was demolished. They are sleeping out in the open and blankets was one of the top things on the list.
I am trying to organize some charity quilts for the children in Haiti. I tried to find something online that was organized and could not locate something already started by the quilt blogging community. If you are interested let me know. Might be a good way to use up some of your wanted/unwanted stash. We are trying to incorporate a heart somewhere in each quilt.
I came up with this Hearts for Haiti title and am trying to have things ready to go from now until Valentine's Day. I will be posting more info on my blog if you think you might be interested.
~Donna

Assembling Tutorial

Hello ladies,

I just finished uploading all the pictures for the assembling tutorial. It is posted on my blog *Allz I'm Sewing is...* I know that the pictures may seem a little small, but for some people, the larger pictures take too long to load, so I chose the medium sized image. I hope these pictures will help. I am putting a picture here because we haven't had any lately. A few of the pictures in the tutorial may seem dark, but that is because the sun was beginning to set as I finished last night.

If you find grammatical/spelling errors in my tutorials- it will bother the school teacher in me...so please let me know : )

Happy sewing to all,

~Donna

Cutting Tutorial

Hi there,
I have just put together some information on how I have been cutting the pieces for the Twirling Star. It is posted on my blog. I will try to complete the sewing one today, there are lots of pictures involved so it is a little time consuming. I may not get the assembling section done until tomorrow. Geri, I hope this helps you and anyone else who is a little apprehensive. I am sure there are many ways of doing this, but this is just how I have proceeded.
~Donna

HELP!

I'm sorry girls, but I just don't get it. I'm pretty new to quilting, and I know a lot of you said this was your first time for paper piecing, too. So what did you do? I don't even know how to start. I looked at the tutorials, but I'm still confused.
(Donna, I promise I will figure this out before I cut into your fabric.)
Do we cut the paper and use it like a clothing pattern? Or, is there some magic in the foundation paper you sent us? Please help!
I am very excited to learn this new technique, and I am so glad I have all you ladies to help me do so! Please don't think I'm a dunce :) I look forward to hearing from you all...
Geri

Thanks for the encouragement and comments : )

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to say thanks for making me feel better about the Twirling Star. I received my 1st block today from Luv2create and Rene did a great job. I am also making additional blocks in case I want the quilt to be larger than the 12 blocks will be....or if I am just a greedy bugger and want a lap quilt for my husband and another one for me!
FYI, if you are having trouble and need more of the white fabric, it is Kona White-just a plain solid. I chose it because some of the fabrics have a bright white in them and others have more of a cream and the Kona is in-between the two. I purchased a large amount of fabric, so if anyone needs more because we are all on a learning curve, please feel free to contact me and I will send you more.
Have a great weekend ~

Maybe I am worrying too much???

I am a little worried that everyone thinks block # 26 is really pretty, but a pain in the neck to do. So, I emailed the lady who placed the block in the 100 Block magazine (Nancy Mahoney). I also gave her the link to our bee site so she could see. Here is a copy of her response. She also gave me a link to a tutorial on e/howto, but the page is no longer available. I think the tutorial with the gnomes is also helpful and I know the link is good.
I hope it helps anyone who is struggling with the block.

Hi Donna,
First let me tell you how delighted I am to see the different color combinations of the Twirling Star block. I particularly like the red/white/blue version. Paper piecing isn't difficult, but can be a bit tricky at first. The hardest part for most people, is working with the paper. The fabrics are always placed on the plain, unmarked side of the paper and then the fabrics and paper are turned over so you're sewing on the paper's marked side. This is probably the reason some stars are reversed.

Another tip is to mark your colors on the paper foundation, this will help you place the fabric correctly.
Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.
Thanks,
Nancy

My Practice Twirling Star Block

Okay I really like the design, but I had a really hard time making it! I was completely confused the whole time and didn't think I did it right until the end. Does anyone have any tips that they would be willing to share? Like what size did you cut each piece of material for the blocks? I had the hardest time with that.

Crystal

Mailed

Donna,
Your block was put in the mail today!

Okay, here is my test block that I went back to today to finish. I noticed that my centers to not match. Oh well, I won't see it on a galloping horse anyway!

Mine's done!

Donna, finally done! Wow, was this a challenge! I used my own fabric as a test and found my stars going the wrong way, so I decided I would make mine like that, but yours I turned it around. I will be sending this ouut in a few days. Sure want to see this quilt, so hurry and sew it up! Wanda

Paper piecing tutorials

If you are looking for additional information on paper piecing, along with the gnome tutorial and the freezer paper tutorial from Rene, you can go to this page in You Can Quilt This and there is a free tutorial using Trees. It is on the second row in the middle. It is one of the tutorials I read before doing my block.

With block # 26, I had 2 difficulties during my practice block. The first was that I didn't pay attention to the fact that section 1 was for lights and section 2 was for darks. I just started sewing. This resulted in my sections not alternating from dark to light.

I solved this problem by cutting up all of my sections and separating sections 1 and 2. I sewed all four section 1's at the same time using the light fabrics of both color sets. Then, I sewed all four sections of section 2 using all the darks.

My second difficulty came with the first background of white. For some reason I was unable to get the angles just right. Finally, (after lots of seam ripping) I was able to re-cut the piece to be exactly 1/4 inch larger and I marked the right and wrong side. According to all the tutorials, the fabrics is supposed to be cut on the wrong side. Because the fabric was white, I didn't think about the right/wrong side of things, but it matters for the angles. Once I could manage the first white background piece I had little trouble with the 3rd and 4th piece.

I hope this helps those of you who, like me, had never done this before. I have since made 2 gnomes and I just love them. As soon as my camera battery is charged, I will show you them. It is such a good was to use up little scraps and create a beautiful center for a pillow, purse or an entire quilt.
~Donna

Paper Piecing Tutorial...

I found a tutorial I wanted to share. I am working on a new PP Block and found this tutorial helpful as far as how to trim the seams. I also found that using printer paper for the foundation was easier for me to work with. I sewed along the lines of the template with my UNTHREADED needle (instead of creasing the seams)...this too helped with seeing the pattern on the other side when laying out the fabrics. Hope these tips help. I wish I would have figured this out BEFORE I did Donna's block.

http://www.twiddletails.com/store/index.php?main_page=page&id=21

Looking for a reason to master foundation piecing?

I came across this site on flickr and fell in love with the gnomes or gnomelings as Sonja Callaghan calls them. Here is a link to her flickr pictures. Also she has a blog and that is where I was able to find the patterns. If that isn't enough...she uses the 3 patterns to teach about paper piecing.

Artisania is the name of her blog on Wordpress. I wish I could put a picture right here, but I am not sure of the copyright. Please go and see, you will be very motivated and the tutorial is really good.

Donna's Block

Donna,
I finished your block tonight. It was my last finish of 2009!
I hope you are pleased with it. I had a little trouble, and one of the points is off. I was afraid to rip it out. If you can't (or don't want to) use the block, let me know and I will refund your fabric. I didn't square it up, and will let you do that.

Even though I had some problems, I LOVED making this block and plan on making a quilt using this block for one of my next quilts.


Thanks Donna for giving me the courage to try something besides sewing squares and strips together.