Sew Ottawa! HST Week 9 [HST Sew-a-long 2018 10/18]

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The Home Stretch!

Huge thank you to Colleen for helping me out and writing two weeks in a row My family was hit with the terrible flu that was going around. It is now week 3 and I am still going to bed fairly early, but at least I'm up and about!

This week's prize for participants is a cute little Retreat Bag. I made this from a free pattern by Emmaline Bags. It is the small size, with internal wire frames installed (you can also purchase them locally at Mad About Patchwork or Fabric Crush. It's a quick and simple project that everyone here could complete with ease. I love how multi-functional they are, and serve as fantastic gifts!




Let's take inventory!

Together, we have covered many transferable skills in this sew-a-long. I think we should take a moment to celebrate what we've learned so far:

  1. Source supplies for a quilt top (fabrics, threads, the difference between yardage and precuts and how to decide how much we need)
  2. What a half square triangle is and different ways to create them.
  3. Maintain a seam allowance and how helpful a quarter foot is
  4. The importance of sewing with an iron and the difference between pressing and ironing
  5. An appreciation for how to deal with many biases meeting together
  6. Different ways in how to square up your HST Squares and blocks overall. 
  7. Considerations for quilt backing
I'd love to hear more from you in the group if you have other helpful tips that you've learned along the way.

What's left?

We've completed 11 of the 16 planned blocks so far (yay!). Some of you have even completed more in anticipation for a larger quilt. Over the next 3 weeks, we will learn:
  1. 5 more HST block patterns
  2. How to add optional sashing between your blocks and optional boarders around your quilt.
  3. Different types of batting options and ideas of where to source them. 
  4. How to sandwich the layers of your quilt in preparation of the quilting process
  5. Various quilting options
You will then have some time to complete the quilting. During that time, I'm planning on throwing together an optional pillow tutorial so you can use up any scraps you might have. Then, we will finish up with a tutorial on how to bind your quilt, followed by some celebratory photos of your gorgeous creations!

This week!


This pretty little thing gave me such a headache. It's no more difficult than any of the other blocks that we've created along this journey, but there's always ONE that gets a little too friendly with your stitch ripper. This was my one!! It turned out pretty fabulous though!


When I turned to the second block. I kept that stitch ripper nearby, as some sort of threat... or something. 


But it worked!! I must say, I htink this one might be my favourite to date. I love a hit of chaos and I think this one is lovely.



Please join me again next week as we walk through 2 more quilt blocks and chat about our optional sashing and boarders.

Best,
T.

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