Greetings, it is Spring Time in Texas, at least for a few days!
How many times have you started a project and ended up either putting the unfinished project it in a drawer, giving it away, use the fabric for scraps, or just throwing it away. I started piecing in 2004 and it is 10 years later and I now understand exactly why this happens. I have just completed my 2 blocks for Barbara Brackman's 2014 BOM. She does not provide cutting instructions for the blocks, so I used my EQ Software to reproduce the block.
How many times have you started a project and ended up either putting the unfinished project it in a drawer, giving it away, use the fabric for scraps, or just throwing it away. I started piecing in 2004 and it is 10 years later and I now understand exactly why this happens. I have just completed my 2 blocks for Barbara Brackman's 2014 BOM. She does not provide cutting instructions for the blocks, so I used my EQ Software to reproduce the block.
I used my EQ print out for rotary cutting and soon found out that the software is programmed to follow the "standard" rule in rotary cutting. So I made a sample block from scraps to identify problems: Here is a picture of the Center Star. To achieve perfection, I had to add 1/4" to the star points (flying geese) strips. I tested it without and did not have enough fabric to trim them. My points would have been cut off when sewn to the rest of the block.
Here is a picture of the finished sample block. As you can see, there are issues with the Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs). I did not increase the cutting size that EQ7 provided as to identify any problems I might encounter when using my best fabric. As you can see the secondary brown triangles around the Center Star do not line up together.
Here are the finished blocks for January and February. The lesson I learned in this project is that EQ allows the Quilter to input the desired seam allowance size, but it uses the standard rotary cutting rule that all Designers use. So if a Quilter cuts according to the pattern instructions, it is best to use a "scant" quarter inch when sewing the block together. Or, the alternative is to add at least 1/4" when cutting strips and use 50 weight thread when sewing the project. Might make things a little less frustrating.
Tomorrow I plan on working on my Country Threads BOM. The other 2 monthly projects are applique and I think I might have to wait to start them as I am still working on my BAS projects.
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