Hello again, Jolly Jabber Readers—it’s Kailee! Today, I’m taking you along for one of those magical days where the only thing on my to-do list was to quilt! From getting ready to tidying up the chaos, here is what a day in the life of this (overly) confident beginner quilter looks like.
I had so much fun reading through your comments on Part 1, and I have a new question for you! How do you balance working on multiple projects at once?! I have my quilting journal, so I remember where I left off, and design boards have been a lifesaver, but what other tips do you have for me?
If you read to the end of Part 1, I shared a secret with you that gives a bit more context to this dilemma I’m having, lol. If you read to the end of this post, you will get another quilty secret! Feel free to share your quilty secrets in the comments, too. Now, let’s jump into today’s post!
Setting Up for the Sewathon
Because my quilting happens in a shared space, I have to set up and put away my project each day. Since I had my fabric starched and cut, ready for a day of piecing, I set up my sewing station, ironing station, and cutting station. Below are all the products and sewing notions that I keep close at each:
- At my sewing station:
- At my ironing station:
- At my cutting station:
The bigger task at the start of my day was to get familiar with Triangles on a Roll paper and the piecing instructions for the Ruby Quilt pattern from the Triangles on a Roll Quilts book. So, once my space was set up and my tea was made, I sat down and watched the How to use the Triangles on a Roll Triangle Paper video and read through the whole pattern. Don’t be fooled into thinking I only referenced the video and pattern at the beginning of the day! I had this video on repeat all day long, and the pattern was never out of sight!
Tester Block- A Mini Triangles on a Roll Tutorial
A tip that I’ve heard from Kimberly and several other quilters is that it’s best to make one block, start to finish, before diving into the rest of the quilt. I did fudge this rule a tiny bit when I cut out all the fabric for my blocks at once, but it turned out fine, so fate was on my side for this one!
Then, with this video pulled up and my pattern fresh in my mind, I set out to make my first block. Below is a dramatic reenactment of me making this first block so I could give you a mini tutorial on the process of using Triangles on a Roll paper:
Step 1: Triangle Paper Sandwich
Build your Triangle Paper sandwich with the two pieces of fabric placed right sides together, and the Triangle Paper on top with the right side facing up.
Step 2: Pinning and Sewing
Pin your Triangle Paper sandwich together in each corner, and in the open spaces in the middle. Then, take it to the sewing machine and sew along the dotted lines, as per Kimberly’s instructions in this video.
Step Three: Cutting and Removing the Paper
Cut along the solid lines on the paper, being sure to cut exactly on the lines so that the half square triangle blocks come out as perfect as possible! Then, tear away the paper to get them ready to press. Be sure to watch the video for all of Kimberly’s tips and tricks!
Step 4: Pressing and Trimming the Dogears
The pattern suggests pressing all the seams open, so that’s what I did! Since I’m ironing a seam on the bias, it’s important not to tug on the points, and Kimberly does a great job of demonstrating that in the video. I also found that because I starched my fabric, I was less prone to accidental warping.
As you already know, I love it when my fabric is super crispy and as paper-like as possible! So, after initially pressing my seams open, I flip my blocks right side down, spray a light mist of spray starch over the open seam, and then press the seam with the iron to really set everything in. I found that this made pining the blocks so much easier, and I was less prone to having the seams flip while I was sewing.
Lastly, take a nice sharp pair of scissors and snip off the dogears! I liked using embroidery scissors for this task since there wasn’t much to cut, and we had just gotten in Kimberly’s Vintage Scissors, so the cuteness was also a deciding factor.
Next Step: Piecing the Full Block!
The combined power of pinning and design boards got me through piecing my first block without a hitch! Not only did I use Kimberly’s poke-a-pin method, I also used a tip from our Stitchy Staffer Teresa, and I pinned the seam allowance on both sides. This made sure that my alignment was going nowhere as I moved to and from the sewing machine! Here is our tutorial for How to use Kimberly’s Poke-A-Pin Method:
With one complete block of the Ruby Quilt done, I was ready to settle in and find my sewing flow.
Not pictured is the absolutely necessary step of showing everyone the block I just made! Stitchy staffers were interrupted in their workday by my excitement and requests for their approval, and friends and family got photos of my block, accompanied by several exclamation points.
Settling in and Sewing Away
The rest of the day was a blur of sewing, cutting, pressing, and piecing—all to the soundtrack of an audiobook I borrowed from my local library. At the end of the day, I had three blocks finished and two laid out on 18-inch Design Boards, waiting to be pieced.
I also had several other Triangle Paper sandwiches sewn together and ready for the next time I had a spare 30 minutes to work on a block, along with some chaos that needed taming!
Design Boards have been my best friend through this whole process, especially since I work in a shared space! I use them to organize my finished blocks, my blocks in progress, the sewn Triangle Paper sandwiches, and the extra squares and rectangles of background fabric that I need for the blocks. Then, I stack them all up, put my pattern and quilt journal on top, and my project is tidy, organized, and ready for next time.
What’s Next?
Right now, I am almost done piecing all the blocks for my quilt top! The holidays were a super busy time here at Fat Quarter Shop, and as the dust settles, the quilting is gonna start picking back up. Next time, I will be back with a completed quilt top, and more adventures as an (overly) confident beginner.
If you read to the end of each post during this series, I share a quilty secret with you!
Today’s secret is that for most of my life, I swore that I would never be a quilter. When I was little, you would be hard-pressed to convince me to stop crafting. I wanted to learn every medium, master every skill, and make anything I could… with the one avid exception of quilting.
At around 7 years old, I was sitting in Mrs. Kathy’s living room, and she had a HUGE quilt on her lap with a pretty pink binding. Mrs. Kathy was, and still is, one of the most talented quilters I know, and as she sat there, hand stitching the binding to the back of the quilt with teenie tiny stitches, I scoffed and said something akin to, “I’m never going to do quilting. It takes waaayyyyy too long to finish anything! Plus, I don’t like hand stitching like you do.”
This was a stance I maintained until the spring of 2024 when my best friend taught me EPP during her birthday weekend festivities, and I fell in love.
So, to Mrs. Kathy, I want to share the secret that I am now a quilter and love hand stitching—you were right! To everyone else, the secret is that, as a very precocious child, I sealed my fate as a future quilter by declaring that I would “never” be one.
Stay connected to Fat Quarter Shop!
2 comments
Your quilt blocks are lovely! So glad you came over to the quilty side 🙂
You are doing a great job! I enjoyed reading about your quilting journey.
You will develop your quilting style as you make more quilts. You will find what works for you.
I’m 73 and started quilting when I was 24. It has been a source of joy for me. It sounds like that is what is also happening to you.
I look forward to reading your next post.
Take care and thank you for sharing!