 Last weekend I worked hard to finish piecing my T quilt blocks from Quilt Camp. I used Moda Cake Mix Recipe #2 and stitched the T block - T for Terri, of course. Mom gave me the layer cake (Sew & Sew by Chloe's Closet) to use. I had 4 yards of dark gray Kona that I used for the background, and I bought yardage for the border and binding.  I thought I'd share some info and tips that we ladies at Quilt Camp discovered when working with the Moda Cake Mix Recipes: ** When pinning the paper to your layer cake squares, be sure to pin the corners so the fabric doesn't accidentally flip under and get stitched on where you don't want it to be stitched on. ** The instructions say to press to one side or the dark side, and that is good advice. However, when you decide which block layout you are going to use you may need to go back and press some pieces in the other direction if you want your seams to nest nicely together. You'll have to see what works best for you. ** You can experiment with block layouts by making several copies of the cover page of the Cake Mix Recipe and cutting out the block suggestions. Move the pieces around and play with different layouts. I actually scanned mine into the computer and cut and pasted images into a document and moved them around to see what I liked best. ** Do shorten your stitch length some but not too much. Too much will lead to too much thread build up. The main reason for shortening the stitch length is to perforate the paper so that it tears off easily. Are you curious about what the inside of the Cake Mix Recipe package looks like? The middle picture is the paper that you stitch on, following the arrows. There are 45 sheets of paper included. The third picture is the inside cover. There are some directions inside and general ideas about how many blocks you can make, size options, layout options, sizes with sashing, etc. These are just ideas. You can use these however you like! It's a good idea to look for those great informative online videos before you start sewing for more helpful instruction.  You can see that I pieced my blocks together with no sashing, added a 2" border of the background fabric, then added a wider outside border. These fabrics have such a fun vintage feel to them. I'm so happy I chose that particular print for the border. I like the secondary design that forms where the T blocks come together, too.   Even outdoor cats like to get involved with quilting when they can!
I hope seeing my quilt project has inspired you to sew this weekend! Don't be afraid to try something new like a Moda Cake Mix Recipe. I've really enjoyed seeing other people's Cake Mix Recipe projects for ideas/options/possibilities, especially on Instagram. Maybe you'll consider the T block for yourself! Have a great night, friends!
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 It's hard to believe that a week ago tonight I was on my way to State College, PA, for Quilt Camp, and now it's over already! My mom, aunts, cousin and I spent the weekend together sewing quilt blocks and talking and laughing. This year we didn't want the stress of working on a project that we would try to get done in a weekend. So we made blocks using the new Moda Cake Mix Recipe papers and worked at our own pace. Above you can see my machine and stitching on the paper with layer cake fabric squares. It was fun because we could each choose which recipe and design we wanted to make, and everyone's is a little (or a lot) different. Today I'll show you everyone's work in progress. Here we go....  First is my cousin Emma's. Emma is new to sewing and quilting, so we each taught her a few things throughout the weekend, and she is doing great! Emma isn't sure how she is going to lay out her blocks, but I told her to experiment so that I had something to photograph. My artsy cousin will create something beautifully unique, I'm sure!  This one is Mom's block. She decided to make hers into a sampler so that each block is different. Sometimes it's just more interesting and fun to sew that way.  Brenda is making hers with Christmas fabric (she can't resist Christmas fabric). She spent a lot of time trying to decide what layout to make, and this was her favorite. Love it!!  Sharon and Alice both loved the same layout that they found online. Sharon's is above, and Alice's is below. They cut their own 10" squares. Sharon mixed different blue fabrics, and Alice chose just 2 fabrics. It's difficult to tell the size here, but these quilt centers are 32" square, I believe. They each got at least half of their blocks made!!    The blocks above are mine - the T block - T for Terri (I decided that I will keep this quilt for myself :-). There are four 16" blocks so far.
Eventually I'll be quilting this tops, so you'll have to be very patient and wait to see them finished. Everyone liked using the Cake Mix Recipe papers. There isn't much measuring involved, and if you do it right the pieces fit together very nicely. It's so nice to have wonderful family, and we love to spend time together sharing our love of quilting.  I'm leaving in just a few minutes for QUILT CAMP, and when I get there tonight I'll get to give Aunt Alice her quilts that I recently finished for her. This first one is a pattern from Missouri Star Quilt Company, but I don't know the name and don't have enough time to look it up (I'm packing my bags for Quilt Camp as I type this and wait for the pics to upload :-)  The second quilt is a Halloween quilt made in kind of a tossed 9-patch pattern. It's really fun and almost kind of an I-spy with all the Halloween cats mixed in throughout the quilt. I quilted it with dark gray thread and the Bauhaus pantograph design.   Thanks, Aunt Alice, for letting me quilt for you!!
I'm looking forward to a fun weekend of sewing with my family. Next Friday I hope to share some of what we make with you. Have a great weekend!! |
This is me...I LOVE to quilt, and every day I must sew for my sanity! Archives
March 2020
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