Don't laugh too hard Joanne.... we don't want to be responsible for you breaking! ;-)

Welcome home, glad it went well! :-)

That's ok... I think I probably said I had! I've been getting foundation piecing and paper piecing mixed up. What I did was paper piecing, so I'll do pictures of that, if you do the machine piecing and templates?

Blue - just so I'm absolutely receiving you - did you piece it over paper templates?

K x

lol
Yep.... I think that's called paper piecing? I tacked the fabric onto paper templates that I printed out, and then hand sewed the seams together.

As I was tacking, I was actually thinking next lot I'm going to print the templates on freezer paper, and just iron down the seam allowance instead of tacking by hand. It would usually be a waste, but as I'll be making more than one, I think it would be worth it. And would save time.

Thanks Blue - I thought that's what you meant! I think I'll try them that way too!

K x

I think the paper piecing BC did is called English paper piecing. That's not a derogatory term! That's how hexagons were originally pieced - all by hand - after being tacked down on paper hexagons, they were whip stitched together.

Not derogatory at all - in fact, I'm rather proud to have it named after my country! :D It was the first thing I learned and I still do it! I've done a star of Bethlehem quilt, tumbling blocks and I've got some Dutch chintz stars and a Granny's Flower Garden in progress, all using that method! It's also widely practiced in Holland too! It's a great pick up and put down project and it's very portable. Good for kids too - if the templates are right then points all match without hassle! Sorry - I'm a bit 'evangelical' about it! :D

K x

How cute is that! Well done, you.

You guys are an absolute HOOT! It's too early in the morning to be giggling my butt off. My animals think I'm nuts...guess you guys and I will be good company for each other, :lol:

Joanne: I sure hope you get to feeling better really soon. Just this morning I sent out reminders to all my loved ones to remember to have their mammy's grammed. Early detection of potetial problems is so important. I'll be keeping you in my special prayers for a speedy recovery.

Sorry for the hijacked thread, but this is impt - don't just get mammos - do self exams - that's how I found mine - didn't show on mammos

GREAT ADDITION/ SUGGESTION. Thank you.

Hello,

Hey, you did a great job! And so quickly, too! I gave my own quilt teacher a couple of unfinished and torn blocks that were coming apart so she could draft her own pattern for our class next semester, but she hasn't even started yet. I'm really impressed that you were able to do this from just my pictures. And your details turned out too cute. I would never think of adding details like buttons and lace and pockets - my own blocks, if I were to do this for a block-of-the-month, would end up being mu-muus or nightgowns rather than party dresses. And the hems would all be crooked, just like every real dress I ever tried to sew.
Good job, and thanks for posting.

Enn the flowergirl

Pam and BC--love your blocks; both are adorable. Thanks Pam for sharing and thanks to BC for putting them into PDFs. Now can I turn back the clock 35 years to save more of my kids clothes?

Enn, I know what you mean about the muumuu's and uneven hems. I'm afraid my blocks will look like they belong to Roseanne. Or Lucy when she's got some 'splainin' to do! LOL. But dadgummit, I want to try one, but I'm scheduled to work the next 4 days (nights) in a row, and since I work 12.5 hour shifts and commute an hour each way, there's no way! :cry: Oh well, there's always next week.

Pam and BC, you ARE goddesses!

Pam and Blue Chicken, I add my thanks to the growing list.
I already downloaded and saved all of the patterns you drafted and printed out a copy of each, including the 12-inch blocks. I'll be bringing them to my last quilt class tonight and let the ladies in my class fight over them, too.
I will be making up my own "Boy Blocks" after I finish 3 WIPs ahead of these blocks on the table, including setting some "Sunbonnet Sue" blocks that came in the same box as the "Square Dance" blocks. I will tell you the fun is all in the details. Some of the details on the blocks I have make me cry, they are sooooo cute. One of the ladies had ribbon embroidery in the "old World" costume style - think Hungarian or German traditional dance costumes. The raggedy patches on some of the boys knees - I would never have thought up those! And some of the boys seem to have belts glued on. One lady added a folded neckerchief under the boy's collar, another added a copper rivet on her boy's pants, I could go on and on exclaiming over these little details. Talk about playing with paper dolls!!

Wow. I turn my back for a minute to deal with finals week at school and y'all just whizzed right on past me! I'm still coughing up the dust from the flurry of activity here! (Oh wait, no, that's the dust in my own house. Now that finals are over I need to pull out my green machine and clean my desk chair here. My daughter was dancing the other day and bumped into this chair and you could see the cloud of dust poof into the air from my kitchen! I hang my head in embarrassment and shame. I painted a sign to hang in my front entry - "I cleaned last week, sorry you missed it", because when I get sewing...)

Well, grass seems to be growing under my feet while you ladies are taking off at full speed. I finish up some blocks for the block exchange for my final class tonight, I need to start cutting the fabric for the Sunbonnet SUe blocks, I need to iron out and get the thread for the quilt that is backed and tacked and ready to quilt, I need to sew up the seams on 2 more quilts, uhm, I have a lot of work to do this week to finish up. But if I finish it up this week, next week - the Square Dance blocks will get their turn!

Thanks tremendously.

Enn The Flowergirl

Thank you for the pictures and PDF's of the block templates. I will have great fun doing this project. Now sooooo sorry that I don't have the scraps of fabrics that I made my granddaughters clothes from when they were little but you can't keep everything. I'll go thru all the fabrics and trims I have saved to do crazy quilting. I'll post pics when I get some done and I learn how to actually post pics. lol

That's just about the cutest block I've ever seen. Thanks fir sharing.

One year later I will give everyone an update on these "Square Dance" blocks. One wall hanging top is completed! The others ---- I am waiting for a friend with an embroidery machine to do some embroideries for me to add to my blocks I made before I sew them into the 4 other wall hanging quilt tops. The project is sitting on my kitchen table right now, waiting for those embroideries. The project is not dead, just simmering on a back burner until it all comes together. And I haven't forgotton you ladies, either, I've just been dealing with my life and other projects. As soon as I get those embroderies from my friend, this project will be back on track. (giggle, I hope. But you know how it is where you start a project with good intentions and so many years later...)

hi flowergirl glad you see your back ,can wait to what you,ve done with your beauitful block,s projects ,yep 1 year later want to see the out come

Pittsburg Pam and Blue Chicken,
I think the blocks are wonderful and appreciate all the time and energy that you've put into them. I'm wondering about the EQ6 program. Will your files translate to EQ5? I have EQ5 and would like to be able to make the adjustments as needed and to print directly to the freezer paper, etc. Thanks,

Ellen

I don't know if the EQ6 project will work in EQ5. I have EQ6 but I can't say off the top of my head what version BC has.

If you PM me your email address I can send the project file to you.

what does the EQ6 mean and how can i get a pattern to this to print for the girls dress and the boys pants and shirt one...

MOOMOO,

EQ6 is a quilting design software but the patterns you want are on page 2 & 3. Hope this helps.

That is a fantastic block. It is something that I might like to do myself. Anxious to see what you make.

Oh how cute!

really cute

How adorable. Very clever - thanks for sharing

That is so cute!!! Are you doing a quilt?

Thanks for sharing. This is too cute.

I love it, great block. Would love to have pattern.

That is so pretty. Everything looks perfect.

I do not have the EQ 5 anymore, but regardless, if you do have the oppertunity to pull it into a pdf file, I would be extremely grateful. Since I just printed out the entire thread I will see if I can pull some of the dimensions for cutting. That is adorable. I can see just four of these little dresses in different colors as a wall hanging for a little girls room. Heck for my room. What a great gift idea.

thank you,

Very, very cute! You did an excellent job.

Ladies, thank you for the work you put into these. I am thinking of letting my nearly 6 yr old DGD pick fabrics from my stash and decorate them her way. I know we will have such a great time. Got to get with it as school starts around the 9th of Aug here in AZ. I am in the middle of sorting what little fabric I have but I am sure she will find plenty of different dresses for us to make. Thanks.

Very cute!

You are so clever!

I agree, this is too cute! :thumbup:

These are so cute, can't wait to see what I can come up with.I don't know if I can do the paper piecing, or even the tiny seems as I have arthritis in my hands, but if I can't, I am thinking I could maybe do them applique. You did such a great job with all of this, and it was fun seeing how excited all the "family" got.

What a great job ! Can't wait to see more! : :-D :thumbup: