These are the Tutes for Week 3 (January 18-24th, 2010) E12, G9, H5, & BR11.

Please feel free to work ahead if you wish.

Notes for E12

this was the most annoying block of the week for me. i'm not to happy with the way mine turned out and will most likely make it again (regrouped) during our week off from block in February. its up on that quilt if you want to check it out.

1) Blunt the Corner on Unit C to make lining up the unit easier.

2) Sew the Center 4 Units (C & D and the 2 pieces between them) together to form the on-point squares with setting triangles.

3) Attach E & F to the center unit

4) Attach H & G to finish off the block.

E12 - an aside..............


when i redo E12, i'll try this regrouped pattern to see if it comes out any better.

1) Attach the 4 center Units to each other

2) Sew on the Short Sides Units E & F

3) Sew on Units G & H to finish the block


see notes on how to regroup in the DJ software here

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-33338-1.htm

Notes to G9

this block isn't that hard but be mindful of all the points. its up on that quilt if you want to check it out

1) Blunt the corner on Unit D to help with lining up the units

2) Attach Units D & E to Unit C

3) Attach Units F & G to Unit CDE that you just made

4) Attach Units A & B to finish off the block

Notes to H5

another fairly simple block but be mindful of the HST cornerstones.

1) Attach Units A & B to each other

2) Attach Units C & D to finish the block

Notes to BR11

this triangle looks harder than it really is.

1) Print as MIRROR & 5x8. If you are tracing from the book for paper piecing you should trace from the back or some how reverse the triangle.

2) Attach Units A & B to each other

3) Attach Unit C to the AB unit you just made

4) Attach Units E & G to each other

5) Attach Unit D to the EG unit you just made

6) Attach ABC Completed Section to the DEG completed Section.

7) Attach Unit F to the bottom to finish off the triangle.

You're a star! :-)

The blocks definitely look less scary when I see them in pieces ready to go together. I'm scrolling down thinking "yeah, I can do that", then it gets to the "finished" picture and I suddenly think "holy crap, that looks hard!"

So thank you for making this so easy for all of us! :-)

the only one to watch out for is E12 and those 4 little units in the center.

if you look i'm off on the bottom left point.

i re-stitched it 3 times (which is my cut off) and then said i'll come back to it on the "off" week if it still bothers me.

Yeah, I saw that. :-)

I'll hang my head in shame and admit it was nice to see a slightly less than perfect block! LOL

I like the "3 times" rule... I think sometimes even on easy piecing bits if it's just not working you can get into a hole and just need to take a break from it.

LMAO

you'll see many less than perfect blocks from me over the next 14 months.

some of those applique blocks are a killer..... and those kites, OMG kill me now - what was i thinking, making a jane quilt before i die.

It seemed like such a good idea at the time! LOL

I started re-doing work already today LOL but DH said last night not to worry about it & that if I want each block to turn out perfectly I should order the cheater fabric. What a guy! =)
I will start limiting myself to 3 attempts and see if I do better putting it away a while. Your blocks are gorgeous!

yes, put it away for a while.

this is why i liked the idea of having a week off every now and again (ESQ's brilliant idea).

this allows you to just say, ok i tried 3 times, i'm going to move onto the next block, and if, 5 weeks from now i'm still disappointed in the block i'll fix it during the week off period.

Klue is there any way to tell the DJ software not to split the foundation pattern peices between pages? Even if it takes more paper I am fine with that, but I hate taping pattern peices together.

You need to move them.... hit preview instead of print and there's a button with "move" on it. Hit that and you can drag them around on the page. It seems odd that it happily puts them over page joins, when it's so clever in other areas!

You're scaring me Klue
:x

I don't know about E12 just starting it, but BR11 was a breeze after doing BR2 from Wk2.

I haven't had a chance to look at the math on this one but I would do those center blocks as a cut down block. Sew the four fabrics( a four patch) together and cut the block the size needed,then make 3 of these and sew them in a row. Then add the side pieces. I know this is not paper piecing but it would help make that center easier to do. I make them all the time for bookmarks.

i look forward to see the tute rhonda

yes, this weeks triangle just looks tough it really isn't hard.

E12 can be a pest.

i didn't trim down that units corner and it didn't line up right. i think i'd have had better success if i blunted that piece.

Your E12 looks good Klue - I love your fabrics, especially the indigo.
The first one I did 3X, then did another 2x and then I took your advice and moved on. I have not had a problem PP previously with things lining up. That is the beauty of PP. Could it be because of the bulk and tiny piecing? I hope it's not the Tramadol I have to take to be able to sit and sew! If that's the case I'm in big doodoo!
I just finished BR11 to complete week 3. Not perfect but not bad. Moving on.
It's 2:30 AM. Time to count sheep!

yes, the size of these blocks and the tiny pieces pose the bulk of the problems.

if i were making this jane quilt to hang on a wall i'd be using 1/8 seams instead of 1/4 to reduce bulk and thereby ease of piecing and quilting.

the miniature jane i'm making is all 1/8 seams since its never going to be used as a utility quilt.

I have been trimming down to 1/8 due to bulk. The only bad thing is that seams won't be pressed open. Whoever quilts this for me will probably want to strangle me. LOL

yes, it is hard to press open 1/8 seams.

This might be horribly wrong, but when I've hit a bulky seam that won't open properly (usually because I haven't trimmed it well and there's more fabric than it's supposed to have) I put a little bit of spray starch into a shot glass and use a paintbrush to wet the seam from the wrong side. Then I drop the iron onto it and press (usual story, DON'T wriggle it around, just press down). The moisture relaxes the seam and lets it open, then the starch sets it so it can't shift back up when it dries.

great tip, i'm gonna give it a try

The biggest problem I can think of is distortion, but as long as you don't wiggle the iron around that takes care of that. And the fabric I'm using doesn't go shiny if I iron it too long, so no problems there either.

I'm pressing the vast majority of my seams open and it does make for nice flat blocks, especially when they're being stored and seem to "lift" after a length of time.

I think what makes me nervous is I've never seen anyone else do it, so maybe there's a catch I haven't come across yet! lol

You are one smart cookie!!!!!!!!

I always iron my seams open.When you are working on minis the raised edge you get from pressing to the dark is so much more noticable in minis. The open seam works so much better for me. Some seams will tend to fold over but I get the majority to lay flat. I spray with sizing and iron if it doesn't. I iron the dickens out of mine. I don't press I iron it within an inch of it's life because I want it flat! I never seem to have a distortion problem at least not one I have noticed.

There's always the sledge hammer for the flatest of flat!

ROTFLMAO

I can just picture it!

I am just finishing set one, thank goodness that set two looks so much easier!
I always iron my seams open and while I may sew them at a quarter inch, I trim them down to 1/8 inch. I am going to do my quilting so that shouldn't be a problem. I'll know that I have to give extra support to the seams.
Another thing I have been doing is to use the templates. When I cut the fabric, I cut them larger then the templates. Does take a few seconds longer but seems to work so much better. Takes less fabric also.

Hi Sunrise!
I'm cutting my seam allowance to 1/8 also. There's just too much bulk!

i'm doing this for my miniature jane

HHmmmm I have one of those somewhere now where did I put that thing?? LOL

I was crushing peppermint candy canes to put in divinity before Christmas and I was using my rollling pin. I complained that it wasn' t working as well as I wanted so DH says use the hammer! DUh! That is what I usually use! I just plain forgot! And guess what it does the job!!

I did a block yesterday and one today then realized that I was doing week 3. :-D I don't guess it matters. That E12 block was a bear.

LOL, thats the killer block so far for the project.

i'll be making mine again.

E12 was a bear!! I don't know if I'm redoing...but it makes me dread blocks that look hard from the get go.

KLue, i was going to start working on a tutorial for some of the curved blocks. Which ones are first, any idea? Also, any suggestions on making the tute...should I put it into a word document, then it can be downloaded? I have never made one before and want to do it as easy and transferrable as possible...I will need to be able to spend lots of time editing as it will be my first one.

i prefer either Word or PDF (some MAC people can't open word) for tutes that way people can download them and keep them.

i'm certainly not the best person at making tutes, i find explaining sewing processes in word a bit murky so i just use a lot of pics.

i've been thinking about have DH film some of the tutes for this very reason.

as far as curves coming up.....

we have F9, depending on how people want to attack that block, it could be made many ways - thats in February 22, 2010.

then we have H11, not sure if its a curve or a Y or some kind of hybrid, thats March 1, 2010.

and we have I4, which is kind of like F9, it can be attacked a few ways. thats in the same week as H11 - March 1, 2010.