Anyone else stitching along with Jenn McMillan and her #100daysummersewalong? You know I'm always on the lookout for my next hand-stitching project, so Jenn's sew-along is perfect. Plus it's a little different than my normal embroidery, rather creating a hand-pieced quilt block every day.
Deciding what to do is always an issue, and I finally settled on the traditional bow-tie block. Ever since I learned my grandma made #bowtiequilts, I knew I needed to try my hand at one too. I'm using a tutorial by Wynn Tan of Zakka Art. It includes a template, and to make the best use of my chosen fabrics, I am actually making two sizes of blocks, 2.5" and 3". I know that will complicate things when it comes to quilt construction, but it will also challenge me to create a more modern layout - we hope!
For fabric, I really wanted to sew from stash, and for the block backgrounds, I had enough Kona Enchanted, the 2020 Kona Color of the Year. I guess I stocked up and never got around to using it - perfect! I also found a custom 6" charm pack I'd purchased from Katie Pederson years ago....a mix of wonderfully varied purple prints that play off the Enchanted nicely. That only got me so far though, so I also am incorporating a Social by Melody Miller charm pack and some scraps to bring me to 100 unique fabrics. Minor caveat: due to the second charm pack, there will be blocks with the same design, but different colorways. Hoping there will be plenty of contrast and interest with that dark background.
One little thing I did want to mention, and may expand on later, is that I used a sandpaper board (see photo above) when marking sewing lines on all my blocks. I actually got that decades ago in my beginning quilting class, and it works so well to stabilize the fabrics as I draw those lines. Anyway, now I'm all prepped and ready to start my summer stitching on June 1! Anyone joining me?
It sounds like you are going to have a fun time for 100 days. I can’t do anything the same for even several days, let alone 100 days. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteDoing all the prep work ahead of time is really going to make that a lot more enjoyable (or it would for me, anyway). What day does the 100 days kick off on?
ReplyDeletefabulous! I can't wait to see it come together
ReplyDeleteCurious how this is hand sewn.
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon - sorry I don't have your email to respond directly. I plan to sew the center square of the feature fabric to each of the 'tie' sections. Then I'll add the background pieces. Yes, y-seams are involved to do that, but when stitching by hand, that is very simple - just stitch to the seam line, adjust fabric, and keep on stitching.
DeleteCan't wait to see all of your blocks.
ReplyDeleteI’m so impressed that you did all the prep work ahead of time so that all you’ll be doing is the hand sewing! This should be a fun one - can’t wait to see the blocks start to appear on here! 😀
ReplyDeleteI plan to join and stitch along. I have several hand piecing projects in the works and am trying to decide whether to focus on finishing one of those...or starting a new one!
ReplyDelete