Dazzle Quilt Along Week 11

   It's here - the week we put together the quilt top! It's Week 11 of the Dazzle Quilt Along.

These posts will always be available so start when you're ready!

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This is my favourite week! It's time to sew the blocks together to make the quilt top. The Dazzle quilt reveals it's secondary pattern this week. Take a look!

The lap size is quite large and I needed more room than my design wall to lay out blocks. Lucky for me I can use the my queen size bed for this task. I would sew a row then return it to the bed to keep the rows in order and out of the way.

Follow the instructions in the pattern to assemble the rows. The one piece of advice I have at this stage is that all of the corner triangles were ironed the same direction when making the blocks; at this point I finger pressed some to make the seams nest. It's not necessary to do this - and the performance icon I'm using by PFAFF does a great job of sewing evenly over these seams - but if you find your blocks are not coming out the way you would like, try finger pressing one seam in the opposite direction. 

Once the quilt top is assembled there are two things to do: iron all the new seams and sew 1/8 " all the way around the outside edge of the quilt. These stitches keep your outside seams from unravelling and give the seams extra stability. If you plan to have your quilt finished by a long arm quilter they may also request you add this row of stitches - my local one does.

My Dazzle for this week - besides the quilt top? I played 'bobbin chicken' sewing that final row of stitches to the quilt edge and won! 

Enjoy putting together the Dazzle quilt top this week. 

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Dazzle Quilt Along Week 10

   Week 10 is here for the Dazzle Quilt Along.

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Block E

I named the blocks in this quilt D and E because each is the name of the main fabric in each block. I think my brain works a bit differently when naming the pieces and fabrics for a quilt and I hope it doesn't confuse you too much! I have always been a 'block-of-the-month' quilter and labelling fabrics for a whole quilt is still a learning process for me as a pattern designer.

Here is Block E with it's beautiful fuschia from Allison Glass.

I love the POP of brightness this fabric adds to the block. I can see myself making another Dazzle quilt with Allison's new fabrics too - they are even brighter!

This photo shows you the non-directional nature of the middle fabric and how it works so well to add another element to the design. Notice the small scale of the birds as well and how they create a bit of movement and interest. I didn't have too worry about how to set the center fabric as I made the blocks which is nice too - just sew the units together and the block is done.

Remember to follow the pressing directions in the pattern so the blocks will nest together next week with the Block Ds.

The dazzle in my sewing space this week is this wonderful pair of embroidery scissors. They are nice and sharp and pointy and I love using them. I use them for cutting my threads and don't feel bad at all about not using them for embroidery - they work great for the job I use them for and that's what's imporant to me right now. I also like how the handles are both the same size so they can be used easily if you are right or lefthanded; something I noticed when my daughter was sewing with me last year (she's a lefty).

We are sooo close to done the quilt top! The finished blocks may not fit in the storage container you've been using to store the Dazzle quilt parts; try to keep them flat and ready to be sewn together next week.

Stay safe and keep quilting!

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Dazzle Quilt Along Week 9

   Week 9 is here for the Dazzle Quilt Along. This week we start making blocks!

These posts will always be available so start when you're ready!

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Putting the pieces together

This is the week to put together the Block Es of the Dazzle Quilt. All that precise piecing and trimming will start paying off as you sew them into blocks.

Follow the pressing directions in the pattern to have seams that meet and overall flat blocks. The blocks will nest nicely with next week's blocks too! 

You can see in the block how the two background fabrics contrast with the center design.

The center shoofly starts to appear in the blocks too.

What's dazzling in my sewing space this week? My purple pincushion! This pincushion was made using the built in stitches on the PFAFF performance icon. I used pins this week to assemble the quilt blocks because of their size. 

  Pincushion and Threadcatcher are matching scrap projects

Whether you're keeping up or just beginning, I'm glad you're here quilting with me!

Leave a comment and let me know what's dazzling in your sewing space this week.

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Dazzle Quilt Along Week 8

   Week 8 is here for the Dazzle Quilt Along.

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Geese and Squares

These are the last units to assemble before we put the blocks together! This time we are going to do ALL the Geese and Square units of both colors to get them DONE. Are you with me? :)

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These units should go together quite easily, but you might run into some uneven edges on your flying geese units. Don't worry! Here are some tips to help:

The flying geese unit on the left has an even edge and 1/4" seam allowance the full length of the edge. You can see that when it was sewn to the square below that the edges of both pieces aligned and that the seam allowance was accurate because the seam went right over where the two seams on the goose block intersected. This is what you want - to have the seam go through that spot.

Notice the unit on the right does not have an even edge. In this case I lined up the seam allowance as best I could which left some of the square showing at the edge. If the amount showing is less than 1/4" it's not a problem - the seam will still join the units and the 1/4" seam allowance will be maintained. Not ideal, but it will work. I had several units where a small part of the square fabric was showing through at the edge and I used the geese blocks anyway. The only time I wouldn't is if the 1/4" seam allowance couldn't be sewn - then I would need another goose block.

Some would call this tip, how to 'fudge', but really, it's just something you learn to deal with the longer you quilt. If when you press the seam you can still see the flying geese point, then all is well with your quilt. Even if it's a little tucked under the seam the unit should still be usable. With practice, you'll get better at fudging too ;)

This week's dazzle is this fun little Singer sewing machine container that my mother in law found and gave to me. You can see some of the sparkle on the container in the photo. It doesn't have a use yet, but it does make me happy!

Here's to another week of quilting. Stay safe and support your local quilt shop!

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Dazzle Quilt Along Week 7

   Week 7 is here for the Dazzle Quilt Along.

These posts will always be available so start when you're ready!

You can find a link to all of the posts in one spot - right here.

Newsletter subscribers have access to a free weekly tracker for this Quilt Along :)

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More Corner Units

There's only a month left to go in this quilt along! Of course you could work ahead, but this weekly pace was planned to help you make a little progress while working on other projects. 

I also thought it might be hard for you - like it is for me - to get into quilting right now; having just a little bit to do can be the nudge you need to sit down in front of your machine for a few minutes. 

So, here we are:)

This week's units go together in the same fashion as last weeks so it might be more enjoyable to sew all the bits together. Again these units make me excited as I know they are key to the overall design in the quilt pattern.

Remember to follow the pressing directions as written in the pattern!

I've started taking photos of things I keep in my sewing space that add a special touch - make the room (or me) dazzle a bit because of it's presence. This handmade ornament was a Christmas gift from a quilty friend one year. I think it looks dazzling with the fabrics in this quilt.

I hope this week has you feeling a bit optimistic about the final steps for this quilt. These last two weeks were the most intensive as far as sewing together small units. 

Keep quilting! With Joy,

Sarah V.

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