WIP Wednesday: Texas Teardrops
It's the third week in May and I just got started on the Texas Teardrops Quilt Along back from the beginning of April; so basically that means things are proceeding as usual around here!
I love Vicki's Texas Teardrops quilt--great pattern, gorgeous fabric choices, and fantastic quilting. But when she offered the Sew Along, I hesitated, because I don't do applique. (Similar to how I "don't do windows"... I know how, but, um, I'd rather go to the dentist than do it.)
But I really did like the pattern!
So I decided to make it more appealing to sew by reducing it in size. My blocks measure 7" in size, and I'm making a table runner. Fewer blocks, smaller blocks. Do-able.
Here are my first four:
Here's what I don't like about applique: The lines aren't straight, so you can't use a ruler, and you draw/trace/cut the same.line.over.and.over. Ugh.
But Vicki recommended using a smaller rotary cutter to cut out the fabric shapes (scary!), so I tried it. I was surprised that it was pretty easy and actually kind of fun. Not to mention fast!
Four blocks down, six (or more) to go...and I'm late to the party, but I'm having fun!
Of course, the next step is stitching the shapes down, which means tracing the same shapes over and over again, but I just like to think of that as good machine quilting practice!
I love Vicki's Texas Teardrops quilt--great pattern, gorgeous fabric choices, and fantastic quilting. But when she offered the Sew Along, I hesitated, because I don't do applique. (Similar to how I "don't do windows"... I know how, but, um, I'd rather go to the dentist than do it.)
But I really did like the pattern!
So I decided to make it more appealing to sew by reducing it in size. My blocks measure 7" in size, and I'm making a table runner. Fewer blocks, smaller blocks. Do-able.
Here are my first four:
I picked textured tonals from Fabri-Quilt's Marblehead and Northcott's Stonehenge collections for the "teardrops" and used low-volume tonals from my stash for the background, something I've been itching to try on a project for a while now.
And my original rough idea, which then morphed into doing low-volume four-patches. (Seeing this photo, I'm wondering if I should have stuck with squares rather than four-patches?)
Here's what I don't like about applique: The lines aren't straight, so you can't use a ruler, and you draw/trace/cut the same.line.over.and.over. Ugh.
But Vicki recommended using a smaller rotary cutter to cut out the fabric shapes (scary!), so I tried it. I was surprised that it was pretty easy and actually kind of fun. Not to mention fast!
Four blocks down, six (or more) to go...and I'm late to the party, but I'm having fun!
Of course, the next step is stitching the shapes down, which means tracing the same shapes over and over again, but I just like to think of that as good machine quilting practice!
