Piecing from Sisters Sampler & Bloc-Loc Rulers ~

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happy friday greetings to you all ~

as i’ve said recently, i learning to piece…and to piece accurately, with the end result becoming  {pardon the puns} of myself and the piecing living in harmony and peace together!!  ~ lol ~  i have often described my personality as a ‘wanna-be type A’ but really ~ at my best day i’m more like a B+ !!

having worked so many years for serious Type A personalities {judges, their secretary’s and lawyers}, i have had to learn {and re-learn} when to be more particular, and how and when… to relax!  it’s vital to remind myself that i can get an attitude ~ ya know ~ that “attitude of perfection” that will most certainly rob me of joy, and give only frustration in return.

it’s okay {really it is} to figure things out by messing up the first time. that’s the learning curve, and we {and by we, i mean me!} tend to forget that the JOY is in the LEARNING.  sometimes that learning curve is a bit shorter… sometimes {and some days} much longer!   it’s the second and third time screw-ups that make me uptight!  and therein, lies the best lesson.   it’s quite simple: be flexible.  cut myself some slack–as i re-cut those pieces!!  yay!  even if i am cutting things twice {or three times!}

Very. Big. Smile.

so ~ enter my pretty blocks.  yes, three {or four blocks} later, I am learning more.  and enjoying everything about it all the more, too.  

i pulled dragged out the embroidery unit for my bernina 830, and using the new OESD embroidery designs from alison glass, {one of my favorite fabric designers},  i dusted off the cobwebs of my mind and learned {translated: how to remember} how to embroider ~ again…! so here is one example of how i am using the embroidery design as the centerpiece of the block, adding piecework to make it into the appropriate full-size block, which each will be 9″ for my final quilt top.  {i purchased the embroidery designs from the the sewing palace bernina.}

and then the Sisters Sampler book calls for some “string piecing.”  oh boy!  I ADORE how it looks…but yes… i had to cut a couple times and learn.  but i am really tickled with the outcome.  {so i had to throw a few pieced paper strings away} it’s pretty impossible to remove the super small stitching on paper and have everything remain undistorted… but finally i got one that is most excellent…. this one looks great! pressed properly, with the angles going in a pleasing {and correct} direction…and then pieced with halfsquare triangles.  i love it!

all of my pieced blocks are from the book: Sister Sampler Quilts. and i’m also loving a tool that is helping me improve my piecing skills:  the blocloc rulers!  these rulers have a groove,\ that has been routed out on the bottom, and it locks onto your seam.  it actually straightens the seam, and allows a nice, accurate cut.  their website is wonderful, lots of rulers to choose from, and well done video tutorials on how to use them to maximize their functionality properly.  i purchased the half-square triangles set. i’m showing three below; the 3, 2 and 1 inch sizes, but i saved a little dough by purchasing the whole set of six, which goes up to 6.”

so, that’s my piecing stories for now … piece by piece! i’m super excited to put them together in a variety of quilt styles from the book.

have a great weekend.  i can’t wait to discover more new blocks, and see what i can see!

bless your day, wherever you are.