Saturday 12 November 2022

Following the Curve

I am the lucky recipient of a quilter's generosity. I feel so blessed to know such wonderful people as you all. Some of you know that my friend Pink found an Accuquilt Go in a second-hand store. All the dies (knives) were missing so in a note on my blog I asked if anyone had some they would be willing to sell. Cathy raised to the occasion and sent me not one, not two, but THREE dies! How generous is that?

I am trying my hands at sewing curves with the Drunkard's Path die.

Setting the two simple pieces straight.

Pins

and the sewing is not that good. Some puckering occurred. Try again.

 
More pins.

 Ugh! 

I am sewing so slowly that the machine stalls every now and again. It reminds me of the first time I sat behind the wheel of my boyfriend's car. I said, "Hey, look. I got this. This is easy," as the car was slowly rolling down the street. He looked at me with a funny face and said, "You have to press down on the gas pedal. This is idle speed!!" Haha. I married that guy. :^D

Anywho! Here are the others. 



Okay, so I'm getting better. By next Saturday, I'll be able to sew these without pins. Haha! I'm such a joker! 


The other dies are the Diamond to make Tumbling Blocks and this one. 

I'll keep practicing with one curve before tackling three curves. This is my challenge for 2023. 
Thanks again, Cathy, I just can't say this enough. May blessings fall upon you too. 

I manage to make some wee sewing as leader-enders. 



Last week, we had our Artisanat meeting. I came home with some gifted scrap bags. Someone sewed triangles of the same fabric together. I am slowly taking them apart to turn them into something else. I do this during my lunch break at work. 

Done and pressed 

Waiting to be press

Still plenty for my lunches next week

There are a lot of two colours HSTs also. Of all sizes, it seems. 

I received another panel sewn to a piece of cheap batting. I used the first one as the backing for Stars in Blue. I guess the person liked what I did with her panel and decided to give me the pink one too. Shall I make a Stars in Pink? 

Today I am sewing with the Artisanat ladies. We were commissioned to make adult bibs for some residences. 60 bibs were called. More about this in my next post. 

Have a lovely day. 

;^) 

Joining 
Angela at So Scrappy 
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts 
Cynthia for Oh Scrap! 










13 comments:

Deb A said...

I have one of those DP dies that I need to give a try. Your blocks are looking good. What size is your finished piece? Maybe I'll play with my DP die for 2023 as well! Have a great weekend.

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Bravo, ce sont des courbes très réussies ! J'aime bien ce tissu avec les épis de maïs et le coq ;)

Fiona said...

Hellooooo, so good to catch up and see your lovely work.... so much going on as usual and how wonderful to get those dies. I found pinning drunkards path from the other side was easier...(Ie the thin side on top) not sure why but may be worth trying.
Take care....xx
Hugz

Cathy said...

It was totally my pleasure to gift you with those dies, Chantal! I’ve been so blessed with scrap donations from friends and fellow quilters and felt a need to pay it forward! xo. I love seeing your sewing (and painting!!). xo

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

what generosity - you will get the hang of curves in fact there are videos that show how to do that block with no pins at all! all you need is a pair of tweezers to hold the ends together when you get to it. If you want the link let me know

PaintedThread said...

I'm one of those crazy people that sew curves without pins. Maybe one on the end or in the middle so I know if everything starts to shift. Curves should get easier with practice. Good luck with this!

Sylvia@Treadlestitches said...

Nice going, tackling the curved seams! I have the Drunkard's Path die, and I made a whole stack of blocks. (I wonder where they are. I should go look for them.) I used two pins, one in the middle and one at the end, and used the sewing machine needle to hold the beginning. It works okay with a treadle, I can go really slow. Good luck, practice really does make it easier. How kind of you to make bibs for the adults.

Lin said...

Such generosity.Hope you had fun sewing with friends. xx

SueR said...

I have a devil of a time with curves in general and particularly Drunkard's Path, so I avoid them to the greatest extent possible. Recently I came across a tip from somewhere, where instead of pinning, the quilter glue basted the curve. I would like to try that and see if it makes it any easier--sure seems like it might, especially if you made pin dots of glue right along the seam line. Washable glue of course!

Barb said...

Oh I feel your curved sewing pain and pinning! But it looks like you've gotten the hang of it.
sweet little leader/enders.
Thank you for making charity bibs such a great idea

Tracy said...

I have sewn a few drunkards path quilts, and curved blocks, and the tip I got from class was to sew with the concave cut piece on top. Going slowly and easing the bias cut of the concave piece onto the convex one will help those curves lay flat and even. Using a tweezer or orange stick helps too.

The Joyful Quilter said...

Lunchtime sewing? How very industrious of you, Chantal!!

Bonnie said...

Curves are definitely a challenge. The more you make the better you will get. (really!) Try just pinning the 2 sides and one in the middle. Then slowly ease it around without tugging on it. My die is probably only 4" finished since it is part of a cube add on. I think Tracy is on to something too... concave on top.