Sew Sunday ~ Riley Black Quilt Update

It's been unusually HOT here in the Pacific Northwest, so I've been spending the weekend in my air conditioned sewing room.  As a result I've made some good progress on my Modern Quilt Guild Riley Black Designs Cottage Garden by the Quilted Fish Fabric Challenge. That is a mouthful!

Part of the challenge is to try something you've never done before.  I've been wanting to do a modern dresden plate since I saw fellow South Sound Modern Quilt Guild member, Kathy Buchli's, quilt.  (Clicky)  That was over a year ago.  The techniques and tools used are new to me, but I find them fun, and perhaps a little addictive.  The center circles are machine sewn with a blanket stitch while the out edges of the plate are sewn by hand.  It's such a relaxing way to spend the evenings.  While doing some "research" online, aka watching youtube videos & looking at sewing blogs, I came across a great tip for getting your project to lay flat.

It's all in the pressing. While my piece is still warm from the iron I lay a " flat weight" on top of it so that it stays flat as it cools.  You could use a book or a magazine, but I grabbed my 12.5" template.  So far this has been working VERY well for me.  I might try it for all my future piecing.  Sorry that I can't remember the original source of this tip, but it wasn't from a quilter.  It was actually a tip for garment sewing I believe.

As I mentioned, this was my first time sewing Dresdens.  I had no idea how large they would be.  This created a bit of a problem.  I knew going into this that I didn't want all my Dresdens to line up in a row.  My thought was to sew each of the dresdens to a center of 16" block and then add 4.5" strips to 2 sides of the blocks in the four corners.  The middle block would be completely centered inside a 20" block.  I got to work on sewing all 4 corner blocks.  Then I went to cut  my fabric for the remaining blocks, including the center block and realized I only had a yard of fabric left.  NOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo!!!!

This is what happens when I create patterns on my own and don't pay attention to math.  It's also what happens when you buy fabric from 3 or more shops and can't remember which one you got this particular shade of grey.  It all worked out in the end, but I spent a few hours yesterday hitting the "local" fabric stores trying to figure out who made this perfect light shade of grey.   I was sure it was from Sisters in Chehalis, WA, but I was wrong.

Next I went to Quilter's Junction in Centralia, WA to see if they carried it.  I have an embarrassing story to share about that, but it will have to wait until Tuesday's post.  For now I will give a shout out to Rita Whalen and tell her thank you for your help.

Finally I went up to Ruby Street Quiltworks in Tumwater, WA.  I really should have gone there first because they do have the biggest selection of solids, but I honestly thought I had bought it at Sisters when I went in for their row-by-row license plate.  btw- the color is Vapor, but I still can' remember the name of the manufacturer.  It's on my receipt though, so I can easily find it.   I love that Ruby Street prints out the names of the fabric and keeps a record in their store so you can easily find additional fabric.  As long as it hasn't sold out.

How are you doing on your A Lovely Year of Finishes Goal?  I'm hopeful mine will be completed on time.  As long as the AC holds out.