Monday, May 27, 2019

Kim Diehl's Simple Friendships II Stitch-Along Mystery Sampler - Week 3

We’ve passed the half-way point of the Simple Friendships II Stitch-Along! Stitching for Week 3 includes the patchwork UNITS to make two 4 1/2” Flock of Geese blocks (beginning at Kindle location 895). Please note that I said UNITS, not finished and assembled blocks because we’ll be changing things up when we piece the quilt top together.
For this week’s homework, Kim encourages you to fearlessly tackle the small triangle units - if you’re not used to stitching small pieces, think of them as little skill builders. And, with only four units, what have you got to lose? With all of that being said, if you’d like to keep things simple and ditch the four small triangle units, Kim is offering an easy “Plan B” substitution: simply replace the four small triangle units by repeating the cutting and piecing directions to make a grand total of eight large half-square-triangle units (instead of the originally specified four).

To access this week’s instructions, Click Here


Please continue sharing your weekly progress using the #SimpleFriendships2QAL label so we can ogle your patchwork.

Here are a few tips for this week’s patchwork:
 1.) For the large AND small half-square-triangle units, use the previously shared tip for using a scant 1/4” seam allowance and trimming the units to the specified size.

 2.) For this week’s smaller scale patchwork, Kim suggests applying a misting of Best Press (or starch) to the prints you’ll be cutting from, and then press them flat with a hot iron; this will stabilize the fabrics for the sewing steps. 

3.) Kim's favorite “secret weapon” for stitching small patchwork is to use a slightly smaller needle in my sewing machine, such as a size 75/11 machine quilting needle. Finer needles slide through the cloth more easily and reduce the chances of the pieces becoming snagged as they’re fed under the presser foot — she hates it when her machine eats her patchwork!

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