meet the twins …
I really loved making these gals, though my report card would definitely read ‘could have done better…’ a bit wonky and a few flatness issues (as in they won’t lay flat) which I am worried may prove an issue when it comes to quilting ….?
Was it a challenge? Yes, though not as scary as you may first imagine. This was my first leap into curved piecing & I love to learn a new technique so I really enjoyed the challenge.
Any tips? Take your time, be organized – the pattern (Denyse Schmidt – Single Girl) is written so well, follow it.
Any helpful hints? When piecing the blocks you are very close to a lot of seams (you butt the circles right up close) I found my zipper foot worked great here, I could get in close without fear of my foot ‘slipping’.
Would I do anything different? Yep, I think would cut the background fabric a tad larger than the template to allow for easier squaring up. I think this would have helped a lot with the piecing of the blocks. While the individual blocks appeared to be behaving themselves, the piecing of the blocks started the ‘bubbling’ effect.
Would I make this pattern again? Absolutely! (though maybe not this week! lol!).
One of these Single Girl tops will be headed to her new home shortly, I hope she won’t be too much of a disappointment :/ though I am sure she will be loved, wonky bits and all ;) The other gets to live here & will be hand quilted..watch this space…
Thanks to my fabulous quilt holders, Helen & Lou ….
& here I am giggling with ‘the girls’ & the tail end of Jimmy the dog …
Have you made this pattern? How did you go with it? …
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Not one but two amazing quilts!!
This one (only one for me cos I’m a quilting wimp) is on the must make soon list so I’ll be reading these tips with care!!
OMG!!! You have finished!! These look utterly fantastic Nova, I am in shock that you have made two! This will definitely kick me into gear. Wow!
They look great! I’ve had this pattern for ages but haven’t been brave enough to give it a try– my ability to follow directions is lacking, plus cutting all of those pieces freaks me out a bit. So I am very impressed that you did two quilts!
I find that any issues with the quilt top not laying flat are often fixed through basting, quilting, and the final wash. Good luck!
This pattern scares me too – even though I have had it sitting in my pile of ‘must try’ things for aaages! Yours looks fabulous – both of them! LOVE the grey backgrounds.
Wow they are really impressive wonky bits & all! Well done! Now I want to try it! lol
Just remember in regard to the wonky bits – you aren’t supposed to sniff the quilts, you are meant to look at them from a bit further away – so people shouldn’t be looking quite so closely to see the bits you call wonky! Great job!
Beautiful! I just bought this pattern last week. So glad to see the tips you shared. I’m big on making it ‘big’ and trimming down to square up – so that is definitely well noted.
beautiful!!
I love the patchwork on the dark background! I think handmade quilts are allowed to be a little wonky :)
Beautiful! Love the colors and layout. Like your blog : )
beautiful, wonderful work. I love yur choice of colors. You must be feeling very accomplished. I got some of that Kona charcoal (i’m guessing that’s what you used) for my next big quilt, it works perfect as background.
These quilts are amazing, you are one clever cookie!!
Hope to see you soon
xo
I have not yet tried this pattern, but after seeing your quilt tops I really, really want to! I absolutely love the colors you chose, especially the dark gray to offset all of the brighter colors.
They’re both gorgeous Nova – don’t beat yourself up! I love the background colour (Kona Coal?) and the scraps you used – I think I spy a lot of AMH.
Oh my! Just beautiful! I JUST finished (last week) piecing this top in a queen for a wedding gift for a friend of mine. I started it as a slow process, knowing it would take a bit of work (it was also my first attempt at curved pieces). I am pleased that it wasn’t as scary as I first imagined. I LOVE the pattern and feel like b/c it was in steps it wasn’t too overwhelming. I agree about the background piecing. I had some problems squaring them and found I had to rip a few seams (all in the life of a sewer, right??). But all in all I LOVE it. I thought about doing charcoal for background but decided to stick with kona bone, for a wedding gift. Thanks for sharing your tops.
Now I’m having a hard time deciding on quilting. I’ll be interested to see what you end up doing.
Thanks!
Love the wonkiness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The giggles are a fav of mine!!!!! Thank you for being a part of the photos, I love laughter!
Wow. Im in love…I so love grey and I love that pattern but assusmed that the circles would be to hard. Nice one ot two!
I’m not only fascinated by the quilts but also your outfit! So great!!! xo
I bought the pattern but it frightens me a bit. You’re fab efforts have inspired me! Love the colours too :)
These look great Nova! I realize they’ve been up for a while now but I was following your old blog and forgot to update to the new one until now…oops.
I’m currently working on getting my rings finished for a small single girl. I decided on paper piecing and am really happy with that decision. Do you think using a linen or linen blend for the background would be a disaster?
I am definitely impressed! I am currently 3/4 of the way through cutting the ring pieces and hope to really get cracking on it in the new year. It’s going to be a king sized version for our bed. Thanks for the tip about cutting the background pieces bigger to help with squaring, I think I’ll try that!
Wow, that is inspirational. I see you are hand quilting it. Can’t wait to see what quilting pattern you use. :)
what a beautiful pair of quilts! i love the grey background. i hope to make one of these next year. i’ve been stuck on a color palette decision for awhile now. these are utterly fabulous!