Monday, March 16, 2020

On the Wall Again

The Fan Medallion


I'm really glad I chose this background - I really like it even though it's not the vision I originally had in mind for this project. All of the fan blades have been machine appliqued down to the background fabric, 56 fan blocks.

The next step will be to deal with the corners where the blade tails end. 

In a traditional Dresden plate design, there would be an appliqued circle there, or quarter-circle for a fan block. That's not what I'm going for. I plan to snowball those corners across the blade tails to make an angled shape in the negative space.

Since I'm creating this pattern as I go along, I don't have measurements or a template for the size of snowball corner I need. My first attempt used a 2-1/4" square, stitched on the diagonal, and it came out a little too big. Those blades need to align at the precise point where the seams cross. I'll have to remeasure and try again with a slightly smaller square for the corner. 

A 2-1/8" square stitched on the diagonal seems to be working better. 

Below, four blocks are basted together to see how well the blades match. I think this will work. (Note, these seams are only basted and there's a lot of bulk because none of the blade tails with their seam allowances, extra snowball layer, and background have been trimmed away yet.)

Yes, 2-1/8" squares for the snowball corners will work. Next step is to cut the background squares for the corners and stitch them to all of the blocks.  


In other news, we've cancelled our upcoming trip to AZ to find a house. With the coronavirus and the state of the stock market, now is not the time to travel and not the time to buy a house. We will reassess in a few months. We still want to move to Pebble Creek and enjoy the lifestyle there, but now is not the time. 



5 comments:

  1. Man I am really liking how this is coming together - it is so pretty and really unique!

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  2. You always come up with such interesting patterns! Disappointed for you, though I agree with your decision to stay put for now.

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  3. Waiting a bit is a very wise choice. Liking the way your quilt top is shaping up!!

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  4. I'm always amazed at how precise your sewing is! Those oddly angled spaces are going to look great in your hands. I'm sorry to hear you need to delay your house hunting. That sounds disappointing, but wise.

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  5. Woo hoo.......boo hoo. Definitely not time to travel but.......depending on your financial situation, it could be a really good time to purchase a house. Tough to wait, I know.

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