Monday, January 11, 2016

GO! The Long Way Around

Sometimes, it's all about the scenic route.  Not necessarily intentionally, mind you.

This last week I was sick (AGAIN!) and didn't feel up to the weight of denim circles. Time for distraction. Have you seen all the lovely circle blocks being made lately? That started here. Very, very tempting.

Except -- I don't DO hand appliqué. Besides, I know that I am never going to be disciplined enough to make one block a day every day. As soon as my quilting begins to feel like duty instead of playtime, my inner child crosses her arms over her chest and says, "Uh-uh."

But all the pretty circles!

Also. I could use a new table runner on the sofa table . . .

So, time to bring out the GO! circles. And Kaffe Fassett -- prints and shot cottons. I started by running freezer paper and some fiber washaway appliqué foundation thru the GO!


I used the freezer paper to get the size of the finished circle (3").


Pulled off the freezer paper and used the washaway fiber to make the circle. That even gave me a chance to use my appliquilt tools.



Then I used the freezer paper circle again (marked into quarters) to center the circle on the background patch. I used a little glue to baste the circle in place.




I sewed the patches down by machine using a wee buttonhole stitch. All was going swimmingly until I decided to run some of the sewn patches under water in order to dissolve the fiber.

This is where the uh-oh! hit. I could feel that the fiber was bunching up inside there. I opened up the back and sure enough -- UGH!


Fortunately, I was able to peel the fiber away completely.  So I went through and cut away the backs of the blocks I had done and pulled out the fiber.


I had run out of the fiber that I already had and so made a run to the quilt store and picked up some of C&Ts washaway fiber. I was curious to see how it would work out. Then, once I got home, I said Duh!  If all I was going to do was pull out the fiber, why put it in there to begin with? Well. I had just seen a video on using aluminum foil to make circles and thought, Why not? (You can find the video here).

I ran a bit of file folder thru the GO! to get the circle template.  I put starch around the edges of the fabric to get a really firm crease.




Worked like a charm.  And now I have oodles of circles!


Next will be cutting the backgrounds down to size and laying out the blocks.  That should keep me out of trouble this week -- the last week of break before classes start up again.

And I have to say:

The soundtrack in the sewing room this morning was all David Bowie.  Like many around the world, I was so sad to wake to the news that he had died. I remember how Hunky Dory helped get me through my final year of high school. I'd sit crosslegged on the dining room floor, parked in front of my parents' record player, and play that album over and over and over. Or at least one of the several copies of the album I bought over the year.  (Remember that? When albums were vinyl and the needles destroyed the sound till there was more static crunch than music? Then you'd get a new copy which for a few precious listens sounded so clean and pure . . . .)

A great artist, endlessly innovative and brave. Starman. Goblin King. He will be missed.


2 comments:

  1. Fantastic circle blocks. Sometimes the simpler way works the best. At least with the foil way you don't have to worry about dissolving the wash away, that didn't seem to wash away.

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  2. Also meant to add that I hope you're feeling better

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