Thursday 30 April 2015

Wedding Ring Obsession


It seems the obsession with double wedding rings continues unabated and there are lots of experiments with sizes and layouts underway......(So much so that I've even started a folder to document progress......that in itself suggests it's a serious affliction......One friend says it's 'the teacher' in me.....and no, I don't miss working.....)


Part of the fun continues to be making fabric from scraps, in this case scraps of chintz sewn together to go with denim from a pair of old jeans......(part of the challenge of using old clothes and whatever srcaps are on hand......)


Layout on design wall to decide on corner squares.......

Units coming together......
This one was made from a pattern traced from a pattern sheet. It came together well and quite quickly.
Finished size about 20" - once quilted it will a table topper for a small vintage table......

Next, some templates arrived in the mail. (Funny how that can happen so easily.... a couple of clicks and things appear on the doorstep as if by magic.....)

These ones are Australian and made by Westalee Rulers. The construction method is quite different to the standard and has some pros and cons. The pieces make small units so there are more seams than I would like as a general rule (unless I was making it all from 'made fabric') but the size is what I need for my planned quilt  - working title 'The General's Orphans' (see previous post).





It is possible to negate some of this by placing the sewing line of the template on the fold of the fabric and cutting out to produce a single piece at the correct size (see some of the arcs and melons above), then using a traditional piecing method.  On the plus side it offers lots of possibilities for fun and creative piecing (like the centre of the block) and by adding corners can be made into a 15" square block which also offers lots of possibilities..... 


For this little experiment I created a cut out template from a pattern on a pattern sheet - the block starts with a background square  then the sides are cut out to create the spaces for the arcs and melon units.

As part of my birthday present my family bought me another template set - which has a finished size of 18".......


......so another experiment ensued. This time a little more abstract / modern and this had multiple layout possibilities..... 

Inner arcs the same......


Reverse of number 1



Matching pairs of arcs.....


And the winner is.......

I think these single units would make good hot pads for a dinner table or centrepiece to set a bowl or vase on.


More birthday present.......

.......handy for cutting around templates.....

Meanwhile, the first two rings are ready for quilting.....


....and there is another treat for the bookshelf - probably the last one for a while as we have almost reached the end of the treatment which means my excuse to shop is fast running out - but you won't hear me complaining about that!



Sue xxxx