It’s Monday and that means it is time to kick on with the Geode QAL and begin week 3. But first, let’s announce the winners of a 6 month subscription to Make Modern… Congratulations to @lynnmcindoe and @aggymom78! I’ll DM you each on Instagram.
There’s still plenty of time to grab the pattern – from my store and also on Craftsy – and get started, as there’s even an entry option for making a Geode cushion. Be sure to check out the Geode QAL announcement post for all the details about the dates and prizes. A quick recap of the dates and topics I’m covering along the way (although you’re more than welcome to work ahead at your own pace!):
October 2 – Choosing Fabric
October 9 – Cutting and Test Blocks
October 16 – Piecing Blocks
October 23 – Piecing Quilt Tops
October 30 – Final Quilts
November 28 – Winner Winner!
Ok, so hopefully you’ve made a test block or two to check how your seams go on the no-waste flying geese method used in Geode, and now you’re all cut and prepped ready to get sewing. And of course, I have a few tips and tricks to help you along if you need…
Errata – if you are making the baby size, please note the pattern correction in regards to the background fabric cutting for piece G.
Chain Piecing
Folks, chain piecing is your bestest best friend when making the same quilt blocks multiple times. Grab all your large print squares and your small background squares, and get going. Then trim them all in one go, and sew them all again. It’s methodical, almost meditative, and the perfect accompaniment for watching Netflix or listening to your favourite podcasts!
Trimming No-Waste Flying Geese
Oh yes, I know, the irony in that statement. Trimming “no-waste” flying geese. Well, guess what, I’m human and sometimes my seams aren’t perfect! So I’m hazarding a guess that sometimes you might be in the same situation, right? No problem, just make sure to line up your ruler so that there is a 1/4″ space between the point of your large triangle and the top edge (the point should also be at the 2 1/4″ mark), and that the bottom corners of the flying geese meet at the 4 1/2″ line and the 2 1/2″ line.
Block 1 Layout
Geode is made from two different fabric placements within the same block design. Block 1 features the print as the star and the border.
You can see that while I fussy cut the centre of the star, for the borders I just placed the foxes so that they’re all facing into the middle… or should that be “stomach-ing” into the middle?!
Block 2 Layout
Block 2 uses the background fabric as the star and the border.
The four corner blocks of the print can easily be fussy cut too if you’re wanting to add some more pizazz!
Week 3 Prize
This week we have the beautiful Ava & Neve Liberty store sharing the Liberty love! Martina is offering a bundle of October’s Liberty Society goodness, which is hitting letterboxes this week. This is what last month’s bundle looked like, and I’ve had a sneak peek of October’s and it’s just as beautifully curated!
To enter, simply share your progress on Instagram using #geodequilt and you could win! I will post an Instagram post each Monday morning at 7:30 (AEST) which will announce the previous week’s winner, and that post marks the start of each new week’s prize.
Side note – by the way, did you know that if you tag me IN the picture – I’m @blossomheartquilts – that makes it much easier for me to find and comment on your posts? Tagging me in the caption is awesome and I love that too, but the way notifications work means that it can get lost in amongst the comment and like notifications. And I hate to miss out on your work!
Ts&Cs: Open internationally, all photos posted using hashtag between now and 7:00am AEST 23/10/17 will be entered, winner selected at random and announced on Instagram.
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