Mini Masterpieces QAL: Complex Curves

And we are back with the Mini Masterpieces quilt along, folks! Thank you so much for understanding about needing to take a break from work, including this quilt along. I won’t lie – my book’s first year has not gone at all to plan, which has been quite hard to deal with at times. But here I am, dusting off the disappointment and pushing on nevertheless, because I still love my book and it still deserves its time to shine despite 2020!

BOOK SALE!

If you’re wanting to get your hands on a copy of Mini Masterpieces for yourself, I have signed copies of Mini Masterpieces available in store, and it’s 20% off for this week! No code necessary, sale ends 9am Nov. 11 (AEDT).

Also an early heads up that if you’re wanting to make the English paper pieced mini quilt, Carpenter’s Diamond, I also have a limited supply of paper pieces kits in store of all the pre-cut shapes ready to baste and stich. I do ship internationally, so I’d recommend getting in early if you want to make sure to have it in time for February (what with holiday and pandemic shipping times).

NOVEMBER – COMPLEX CURVES

What makes complex curves different from simple curves, I hear you ask? Simple curves involve one curved seam to make a quilt block. Complex curves use two (or more!) curved seams to make a quilt block. The process of sewing these curves are exactly the same as making the drunkards path blocks in the previous chapter.

The Complex Curves sampler block is great for practising:

• Accurately piecing multiple curves within one block

Image by Page + Pixel for Lucky Spool

The Blossom mini quilt is also good for trying out:

• How colour placement can create different effects and emphases in the final quilt
• Transparency effect of making it look like colours are overlapping

NOVEMBER PRIZES

To enter, you can either post a photo of your month’s project in the Blossom Heart Quilts group on Facebook in this album here (not sure how to do that? Click here to find out how), or post it on Instagram using the QAL hashtag #MiniMasterpiecesQAL. Either method is acceptable, just be sure to do it by November 30th, 2020 (in your timezone). Monthly winners will be selected at random, and announced by updating this post + in the Facebook group on December 1st, 2020.

For all the QAL details including prize eligibility, read this post here.

Block Prize
If you’re sewing along making the sampler blocks this year, that’s awesome! Each month, there’ll be a mix of patterns, notions, and other little goodies on offer. This month, the prize is a Carpenter’s Diamond EPP paper kit mini quilt coming up later in the book. That way it’ll arrive in plenty of time 😉

Quilt Prize
If you’re making mini quilts or some other type of fully finished product with the mini quilt pattern or turning the sampler block into a finished product (pillow, bag, zippered pouch, etc), this month’s prize is a bundle of Blossom fabric by Christopher Thompson for Riley Blake Designs. I’ll be using this fabric to make my mini quilt this month!

What you need

• A copy of Mini Masterpieces – you can buy a copy from these various stockists, and signed copies from me here
  
• A sewing machine (or hand sewing supplies!) and basic quilting supplies
• Your favourite fabrics – all the fabric requirements are listed on pages 65-66 for the block and mini quilt

Recommended

• Erasable fabric marker
• 28mm rotary cutter
• Pins

TIPS FOR COMPLEX CURVES

When you work with templates, and especially curved templates, it’s best if you use a smaller rotary cutter like a 28mm, to more smoothly cut around the corners. If you don’t have a small rotary cutter, another option is to use an erasable fabric marker to trace the templates onto the fabric and use fabric scissors to cut out the fabric.

Complex Curves sampler quilt block by @aquapaisley

A Blossom quilt by @elisabew that just kept growing!

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments and I’ll respond to you there.

 

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