Hey NY Beauty sewalong folks!! How are ya’ll doing on the blocks?? I’ll have to admit, I was going to just do my tutorial and not do anything else, but I think I’ve changed my mind and I’m actually going to make a queen size quilt out of multiple blocks. It’s almost like I’m forcing myself to get better at paper-piecing and sewing curves. Call me a sick bastard. . lol.

Okay on to the tutorial. .if you’re looking for the template click here.

First thing to remember, paper piecing is like driving on the opposite side of the road! If you haven’t paper pieced before start with something easy and move to more intermediate stuff like these crzy, awesome blocks

If you’re just doing the traditional 8.5×8.5 block here’s your fabric requirements:

Outer arch: (2) 9.5×3.5
1st Spike arch #1,9: (2) 2.5×3.5
1st Spike arch #3,5,7: (3) 4.5×3.5
2nd arch: 7×3
3rd Sprike arch: (9) 2×2
4th Wedge: 4×4

The gals before me did a great tutorial on how to assemble the blocks ck them out:

Block 0: – My Go-Go Life
Block 5: Sew Sweetness
Block 1: Canoe Ridge Creations
Block 8: From the Blue Chair
Block 7: In Color Order

Now I’ve been thinking of “coloring outside the lines” with this block. First I thought of making (4) tiny block 6. . . then I thought that would probably drive me up the walls. Then the other option was to blow the blocks up! That’s right, I would blow block 6 up to be 12.5×12.5 unfinshed!

With a trip to the local copier store, I told the store associates the other arch has to equial 12.5 and they figured out how much to enlarge it by. But remember whatever size you want to measure the outside line with ruler minus the quarter inches.

To figure out your fabric requirements, just cut the wedges out and flip them over and place them on your fabric like so:

Now remember when you blow a block up the quarter inches aren’t correct and you’ll have to cut them down to make it right again. Use your rules for all the straight edges, but eyeball the curves. Trust yourself, you know what a quarter inch looks like!

Once you’ve cut all the fabric you need, fold all of the spikey paper arches, yeah it’s kind of a tedious thing to do but it will save you so much time!!!

Another thing – have a garbage can near by! Paper piecing = waste!

Match ride sides of the fabric together and add a quarter inch to the line like so:

Now when you start sewing. . I sew a couple stitches and then back stitch because it’s super secures it, but you don’t have to take my word for it:

Now here’s where all the pre-folding pays off! Fold the paper back and cute off the excess fabric leaving on a quarter inch like so (translation, you’ll only have to put your paper up to the light once):

Then you’ll know exactly where to put your next piece for the arch.

When sewing the arches to one another, I pinned the small ones til I reached the larger one, then I just used Nova’s tutorial on sewing curves without pins:

In all honesty, the paper piecing wasn’t the hard part of this block. . it’s the damn curves and sewing them together!!!

My next tip is fairly simple. . the pieces that do NOT involve paper piecing, I just use a fabric glue stick and run a thin line on the outer edge and press it to the fabric then it won’t slip while I’m cutting it:

Again use a straight edge and a rotary cutter when needed:

I hope my tips helped and you’ll be seeing more blocks from me later on!

 

(no, I didn’t fart) Lets move the Zakka Style Sew Along aside for a couple days and concentrate on the New York Beauty Blocks!

I’ve gotta get my tutorial done for the New York Beauty Block #6!

What fabric am I going to use? Oh how bout some Flea Market Fancy?

(Photo courtesy of A Crafty Fox)

Then I’m off to work on my 4×5 bee blocks. . I’m cutting so dang close to deadlines, it kind of makes me sick.