Date: March 2013
I started this block in April 2012 and then packed it away. I pulled it out again in March 2013 and finished it on a weekend over two days. It was lots of fun watching the pattern come together and it was a family favourite as I sewed it. I received visits at the sewing machine and everyone, Nick, Tess and Tim all loved it and kept an eye on my progress, commenting as it went "oh that looks good".
The instructions provide you with all the cutting and piecing details. The cutting was reasonably straightforward, and certainly there was more than enough fabric so any mistakes were easily re-cut without any dramas.
The thing that I found complicated was sewing the little rectangles together so that they were 'square', if you get my meaning. When I was sewing the angled seam, in way too many of my little rectangles, I'd end up with one side slightly higher than the other. Eventually I worked out that if I aligned my two pieces with one side poking out by about 1/4 inch then it sewed perfectly. I made a little mental note on the whiteboard above my sewing machine.
Once I'd sorted that little technique out I was able to sew the rectangles together quite quickly, in a little string. In my notes, I recorded that I had to make 156 rectangles.
Then you place the rectangles together in a set pattern (one A, one AR, two B, two BR etc, etc). As I did that I noticed that I'd always cut my originals on an angle moving to the right but sometimes you need to cut on an angle moving to the left. So, back to the cutting and sewing, but as mentioned, I had plenty of fabric and ended up with some left over as well. No dramas.
You then sew the patterns into little 9 blocks. The 9 blocks are gathered into a 12 block pattern and then a 2 block top and bottom is added to that.
Below are all the individual 9 blocks laid out ready to go. As in ready to be sewn into the final pattern. The photos taken without the flash given a better impression of the pale green colour that is the contrasting fabric.
And in the photo below its all sewn together: mini fractured. I love it. I've spoken about my approach to quilting as one of learning and trying not to be too fussed. So I wasn't after perfection. I didn't need to lines to join exactly spot on, rather I wanted to enjoy myself, learn some quilting skills and put together something that I liked. I'm really happy with the outcome below.
And then I sewed the border of black and white polka dots and it really popped (snicker).
And finally added it to its companions. 4 of the 6 blocks done! You'll also notice my border fabric right next to the mini fractured block. It is an Australian print, Under the Australian sun 2, Butterflies on Charcoal. Leesa Chandler for Robert Kaufman. I bought one metre of it from Hobbysew on special and the rest from the quilt shop at Gold Creek. It feels like this Dolly quilt sampler is on its way.
Previous Posts
Tanglewood: Dolly quilt block finished (March 2013)
Mini Fractured: Dolly quilt block started (May 2012)
Tanglewood: Dolly quilt block started (May 2012)
Bush Rose: Dolly quilt block: from Material Obsession (May 2012)
Zig Zag: Dolly Quilt: from Material Obsession (May 2012)