Dear Diary - Chapter 6 - REBECCA MAE DESIGNS

Hello Quilters!

Happy June! I hope you’re all enjoying some nice weather and spending more time outside.

I sent the Dear Diary Quilt Pattern update out to subscribers on the fifteenth of the month.

And the Dear Diary entry for Chapter 6 is:

do YOU, be YOU, for YOU

Remember, this quilt is all about us! We need to take care of ourselves first, right? Right! So just….. DO YOU.

This chapter has a foundation paper-pieced block… I know… some of us (I’m not mentioning any names) have a love hate relationship with foundation paper-piecing and, I get it! It’s a bit tedious, and backwards, or upside-down but sometimes we just need to get the job done the best way!

I use copy paper if that’s all I have on hand but I prefer to use vellum paper. I like using Simple Foundations Vellum Paper (affiliate link) because it’s translucent and that alleviates the need for a light source and makes placing the fabric on the backside easier.

The fabric is pinned to the back side of the paper…

And the sewing is done on the front side of the paper, directly on the printed lines.

I love that I can see through the paper and know my fabric is where it’s supposed to be when I’m sewing…

When your paper piecing is done, tear away the paper and join the two blocks. You’ll notice there is a lot of bulk where all the points meet. Not to worry, we will be cutting that area away when the arc is added.

Cut out your arc template – keeping the bottom (straight edge) seam allowance and place onto the wrong side of your fabric.

Use a fabric glue stick to turn your fabric edges over the template.

dear diary quilt pattern Use Roxanne glue-baste-it sparingly to baste your arc in place. Next you’ll want to applique your arc in place and trim away the background (block) fabric.

Done!

Ok! So, moving onto the bias blocks –

I made my own bias binding using a 1/2″ bias tape maker. I love these chunky strips! They are so fun :O)

I used my light pad and the guide (print-out) to help line them up.

Notice that I lined up my fabric to include the seam allowance on my guide – And I pinned it to the paper so it didn’t shift on me.

dear diary quilt pattern Now, with the light on, I added some dots of Roxanne glue on my background fabric – along the guide for the first strip.

dear diary quilt pattern Continue in this manner to baste the rest of the bias strips in place.

Before I stitched all the bias in place I compared the two blocks to see if they looked symmetrical – YUP! They look good to me! dear diary quilt pattern And it’s looking good all together!